You can't deny that it writes its own rules.

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2017)

In some ways this made me not enjoy the movie quite so much, but it did make me appreciate it more. The slow beginning and the inconsistent rules of how the musical numbers worked were more acceptable once I realized how they fit in with the world of the movie. There's been a lot of hype surrounding this movie particularly with it's pending Oscar nominations, so I had rather high expectations when I entered the theater. The praise it has received is well-deserved; the technical work that was put in is phenomenal and I would not argue if it won Best Picture (though I haven't seen any of the other nominees). The only nomination I disagree with is best screenplay. There were scenes that I thought were well-crafted, but as a whole the script was flawed. I don't mean to say that it was bad, but I would hope that there were better scripts written.
Thematically it was very good, but speaks mostly to those with careers in the arts. As one of those people, I loved how Sebastian and Mia drove each other to pursue their real dreams and not just half of their dreams. It's a trap that I'm sure many people fall into when pursuing a career in show business. The ending was spectacular in capping off the themes that had been presented. Sebastian's dream of what he wished had happened showed how much he and Mia had to sacrifice in order to achieve their dreams, which I thought was great. So often we see movies that end with the protagonist achieving all of his/her goals in some capacity. It was great to see the protagonists feel the weight of the emotional sacrifices that they had to make for each other; and more than that, they chose their dreams at expense of their relationship with each other. A lot of people may see that as a heartless ending, but there are plenty of movies where couples throw away their jobs to be together.
The musical aspect of it is not that prevalent. The opening number with everyone dancing around made me skeptical because I don't care for musicals, but thankfully there was little dancing in the rest of it. There is still music, but it comes in a more natural context. If you haven't already guessed, the film is very artsy, which could mean that more casual viewers might not like it so much. It will probably keep your attention, but it's main goal is not to entertain. However, if you are okay with that, try to get out and see it in theaters. Overall Rating: 7.6/10.