Wonderful, Excellent, Gorgeous, etc.

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2017)

THIS. This right here is what I love about movies. This film right here is why I put myself through going pretty much every weekend to see the latest critically acclaimed masterpiece that turns out to flop, in the hopes that one day, this will happen. La La Land is beautiful, soaring, fun, uplifting, dramatic, gorgeous, and basically everything that makes us smile. I was grinning throughout the entire first act. This is an original live action musical, something we don't get to see too often in movies today. Could it have been a bit of a missed opportunity to cast two white actors in a movie about jazz? Yes, it could have been, but Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling shone. On their own, they are both bright stars, but put them together, and they light up the world. Chemistry, which is such a big missed ball in Hollywood these days, is undeniable between the two of them. It just WORKED. I cannot praise the soundtrack enough. The songs are brilliant and catchy and bright, I'm still listening to it months after seeing the film. Also, the choreography and costumes and the aesthetic of it all. The musical scenes are filmed with such fluidity it is magnificent. The movie is given a retro feeling, but takes place in modern times. The color palette of bright, primary colors for Stone's character and more muted browns and blues for Gosling worked perfectly with the themes and their relationship. The ending, as abrupt as it may be, was certainly beautiful and no one can say it was unsatisfactory.