Anticipate LA LA LAND, the musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

there's woody allen

ethan hawke, mayhaps

I couldn't tell whether casting John Legend as the sellout pushing Gosling into a pop direction was Chazelle's idea of a joke.

I'm not fond of Whiplash either.

Nick Pinkerton:

ver since the movie musical’s decline as a popular form, there have been periodic attempts to revive it. Some of these have been artistically successful, others have been Les Misérables (2012), but almost all have conceded to the fact that they don’t make them like they used to because you can’t make them like they used to, and that the musical needs to exploit new forms, new technologies, and new subject matter in order to reach a new public. In this La La Land is an exception—it doesn’t want to bridge the last sixty-odd years so much as pretend they never happened, to return to an imagined Eden of old-fashioned razzle-dazzle and audience innocence. This is perhaps the film’s best claim to contemporality: while it styles itself as a throwback, its revanchism is very much of the moment. And if I really believed that such neo-naivete was necessary to save the beset, beleaguered movies, I’d just as soon see them go peacefully

Drudge and Bret Easton Ellis hated it. May sound like an obvious statement, but they were both looking forward to it.

Former NY Times music critic Ben Ratliff is critical of the movie

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/12/la_la_land_s_clich_d_confused_depiction_of_jazz.html

The film doesn’t deal with race, probably because there aren’t a lot of people of color in it, aside from musicians and others seen in passing. Nor is it any kind of referendum on jazz: The main duet numbers have nothing to do with it. There are many clichés in speech and thought in La La Land, a movie that keeps shifting between high camp and inspirational romance. But a cliché, repeated often enough, can come to seem like a truth. I’ve met a few musicians who could be caricatured into Sebastian. It would be a drag if he became as real and commonplace as the joke about hating jazz.

http://pitchfork.com/news/70544-rostam-criticizes-la-la-lands-problematic-narrative-lack-of-queer-characters/

Rostam (ex-Vampire Weekend) tweets:

“Black people invented jazz but now we need a white man to come save/preserve it? Sorry, this narrative doesn't work for me in 2016.”

In another tweet, he criticized the lack of queer characters in the film, saying, “La La Land didn't have a single gay person in it #NotMyLosAngeles.”

i dunno i heard there were a slew of sodomite extras

I wasn't expecting to dig this, but I thought it was really good, and the ending was one of the best things I saw at the movies this year. Really incredible. Made me sob.

My review.

the transgender bathroom scene was so poignant

Pinkerton's take is hot fire.

this chazelle fellow seems to be shaping up as the hot new enemy of good film

Jason Reitman still lives

From Pinkerton:

Ever since the movie musical’s decline as a popular form, there have been periodic attempts to revive it. Some of these have been artistically successful,

Which?

Dancer in the Dark, ugh.

various Disney

South Park
Scott Pilgrim, kinda

Oh right I always forget that Disney stuff counts. The Disney Musical is really a genre unto itself though

this chazelle fellow seems to be shaping up as the hot new enemy of good film

It's early yet. I hated Whiplash way worse than this one.

ah ok! i detested whiplash so he'll have to go some to win me around

I hated Whiplash too, this is so much better than that misery of a movie

Which?

Velvet Goldmine

Everyone Says I Love You is p charming

Chicago was occasionally okay but mostly garbage

If you're including film adaps of Broadway, then i quite like Burton's Sweeney Todd. But that's not what LLL is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_films_by_year#2000s

Slim pickings once animated movies are taken off the table.

Ever since the movie musical’s decline as a popular form

As erstwhile ilxor KJB could tell you, this happened a long time ago, beginning no later than the early '60s probably. Fosse's film version of Cabaret is certainly post-decline, a revisionist musical.

I need to find an article I read several years about the making of Star and Darling Lili

wait, this is by the Whiplash guy? he seriously needs to stop making jazz movies.

