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
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:37 (seven years ago) link
both recent Muppet films were great, with actual memorable songs, esp Muppets Most Wanted
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:48 (seven years ago) link
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
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:50 (seven years ago) link
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, Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:50 (seven years ago) link
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
― intheblanks, Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:52 (seven years ago) link
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.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:54 (seven years ago) link
― intheblanks
if the movie had goofed on his seriousness I would've had a better time.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:55 (seven years ago) link
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!
― intheblanks, Thursday, 22 December 2016 17:58 (seven years ago) link
aw cmon everyone knows there's no modern LA jazz scene!
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:02 (seven years ago) link
Muppets Most Wanted might get my vote for the best musical of the last 10 years, truly.
― ILXorcist 2: The Heretic (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:03 (seven years ago) link
i've learned on ILX this week that the ppl Hitchcock called "the Plausibles" now expect hardcore realism from James Bond movies and musicals.
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:04 (seven years ago) link
well, we've got people whom Hillary called the Deplorables expecting steel jobs and black lungs from Donald Trump.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:06 (seven years ago) link
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
― intheblanks, Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:07 (seven years ago) link
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
― intheblanks, Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:08 (seven years ago) link
excellent points
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:10 (seven years ago) link
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
― intheblanks, Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:12 (seven years ago) link
re: solely individualistic act, LLL is the ultimate h.s. theater geek fantasy
― ILXorcist 2: The Heretic (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 18:18 (seven years ago) link
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?"
― flappy bird, Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:00 (seven years ago) link
Teller when Chazelle wins best director next February:
http://images.gawker.com/19hd1ile09il9gif/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636.gif
― ILXorcist 2: The Heretic (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:03 (seven years ago) link
this is, as they say, a red flag
― forgive me fader for I have sinned (wins), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:04 (seven years ago) link
many xps I quite liked hedwig
― forgive me fader for I have sinned (wins), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:05 (seven years ago) link
I figured that the scene where Gosling takes Emma Stone to the jazz club and frenetically mansplains jazz to her was self-aware and as real a character as I could imagine. I laughed out loud in the theater.
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:12 (seven years ago) link
That whole scene, more or less
Gosling: Listen! Jazz. Jazz. Jazz. Jazz.Stone: Kenny G?Gosling: Listen!
― ILXorcist 2: The Heretic (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:15 (seven years ago) link
Like all these criticisms that the movie wasn't woke enough are ridiculous. If he wasn't a white doofus stumbling through the "purity of jazz," it would be an entirely different movie.
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:17 (seven years ago) link
fwiw, the music isn't that bad or even particularly unmemorable in this; it's got much bigger problems
― ILXorcist 2: The Heretic (Eric H.), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:17 (seven years ago) link
i really liked "City of Stars," i had fun plunking out the melody when i got home from the theater.
xp whiney otm, i thought Rostam's (since when is he a one-name celebrity?) criticisms were absurd, the thing I kept thinking during the movie was "Make America Great Again," it's a nostalgia piece, and it wouldn't make any sense for either Stone or Gosling's characters to be anything but navel-gazing caricatures of old Hollywood icons.
― flappy bird, Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:29 (seven years ago) link
how many Rostams are there who traded a band for solo oblivion?
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:35 (seven years ago) link
yes I think (ex-vampire weekend) clarifies things in a way that whatever his first name is would not for virtually anybody
― forgive me fader for I have sinned (wins), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:40 (seven years ago) link
lol surname apparently
― forgive me fader for I have sinned (wins), Thursday, 22 December 2016 19:41 (seven years ago) link
this is ok but only ok. emma stone is the best thing in it as usual with movies she is in. nice color palette. I don't necesarilly demand that all films address race and gender, but I did think "white people movie" 1000000x while watching it
― akm, Monday, 2 January 2017 02:27 (seven years ago) link
that ending though :'(
― flappy bird, Monday, 2 January 2017 18:30 (seven years ago) link
I liked this movie. I suppose there are ways it could have been "better," but it would be a different movie. I've seen a few criticisms of, say, the choreography or singing or whatever, but I liked the amateurishness. I even liked the underpopulatedness of its Los Angeles, which helped give it some of its dreamy qualities.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 January 2017 18:40 (seven years ago) link
Re collaboration, the 2 of them were at one point encouraging one another to achieve their solo artistic dreams (do the one person show, open a club-albeit with a band) but then he suddenly decides that they can't achieve these soloish artistic dreams together and simultaneously be in love at the same time. Ultimately their artistic successes (his club with house band, her acting as a movie star) do involve some collaboration but with others though. A flawed take on art and love imho.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 2 January 2017 19:57 (seven years ago) link
Iirc overhears her discussion with her mom, who implies she is disappointed that he has no steady income. So he takes the big income sell out while she works on the low income pipe dream. By the end the roles have reversed, with her the famous movie star, and him the impoverished artist. There's a nice symmetry to it.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 January 2017 20:10 (seven years ago) link
Nah
― curmudgeon, Monday, 2 January 2017 20:16 (seven years ago) link
i liked the ending well enough. it was nice to see a romance that didn't end up with the principals together and it was still ok.
