FILM REVIEW: La La Land

La La Land is the latest picture directed by Damien Chazelle, the 32-year-old wunderkind whose debut film Whiplash was nominated for Best Picture, won 3 Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons (Oz). La La Land stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as two star-crossed lovers who are trying to further their artistic pursuits (his as a jazz pianist, her as an actress) in primary-colored, sun-dappled Los Angeles. This year La La Land received an astonishing 14 Oscar nominations, tying the record set by All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997).  All About Eve only won 6 Oscars but Titanic basically swept the Oscars its year, winning 11. That record was tied by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2004.

La La Land is the frontrunner to win the Best Picture Oscar this year (and perhaps win a lot of other categories as well) because of many reasons, but I would say primarily because it is about Hollywood, struggling artists and "the dream factory." The city of Los Angeles (i.e. the eponymous "La La Land") is almost another main character in the movie. The movie begins with a traffic jam (which turns into a frenetic, strangely uninteresting song-and-dance number) at one of the key freeway interchanges in the city and continues by showing iconic images of Los Angeles, from the Hollywood sign, the view from Griffith Observatory, Watts Towers, the Colorado Street Bridge (in Pasadena), the Rialto Theater (in South Pasadena) and many more. As an Angeleno (as most Oscar voters are), La La Land is a delight.

La La Land attempts to upend and subvert movie tropes while it simultaneously reinscribes them. It is a movie musical about a boy and a girl who fall in love while trying to hold on to their dreams of artistic success and fulfillment. There are numerous points in the film where characters break into song and start dancing (like we would expect them to do in a classic 1950s Hollywood musical). But there are also numerous roadblocks to success and happiness for our couple, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). John Legend has a teensy role as the source of evil temptation for Sebastian to sell out and make money playing back up music in a band he doesn't believe in instead of following his dream of opening up a jazz club where he can preserve the authentic traditions of the music for fellow aficionados like himself.

In the end (which is surprisingly unpredictable) La La Land is a heart-warming story with some catchy tunes that any Angeleno will be hard to resist calling the best movie of the year.

Title: La La Land.
Director: Damien Chazelle.
Running Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some language.
Release Date: December 9, 2016.
Viewing Date: December 19, 2016.

Writing: B.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A+.
Impact: A-.

Overall Grade: A/A- (3.75/4.0).

2017 OSCARS: Nominations Announced! #OscarNotSoWhite

The 2017 Oscar nominations just came out! La La Land leads with 14 nominations (tying the record set by Titanic and All About Eve) but little movies like Hidde Figures, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea did very well. There are NUMEROUS nominees of color this year.

NPR called it "Oscars Slightly Less White":

Call it Oscars Slightly Less White: Unlike last year, when no people of color managed to secure acting or directing nominations, the Academy nominated Denzel Washington for lead actor in Fences, Mahershala Ali and Dev Patel for supporting actor in Moonlight and Lion, respectively, Loving's Ruth Negga in the lead actress category, and Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight) and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) were nominated for best supporting actress. Moonlight's Barry Jenkins was also nominated for best director.

The big nominations are:

Picture 

• “Arrival” 
• “Fences” 
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

Directing

• Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival”
• Mel Gibsion, "Hacksaw Ridge"
• Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
• Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
• Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Adapted Screenplay

•  “Lion,” by Luke Davis
•  “Arrival,” by Eric Heisserer
•  “Moonlight,” by Barry Jenkins
•  “Hidden Figures,” by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder
•  “Fences,” by August Wilson

Original Screenplay

•  “Manchester by the Sea,” by Kenneth Lonergan,
•  “Hell or High Water,” by Taylor Sheridan
•  “La La Land,” by Damien Chazelle
•  "20th Century Women," Mike Mills
•  “The Lobster,” by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos

Actress in a leading role:

• Emma Stone, “La La Land”
• Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
• Amy Adams, “Arrival” Ruth Negga, “Loving”
• Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
• Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Actor in a Leading Role

• Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington, “Fences”

More analysis later. 

FILM REVIEW: Sully

Last weekend I was in Los Angeles and I was able to get together with a group of friends and we went and saw Sully the latest movie from Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, American Sniper) and starring 2-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks (Philadephia, Forrest Gump, Bridge of Spies). The movie is, of course, a cinematic adaptation of the incredible story of the "miracle on the Hudson" that occurred when a U.S. Airways jet with 155 people on board (passengers and crew) experienced a freak collision with a flock of birds that destroyed both engines a few minutes after takeoff from Laguardia and forced Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg to make a controlled emergency landing on the near-freezing water of the Hudson River in January 2009.

The makers of  Sully has a difficult dramaturgical problem to address: the events of the Miracle on the Hudson are so well-known that making a movie about it means that one has to find a new source of tension separate from wondering what will happen. To their credit, they do come up with some dramatic tension that does pique one's interest in the film.

