La La Land (2016)

I usually avoid this kind of film but gave La La Land a chance after constant recommendations. Completely converted. Damien Chazelle transcends genre entirely. It works as pure human drama first and everything else second.

There are scenes in cinema you never forget. For me, the Griffith Observatory dance in La La Land is one of them. Damien Chazelle constructs it with total precision and it lands exactly as intended. Pure craft.

La La Land is not background viewing. Every scene requires you. Put your phone down, dim the lights. Damien Chazelle is doing too much to be half-watched. Give it the attention it deserves.

Whatever you think of the story, La La Land is one of the most visually extraordinary films ever shot. There are frames here that belong in a gallery. Worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.

Everyone told me to watch La La Land for years. Finally did and instantly understood why. Justin Hurwitz's score is immediately apparent. Now I'm recommending it just as loudly to everyone else.

La La Land is technically accomplished and I understand its place in film history. But it left me cold. The the cost of ambition element felt mechanical and I never connected emotionally. Maybe I'll try again someday.

Every actor brings something to La La Land, but the lead performance is genuinely extraordinary. The subtlety involved, the way the character changes without announcing it — it's a masterclass.

The music in La La Land is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.