La La Land Review

        My look into Damien Chazelle continues. After the smash success of Whiplash, it yielded multiple Award nominations. With J.K. Simmons winning his second award for Best Supporting Actor. It only seemed natural that Chazelle would continue with his Jazz-motifs into something bigger. He drew from his own life experience of attempting to work in Hollywood and the struggles that came with it. While La La Land isn’t overtly negative with the creative struggle like the last entry, it manages to be endearing with the romance angle and the inevitable reality crunch.

1. Mia and Sebastian

        The opening minutes of the film did not adequately prepare me to believe that it was going to be a musical. This is my actual first time watching the film. And I distinctly remember just the discourse around the film when it came out and of course the Oscar mess up that happened. While there would be another moment that would slap that gaffe away, La La Land was supposed to get the guaranteed win for the top prize at the Oscars. With that, when you strip away the romance and the tragic angle, it would seem like a love letter to Los Angeles. 

        The traffic dance moment sets it up where this isn’t going to be the typical romance or love story. We don’t initially see the two leads only after the dance number ends. Both Mia and Sebastian are the main characters in the film. We follow both as they are creatives who want to pursue their endeavors but struggle. Mia is an aspiring actress who can’t seem to nail a role after multiple auditions. Sebastian is an aspiring jazz player who is too traditional and restrictive to adapt to the contemporary sound of the genre. 

        A chance encounter between them kicks off the story where there’s a mutual liking to each other and it inevitably blossoms. It’s the kind of movie where there must be a chemistry between them for us to believe that they can be a couple. Especially when we see them before they meet as they struggle with what they got going on. Those moments help us build empathy that want us to believe they have a chance when the going gets rough. It inevitably does but that’s not my point. The overall point is that it has to be believable and for us to buy into these guys. 

        I think the thing that makes this film special is that it has that fantasy element that is grounded in a general sense. What I mean by that is that it’s inherently a musical but the overall gist of the movie is about the creative struggle of the artist and actress. We have those moments where Seb is playing the piano, but there’s a moment where the spotlight is on him and everything around is dark. Same with Mia when she’s auditioning. What makes it work is that they’re expressing themselves. Even better is when they’re together that makes it more endearing. 

        So much so that when we see them together, Seb encourages Mia to write her own play in order to be creative without the rejection. Their romance is spot on as they encourage each other to pursue what they want. More so that they’re equally supportive on their respective endeavors. We get a moment where both spend time with each other attempting to understand what they’re wanting. With Seb with Mia at the Warner Bros. studio lot and Mia with Seb understanding jazz music in its pure form. You know it’s a Damian Chazelle film where a character gushes about the genre.

        I think my favorite scene is when they’re at Griffith’s Observatory. When the film they were watching gets burnt, the duo head to the observatory to spend some time. They look around as they casually dance. When they go to the planetarium, it’s my favorite moment when they’re dancing among the projected stars. I really like just the idea that they’re together and they just elevate where their love isn’t bounded by anything and that they’re probably meant to be together. It’s not that kind of movie, which I’ll get into a bit don’t you worry. 

        One more thing I want to mention is that the movie is very vibrant. As far as I know that it wasn’t advertised that it was shot in Cinemascope. A type of film that makes the footage be presented in a widescreen ratio. As well as make the colors pop, as we see moments where Mia’s friends’ dresses easily pop out when light is shown. It’s appropriate to have the whole thing be vibrant and not too oversaturated since the film is paying tribute to the musicals of the past. The scenes where both Mia and Seb are dancing stand out. It’s not too stylized but their dances are good enough to communicate to us that they’re in sync with each other. And I think it was a nice touch to have Rebel Without a Cause playing since it did use that type of film. 

2. Clash with Reality

        I will continue to state that no romance/love film are the same. Even though by association there is some sense of romance, there’s a clear definite difference between the two. Romance is the film where the couple becomes one in the end. Love is when the couple doesn’t make it due to differences or they must separate out of love for each other. This film is the ladder, and it’s surprising to me that they would frame this film as a sort of fantasy. I stated before that the film is a grounded fantasy film, but one where it doesn’t clash in the least bit stylistically speaking. 

