Surprisingly uplifting, beautiful old school musical

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2017)

I am not a musical fan to be honest, and honestly saw this film cause Hidden Figures was sold out in UA Sheepshead bay, BK. However, La La Land which has gotten a lot of hype after their Golden Globe dominance turns out to be a beautiful work about the pursuit of one's dreams and what can happen on the way.
LA is the city of angels, broken dreams and full of haunting old symbols of the golden age like Griffith observatory, the highways, film lots, etc... The modern setting coupled with the music and cinemascope was brilliant and really established he film's mood.
Acting- Emma and Ryan in my opinion were very good, and their dynamic throughout this movie was astonishing. The Oscars would be a fool to ignore Emma's performance which is brilliant in particular her breakdown after her one-woman play goes poorly, or her work near the end both of which should get her a nomination. Reynolds is just as good, and their chemistry lifts this movie through the good, and in their argument scene where Reynolds really captures the pain and frustration of doing something he hates, but helps him survive.
Now is the dancing like Kelly or Astaire?? No, and its clear both are not singers but they did a good job in my view with that and the music while its not awe-inspiring, really hits you particularly City of Stars which is my pick for best original song.
Flaws-
I was confused why Simmons, Legend and Dewitt did not really have more of a presence in the film to continue the storyline Chazelle as building about dreams vs. reality. This hurts the movie, because at times Stone and Reynolds journey was odd without more people in their worlds pressuring them to give up and conform which would have added to the film's emotion. Also the opening wasn't that great and in the middle the film did kind of lag a bit.
Overall, though the movie was good and did feature some magical scenes like their dance in the planetarium and in the magic hour overlooking the city. Chazelle really establishes himself as a director for his choices at capturing this city of hope, broken dreams and melding it in a way Mia and Sebastian's journey symbolizes not just other creative people but everyone who takes a chance to pursue their loves and faces all the heartbreak, frustration and joy that comes along the way.
Now the last hr of the film in particular the ending is brilliant. This movie is not dialogue heavy, and Stone's eyes really capture her emotion's as things begin to happen as does Reynolds body which droops when he's down or vice-versa when he's up. Those final scenes in particular the montage which reminded me of Pixar's UP is the correct ending in that our dreams take us down different paths, and we dnt always stay close to those along the way we remember their efforts that helped us make our choices and fulfill the goals we desire. La La Land to my surprise is one of 2016's best films.