La La Land

"Mia" (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress who juggles a coffee shop job with countless, fruitless, auditions. "Sebastian" is a budding jazz musician who falls a bit foul of his boss (JK Simmons) when he decides to spice up some of the more mundane Christmas ditties he has to trot out on his restaurant piano and gets fired. The two meet and after a slightly rocky soon start to appreciate that they actually have more in common than they might have expected - and so off they set down their especially bumpy yellow brick road. This feature is a colourful and vibrant tribute to all things Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly with an hint of romance and one or two catchy tunes to help keep the pace bouncing along for a couple of hours. It wallows, unashamedly, in the nostalgia of the good old days and then - thanks to the likes of John Legend's "Keith" - attempts to turn it's focus to the future. Not just of this couple, but of their chosen forms of art. It's no cakewalk for the pair and that's an integral part of this enjoyable tale of their relationship and the pressures put upon it by their aspirations. Those magnetisms that fuel their affection at the start soon start to have the opposite effect as success applies unevenly between them and an happy ending is by no means a certainty. There's plenty of light-heartedness throughout and it's affection for the heyday of Hollywood is writ engagingly large as it trips along. No stunt doubles, dubbed singing, piano playing nor dancing also adds quite a bit to the charm of the pair's antics and "Another Day of Sun" and "City of Stars" show Pasek/Paul and Justin Hurwitz have their fingers on the pulse. Cheesy? Well a little, but this is still big screen entertainment cinema that I really did enjoy. Not quite sure what Ryan Gosling has to do to get an Oscar, though!

La La Land is one of those movies that feels like a warm hug. The story follows Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a jazz musician, as they navigate love, ambition, and the messy balancing act between the two. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are great together, their chemistry felt natural. The music is where the film really shines. Justin Hurwitz’s score lingers with you, with “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” being unforgettable, both haunting and uplifting in their own way. And the visuals, everything from the dreamy color palette to the sweeping camera work. That opening freeway dance number is bold, fun, and the perfect way to set the tone. What’s most striking, though, is how La La Land balances its whimsy with a dose of reality. It’s a story about chasing dreams and the sacrifices that come with it, and it doesn’t shy away from showing the heartbreak that can follow.

This movie is the best movie there will ever be, Ryan and Emma did great.