(i have not seen this jazz movie yet but it sounds cornball)

his first feature, which has been relegated to nonexistence because it had no famous actors in it, was also a musical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJUzALdI--k

both recent Muppet films were great, with actual memorable songs, esp Muppets Most Wanted

I'm generally fine w recursive Hollywood musicals but this looks so fucking dire, the modern version of H'wood slapping itself on the back for its rich history or whatever (cf. The Artist) is just gross

la la land is strange to me because it takes Miles Teller's vices from Whiplash (ridiculous ideas of what pure art is, unwillingness to ever collaborate with anyone, streak of self-punishment) and portrays them as virtues

this is definitely better made than the artist fwiw, it has some interesting moments and i think gosling in particular is really good, particularly given what the material he has to sell. but it's pretty far from great imho

What I find weird about this movie (having not seen it) is that it's garnering all these accolades but no one seems to find the music noteworthy.

la la land is strange to me because it takes Miles Teller's vices from Whiplash (ridiculous ideas of what pure art is, unwillingness to ever collaborate with anyone, streak of self-punishment) and portrays them as virtues

― intheblanks

if the movie had goofed on his seriousness I would've had a better time.

or if the movie acknowledged that there are plenty of jazz musicians under the age of 45 that make up local scenes, including in the very city where the movie takes place!

aw cmon everyone knows there's no modern LA jazz scene!

Muppets Most Wanted might get my vote for the best musical of the last 10 years, truly.

i've learned on ILX this week that the ppl Hitchcock called "the Plausibles" now expect hardcore realism from James Bond movies and musicals.

well, we've got people whom Hillary called the Deplorables expecting steel jobs and black lungs from Donald Trump.

ha, morbius maybe otm. fwiw though i think it is worth noting how the film views pure artistic expression as a solely individualistic act--the way that emma stone's big thing is a one-woman show, the multiple times that everything goes dark except for a spotlight on one of the two main characters, the ways in which they continually refuse collaboration

in sharp contrast to say, 'the young girls of rochefort,' where people's artistic dreams and how they express them are in continuous interaction with their community

excellent points

for all the comparisons i'm seeing to the demy musicals, i think that chazelle's ideas limit him a lot more, and not necessarily in interesting ways

re: solely individualistic act, LLL is the ultimate h.s. theater geek fantasy

amazing quote from the wiki about Miles Teller being passed over for Gosling:

Teller was offered to play the leading role by Chazelle when the two were in the midst of filming Whiplash in 2013. He even passed up the chance to star in War Dogs because the film would have conflicted with La La Land (although he later went on to star in the film). But one day, Teller got a call from his agent saying that Chazelle had told Lionsgate that he no longer thought Teller was "creatively right for the project" and that the director was moving on without Teller's involvement. Teller responded by texting Chazelle "what the fuck, bro?"

Teller when Chazelle wins best director next February:

http://images.gawker.com/19hd1ile09il9gif/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636.gif

she sure lived in a nice place for being a barista

its fair nv i got a challop and its a price you own

she sounds bad and hits bad notes. its a thing.

well she did say she only hits 75% of her notes so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g4ekwTd6Ig

listen to the awful last ten seconds of this lol

la la land songs are actually slightly less boring than the kamasi album imo

i feel like a lot of these but what-about-the-jazz complainers a) dont really know much about jazz (SORRY) b) just hate the film and need to pin their irrational hate onto something that makes them feel they have a genuine, worthwhile cause to explain their hate c) just want to dig their heels into the ground about something cos its such a big deal release right about now. ashley clark, who i usually find has tons of interesting stuff to say, seems to take umbrage with the idea of JL as being a 'threat' (is he? really? to what?) but i just see it as two people who love a genre but have v different views for it.

i think this is otm. i did a little jazz policing about it upthread, and though i'm still mixed on the LLL, i think hitting the movie for the crime of not recognizing LA's existing jazz scene is beside the point. i think this review addresses people mistaking gosling as a chazelle stand-in pretty well. This glenn kenny post touches on some of the same points and I think is a good take.

