Film

“really? You? A Disney star? You seem so normal.”

Musical magic

La La Land is a musical from director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) that’s low on melodrama while full of vibrancy, beautiful tunes, outstanding set pieces, and a stunning sense of realism for a movie where the characters bust out singing.

I think it’s the best original movie musical ever made. I put it up there with Les Miserables, the best adapted movie musical I’ve seen. In short, this baby is a masterpiece—and a complete joy to watch.

The story follows wannabe actress Mia (Emma Stone) and jazz composer Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) as they try to make it in crazy Los Angeles. They meet, they don’t like each other much at first, but then they fall in love, which provides Chazelle and his performers ample opportunities for musical numbers that surprise at every turn.

In one of the year’s greatest scenes, the film opens on an L.A. traffic jam that evolves into a full-blown dance number featuring many extras and top-notch editing and camera work that make the whole thing look like one shot. In a year when a lot of big blockbusters swung and missed, this relatively low-budget venture delivers some of 2016’s best hits.

This solidifies Ryan Gosling as one of the best actors of his generation. He can wow you with insightful indies and carry big-budget blockbusters. Now, with La La Land, he takes his game to a new level. He proves he can pretty much do anything when it comes to movie characters.

He can sing with the best of them, he’s definitely no slouch when it comes to dancing and, by god, he sure can play the piano after a few months of intensive training for the movie. (Those aren’t stunt hands playing the keys—those are Gosling’s.) Just like that, Gosling is a full-bodied star of the musical genre.

As for his costar, Emma Stone is a mind-blowing revelation. Her raven hair is going to draw a lot of Ann Margaret comparisons here. She also boasts

similar comic/musical energy to the legend. Stone doesn’t just make her mark with a beautiful voice and expert footwork—she embodies the character with the honest and almost tragic drive to “make it” in the business. Mia feels like a real person rather than your typical movie musical cardboard character. Gosling came up in the same Mickey Mouse Club that touted Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Go watch some of his Disney antics on YouTube, not only because they are hilarious, but also because they show the kid had a little music in him from the start. He also had an interesting music project a few years back called Dead Man’s Bones. which showed off some serious musical chops. As for Stone, the most I’d previously seen her do musically was actually sing Blues Traveler’s “Hook” during what was supposed to be a lip synch contest on The Tonight Show. She kicked ass. While both have shown a little of their musical abilities in the past, it doesn’t prepare you for what they do in La La Land this movie. They not only sing with full confidence, but they dance in 12345 Director: Damien Chazelle Starring: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling some killer numbers as if they’ve been doing this sort of thing for years. They have a sequence where they rise into the ceiling of a planetarium that is pure movie magic. I know, that’s a cliché, but it’s the only real way to describe it. The score is completely original, with memorable tracks like “City of Stars” and “Audition,” which are sure to be in the running for Oscar glory. Heck, many aspects of this film are in the running for Oscar glory. If you have a hatred for movie musicals, La La Land might be the movie that will warm you up to the genre. Gosling and Stone make for one of the all time great screen pairings, and this one is going to stand alongside the greats. Yes, it’s that good. Ω Editor’s note: The local movie theaters and distributors are up to their usual shenanigans, and at press time, it appears that the release date of this movie has recently been bumped to later this month. It is confirmed to be opening this week down the hill in Sacramento.

4Arrival Director Denis Villeneuve has made one of the year’s best science fiction films. Amy Adams stars as Dr. Louise Banks, a linguistics teacher crippled by visions of a daughter who died of a rare illness. She lives a life of seclusion, where the only thing she really does is teach her class and mope around her lakefront home. (Man, that must be one abnormally high paying teacher’s gig.) During class, a bunch of phones go off. A student instructs her to turn on the TV, and, bam, that’s how she discovers the planet seems to be getting a visit from an alien force. Strange giant pods have parked themselves all over the planet, and nobody knows their intent. A solemn military man (Forest Whitaker) shows up in Louise’s office and informs her the world needs her. She has a sense of purpose again. It isn’t long before she’s inside an alien ship trying to talk to the “Heptapods,” large, elephant-looking aliens with seven legs. She’s joined by a science officer played by a surprisingly low-key Jeremy Renner. This is a sci-fi movie that gives itself time to breathe.

3The Eagle Huntress Director Otto Bell’s documentary plays out like a cool, dramatic adventure film as a young girl aims to be the first eagle hunter in her family. Aisholpan, a 13 year-old Mongolian girl living with her tribe, has always been fascinated with eagles and wants to become a champion eagle hunter like her father and grandfather (They hunt using eagles to catch game, rather than actually hunting eagles.) The film follows her through initial training, including the capturing of her own baby eagle on a treacherous cliff. This kid isn’t messing around; she really wants this. It’s fascinating watching the eagle acclimate to its new home; you feel a little sorry for it, but its captors feed it well, and it certainly bonds with Aisholpan. It’s an amazing animal, and there’s a lot of joy in simply seeing food going into its mouth. It’s also amazing to see its particular brand of voracious eating going on just inches from the young girl’s face. This kid has a lot of faith in the goodwill of her big bird. Yes, that’s Rey herself, Daisy Ridley, chiming in with the occasional narration. (Her voice was made for this sort of thing.) Parts of the doc feel a little staged, but its overwhelming charm cancels out the phony moments. Aisholpan and her big bird do eventually make it to the eagle festival, with her being the only female participant. It ends with the girl and her eagle going on a winter hunt, and some pretty amazing battles with foxes. I didn’t even know eagle hunting was a thing until I saw this.

