Out to own today:
La La Land
 | “Why do you say ‘romantic’ as if it’s a dirty word?” Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) LA LA LAND does the ultra rare: It is both for cynics and the sentimental. One can barely think of another film that achieves that feat. As the story progressed, just as one was about to be disappointed in Damien Chazelle, writer-director of the mesmerising WHIPLASH, due to an anticipated conventional plot convention, he adeptly pulls the rug from under us, simultaneously creating something both heartbreaking and uplifting. This is a film that has its cake and eats it. [To read more, click here.] |
Manchester by the Sea
 | “If she seems semi-human to me, you can go and have lunch with her and her fiancé,” Lee (Casey Affleck) With less than two months to go, it is a toss up whether MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is, so far, the second best film of 2015 or actually the best. (See my end of year review for the final placing – I know, you can’t wait, right?) It is three for three for director Kenneth Lonergan. If you haven’t already, put YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000) and MARGARET (2011) on your must-watch list. Lonergan is a dramatist of the highest order. We are not in melodrama or sentimental territory. It would not be too bold or hyperbolic, one hopes, to put forward that he is in the top tier of writers working today, in any medium. [To read more, click here.] |
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