Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a global corporation, convinced she is an alien sent to wipe out humanity.

When it comes to original filmmakers, they don’t get more bold, brazen, or beautifully bizarre than Yorgos Lanthimos. Known for The Favourite, Poor Things and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, he is a filmmaker who not only breaks the rules, he grinds them down to dust. With Bugonia, adapted loosely from the South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet!, he takes its whimsical satire and injects it with volcanic tension, razor-edged humour, and a spiralling sense of paranoia that grows more unhinged with each minute.

And yes, this one gets weird.

Bugonia kicks into high gear almost immediately. Conspiracy zealot Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons, giving one of the most unrestrained performances of his career) and his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis in a breakout role) abduct Michelle Fuller, a fierce and calculating corporate CEO played with electric intensity by Emma Stone. They are certain, absolutely certain, that Michelle is not human. That she is, in fact, a disguised alien from the Andromeda system, sent to prepare Earth for annihilation.

What begins like a hostage thriller quickly mutates into something far stranger, a psychological warfare chamber drama where the balance of power swings violently between captor and captive. Teddy’s wild-eyed certainty clashes against Michelle’s steel trap mind, and the result is a manic, slippery, and constantly escalating dance of manipulation, delusion, and rage.

The question at the heart of Bugonia — is Michelle actually an alien? — becomes less important than the unraveling of the people asking it.

Emma Stone once again proves why she is one of the most compelling actors working today. As Michelle, she is sharp, precise, commandingm and more than capable of flipping the psychological script. Though tied down, she’s never powerless. She studies her captors, probes their insecurities, pokes at their vulnerabilities, and soon we see the cage shifting right back around Teddy and Don instead. It’s Stone’s fourth collaboration with Lanthimos and their trust shows, she dives in fearlessly.

Opposite her, Jesse Plemons delivers a performance that is explosive, unpredictable, and deeply unsettling. Teddy Gatz is a man who believes utterly, and Plemons plays him with twitching conviction and terrifying sincerity. He’s funny; until he isn’t. And when the cracks show… they shatter. Aidan Delbis as Don deserves massive praise; innocent, impressionable, heartbreakingly loyal and deeply tragic, he becomes the emotional hinge of the film, and he steals scenes outright.

Bugonia doesn’t just tell a story, it tightens one. Scene by scene, the tension builds. The humour gets uglier. The power play gets sharper. And the tone, absurd at first, slowly mutates into something darker, more frightening, more volatile. By the final act, the film has transformed into a surreal psychological meltdown that has to be seen to be believed.

Bugonia is best watched without pause, without interruption, and without expectations. It creeps under the skin, infects the mind, and rewards those who lean into the madness. It is unnerving, hilarious, shocking, and unashamedly strange, exactly the kind of cinema only Lanthimos could make.

Image: Universal Pictures

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Set in the 1970s in London during the punk rock movement, the film follows Estella de Vil (Emma Stone), an aspiring fashion designer, and explores the path that will lead her to become a notorious criminal known as Cruella de Vil.

It’s time to go back in time darlings. Back to the punk rock era of the fashionable early 1970s and it’s here that director Craig Gillespie takes us into the formative years of a talented young designer who is destined to become the ultimate Disney villain. And the results are diabolically good in Cruella. Gillespie has made a career of telling compelling and unique stories of misfit characters and the narrative of Cruella makes for plenty of big-screen cinematic fun in his hands. Gillespie understands the motives and aspirations of Cruella perfectly, and he’s all about telling a story of a bad girl who has no desire to be good, and who’ll do whatever it takes to reach the top.

In telling this darkly delicious narrative, Gillespie enlists the talents of Academy Award winner Emma Stone, who is a sheer goddess of the performing arts and who always charms with every role she takes on. With Cruella, Stone gets to sink her teeth into a very meaty character and there’s great layering and revelation in her performance as she brings this grand dame of Disney villainy to life. Stone does something interesting in the duel role of Estella/Cruella de Vil and brings to life a definite Jackyll and Hyde character, and the dual psychology at play in her performance certainly keeps audiences on edge.

As a talented designer, Estella is definitely prone to mischief, and her skills lend a considerable edge to her early exploits as a conwoman. But it’s when she embraces her dark shadow as Cruella where things really get interesting. As Cruella, Stone makes for a dangerous and darkly cunning criminal force who is willing to climb to the top of the fashion world by any means necessary. Stone has a blast in the role and you can tell that she was enjoying the process of completely slipping into such a dangerous and alluring character, and most definitely proves that bad girls have much more fun.