        The film is smart enough where there’s not a single entity that threatens the couple. More so that the big conflict between the two is the actual careers that they want to pursue. No one could’ve imagined where basic reality would be the central crux of the couple stability. Additionally, I feel that it was smart that after the Observatory dance, the scene ends like a Looney Tunes short. Communicating to us that the fantasy stuff is now done, we’re going to be slapped by this thing called reality. I think it’s a roughly new idea in a love story where just the harsh truth of reality is what ends things. 

        You have other Love films where the couple is too toxic where it can’t be reconciled or they just die like Romeo and Juliet. With this one, one visual key shows us that they’re drifting is with how they’re dressed. I’ve seen other commentators noticing that and I feel that I should amplify it. You have Mia’s wardrobe being vibrant in contrast with Seb’s who’s more dapper than anyone. As the relationship continues, her wardrobe changes to slightly match Seb’s and when things are nosediving, her colors are more muted. It’s one way to communicate her growth and one where her relationship wasn’t going to last. 

        I think my favorite scene is when they have the argument where it practically sets it up that the relationship is a failure. Seb surprises her with dinner after touring with a contemporary jazz band. They talk, until it goes south when Mia questions why Seb must go on tour. To which Seb asks her when she’ll visit him. It’s like being the third wheel in a bad dinner date. And it seems like it’s in Ryan Gosling’s contract to be in a movie where a relationship doesn’t last long. Just an odd actor motif, but in any case this relationship wasn’t going to last. 

        Back to the argument, to me what really the crux of the issue for the two of them is that they never once communicated anything beyond their dreams and aspirations. Seb encouraged Mia to pursue her acting and going further to write a play. Especially ignoring anyone that would deem it negatively. Whereas we have Mia encouraging Seb to open a jazz club, unbeknownst to her that he’s in a band where it pays good but plays music that he doesn’t like. It’s the factors at play where their careers are incompatible with what they want out of each other. Even more heartbreaking when the final moment is a montage of a what if between them. 

3. Overall

        La La Land is Damien Chazelle’s best film and one of the best in the 2010s.

Whiplash Review

        I’m back. I’ve decided to spice things up a bit since we’re starting to enter the Summer season. If you’re like me, I like to keep a schedule with what I do in this six year initiative. Although, the franchise that I’m going to talk about only has eight entries. Those will be pushed back for June through July. For May, I’ll do my directors look. This time I’ll focus in on Damien Chazelle. I’ve only covered one of his films when I talked about the films that has NASA involved. You can check out First Man to see what I thought about it. This will be easier for me since I’ll only talk about three of his theatrically released films. So let’s get into it. 

1. Andrew’s Quest for Percussion Perfection

        I think everyone’s first exposure to the film is the onset verbal and physical abuse that is at play here. While I’ll discuss the Academy Award winner in the next tab, I feel that there’s proper context that’s needed to justify why that was shown in the film. We follow Andrew as he’s a loner in in the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory. He’s an avid drummer in the school and wants to make the most of it. He’s spotted by conductor Terrence Fletcher and invites him to join his ensemble. 

        What follows is his quest to be the best drummer possible, in the most toxic way possible. Miles Teller plays Andrew as a loner and an outsider. He’s mostly to himself where he doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t have any friends whatsoever. The little bit of a personal life that he has is that he mostly spends it with his Dad watching movies. It’s established that he’s a drumming prodigy when he was younger, to the point where he has pictures of famous percussionists. 

        Just a chance encounter with Fletcher makes Andrew want to be a part of his ensemble. To the point where he takes a peak and is spooked when the conductor spots him through the window. I like that we get a gradual reveal that Fletcher is an extremely tough conductor who demands perfection by his means. While I’ll talk about him in the next tab since his performance is something else. Like, J.K. Simmons deserved the win but anytime he gets visibly and admirably upset, he instantly reminds me of J. Jonah Jameson from the early Spider-Man films.

        Anyways, one can view Andrew’s character arc as something where he manages to overcome a lot of adversity or a descent to insanity where his own determination has alienated everyone around him. Like, we see a breakdown of his character when he gets berated, to the point where he sees that to perfect his craft. Just his determination to get blistered and bloodied attempting to be the better percussionist is down right shocking to me at least. I think it’s one thing where this type of film is mostly veered into a horror angle. 