Additionally, Tom Hanks gives yet another excellent performance, and he has amazing chemistry with Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) who plays the co-pilot on the famous flight. The acting is just one highlight of this surprisingly short film. In fact, this film almost seems like a play because the story is so slight and the action is so limited. It's pretty amazing that the film was even made, but it does serve as a pretty effective vehicle for Hanks.

Overall, it's probably not necessary to rush out and watch Sully in the movie theaters. It's a good movie, but one that you can enjoy most of its virtues in the comfort of your own home, unless you are a fan who is also a Tom Hanks completist.

Title: Sully.
Director: Clint Eastwood.
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some peril and brief strong language.
Release Date: September 9, 2016.
Viewing Date: September 16, 2016.

Writing: B+.
Acting: A-.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: B.

Overall Grade: B+ (3.3/4.0).

2015 OSCARS: The List Of Winners

Below is the list of winners from the 87th Academy Awards. In the Top 8 categories I predicted 7 of 8 correctly, and happily in the other category (Adapted Screenplay), the movie I wanted to win was The Imitation Game and it did! I thought Whiplash would be the surprise win in this category; Whiplash did win two surprise Oscars (editing and sound mixing).

Happily, the openly gay Graham Moore won for writing an excellent adaptation of openly gay Andrew Hodges' book about gay icon Alan Turing.

Best picture: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Actor: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything.”
Actress: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice.”
Supporting actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash.”
Supporting actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood.”
Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Foreign language film: “Ida.”
Adapted screenplay: Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game.”
Original screenplay: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Animated feature film: “Big Hero 6.”
Production design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Cinematography: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Sound mixing: “Whiplash.”
Sound editing: “American Sniper.”
Original score: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Original song: “Glory” from “Selma.”
Costume design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Documentary feature: “CitizenFour.”
Documentary (short subject): “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.”
Film editing: “Whiplash.”
Makeup and hairstyling: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Animated short film: “Feast.”
Live action short film: “The Phone Call.”
Visual effects: “Interstellar.”

I'm glad that my favorite movie of the year, Interstellar won an Oscar (the same visual effects team also won for Inception which was also my favorite movie that year). Even though I confess I still have not seen Boyhood, I am not a fan of Birdman, I think it is simply Oscar bait. I would have preferred The Imitation Game or The Grand Budapest Hotel take the top honor.

Anyway, I am glad that for the second year in a row, a Latino man won Best Director, so diversity is still making an impact on the primarily lily-white Hollywood elite. Speaking of lily-white, who knew that Neil Patrick Harris was so pale?

2015 OSCARS: My Predictions For The Nominations

Here are my predictions for the nominations in the Top 8 categories in the 87th Academy Awards that will be announced publicly at 5am PDT on Thursday January 15.

American Sniper
Birdman (Or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Best Director

• Clint Eastwood, American Sniper
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
• Richard Linklater, Boyhood
• Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Ana Duvernay, Selma

Best Actress

• Amy Adams, Big Eyes
• Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
• Julianne Moore, Still Alice
• Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl 
• Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Actor

• Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
• Benedict Cumberbatch,  The Imitation Game
• Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Michael Keaton, Birdman
• Mathew Oyelowo, Selma 

Best Supporting Actress

• Emma Stone, Birdman
• Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
• Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
• Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
• Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Best Supporting Actor

• Ethan Hawke, Boyhood 
• Alfred Molina, Love is Strange 
• Edward Norton, Birdman
• Mark Ruffalo,  Foxcatcher
• J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Original Screenplay

• Birdman 
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The LEGO Movie
• Nightcrawler

Best Adapted Screenplay

• American Sniper
• Gone Girl
• The Imitation Game
• Inherent Vice
• The Theory of Everything

Total Nominations

1. Birdman (10)
2. Boyhood (9)
3. The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything (7)
4. Selma,  Gone Girl, Interstellar, American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel (5)

WATCH: Video Montage of Every Best Picture Oscar Winner

The win by 12 Years A Slave for best picture last week was historic, and here is a very cool video of all 86 Best Picture Oscar winners, in a montage that interestingly uses a track from Steven Price's Oscar-winning score for Gravity.

2014 OSCARS: My Final Predictions In All Categories

Yesterday I posted my predictions post for the Top 8 Academy Awards categories and today, just a few hours before the Oscars begin at  5:30pm PDT (hosted by Ellen Degeneres) I am publicizing my final predictions (no guts, no glory!) in all 24 categories. Last year I only got 14 of 24 correct. I hope to do better this year.

