LogFAQs > #934028028

1. La La Land

Karo: 1
Scarlet: 1
Johnbobb: 2
JONA: 3
KBM: 5
Genny: 10
Inviso: 15

Karo - Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Los Angeles, there is a romance between a struggling actress and the whitest jazz musician ever.
It has all the good things about a classic musical, but minus all the boring and bigoted bits, plus it just has straight up some of the best songs in this project. The ending takes a page right out of Makoto Shinkai's book of bittersweet romance, and I couldn't think of a better way to bring the movie to a close.
The film achieves everything it sets out to achieve, and hits all the right notes in a manner that is truly magical.
I know a good movie when I see one, and this is a very good movie.

Score: 94/100

Best Song: 'Another Day of Sun'

Scarlet - Oh shit, I meant to rank Moonlight.
Well if we cant rank Whiplash, well rank Chazelles next best thing, right? Charming leads, likable music, excellent attention to detail in every number its a modern-day musical and truly deserving of being ranked on the first list rather than this list of also-rans.
Best Song: Audition (The Fools Who Dream)

Johnbobb - I mean, it's just objectively incredibly well crafted. Incredible costume work, music, acting, cinematography, etc.
Favorite song: City of Stars

JONA - A throwback to older musicals and it does a great job at paying tribute to them. While the story of two people struggling in the entertainment industry while falling in love isnt the most original, its still very engaging and the performances by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are great. I did find Sebastian a bit pretentious but not enough to ruin the movie for me. The soundtrack is fantastic. I like every song except City of Stars, which is the one that wins an Oscar. Figures. I absolutely loved the ending where we got a medley of the songs and a bittersweet sequence between the two main characters. Definitely reminded me of An American in Paris, which was a film I loved from the first list. Amazing stuff.
Favorite Song: Epilogue

KBM - Why I Chose It: Damien Chazelle's musical epic La La Land, featuring songs by Dear Evan Hansen scribes Pasek and Paul, may have retroactively gained notoriety for having incorrectly been announced as Best Picture over Moonlight by Faye Dunaway, but the film was a huge hit in its own right, bringing in $446 million worldwide and winning six Academy Awards out of its record-tying fourteen nominations, including Best Director for Chazelle and Best Actress for Stone. It also won a record-breaking seven out of seven Golden Globes. Every aspect of the film received widespread praise, and it was lauded by audiences and critics alike as a bittersweet love letter to old Hollywood musicals.

My Thoughts: La La Land is just everything everyone says it is. It's one that's kind of hard for me to go into too much detail about because I just agree with all the positive things everyone else has already said about it ad nauseum. Every aspect of this production is just great. My one minor complaint, and the reason it doesn't make it even higher on the list, is that Ryan Gosling can't really sing, but somehow, in the context of the film that's even kind of one of its charms. It's just a seriously entertaining old-school big-screen musical, with terrific performances (especially from Oscar-winner Emma Stone), and a pitch-perfect bittersweet tone that feels totally earned. The fact that this is neither the best film of 2016 nor the best film of Chazelle's career is less a commentary on La La Land and more a credit to how fucking fantastic both Moonlight and Whiplash are, respectively.

Favorite Song: Another Day of Sun

Genny - Normally I'm not a huge fan of bittersweet "what COULD have been" endings, but La La Land manages to pull off one in a way that doesn't feel forced, and in a manner that makes me feel sympathetic to both protagonists involved. It's subtle, poignant, and memorable, and Gosling and Stone have this natural playful chemistry that translates well to the big screen. I only wish the movie had more fun scenes like the 80s poolside tribute because it does become a bit of a downer at times despite being beautifully crafted.

Inviso - First off, after watching this film, I completely understand why the academy decided to award Emma Stone the Best Actress Oscar. Shes able to maintain a light-hearted, persona, all the while conveying just how soul-crushing the stressors of life as a struggling actress in L.A. can be. Similarly, I completely understand how Moonlight beat it for Best Picture. La La Land has a very classical feel to it, not unlike the musicals we watched to kick off the previous list. In that regard, even though I wasnt a HUGE fan of a lot of the early stuff, I respected what this film managed to do. It told a story that was modern and relatively interesting, while still playing homage to Hollywood history. That being said, its still a little bit of a cliched love story. All the standard plot points are there: guy and girl butt heads at first, but then fall in love, their good life gets interrupted, and when it comes down to the will they/wont they decision, they wont. Thats fine, but its just kinda basic, and a basic ranking is what that gets you.