        You got another film like Black Swan from Darren Aronofsky where the angle is mostly on ballet. Where the dancer is driven to be better when facing competition. It’s gimmick is mostly where she loses herself and is played in a mostly horror angle. In comparison to this, it’s very psychological where Andrew becomes combative when his position is challenged or when his family thinks little of his accomplishment. It’s like a direct attack on him where he becomes ballistic and alienates everyone. 

        I think one example where we see it is when he has a brief relationship with the theater worker named Nicole. It’s a brief fling where we don’t get too much focus on her, but one scene practically sums up what Andrew is all about in the film. They’re out together on a pizza date, Nicole and Andrew talk about why they each attend their respective colleges. Nicole attends Fordham but having no clue on what she wants to do. Andrew states that Shaffer is the best and it will help him be the best drummer around. The way the camera sets it up is perfect since Andrew has everything laid out while his girlfriend has no clue. 

        Lastly, I should comment on how the film was shot. It has that grounded look to it where it’s very personal since we’re only focusing on Andrew and his plight. The grittiness adds to it when we see Andrew aggressively play on his drum kit, to the point where he punches the snare and douses his bloodied hand into a bucket of ice water. First time watching it, I was not expecting him to be in a car crash. With the intensity the film has, it smacks you where no one is expecting that to happen at all. 

2. Fletcher

        Let’s talk about this guy. Everyone’s first exposure is through Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy or through various other shows or films. Who would’ve known that his Jameson performance could be morphed into a performance where he can mentally and physically abuse anyone to meet his performance needs. It’s one of those performances where you can’t look away and just looking at any small YouTube clip doesn’t do it justice unless you see it all playout in full. We see just who he is seemingly in the first minutes when he sees Andrew play and just be subtle with his approach. 

        One would think that he would be this curmudgeon of a conductor where nothing satisfies him and uses his methods to bully and berate any of the players. He’s not quite like that, I think what makes him so duplicitous is that he can switch from being polite to manipulative. When he gets to know Andrew personally, he asks about his personal life. Not knowing that any moment where Andrew messes up, he’ll use that to belittle him. Just the moment when he flips out at our guy is just wow. I think it’s everyone’s nightmare to trigger a situation where a teacher or anyone above to rain down tactical verbal insults with extra ammo. 

        I think what makes him endearing and a tough watch at the same time is that he expects everyone to be on his level when the ensemble is performing at the concerts. There’s not one moment where he tells them that it’s just any concert and they’ll move on. It’s one where he states it upfront that careers are made and some aren’t realized for his players. More so, he can promote and demote any player to be backup just by his feeling. This is where most of the animosity between him and Andrew play out and it’s great drama where he seemingly meets his match.

        I’m glad that the film doesn’t have a moment where we see him at a younger age or in a phase of life where he gets the brunt of the abuse and then we make the connection. No, I think it’s just that he’s this enigma of an authority and teacher where we want to ask questions of why he is the way that he is. Near the end is where we see him and Andrew seemingly reconcile with what they both went through. Just with his dialogue, he believes that his methods produce results it’s a necessary motive to push people through extremes. And I’m glad that the film doesn’t spell it out that it’s either right or wrong, keeping it vague enough where we have to think about it. 

3. Perfection

        It’s been a while since I talked about the whole point of the film. Mostly, if you’ve been reading the stuff that I put out, I just talk about the characters since they’re the main driving force of the film. The very reason why we go and see movies is to see them and what they do. Every once in a while you get a film where it’s very active for the characters take the direction of the story where we have no clue where it’s going but are along for the ride. With this one, it’s clear that the main idea of the film is the idea of perfection and the gray area where it’s either a good or bad thing. 

        With how the movie has it in front of us is where we see just how dangerous this idea of it is since Andrew is morphed into someone who is committed to his craft. To the point where he becomes alienated where it dominates his whole life. Dude straight up moves his mattress next to his drums to be better at it. As I mentioned earlier, the film is very gray with how one can perceive this idea. We see Andrew go through the ringer of being the star drummer, and the sacrifice he makes is either the right or wrong way. It’s very rare for a film to beat you over the head when something is seemingly wrong but won’t visually communicate that it is. 