every new thing i hear about this movie makes it sound horrible. popping in here to see multipage arguments on Gosling as jazz nazi isn't exactly helping that situation.

sounds like Birdman 2.0, all style, no substance, jazz as lazy signifier of the authentic

thing is this is good and birdman is great so more fool you for avoiding based on people hanging shitty arguments they wanted to have on ninety minutes of entertainment

I have no idea what this movie is about.

butts

its 10 times better than birdman. and there is substance there. just dont expect it to be perfect. its like a slightly ramshackle (both in terms of the routines, the dancing, the characterisation and plot) indie musical with a studio budget.

and if anyone wants to make a white saviour argument for a new oscar hyped movie, lion is a far easier, and much, much, more deserving target.

It's better than Birdman but it's longer.

having trouble with LLL:

http://girishshambu.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-disenchantments-of-la-la-land.html

Better than "Birdman" (aka "Acting: The Movie") for sure (and don't forget, that film's score was just a long jazz drum solo). Lotsa "LLL" complaints revolve around its depiction of Los Angeles, and not what is pretty clearly a mythical, fictional "Los Angeles." So, like, on that front, who the fuck cares? It's La La Land.

it's a lazily written love story that relies too much on its novelty and whose characters' motivations aren't well illustrated.

definitely not a terrible movie, just kind of "meh" and unworthy of its hype among movie musical stans

I already forgot about this movie. I've seen most of the nominees by this point (still haven't seen Fences) and Moonlight is the best by a massive margin

Saw this on a plane today, checked out about 5-6 times (should've been 30 mins shorter) but was fair if not corny.

In the end, I think a mashup of Mulholland Drive & Ghost World (replacing blues with jazz) would be an interesting endeavor. Discus.

challop from Peter Labuza on "LLL-related" oldies

@labuzamovies Feb 12
AT LONG LAST LOVE (Bogdanovich, 75) If you can't sing and dance, take from a great repertory and make sure and be silly about it. Delovely.

At Long Last Love is also a huge stinker. One of the most difficult things I've ever sat through.

which version did you see though? http://www.indiewire.com/2013/06/at-long-last-the-definitive-version-of-at-long-last-love-131623/

the New Beverly did a double bill!

http://thenewbev.com/program/february-11-la-la-land-at-long-last-love/

the Bluray obv went out of print -- it's $180 on Amazon

A bunch of good, a bunch of bad, and I'm surprised at how much this wasn't for me.

For how much parts of it is a Demy ripoff (or homage or whatever) he fucks up the point of Demy. In Cherbourg the couple is condemned to mediocre lifes because of the Algerian war. Here, their ambition gets in the way, but they still both end up incredibly succesful. There's way too little darkness - even when Demy was at his lightest, in Demoiselle, there was an axe-murderer lurking at the periphery. Oh, and Seb is an asshole the first time they meet, the second time they meet, when they break up, and kinda when they temporarily reconcile. He just seemed like an asshole, so I was almost disappointed when he got his dream night club at the end. Also, the best musical moment is when John Legend turns on the EDM beats, that felt dangerous and fun, where most of the music - while catchy - became way too similar after a while. And for a film that keeps talking about 'crowds' and how the town and world is constantly moving on without them, everyone but them sure seems pointless. Her roommates, her parents, even her husband gets no personality at all. And John Legend just disappears as well all of a sudden, even if it's presumably through playing with him that Seb can afford his new club? Oh, and his sister has only one speaking scene, and then the rest of her story is told through montage, right?

The cinematography is good, though. Old fashioned, but good.

Not to rewrite the film, but I think a lot of criticism could have been avoided if Legends character had been at the club in the final scene. He loves jazz, he is Sebs friend, if he'd been there smiling and bobbing along it would seem as if they'd managed to navigate a tricky world together, instead of him just being a sellout and Seb being a hero.

not sure if she really deserves an oscar for this, but emma stone IS really good here. i would give her an award for most likeable/charming hollywood actress if that was an award.

wonder what miles teller is thinking at the moment...

