LA LA LAND

(2016) Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress in Los Angeles who works as a barista in a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers lot by day, and hates jazz music.  Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz musician playing crap jobs while pursuing his own dream of opening an old-school jazz club.  After a chance encounter or two - the first of which is when they flip each other off from their cars in the middle of a traffic jam - the two find a mutual attraction and Mia learns to both love jazz ... and maybe even Sebastian, who in turn can't deny the instant spark between them.  But can a blooming love affair co-exist with the pursuit of personal growth; of pursuing your own dreams?  La La Land is nothing short of miraculous; one of the best love stories every put onto the screen, blooming before your eyes in the bright Technicolor lights and Cinemascopic vision of a big budget 1950's classic Hollywood musical (indeed, if you hate such old-style musicals, you will probably be the biggest detractor of this film - which is a shame, because you're also missing one of the best movie stories in recent years).  Stone and Gosling are perfection in their respective roles, and the film itself will make you laugh and cry, as well as both break and mend your heart.  I am trying very hard to not give away a single spoiler for this remarkable, beautiful film, but suffice to say I was all over the emotional map for the 133-minute runtime, and more than a week later the film still swirls around in my head.  So to best sum up my review in three words:  GO SEE IT.  You'll be hearing all over God's creation about it at Oscar time, anyway.  (rated PG-13) 9.5/10 stars