        Just how it’s presented in my point of view. It’s a messed-up life to have the abuse be brought on and then take it to the extreme where the craft must be perfected in order to not get the verbal onslaught. We see Andrew go through the ringer and detach his own personal life to please Fletcher for fear he may be demoted. The film is like a quasi-underdog story mixed with a bit of tragedy where Andrew goes about his endeavor. One where it has a seemingly celebratory ending, but when viewed in a different perspective it’s a tragic case of toxic perfection.  

4. Overall

        Whiplash is one of the best Independent films to come out in the 2010s. 

 

F1: The Movie Review

        It was only a matter of time before I even talk about this one. I think it was the teaser that gave any prospective viewer just a taste of what kind of movie it was going to be. More so that we get brief sequences of the stylistic view of showing just how fast an intense a contemporary Formula 1 car is. And that Brad Pitt can seemingly fit into any role without us referring to the movie as that Brad Pitt racing movie. I was hyped about this one, more so that I was curious as to how Joseph Kosinski was able to follow up from Top Gun: Maverick. 

1. Sonny Hayes’ Redemption

        I just want to say that after marathoning three racing films in the month. You can appreciate just how far the sub-genre can be told cinematically. We started off with a quasi-documentary/sports film, a historical one and a realistic fiction where we see how racing is now as a sport. Now, this film isn’t a total representation of Formula 1 nowadays, trust me. The stuff that is shown as far as getting an advantage to win and progressively get ahead in the position rankings in a race is hilarious. Of course, it’s a film that has taken a lot creative liberties to show just what goes on in a regular season for any curious outsider. 

        With that, we follow Sonny Hayes as he’s a professional driver. The introduction that we see in the beginning as he participates in the 24 Hours of Daytona, an endurance race. From the start, he’s very good with how he operates inside the cockpit. The way it was shot and edited is one thing I’ll talk about in the cinematography section. It’s one of those films where you’re just like how did they film it the way that they did. We’ll talk about that a little later. Hayes is approached by his old teammate Ruben to help his fledging F1 team APX GP. 

        What follows is the growing pains as Hayes attempts to help out his friend by putting up with the young rookie driver Joshua. There’s other stuff that happens within the movie but I like to keep it simple and just focus on Pitt’s character in the film. With how he’s introduced, he manages to maneuver his way through the opposing drivers and make smart decisions that benefits his racing team. He’s always the person looking for an advantage, to the point where he meets up with APX GP’s technical director to gain some help to advance in the races. 

        Hayes is a likeable guy, but the moments between him and Joshua is like seeing two people not tolerating each other at all. Their introduction gets testy when Joshua questions if Sonny can compete at the F1 level. They’re at equal footing, but as the film progresses, they inevitably understand each other and work cooperatively in order to win the succeeding races. It’s a classic Hollywood story beat, but one where there’s moments where each character gets a humbling up so as to not have one guy be Mr. Perfect. 

        I think it would’ve been easy to have Sonny Hayes be just a one note guy where racing is his whole character. From the onset it seems like that, but I’m glad that the movie really gives him more to be an approachable to the whole team. Yet, he’s stuck in his ways where he goes against the orders of the technical directors that are trying to adhere to the rules of the race. There’s even a moment between him and Kate where they discuss why he races for a living. It’s kind of sappy, but we get an understanding that he used to be an F1 racer but suffered a severe injury. Within the film we get flashbacks of his race, bonus points for the static effect like it’s a recording off a VHS tape. 

        The other characters are good too as we follow APX GP’s season in the thick of it. I think the standout among the crew is Kate. The technical director who is inspired by Sonny to help develop modifications to the car that gives them an advantage. I’m glad that she’s not relegated to the background, but one where we see her get confident to help the drivers. The moments between her and Hayes almost gives us that romance aspect that’s expected. To me, it seems flirtatious more than anything from Sonny’s point of view. 