― akm, Monday, 2 January 2017 20:19 (seven years ago) link
I dunno. Ryan Gosling wasn't nude enough for my taste imo
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 January 2017 20:42 (seven years ago) link
ty for warnings that this is not great, mainstream press had me potentially hyped
Muppets Most Wanted and the two eps I've seen of Crazy Ex-GF are delightful but that list is p horrifying
― (±\ PLO;;;;;;; Style (sic), Tuesday, 3 January 2017 13:12 (seven years ago) link
The Artist comparisons are very apt I think. Like The Artist, watching this movie in theaters is probably a completely different experience than watching it at home (I saw The Artist at The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, an old school movie house built in 1928, so I imagine I remember the film more fondly than most people). I believe La La Land is better filmmaking, and probably stands on its own merits a bit better. The opening sequence was a spectacular piece of choreography and I was invested enough in Gosling and Stone's performances and their characters' relationship for the ending montage to hit me like a ton of bricks.
― altony rightano (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 3 January 2017 15:42 (seven years ago) link
Somebody on twitter said something to the effect of "La La Land is as much about jazz as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is about umbrellas"
It's winning a bunch of Golden Globes. Ugh
― curmudgeon, Monday, 9 January 2017 03:54 (seven years ago) link
Hollywood loves musicals, except when it comes to making them any more. Critics love musicals, too, and rarely get the chance to love them nowadays. So they go overboard when a halfway decent musical gets made.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Monday, 9 January 2017 04:11 (seven years ago) link
“Damien Chazelle and his La La Land star Ryan Gosling are officially set to reteam on Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic First Man,” reports Variety‘s Justin Kroll.
http://variety.com/2016/film/news/damien-chazelle-ryan-gosling-neil-armstrong-biopic-first-man-1201949407/
weird as hell -- no wait, more guaranteed awards attention!
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Monday, 9 January 2017 22:05 (seven years ago) link
i mean, i knew as much about Neil Armstrong at age 7 as i could, and given his historic achievement i think the fact that his sparkling Ohio-guy military personality resulted in no biopic til 50 years later speaks volumes....
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Monday, 9 January 2017 22:09 (seven years ago) link
with J.K. Simmons as the crusty but benign NASA head
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 January 2017 22:10 (seven years ago) link
well yeah, he's too old for Buzz Aldrin alas
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Monday, 9 January 2017 22:14 (seven years ago) link
Muppets Most Wanted bombed at the box office and won a grand total of 0 awards
― Οὖτις, Monday, 9 January 2017 22:15 (seven years ago) link
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Monday, January 9, 2017 5:09 PM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah wait a minute wtf why are there no Armstrong biopics
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 10 January 2017 04:19 (seven years ago) link
generally speaking history is full of incredibly boring heroes you've heard so much about that an original, entertaining narrative about them is basically a fool's errand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_George_Washington#Films
― The beaver is not the bad guy (El Tomboto), Tuesday, 10 January 2017 04:30 (seven years ago) link
i'm not proud of it but for uninteresting personal reasons i wish ill on this filmmaker
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 10 January 2017 04:35 (seven years ago) link
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.
― Frederik B, Saturday, 15 April 2017 23:03 (seven years ago) link
the point of the ending is that it's Sad, mordy
― flopson, Saturday, 15 April 2017 23:16 (seven years ago) link
"the point of" ffs mordy
― virginity simple (darraghmac), Saturday, 15 April 2017 23:52 (seven years ago) link
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
― virginity simple (darraghmac), Saturday, 15 April 2017 23:53 (seven years ago) link
Have you seen the film, darragh?
― Frederik B, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:08 (seven years ago) link
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.
― Mordy, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:10 (seven years ago) link
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
― flopson, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:24 (seven years ago) link
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.
― Frederik B, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:38 (seven years ago) link
― 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
― virginity simple (darraghmac), Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:51 (seven years ago) link
ya Mordy + Fred both overthinking it. it came as a surprise, but was emotionally v effective
― flopson, Sunday, 16 April 2017 01:05 (seven years ago) link
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.
― Spencer Chow, Saturday, 22 April 2017 15:49 (seven years ago) link
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.
― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 30 December 2018 20:05 (five years ago) link
er, human eee-motions
― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 30 December 2018 20:23 (five years ago) link