What Movies Have You Seen Lately?

I am glad the screenwriter(who is also the director) of LA LA Land rejected the initial pressure to change the film and got a later offer.

Quote:

The studio demanded alterations: the male lead was asked to be changed from a jazz pianist to a rock musician, the complicated opening number had to be altered, and the story's bittersweet ending needed to be dropped. Chazelle scrapped the project and moved on.[9]

Quote: rxwine

I am glad the screenwriter(who is also the director) of LA LA Land rejected the initial pressure to change the film and got a later offer.

Having Gosling as a rock musician would
have ruined it. The whole movie had a
laid back jazz theme, it was the movie.
Gosling took months of piano lessons
just to learn how to look like he was
really playing. Fooled me, I was convinced
he really was playing, he was that good.

Emma Stone can do more real acting with
her huge blue eyes than most actresses
can manage with their whole bodies. She
was crazy good in this movie.

Quote: Evenbob

Joined HBO for a free week, saw La La Land. Man,
was I not prepared. Absolutely, completely blew
my socks off. I had no idea what it was about,
who was in it, or that it was a musical. I sat
stunned and mesmerized for 2 hours that
seemed like 20 minutes.

Wow, Bob, very interesting! You are thoughtful regarding film, and often blunt in your assessment, especially when you pan a movie, so for you to give such praise is a strong recommendation for La La Land!

Quote: Evenbob

Having Gosling as a rock musician would
have ruined it. The whole movie had a
laid back jazz theme, it was the movie.
Gosling took months of piano lessons
just to learn how to look like he was
really playing. Fooled me, I was convinced
he really was playing, he was that good.

Emma Stone can do more real acting with
her huge blue eyes than most actresses
can manage with their whole bodies. She
was crazy good in this movie.

Absolutely. The whole idea is that Sebastian is a bit of an oddball with a vision that runs against mainstream tastes. If he was a rock musician, the party scene where he plays in the party band would have been meaningless; instead, it is shown as demeaning to him. And being a pure jazz musician sets up his character as principled to a fault, and consequently portrays his tour with Keith as a sellout, no matter how successful it was.

I didn't like La La Land as much as you (and many others) did. I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away. I just wasn't engaged in the characters. Many scenes seemed contrived to me, especially the defining argument. And, in the one scene where Sebastian and Mia were looking at each other, I thought, "Man. One of Emma Stone's eyes is as big as BOTH of Ryan Gosling's eyes together."

On the other hand, both my wife and daughter loved it. As did many millions of others. And it is a really good looking film. So there's that.

We saw Wind River last week, it is excellent, a worthwhile use of your entertainment budget. Not as good as Hell or High Water (same writer, Taylor Sheridan, also wrote Sicario), but similar. Wind River was also directed by Sheridan, so it feels more of a piece. Great showdown scene, very realistic.

Quote: Mosca

I didn't like La La Land as much as you (and many others) did. I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away.

You have to really suspend disbelief
when seeing a musical. It's a different
form of communication, you have to
look at the message the writer and
director are going for. This was done
in such an understated way, with so
much class. They could have had huge
numbers with dozens of Gay dancers
in tight pants, but there was none of
that. Gosling and Stone did their own
singing and dancing. It gave the
movie a personal feel, one you don't
get with polished professionals.

Quote: Evenbob

Quote: Mosca

I didn't like La La Land as much as you (and many others) did. I enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away.

You have to really suspend disbelief
when seeing a musical. It's a different
form of communication, you have to
look at the message the writer and
director are going for. This was done
in such an understated way, with so
much class. They could have had huge
numbers with dozens of Gay dancers
in tight pants, but there was none of
that. Gosling and Stone did their own
singing and dancing. It gave the
movie a personal feel, one you don't
get with polished professionals.

I enjoy musicals very much. And one of the things I liked about La La Land was the way the cinematography paid homage to the great musicals of the '50s, Singin' in the Rain specifically with the color palettes and scene framings. And remember, I did enjoy it. I just didn't connect with it the same way many people did. Maybe I saw it on an off day for me, I don't know.

Quote: Mosca

I enjoy musicals very much. And one of the things I liked about La La Land was the way the cinematography paid homage to the great musicals of the '50s, Singin' in the Rain specifically with the color palettes and scene framings.

The music was glorious. It constantly set
the tone, be it jazz or classical. Some
critics called it brilliant, and a masterpiece.
I totally agree.

I loved seeing the Griffith Observatory. It's
been used as a movie set since it opened
in 1935. It was used in 3 of the Terminator
movies, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
It costs $10K a day to film there now, so they
make the best use of it they can.

Here's the long list of what it's been used in:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffith_Observatory#Filming_location

Quote: Mosca

I did enjoy it. I just didn't connect with it the same way many people did. Maybe I saw it on an off day for me, I don't know.

If someone missed the 1 minute alternate reality scene at the end, they would miss 50% of the poignant point of the movie. IMO.

Quote: rxwine

If someone missed the 1 minute alternate reality scene at the end, they would miss 50% of the poignant point of the movie. IMO.

It had to take them half as long to
film that epilogue as it did to film
the whole movie. There is so much
crammed into it, and every scene
required a total set up and who
knows how much time.

It reminded me of when Sonny and
Cher were on Letterman in 1997
and they sang I've Got You Babe
for the first time in 20 years. They
should have stayed together, they
still loved one another and were perfect
together. When Cher gave his eulogy
she said it was the hardest thing she'd
ever done.

Quote: Evenbob

When Cher gave his eulogy
she said it was the hardest thing she'd
ever done.

I was never more disgusted with the papparazzi, than when I saw what they did to Cher during that eulogy. They had to zoom in on the tears streaming down her face, and her bawling in terrible grief. No one needed to view that in such detail. Some things deserve to be private.