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A masterpiece in editing, cinematography, sound design, composition, and production design La La Land is a timeless showcase from director Damien Chazelle at his best, breaking new ground with its tragic story while simultaneously being a love letter to years past musicals led by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

The technical qualities of La La Land are superlative. Damien Chazelle expertly crafts the choreography with the editing and sound design. The song and dance numbers throughout the film, especially during the opening at the road interchange, are flawlessly directed. Employing long continuous shots do not distract from the singing and dance sequences. In terms of cinematography, shooting the movie on film rather than digital, and using the widescreen CinemaScope aspect ratio gives La La Land a classical look. Low-light photography in select scenes reflects each character's emotional state. The cinematography is contrasted by brightly lit scenes which further reflects the ambitious and high-minded themes of the movie. Every technical quality fits and transitions so perfectly and fluidly that it heightens the audience's connection to the characters. La La Land is such a beautiful looking movie, deserving of every technical award it receives, best experienced personally.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are once again dynamite and electric as an on-screen couple from their previous roles in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad. Built on the back of their performances, La La Land could never succeed as a romance film without the two protagonist's chemistry. Instead of looking like speaking rehearsed lines, Stone and Gosling convey a sense of genuine love and likability as their characters undergo development.

Stone plays Mia Dolan, a barista aspiring to be an actress. Gosling plays Sebastian Wilder, a pianist with a passion for jazz. Their life and ambitions are intertwined in Los Angeles. Mia continues to audition for roles, without success. Sebastian somehow achieves stardom and financial stability when his former classmate Keith, played by John Legend, offered him to be the pianist of his jazz fusion band. The part requires him to be on tour for months or years, away from Mia. His commitment leads to a fight against Mia when she protested his acceptance of the role, which is against his musical philosophy. Earlier suffering an embarrassing performance due to low attendance, leading to the inability to pay back the theater, and Sebastian's absence, Mia breaks up with him, moving back to Boulder City to continue her studies and abandon acting altogether. Receiving a call for an audition, Sebastian travels to Boulder City to inform Mia who returns to Los Angeles. After the audition, both confess their love, but uncertain of the future. In the boldest move of the movie, 5 years are skipped. Mia is a successful actress and married to another actor, while Sebastian now owns a jazz club. Going out for a dinner with her husband, Mia inadvertently stumbles to Sebastian's jazz club, aptly named Seb, her original idea during their love life. Noticing Mia among the audience, Sebastian plays their song and a dream sequence occurs of what might have been. Before exiting the club, Sebastian and Mia share a smile as the movie ends.

La La Land speaks to everyone's burning desire for glory. However, do we achieve our dreams by ending our relationships with loved ones? Do we sacrifice people with whom we have an emotional attachment to achieve our ambitions? On the surface, the movie ended with both protagonists parting ways but closer inspection reveals that despite ultimately leading diverging lives, Mia and Sebastian retain their love and that it was anchored not by physical attraction but by mutual respect and the desire to see each other succeed. The overarching theme of La La Land, then, is not about the common physical attraction, but ideals of dreams and ambitions. Driven by a character-heavy emphasis, the movie allows the themes to resonate emotionally by the time the credits roll. Damien Chazelle delivers a musical masterpiece with modern sensibilities.

10/10

Suicide Squad is a solid and enjoyable movie about superhero villains lead by a terrific cast, but whose overall story, incoherent theme, and mired production prevents it from becoming more than a typical summer blockbuster.

The movie's main strength is derived from its great cast chemistry. Viola Davis, Margot Robbie, and Will Smith as Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, and Deadshot, respectively, are terrific, playing off one another perfectly. The strong cast makes the movie enjoyable.