Facing off against Stone’s Cruella is two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as Baroness von Hellman, a fashion icon and Cruella’s mortal enemy…and these two women don’t like each other one bit. As the Baroness, Thompson makes for a chilling Ice Queen who could cause even Miranda Priestly to cry and she really plays into a high level of psychopathy that gives Cruella a challenge and marks her out as a serious threat. Like Stone, Thompson revels in her chance to be villainous and she brings out plenty of surprises in the role that audiences certainly won’t expect.

Along with the Emma’s, praise also needs to be lavished on the supporting duo of Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser as Jasper and Horace, Estella’s best friends growing up and a pair of enterprising conmen who are always seeking a new score. Both Fry and Hauser make for superb supporting players in this villainous tale and no villain can get ahead without a little help…which these two are too willing to provide. This misfit family is made complete by animal companions Buddy and Wink, who play an important part in this gang’s grifts and these cuddly companions steal every scene in which they appear…especially the cute, but feisty Wink.

In terms of the cinematic experience, Cruella is a decadent feast for the eyes and Gillespie alongside costume designers Jenny Beavan and Tom Davies, and hair and make-up artist Guy Common, have completely gone to town with this one and the result is haute couture at its most stunning! Artistically lavish and incredibly bold, the costumes and looks that Cruella and the Baroness engage in are utterly glamourous in their presentation and serve an important role in taking audiences further inside the film’s narrative and Cruella’s rise to power. These bold haute couture pieces also serve to expand the transformation that Estella takes in her journey to becoming Cruella and the results will have audiences transfixed on the action that unfolds on screen.

Assisting the lavish visuals that are on display is one of the coolest cinematic soundtracks to be released in a very long time. Taking a trip back in time, Gillespie pulls together a range of amazing tracks from the likes of The Doors, Nancy Sintra, Electric Light Orchestra, Blondie, The Clash, Supertramp and The Stooges and this soundtrack supercharges this film with that anarchistic edge of the late 1970s. Added to this are Florence and the Machine’s title track, “Call Me Cruella”, and it makes for a perfect companion track for the complete and full appearance of one very diabolical villainess.

It must also be said that Gillespie and his team do a fabulous job of weaving in the past history of 101 Dalmations into Cruella and there are great callbacks to Dodie Smith’s original work, alongside the original 1961 animated classic and the 1996 live-action films that were a major part of my childhood. I was very impressed with how all of this material, alongside this new original narrative, came to create the Cruella that we all know and love and audiences will be in for some very neat surprises.

It’s been some time since we last had the pleasure of the spectacle of a Disney film up on the big screen and the arrival of Cruella is definitely to be celebrated. From its lavish visuals to the intense narrative, gripping performances and rocking soundtrack, Cruella has it all and is a guaranteed good night out for all those who are looking for plenty of diabolically good fun.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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Check out the brand new trailer for Cruella below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Cruella, which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella (Emma Stone), a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable, and revenge-bent Cruella.

Building off of the first trailer and spot and teasing out the confrontation between Emma Stone’s Estella ‘Cruella” DeVil and her mentor turned archnemesis Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson), the catwalk is set to become a battleground as these two women prepare to go to war and turn each other’s lives upside down in a desperate bid to out-do the other.

Director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Fright Night) is taking the reigns with Cruella and he’s promising something very special with this one and in Cruella, we’re getting our first-ever look into a Disney ‘villain movie” as we get to learn just how the forceful evil of Cruella de Vil was created.

Emma Stone again brings her A-game as the crafty and cunning Cruella and there are no boundaries that she won’t push in order to climb to the top of the fashion world, and it’s a part and a character that we’ve never seen Stone play before, and it’s sure to keep things very interesting for audiences.

Cruella is set to be one of Disney’s biggest and most daring productions of 2021 and Disney fans are going to be very excited to see all the diabolical fun that Cruella de Vil is about to bring to audiences when Cruella arrives IN CINEMAS and on Disney+ on May 27. And remember darlings…..it’s going to be diabolical.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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Watch the all-new Cruella spot below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

In 1970s London, young fashion designer Estella de Vil becomes obsessed with dogs’ skins, especially Dalmatians. Finding herself at the mercy of an uncaring employer, she reinvents herself as the vicious criminal known as “Cruella”.

Building off of the recent surprise trailer for Cruella, this new spot, set to an edgy new rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s classic rebel anthem ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’, charts the metamorphosis of Estella de Vil, played by Academy Award winner Emma Stone, into the fiendish Cruella as she makes a play to conquer the world of London’s 1970s fashion scene, and there’s plenty of punk-rock glam going on here.