        Lastly, I should elaborate more on the rookie Joshua. From the start he’s a very cocky person who thinks he’s the guy when he’s obviously not. As I mentioned earlier, him and Sonny start off not liking each other. He goes through the motions where he’s embracing the sponsorships and has a meticulous training regiment. Joshua is someone where at one point we want him to see eating humble pie, albeit it was shocking that he would be that guy where you have the obligatory crash where it all goes wrong. I think my favorite moment of him is when he’s at Vegas at a club before the race. He gets totally emasculated when some girls ask if he knows the other F1 drivers. Slowly getting him to realize that he’s not a big shot in comparison to the other racers. 

2. Joseph Kosinski 

        Me and the director go way back, and it’s interesting to see his film trajectory take him. At the start of the decade me and my mother watched his film debut of Disney’s Tron: Legacy. Thinking back, it’s just wild to think a massive studio would give a relatively new filmmaker the keys to their underrated franchise. It was an okay film, but the special effects practically save the movie from being completely mediocre. What followed was his second film Oblivion with Tom Cruise. From what I gathered was that it was just a middle of the road movie. 

        He gained massive stock in attention when he directed Top Gun: Maverick. Now, I’ll say that I didn’t believe in that film since I thought that it wasn’t going to do good. Of course, he specializes in sequels that take place 30 years after the original. No one could’ve imagined that his film would gross a billion dollars at the box office. Part of the reason perhaps was just how the action was telegraphed to the audience. With the cockpit views and the dynamic action that is miles better from the original. 

        It was only natural that when he was offered to do this film, that it would have the fingerprints that is obviously his film. One thing I noticed is that he has a certain panache when showing the cars. It’s like seeing a Michael Bay movie but the focus is on the car. With how the whole film looks is very grounded despite it’s budget. The grittiness of it is felt when the race happens and when Sonny is winning his first race. I feel that in some way APX GP’s headquarters is reminiscent of Tron: Legacy since it has that clean look to it. Or the fact that it’s supposed to mirror an Apple product. 

        Speaking of Apple, this is the first film that they produced that did well box office wise. Their foray into film has been a mess as soon as they pivoted to finding distributors in the theaters. At first they produced their own content in their dedicated streaming service. Even having an Oscar win under their belt for one of their films CODA. Everything has been mixed, I’ve only watched Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, but the others that came out like Argylle and Fly Me To The Moon haven’t done well reception-wise and commercially. Although there are diamonds in the rough such as this one and with Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

3. Cinematography

        The big thing that makes the film work is just how it was shot. The teaser that was released only gave us a small glimpse of what kind of immersive movie this was going to be. The scene at Daytona had me sold of what kind of movie this was going to be. Just with how the edits spliced in to make the race more exciting. With the soundtrack complimenting the intensity of the race makes it a knock out introductory of what the audience is getting themselves into. 

        Everything else within the Formula 1 season is all great. A good chunk of it is very reminiscent of Top Gun: Maverick, where you have the cockpit point of view facing the drivers and what’s in front of them. The best moment is captured briefly when the race starts, Sonny is having to swiftly moves his view while gripping the wheel to maneuver the other cars. All of it is very spontaneous and chaotic and it’s only appropriate where after everything settles feels exciting since anything can go wrong. 

 

4. Overall

        F1: The Movie is one of the biggest surprises this year, and one of the best sports movies of the decade. 

Ford v Ferrari Review

        You may have noticed that I skipped a film when discussing racing movies. I really wanted to discuss Ron Howard’s Rush, but I feel that I didn’t want the whole month to be ostensibly gushing over Formula 1. It is good so don’t get me wrong. Maybe I’ll reserve it when I dedicate a month of Ron Howard sometime this year. With that, no surprise that I wanted to discuss this one with James Mangold directing it. When reading the announcement and seeing the trailer, I hoped and prayed that the film would be good. And I was proven right. 

1. Carroll and Shelby

        With a title like Ford v Ferrari, one would assume that it be a corporate movie where there’s no humanity but just a 2 hour film of the Ford Motor Company patting themselves on a back by beating Ferrari in a 24 hour relay race. Well, it’s partially true but what really excels the movie from a corporate slop is the camaraderie between two guys. We follow racer Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby as they collaborate on building a race car that would compete with Ferrari’s. 