4The Edge of Seventeen Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig makes an impressive debut with this darkly funny take on the life of a modern day high school outcast. Hailee Steinfeld gives her best performance since TrueGritas Nadine, a highly intelligent teen going through an awkward stage when her best friend (Haley Lu Richardson) starts dating her brother (Blake Jenner). Nadine is a practitioner of brutal honesty, which basically gets her ostracized at school and in trouble with her family. The only one who really stops to listen is her teacher (a hilarious Woody Harrelson) who actually has no choice given his profession. Craig’s screenplay is first rate, and her directing results in some great performances. Steinfeld is good enough here to be considered for her second Oscar nomination, while Jenner (who starred in this year’s EverybodyWantsSome!!) is equally good. Kyra Sedgwick is also very good in a supporting role as Nadine’s mother, while Hayden Szeto does excellent work as a high school boy who hasn’t mastered the art of properly asking somebody out. (His performance is all the more impressive because he’s over 30 playing 18.)

4The Eyes of My Mother Ever wondered what would happen to your kid if you raised her in the middle of nowhere with no friends and showed her how to perform surgery on decapitated cow heads? Writer-director Nicolas Pesce has and, heck, he’s made a whole damned movie about it. After a really strange guy (Will Brill) visits her farm home and a series of really bad things happen, Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) is left alone with nobody to talk to. Well, actually, she does have a pet, but we won’t go into that right now. Francisca has had very little social interaction over the years, other than with that pet, and she ventures out to see what the outside world is like. As it turns out, it would’ve been much better for a few people if she had chosen to just stay home and watch TV. Shot in black and white and coupled with an effectively eerie score, this is old school horror. Like, early Wes Craven/Tobe Hooper kind of horror. Francisca turns out to be a memorable movie monster in this gothic fairytale, one that will leave you extra cautious about picking up those hitchhikers. Pesce knows what scary is, and he certainly knows how to direct a scary picture. It’s nightmare fuel, for sure. (Available for rent on iTunes, Amazon.com and OnDemand during a limited theatrical release.)

5Manchester By the Sea Be prepared to get your heart ripped out by Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams in this—one of the more emotionally powerful movie experiences of 2016. Affleck plays Lee, uncle to Patrick (Lucas Hedges), who must return to his hometown and raise his nephew after his brother (Kyle Chandler) dies. Lee is a true mess, and we learn through flashbacks what got him to his messed up state. He’s battling some major past tragedy on top of his brother’s death, and there’s no telling how things will work out for him and Patrick. The flashbacks are brutal, revealing things that go beyond terrible, and it’s no wonder Lee has coping issues. Affleck has turned in good work before, but nothing like what he does in this film. He’s incredible. Williams turns in a blistering performance as Lee’s ex-wife, and a scene Affleck and Williams share together is guaranteed to knock you on your ass, and will probably earn them both Oscar nominations. Hedges is mighty good as the confused teen dealing with the loss of his dad and the presence of his somewhat strange uncle. Kenneth Lonergan directs from his own screenplay, and he’s put together some kind of movie miracle. His last big film was YouCanCountOnMe16 years ago. He’s definitely one of the great cinema comeback stories of 2016. Besides being so emotionally powerful that you might dehydrate from crying, this movie also has some big laughs in it. It’s an instant classic.

4Nocturnal Animals Amy Adams, on fire in 2016 even after you factor in BatmanvSuperman:Dawn ofJustice, plays Susan Morrow, a bizarre art gallery owner stuck in a rut. Her bland but gorgeous husband (Armie Hammer—also having a good year) is ambivalent toward her, and she’s borderline broke and generally unhappy. She gets a manuscript in the mail from ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). He was a struggling writer when the two were together, but now he just might have the novel that could get his career going. Susan agrees to read the advance copy, and the story within freaks her out, to say the least. The film’s screenplay, written by Ford and based on the novel by Austin Wright, then goes on an ultra-clever route. We see the story play out as Susan reads it and, as many of us often do, Susan casts the main character in the novel, Tony Hastings, as somebody she knows—her ex-husband. So Gyllenhaal plays two roles in the film: Edward in flashbacks and Tony, husband of Laura (Isla Fisher) and father to India (Ellie Bamber), in her visualization of the novel. One of the great tricks of the movie is that it remains a mystery whether or not the events in the novel are based on events in the larger narrative, or just act as a symbolic representation of the cruelties Susan inflicted upon Edward when she left him. Also, we never really know if Edward is somebody who simply wrote a chilling thriller and wants his ex-wife’s honest opinion, or if he’s sending her a message. Michael Shannon is excellent as a lawman living on borrowed time. It’s an alternately scary, funny, thrilling movie that is expertly performed.