Alongside Stone’s transformation from Estella to Cruella, we also get a proper introduction into Emma Thompson’s Baroness Von Hellman, a noted fashion icon who goes from Estella’s mentor to enemy in rather quick succession. And there’s sure to be plenty of bad blood between these two. Thompson really brings out her inner terror here as The Baroness, and she’s sure to rile up Estella, which is sure to make things interesting for audiences.

Director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Fright Night) is really cranking up the dark energy in this one, and this is a whole new side of Disney that we’ve never seen before. Gillespie’s focus on a true villain story can only lead to a film that is sure to entice the audience, and it’s great to see a filmmaker who has found a new side to a classic Disney character. Add in some irresistible punk tock flair, and you’ve got a movie that audiences are absolutely going to love.

Prepare for a very wicked time when Cruella arrives in cinemas on May 27.

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Watch the all-new trailer for Cruella below:

Check out my full reaction to this diabolically fun teaser trailer below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

In 1970s London, young fashion designer Estella de Vil becomes obsessed with dogs’ skins, especially Dalmatians, until she eventually becomes a ruthless and terrifying legend known as Cruella.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Fright Night) really turns up the heat with this one and crafts a dangerous and captivating film that follows up and coming fashion designer Estella de Vil (Stone) who is prepared to go to any lengths to climb to the heights of power in the fashion world and who unleashes her bad side as Cruella in the process.

Featuring a dark, horror meets haute couture styling in its design and tempo, Cruella presents a different side to Disney that we’ve seen before, and there’s plenty of visual brilliance, courtesy of Gillespie, cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis, production designer Fiona Crombie, costume designer Jenny Beavan and hair and make-up stylist Guy Common to keep you engaged and interested here, and Cruella is a lavish feast for the eyes.

Lead actress Emma Stone looks to be having a particularly fun time as Estella de Vil, and she readily accepts her psychotic dark side, and I personally believe we’re seeing Disney showcase its first-ever villain movie with this project. Stone’s Estella turns out to be a very bad girl as Cruella, and she absolutely radiates in her bad girl, punk rock swagger, and this one is all kinds of fun. Stone clearly had a ball in bringing this character to life and the results show through on-screen and audiences should expect something completely different from the actress here.

Prepare for the madness of evil’s creation when Cruella arrives in cinemas on May 27, 2021.

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The Croods have survived their fair share of dangers and disasters, from fanged prehistoric beasts to watching their daughter get heart eyes over a new boyfriend. But now they face something that will shake their pack to its core and make them reconsider everything they hold true: another family. The Croods need a new place to live. So, the first prehistoric family sets off into the world in search of a safer place to call home. When they discover an idyllic walled-in paradise that meets all their needs, they think their problems are solved … except for one thing. Another family already lives there: the Bettermans. The Bettermans (emphasis on the “better”) — with their elaborate tree house, amazing inventions and irrigated acres of fresh produce — are a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. When they take the Croods in as the world’s first houseguests, it isn’t long before tensions reach a breaking point. Just when all seems lost, a new threat will propel both families on an epic adventure outside the safety of the wall, one that will force them to embrace their differences, draw strength from each other and forge a future together.

Picking up after the events of the first film, everyone’s favourite stone-age family, The Croods, who include Grug (Nicolas Cage), Ugga (Catherine Keener),  Eep (Emma Stone), Guy (Ryan Reynolds) Thunk (Clark Duke), Sandy (Kailey Crawford) and Gran (Cloris Leachmen), find themselves coming face to face with an all-new modern world and it soon becomes harder and harder for the pack to stay together. Director Joel Crawford makes this a fun one for the whole family with jokes and laughs that will appeal to both little viewers, along with their parents who are also along for the ride. In addition to the humour which pokes fun at the Croods interaction with the ‘modern world’, the film’s animation is packed full of glorious sights and plenty of colour and it creates a visual spectacle that sucks you into this story of family, and why it’s essential to stick together no matter what.

Casting wise, The Croods: A New Age has a spot on cast with the likes of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener and Ryan Reynolds, and this time they come up against a brand new pre-historic family, who are a touch more modern, with The Betterman’s who consist of Phil (Peter Dinklage), Hope (Leslie Mann) and their teenage daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran). And this conflict of lifestyle and outlook is where the fun begins. As a viewer, it’s great to see Cage and Keener go up against their total opposite characters in the form of Dinklage’s chillaxed Phil and Mann’s high-strung Hope, and their interactions lead to plenty of laughs. Dinklage and Mann are a real hoot to watch in The Croods: A New Age and they infuse their vocal performances with a great sense of character that pulls audiences deeper into the narrative.