        That’s practically the very simplified plot of the film. The overall meat and potatoes of it is really engrossing since we see where the two men are coming from. The characterizations of the men makes them endearing and empathetic of where they’re coming from. I like how Shelby has the maverick mentality where he can be a confident guy, while also maneuvering through the bureaucracy of the Ford company. We see his introduction where he was a driver but had to quit due to medical reasons. 

        Matt Damon excels as Shelby since he does most of the heavy lifting to get the story moving from Ford’s hesitancy to finally taking the initiative. Christian Bale practically steals the show as he portrays the late Ken Miles. For a good while, I thought Bale was an American since he would nail down his accent perfectly as Patrick Bateman and as Bruce Wayne. So colored me flustered when we hear him in a distinct British accent. It’s not distracting in the least bit, but his characterization is that he’s a salt of the earth kind of guy who understands cars. 

        We see him as he truly understands what makes a car work, right down to telling Shelby and the other mechanics the little aspects that is slowing down the Ford GT40. I think it would’ve been better to see him in the beginning as a dedicated racer. Although, I can understand that the film didn’t want to be ostensibly about him. The best moment I think in the film is when he and his wife get into an argument about what Ken’s been doing. It’s the kind of argument where Ken tells her just how much he’s being paid and the indecision he faces, prompts her and us to be like “Take it!”.

        Lastly, I like the moments between Ken and his son. While there’s not a lot that would make us mentally droll, I like that Ken is a good guy when it comes to his family. His son is as passionate about racing as he is. To the point where he gives him a ride on the GT40. I think that’s what makes Ken very endearing for the general audience who had no clue who he was and giving us a glimpse of a humble guy who’s cinematic representation of a salt of the earth kind of man. 

        I feel that this is a prime example of a comfort movie where it literally has the cylinders firing with the supporting cast contributing more. I think it was a choice to show just how much of an inflexible person Henry Ford II was, and how stubborn his assistant was when he wanted a picturesque look into how the company wanted the team to be represented in the race. In some way I like the fact that the film focused on the company first and then transitioning to Carrol and Ken putting in the work. I’ll talk about cars, don’t you worry. Anyways, I think the best scene involving the corporate brass is when Shelby takes Ford II on a ride in the GT40. 

        All of it feels like a gradual buildup where Ford feels that he’s wasting money on the project. Moreover, he tries to block off his assistant from interfering in the meeting. The moment inside the car is great since we see Shelby showing Ford II the power that the supercar has. It’s a mix of emotions that Henry feels with freight, exhilaration and emotional with how he confided to Shelby that he wishes his Dad can see and feel it if he were alive. This movie is so great that I can’t put it into more words.

2. Racing

        The expectation that the film had is that the racing had to be exhilarating. And show just how fast the GT40 can be a Ferrari in the confines of the 60s. It’s fast but we see just how fast it is and how Ken Miles among others helped make it do what it was supposed to do. And before we see it in action at Le Mans, we see how the other race sequences in the movie gradually give us what we want to see. At first we see Carroll when he’s racing and then transition to him seeing Miles racing in a small circuit. 

        All of it again is a gradual buildup to when we see Miles suiting up and racing at the 24 hour relay race. I think the one moment of speed is shown is when we see Ken and his wife get at it. While Ken is a huge car freak, he gets scared that his wife is flooring it in their family car. That was a good laugh with a payoff that couldn’t have been scripted better. The overall race in Le Mans is the reason why the film has us right where it got us. Just the level of excitement where the racers had to run to their cars and start it, all the while avoiding the others to get going was unexpected. 

        When talking about these films, one has to mention that the sound is clearly the audio star. The film won an Academy Award for it, and I couldn’t imagine having a pricy home theater setup where the whole walls and the house shake as the rumbles and roars of the cars zooming by. Additionally, I like how the racing was shot too with sometimes having the camera being stationary and we see the GT40 rapidly coming in and darting out of view. More so with Ken being in the zone and trying to advance upward to the rankings.

3. Overall

        Ford v Ferrari is one of James Mangold’s best films and one of the best films of the 2010s.