bluetoast

Just got out of a screening of this. Damn good movie, certain elements were reminiscent of The Artist, and a bit of An American in Paris. Music was good and the choreography was solid, use of lighting was great. Another winner for Damien Chazelle.

TomOpus

Sometimes they don't agree but three very big thumbs up.

sye46

I HATE musicals... but I really really really liked this one. Emma Stone is amazing. Gosling is ok, his singing is just blah compared to actors like Hugh Jackman

The more I think about it, it's probably one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Why So Blu?

I'll rent this.

Dan

Just saw it.
Fucking awesome.
Deserves to be seen on a big screen with loud sound.

Giles

I'm not sure if it has be 'loud sound' but the Dolby Atmos mix which I heard yesterday was quite remarkable. I liked it more the second time round, I first saw it back in October at the Middleburg Virginia Film Festival.

dex14

This was great. Definitely a lock for cinematography and editing, IMO.

If you are put off by this being a "musical", I wouldn't worry. There are musical numbers, but there is a long portion of the movie that is just straightforward.

Dan

^ Yeah, looking at the soundtrack, I see

songs that actually have singing in the movie, and one of those is
(I don't know if those are worth of spoiler tags, but whatever)

I've seen it twice now. And I think I've convinced my wife to see it with me next week while the grandparents are babysitting.

I will say, don't get your hopes up for Gosling's singing abilities. He's... not great... but I think that's part of the charm of the film.

edit: and, just a reminder... this is 2.55:1. If you watch this on a TV, it's going to be tiny.

johnnysd

I was impressed by this movie and thought that Emma was radiant, but I just didn't really enjoy it and found it just largely predictable and cliched. Really fell flat for me and fell asleep a couple times. Loved the trailers.

Decker

I just came back from this. I was thoroughly charmed by it. Great chemistry with the leads, obviously. Loved the songs, even if neither actor is a born singer. Stunned by the amazing opening number. Loved the cinematography and all those L.A. locations I knew. Right in my wheelhouse and I really enjoyed the entire movie -- especially the ending. Very different movie than Whiplash though, despite the jazz obsession.

Brack

He's not really "bad" either, and luckily he doesn't have to do it too much. It's not like Russell Crowe bad, which really made his scenes in Les Misérables almost unbearable to watch.

Must say I loved this movie quite a bit. I'd be happy to see this get a bunch of Oscar noms. The music and songs are catchy, but not in a surperficial sense. They very much compliment the characters, who I found very charming and likable. Wouldn't mind seeing it again in theaters before it ends its run.

Greg MacGuffin

As long as he can sing and dance as well as he does below, he is pretty much guaranteed every major acting award.

Brack

He wasn't bad on the Mickey Mouse Club either (1:32 mark):

Finisher

Not a fan of musicals and enjoyed La La Land. Emma Stone has a charm you connect with and Gosling is an everyman leading man. No coincidence he was in the two best movies of 2016 - this and The Nice Guys.

50-50 between La La Land and Manchester for best picture.

Decker

It really is the most remarkable achievement in casting of all time : tasked with bringing in seven new tweens to join the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 for the show's fifth season, they pick four of whom in Christina Agulara, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gossling who all, independent of each other, would in the next few years become, not just famous, but iconic superstars who between them have won 26 Grammys and one Oscar nomination (with another two Oscar nods coming next month if you count Timberlake's song from Trolls).
The odds against something like that happening are astronomical.

davidh777

I liked this quite a bit. The opening was a bit too out there for me (and I'm a fan of musicals), but enjoyed Stone and Gosling. Gosling was an adequate singer, which seemed fine for the part, and apparently did play his own piano.

It was such a valentine to old Hollywood, especially .

asianxcore

Saw this yesterday. Loved it.

To be honest, the opening scene/song as well as the one that followed it didn't quite grab me. It was after those scenes, the film found its footing with me and had me locked in the rest of the way.

Hazel Motes

I liked the film. But I thought what the plot demanded for an ending and what the characters truth was, were 2 different things.

Brack

Those were my initial thoughts as well, but I thought it was more about how their dreams trumped their relationship. They both wanted what was best for the other, and their relationship was beside the point. They both knew that about one another, which made it more heartbreaking. It was more letting go than giving up, IMO. The specifics are vague and definitely left up to the audience to fill in the blanks.

DWilson

I was interested in the film but hadn't planned on seeing it in the theater. Mandy Moore, The film's choreographer, staged a "Dance Medley" on the season finale of "Dancing With The Stars" (where she regularly stages the opening number) with the "City of Stars" waltz leading into the "Someone In The Crowd" party sequence. Her choreography for the party featured a lot of Bob Fosse-esque touches and it was that which got me to decide I should see it in the theater. As it turns out, in the actual cut of the film, the party is mostly obscured or seen through a filter, -the opening scene is the closest to the type of number that was suggested.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film.

Decker

I think that you're forgetting that

davidh777

I also figured that

I don't know if anyone saw The Last Five Years, but there were some shared thematic elements.

dex14

The movie definitely shares themes with films like Once... The Umbrellas of Cherbourg...Annie Hall... especially the ending.

Decker

Decker

I got a strong Annie Hall vibe. Plus some Everyone Says I Love You between the Paris stuff and the floating dance in the planetarium. I think it's safe to say Chazelle was heavily influenced by the Wood-man.

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