Probably thinking about how he voted for Moonlight.

Miles Teller‏ @Miles_Teller

Congrats to Moonlight!!
5:28 am · 27 Feb 2017

Zizek!

http://thephilosophicalsalon.com/la-la-land-a-leninist-reading/

zizek?

L_ L_ land

what's the point of the ending? why after a film of hollywood fantasy now draw the line between the imagined happily ever after and their compromised relationship? just skip the new husband and have the dream sequence be the "true" ending the movie is too long already.

Well, if you didn't have the imagined ending, the film wouldn't be so Singing in the Rain. And if you didn't have the true ending, the film wouldn't be so Umbrellas of Cherbourg. You can't just stop the film when you still have films to rip off.

the point of the ending is that it's Sad, mordy

"the point of" ffs mordy

What's the point of a Hollywood comedy musical romance

U asked that

What's the point of a part of the plot of one

Ffs man

Have you seen the film, darragh?

the ending undermines the Hollywood comedy musical romance-ness of the film so it makes sense to ask to what end was it deployed against the more obvious happy ending. is it just bc at the last moment the filmmakers had a failure of nerves and thought audiences wouldn't buy something without a downer ending? i.e. too saccharine sweet if they end up together? very superficially they develop once or twice the theme of their work superseding their relationship (when he misses her play for the photo shoot, when he is going to have to tour and be away from her, and maybe something she did too tho even tho i saw the film last night i can't remember) but hardly enough to necessitate that ending or give it any resonance. honestly it seems a bit like they didn't have much to say beyond the look and the music and so put it in for some unearned gravitas the tragedy of love lost.

their work superseding their relationship ... hardly enough to necessitate that ending or give it any resonance

it was this, it was enough to give it resonance (for me) ymmv. it was a good ending imo

SPOILEr, but there's kinda the same ending in Chazelle's first film. He likes that whole theme of what artists has to sacrifice. This time it seemed as something only Hollywood would find tragic: They get everything, fame, money, jazz bars, spouses, kids, they just don't get each other. Boo hoo. The really stupid thing is that it's modeled on Umbrellas of Cherbourg, where the melancholy comes from the Algerian War interfering. Not exactly the same.

Have you seen the film, darragh?

― Frederik B, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:08 (forty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yep

It was good.

Thought the ending worked

Other endings would also have worked.

Not sure it can bear too much weight tho tbph

ya Mordy + Fred both overthinking it. it came as a surprise, but was emotionally v effective

Liked this so much I had to pause it and make popcorn.

I felt the ending was saying something like you can't have cake and eat it but you can always love the idea of cake and feast on the memory whenever you experience hollywood magic (or jazz?).

The opening number is so stupendous that I wish they'd somehow managed to end the film there. But I suppose a smile passing each other on the freeway would have been a bit impersonal.

Finally, the lighting was like an exact cross between Wong Kar-wai and the original Star Trek series.

I checked the DVD out of the public library and my wife and I watched it last night. I see most ilxors were pretty tepid about this one and I agree. Gosling and Stone were barely able to dance or sing at an acceptable level, let alone rise to the sort of magnetism of Astaire and Rogers. Other than Gosling being handsome, there was zero reason why Stone would have been attracted to him in the first place; he was an asshole. The tired theme of "fulfilling your dreams" was so exhausted in this as to be moribund.

otoh, it gave employment to a lot of dancers in the big production numbers. The candy-colored costumes, set design and cinematography were sort of fun, in a Disney kind of way. But its use of music was blandly safe and colorless, and no human motions were harmed in the making of this movie, because they were touched so lightly one never even noticed them.

Gosling and Stone did what they could with weak material. The script was at the heart of all the problems and Damien Chazelle's superficiality was all over the script.

er, human eee-motions