Adding more conflict to the narrative is the continuing romance of the Crood’s daughter Eep (Emma Stone) who is now head over heels in love with Guy (Ryan Reynolds), and it’s in this modern setting where things get interesting for these characters. While Guy adapts ‘a little too well’ to his new environment, Eep is a wild child at heart and their romance is tested to the utmost with some hilarious results along the way. Stone once again has a blast in the role of Eep and her chemistry with Reynolds’ Guy is fun to watch. And then there’s her new BFF Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran) whom she introduces to the wild side of life and these two make the most of a pre-historic landscape just waiting to be torn up with uncontrollable adventures.

As a cinematic experience, The Croods: A New Age also mark s a great return to cinema for family-friendly animated movies, and it’s the type of film we could all use after this year. With a tightly paced narrative, great character interactions, whimsical comedy, gorgeously rendered visuals and a thumping score and soundtrack, The Croods: A New Age offers up a great time out at the movies that every member of the family will enjoy. Films that are just straight out fun like The Croods: A New Age have been few and far between this year because of the ongoing pandemic, so to have a movie that’s this fun, and enjoyable, and more so in cinemas, is a reason to celebrate.

The holiday season is fast approaching and there’s no better movie to enjoy over it than The Croods: A New Age. It’s perfect family fun out at the movies in every single way, and the whole family will be smiling with this one.

Image: Universal Pictures 

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Sporting a punk rock flared get up and a rebellious and maddening hairstyle, while wrangling a pair of Dalmatians, Stone looks wild, witchy and possessed by shock value in this brand new origin story that will take audiences behind Cruella’s desire to be glamorous at any cost.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Set in 1940s London, fashion designer Cruella de Vil becomes obsessed with dogs’ skins, especially Dalmatians until she becomes a ruthless and terrifying legend.

There’s no doubt going to be plenty of scares awaiting audiences in Cruella, and director Craig Gillespie should have a lot of fun bringing to life this crazed villainous.

They say that villains always have more fun and audiences will get to know Ms. de Vil in plenty of detail when Cruella arrives in cinemas on May 28, 2021.

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Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen’s companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfil her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.

Any time you see the mention of Yorgos Lanthimos you immediately sit up and take notice. Known for his provocative subject matter and masterful control of the cinematic craft, which saw its placement in previous works such as The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos now turns his guise to a thoroughly unique historical canvas for his latest project The Favourite. The result of his gaze is a tightly contained narrative of three tumultuous persons and their never-ending pursuit to one-up one another and control each others outcome.

Lanthimos’ ability to shock is still very much present in The Favourite, but whereas in the past he has focused on the horrors of the physical his attention now is placed to the minefield of the psyche and his characters need for acceptance. Never one to let a solid twist move past him, Lanthimos plots out his narrative with a script that is sharpened to a razors edge and pulls his audience back and forth at every single occasion. As a director, Lanthimos is completely focused on the project at hand and weaving every element of story and production together to bring forth this bizarre historical film, and he has the help of three wonderful performers to realise its nefarious characters.

If you thought Regina George was bad, well, she’s got nothing on Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and rightful head bitch of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), her sovereign lord who she treats little better than a pet or doormat. Played with a refined nastiness by Rachel Weisz, Lady Marlborough is far and away the most important figure in the Queen’s court and even though she is possessed of no formal position of power in the Queen’s England she is very much the governing force of it. While her husband, John Churchill, The Duke Of Marlborough (Mark Gatiss), a talented general is off waging war, Lady Marlborough makes it her duty to continue to set her Queen right, which invariably means improving her own station and making sure that her husband’s political agendas are never far from the Queen’s mind. She’s possessed of a fiercely controlling nature and as the Queen’s favourite, she has the run of the court and indeed the land. I can honestly not think of a similar role in which I have seen Weisz appear before and her command of this vindictively controlling woman is a frightfully scary performance. As an audience member, nothing can prepare you for what you will encounter up on screen with Weisz as Lady Marlborough and the scheming that follows will sit you up in your seat.

While Lady Marlborough may be the ultimate Queen Bee of Queen Anne’s court, a newer, younger, prettier lady soon arrives on its grounds in the form of Emma Stone’s Abigail Hill and when she does….the games begin. Stone’s Abigail is everything that Lady Marlborough is not in first appearance: kind, sweet, good-natured and unfortunately extremely poor and fallen far from her once regal status. But when she sees what’s on offer and that the key to power and wealth stem from the Queen’s attention she finds her cause and the knives come out. Stone’s shift from ingenue to nightmare is both gradual and swift at the same time and once she has her first taste of power her hunger becomes insatiable and she is soon all to willing to go to whatever ends necessary to ensure her own favour well above that of Lady Marlborough. The timeline of events that follow are both frightfully shocking and funny at the same time and Stone’s performance is most definitely stamped on your mind.

