First Man director Damien Chazelle's cinematic world is populated by characters driven by singular ambition and framed with technical and stylistic flourishes.
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Director:
Damien Chazelle
Stars:
Miles Teller,
J.K. Simmons,
Melissa Benoist
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director:
Guillermo del Toro
Stars:
Sally Hawkins,
Octavia Spencer,
Michael Shannon
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Jonah Hill,
Margot Robbie
The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
Director:
Wes Anderson
Stars:
Ralph Fiennes,
F. Murray Abraham,
Mathieu Amalric
Aspiring actress serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and jazz musician Sebastian scrapes by playing cocktail-party gigs in dingy bars. But as success mounts, they are faced with decisions that fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.Written by
Eirini
Director Damien Chazelle's first film was, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. The film was a romance told through song and dance, a re-envisioning of the retro MGM musical. Chazelle made this film as his Harvard senior thesis in 2009. The composer of this film was Harvard classmate Justin Hurwitz who also did the score for La La Land. Hurwitz wrote the music for Whiplash as well and Chazelle says, he hopes Justin writes the music for everything that he does. See more »
Goofs
When Mia checks her phone for her first audition in the opening scene, the date reads Monday, January 25th, the day that they filmed the scene. Howeve it is insinuated that it's Christmastime, and therefore her phone should read a date in December. See more »
Quotes
Mia:
[Mia hums a few notes]
Tracy:
[Tracy barges in]
, Woah! Holy shit! You wanna open a window?
Mia:
I was trying to give you an entrance.
Tracy:
Thank you.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The Summit Entertainment logo has an old-time variant where it looks like a matte painting of a mountain in a box and the word "Summit" above it. See more »
You know when you're watching a film that you just don't want to end, and when it does end you feel as if you could watch it all over again right there and then? I had that feeling with La La Land, the new film from Damien Chazelle, who blew us all away with Whiplash a few years ago.
With La La Land, Chazelle has made an irresistible musical comedy-drama that serves up a real delight for the eyes and ears. If you haven't heard of this film yet (where have you been?), I'm sure you will do in the coming months.
Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress serving coffees to film stars while Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz pianist playing a small time bar to make ends meet. The two meet and fall in love but it's their dreams of success that soon threaten to tear them apart.
The most striking thing about La La Land is just how beautifully crafted a film it is; the story, performances, music, dance numbers and cinematography all playing their part in making this such an unforgettable cinematic experience. I genuinely can't find one single fault in this film.
Chazelle proves yet again just how mature he is for such a young filmmaker, writing and directing such a touching and often funny love story with a meticulous energy. The whole feel of the film is a throwback to the golden age of musicals, a decision a lot of filmmakers would have been too scared to make yet the pay off is massively satisfying.
The gorgeous cinematography from Linus Sandgren brings the city of Los Angeles to life, awash with colour, while his swift camera-work, including some impressive long takes, in particular through the dance numbers, immerses the audience right in the middle of this dreamlike musical.
Coming to the performances, La La Land features two superb lead performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, both giving arguably their best performance to date. Gosling has really grown on me as an actor, maturing into one of the best in the business today. He proved earlier this year that he has a knack for comedy in The Nice Guys and he proves it yet again here. Stone always manages to impress me and she is dazzling in La La Land, singing and dancing her way into our hearts. The pair share an undeniable chemistry and I would love to see them both get the recognition they deserve come awards season.
Justin Hurwitz's score and the original songs in La La Land, along with the wonderfully choreographed dance sequences, including a great opening number that sets the tone for the rest of the film, heighten the film's level of originality, maintaining that energy Chapelle's films possess.
I dare you to try and not fall in love with La La Land. I fell in love with it and I'm sure many more will do so too.
187 of 360 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
You know when you're watching a film that you just don't want to end, and when it does end you feel as if you could watch it all over again right there and then? I had that feeling with La La Land, the new film from Damien Chazelle, who blew us all away with Whiplash a few years ago.
With La La Land, Chazelle has made an irresistible musical comedy-drama that serves up a real delight for the eyes and ears. If you haven't heard of this film yet (where have you been?), I'm sure you will do in the coming months.
Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress serving coffees to film stars while Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz pianist playing a small time bar to make ends meet. The two meet and fall in love but it's their dreams of success that soon threaten to tear them apart.
The most striking thing about La La Land is just how beautifully crafted a film it is; the story, performances, music, dance numbers and cinematography all playing their part in making this such an unforgettable cinematic experience. I genuinely can't find one single fault in this film.
Chazelle proves yet again just how mature he is for such a young filmmaker, writing and directing such a touching and often funny love story with a meticulous energy. The whole feel of the film is a throwback to the golden age of musicals, a decision a lot of filmmakers would have been too scared to make yet the pay off is massively satisfying.
The gorgeous cinematography from Linus Sandgren brings the city of Los Angeles to life, awash with colour, while his swift camera-work, including some impressive long takes, in particular through the dance numbers, immerses the audience right in the middle of this dreamlike musical.
Coming to the performances, La La Land features two superb lead performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, both giving arguably their best performance to date. Gosling has really grown on me as an actor, maturing into one of the best in the business today. He proved earlier this year that he has a knack for comedy in The Nice Guys and he proves it yet again here. Stone always manages to impress me and she is dazzling in La La Land, singing and dancing her way into our hearts. The pair share an undeniable chemistry and I would love to see them both get the recognition they deserve come awards season.
Justin Hurwitz's score and the original songs in La La Land, along with the wonderfully choreographed dance sequences, including a great opening number that sets the tone for the rest of the film, heighten the film's level of originality, maintaining that energy Chapelle's films possess.
I dare you to try and not fall in love with La La Land. I fell in love with it and I'm sure many more will do so too.