La La Land

Well. Here we are. It's finally happened. This magical portal of a movie encapsulated everything that I hoped that it would: the passion people feel about their art form, the way the arts bring people together, the alluring majesty of California, invigorating musical numbers full of life that are relevant to the story, and of course Emma Stone's perfect charm. All of it was there, and then some, all colliding into another beautiful Chazelle musical finale. It's full of hope and promise, but also crippling reality. These characters experience all of it at its fullest, through bright lucid colors and ecstatic song, but then to bleak solitude and shameful embarrassment. They carry around a big burden that people not in the land of "Another Day of Sun" don't quite understand. They have to figure out where to make themselves work in this world. They have to find what to give up, where to thrive, who to be with, and how they can express that deep feeling of love that they have for their craft. And so do we, my fellow movie lovers. Chazelle knows exactly what he's doing through the entire runtime and demonstrates it clearly and in multitudes through visuals, song, and dialogue. It all coalesces together incredibly with such beautiful passion that I never wanted it to end. I can't wait for this to win Best Picture. BONUS POINTS: JK Simmons happily wagging his finger at the end, talking about Charlie Parker again, the infinite Prius keysNEGATIVE POINTS: ???