In terms of writing, the movie shows the motivations of the characters to follow orders imposed by Amanda Waller, leader of the team. The audience is shown enough background and character origin to sympathize, but their motivations are not explored or challenged in a meaningful and resonant way. The story amounts to little because it lacks a coherent overarching theme that unites the characters. Harley Quinn has her romance subplot with joker, played by Jared Leto, where he rescues her from prison. Deadshot is a for-hire-assassin whose work conflicts with his daughter's relationship. Other supporting characters such as Colonel Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, Killer Croc, Enchantress, and Katana are given proper motivations but they fall within the same assessment of failing to explore or challenge them. Colonel Rick Flag, in particular, has a good subplot that revolves around her lover Doctor June Moone who is simultaneously the villain of the film, Enchantress. Aside from having an incoherent theme, Enchantress is a weak villain, not physically, but motivationally and who is rather formulaic. The movie could have been stronger if Joker was the main villain. Joker is instead a bad parody with his awful tattoos, "damaged", punk, and gangster personality.

David Ayer's direction continues the Snyder influence on the DCEU, mixed with comedy and elements of Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy. The editing is alright when it switches from present to past through recollection of character origins. The soundtrack is quite trippy and is one of the better parts of the movie.

Suicide squad had great potential which was squandered by studio interference. The sort-of sequel, to be directed by James Gunn, hopefully, is an improvement by giving the director more free-rein and creative leeway.

5/10

Stellar performances from an ensemble cast with insane on-screen chemistry, great direction, and a whodunit for our times, Rian Johnson's Knives Out is one of 2019's best with some wholly relevant story about family and politics.

Boasting a talented cast, it goes without saying Knives Out wouldn't be a spectacular triumph if not for the three leads of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas. Evans, playing Hugh "Ransom" Drysdale, is a ridiculous mixture of unlikable and smoothness. Craig, playing Benoit Blanc, is hilarious as a detective with a thick southern accent. Armas, playing Marta Cabrera, grounds the film through her warmhearted portrayal of Marta's honest, firm, and ultimately good character. The rest of the cast do not disappoint and give dynamite performances of the fewer screen time they receive which includes Christopher Plummer, and Jamie Lee Curtis, to name a few.

Central to Knives Out is the death of the family's patriarch, Harlan Thrombey, but the film is truly about a dysfunctional family and a satire about wealth and inheritance. Though Knives Out seemingly reveals Harlan's killer even before the finale, the writing uses the early reveal as a springboard for exploring the family dynamics between the Thrombeys and Marta, showing how each of the Thrombeys are inherently selfish despite their good front. When the will reading shockingly reveals that Harlan left his entire possessions to Marta, the Thrombeys immediately turn on her, except Ransom, and their true attitude is revealed by calling her names and making unfounded accusations of unduly influencing Harlan's will. This is exemplified by previous dialogues hinting that Marta is a mere afterthought to the family such as when individual Thrombeys claim they wanted her to be present at the funeral but were outvoted and not knowing her true country of origin. Through the whirlwind of losing not only an employer but a close friend and family by choice, Marta grows from a demure and devoted nurse to the strong and caring heir of Harlan's possessions.

Knives Out isn't the traditional whodunit were the identity of the murderer is clear only in the end. Multiple faints, clues, and surprises makes Knives Out unique in the genre by seemingly throwing out the central mystery, when in actuality each scene is made for characters to grow. The journey, and the not the end, is basically the film's overarching thought. The complexity of the script requires repeat viewings because the hefty themes and minute character is buried underneath the murder mystery. When the ending reveals that Harlan caused his own death, though instigated by Ransom, that moment gives better clarity to the family dynamics explored by the film. People feel entitled to inheritance and will do anything to claim them.

Rian Johnson is at home in Knives Out. Everything about the direction is firing on all cylinders. The film shifts from recollection to plot progression seamlessly. Not a second is wasted or feel dragging. Setting the film in a mansion evoking old money adds visual representation to the themes. The cinematography and music are also topnotch.

Not only is Ana de Armas insanely beautiful, but talented as well. Hoping to see her in bigger and better roles. Lastly, give us more of Daniel Craig southern accent roles!

10/10