Best Picture: Gravity (2nd: 12 Years A Slave) 

Director: Alfonso Cuaron (2nd: David O. Russell) 

Original Screenplay: Her (2nd: American Hustle) 

Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Actor: Matthew McConaughey  (2nd: Leonardo DiCaprio ) 

Actress: Cate Blanchett (2nd: Amy Adams) 

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (2nd: Jennifer Lawrence) 

Supporting Actor: Bradley Cooper  (2nd: Jared Leto) 

Editing: Gravity (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Production Design: Great Gatsby (2nd: American Hustle) 

Sound Mixing: Gravity (2nd: Captain Phillips) 

Sound Editing: Gravity (2nd: All Is Lost) 

Cinematography: Gravity  (2nd: Inside Llewyn Davis) 

Costume Design: American Hustle (2nd: The Great Gatsby) 

Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom   (2nd: The Square) 

Foreign Language: The Great Beauty (Italy) (2nd: The Hunt (Denmark)) 

Animated Film: Frozen (2nd: The Wind Rises) 

Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club

Score: Gravity (2nd: Philomena) 

Song: "Happy" (from Happy Feet 2) (2nd: "Let It Go" from Frozen) 

Visual Effects: Gravity  (2nd: Star Trek Into Darkness) 

Animated Short: Get A Horse (2nd: Feral) 

Live Action Short: Helium (2nd: Avant Que De Tout Perdre)  

Documentary Short: Cavedigger (2nd: Lady in Number 6)

I think the big winer will be Gravity with at least 6 Oscars, but there's an outside chance 12 Years A Slave could outshine it in the Top 8 (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor).

FILM REVIEW: Dallas Buyers Club

Thanks to being a member of Outfest, the organization that puts on the Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival every summer, I was invited to attend a special preview screening of Dallas Buyers Club, a movie about what life was like at the heart of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, before there were any effective treatments at all. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof, Jared Leto as Rayon and Jennifer Garner as Dr. Eva Saks. 

The story follows Woodroff, a Texas good ol' boy who is partying hard in 1985 until he finds out that he has tested positive for HIV and is given 30 days to live. Woodroof does not take the news well and tries to continue his dissolute lifestyle but soon discovers that the stigma again AIDS in 1985 was universal, especially among the straight, white rodeo-attending construction workers that made up Woodroof's primary social circle at the time.

McConaughey's Woodroof is difficult to watch; he looks at least fifty pounds underweight, with a skeletal frame and sunken eyes that brings to mind the uncomfortable memories of the 1980s. However, the physical transformation is just the most notable but not the most significant aspect of his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. That would be the level of humanity and emotional resonance he brings to a little-known story that has a built-in level of pathos and tragedy hard to match. In addition to McConaughey's Woodroof, Leto's Rayon is another revelatory performance. Leto has undergone a similarly dramatic physical transformation, looking as gaunt and unhealthy as McConaughey, but he raises the stakes by also being transgender. Woodroof's reflexive homophobia and Rayon's sassiness combine to produce some of the best scenes in the film, and their (non-sexual) chemistry together is palpable.

Ultimately the story is about one man's fight against The Man. When Woodroof finds out that there is only one drug being actively considered by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for approval to fight AIDS called AZT and the hospital where Garner's Dr. Saks works is running clinical trials he tries to finagle his own personal supply. Woodroof is not one who lives his life obeying rules and he's certainly not going to face death obeying them. He finds out (by doing research in a public library with microfiche, before the Internet or Google!) that there are other drugs that are used in other countries to fight AIDS but the FDA is the primary obstacle to him (and other desperate Americans dying from AIDS) getting access to them. So, he goes off to Mexico and finds out that the drugs are cheaper and they alleviate his symptoms and save his life (or at he very least postpone his death). Always someone quick to recognize a get-rich scheme Woodroof realizes that he could bring back these Mexican drugs and sell them to desperate people with AIDS. The film depicts his struggle to interact with the gay men and intravenous drug users in Dallas in order to sell them medication which he honestly thinks will save their lives. This is where he connect with Rayon and the two go into business together, only to earn virulent opposition by the FDA and the local medical establishment. Woodroof is equally emphatic in his opposition to AZT, which he calls poison and actively encourages Rayon and others not to take it. Eventually they figure out a loophole to the FDA's drug importation regulations; they form a buyer's club where members pay a steep membership fee and membership earns you access to free drugs. When the FDA seizes his drugs at the Mexican border, Woodroof flies all over the world (Japan, Europe, Asia) to get access to the drugs that foreign governments are using to fight AIDS. Eventually the FDA relents to allow dying Americans to get access to drugs that are not formally approved through a compassionate use program. Woodroof still sues the FDA in federal court for preventing him access to unapproved drugs (like peptide T) that has been instrumental in prolonging his life. Dr. Saks eventually joins forces with Woodroof when she realizes that even though his methods are unorthodox, in his own way he is doing the same thing that she is doing: fighting AIDS and giving dying people the hope they need to survive.

The movie is based on a true story so one basically knows going in that it doesn't have a happy ending, but even so the story itself is very compelling, if sometimes difficult to watch, especially as a gay man. However, since there are so few depictions of stories with LGBT characters Dallas Buyers Club is still an important addition to the genre, and an effective illustration of the power of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.

Title: Dallas Buyers Club.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée.
Running Time: 1 hour, 57 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexual content, nudity and drug use.
Release Date: November 1, 2013.
Viewing Date: October 20, 2013.

Writing: B.
Acting: A.
Visuals: A.
Impact: B.

Overall Grade: A-/B+ (3.50/4.0).