Finishing out this complicated trinity is Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, a sad, sickened and thoroughly tumultuous woman who inspires both a contemptible pity and hilarious giggling in the audiences thanks to her actions. While Colman’s Queen Anne may be anointed as Queen she has neither the stomach nor the interest in governing her lands, nor the grasp of how politically fragmented her nation is and is only content in servicing her own base needs and complicated emotions. Plagued by afflictions of both the body and the heart, Queen Anne is painfully needy and lavishes up the attention of both Lady Marlborough and Abigail which only incites them further in their actions to outdo one another. Surrounded by her own personal warren of rabbits, which come with their own sad story, the Queen is essentially a prisoner of her own court and is content with a daily regiment of dining parties and feasts that provide her fleeting moments of happiness before sending her into hateful depressions. As a performance its a brave one for Colman and she goes to a very different place in this role from all her previous characters before.

While the ladies of The Favourite are your focal point for this film, we also run into a pair of great performances from its male leads who include Nicolas Hoult and Joe Alwyn. Hoult presents us with the character of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, a pompous loutish politician who is the mortal enemy of Lady Marlborough and who is driven to extremes by the Queen’s waning disinterest in his political agenda. As Harley, Hoult gives a thoroughly savage performance and you always dread what he’s going to do next. Then there’s Joe Alwyn as Samuel Masham, 1st Baron Masham, the Queen’s Captain of the Horse who soon becomes a pawn in Abigail’s plan for power. Of all the character’s Alwyn’s Masham is the most normal and dignified of the lot, but eventually even he is not exempt from the degradations that come with court life.

The Favourite is a film that is wrapped in rich detail and as a cinematic experience, it is a visually delicious feast. Lanthimos has a team of like-minded and gifted collaborators to realise this extraordinary canvas up on screen. Production designer Fiona Crombie crafts a unique black and white colour palette that comes to weave its way in and out of the film, and her focus is on the grandeur of the Queen’s estate and the juxtaposition of intricate detail and negative space to pull in the audience’s attention. Matched with the production are the breathtaking costumes courtesy of Sandy Powell and she wraps her principle leads in a highly ornate and glamourous wardrobe that is inspired by the baroque paintings of the era. Powell pays attention to how costuming can convey a character’s sense of self and uses it to showcase the journeys and ultimate fortunes of the characters that we meet on screen.

Capturing the detail of The Favourite is the responsibility of cinematographer Robbie Ryan and whether its the grandeur of the Queen’s ballroom or the decrepit grime of the bowls of the scullery kitchens, all of it is presented and accounted for thanks to Ryan’s talented eye. Having honed his craft on indie darlings such as Fish Tank, Philomena and American Honey, he has a very unique taste for cinematography and The Favourite greatly benefits from it. His way of shooting is very much his own and here he does away with the usual Steadicam usage and instead captures the film through the use of wide angled and fish-eyed lenses for a distinctive look which makes the audience uneasy thanks to its implied voyeuristic elements. His use of natural light and heavy incorporation of candles into his shooting style also marks the film out as special and the sparing usage of a definitive light source pulls you deeper into the frames and the emotions of the characters.

The Favourite is a boldly original cinematic feat and audiences who embrace its eccentric story will be treated to a film that is outlandish, fiendish, dramatic, horrific and hysterical all at the same time and it’s one they should certainly savour every single moment of upon its release this Boxing Day.

Image: 20th Century Fox

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In La La Land, Chazelle explores the stories of Hollywood dreamers who are attempting to find their place in its fabled sun. His narrative follows the interconnected of aspiring actress Mia Dolan (Emma Stone), and the talented yet frustrated Jazz pianist Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling). For both Mia and Sebastian, the world of Hollywood is not a fairytale, but rather a constant struggle of rejection and false starts, but after they accidentally find one another they soon discover a shared belief in each others abilities that leads both of them down a road of quick success. But this success comes at a price, and unfortunately that price is a conflicting love that begins to get in the way of their very busy schedules.

Chazelle really lucked out with his two lead stars who have never been better on screen. As Sebastian, Gosling channels equal parts Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, which results in plenty of smooth solos and quickly timed tap dancing routines. Gosling builds into Sebastian the charisma and character of an old soul who longs to recapture the glamour of Hollywood’s golden age in his music. Unfortunately the world has moved on from the Jazz Age, and when he finally gets his shot it’s not what he imagined it would be.

Stone’s Mia, on the other hand, is a doe-eyed ingenue who has yet to have any success in Tinseltown and spends her days rushing to countless auditions dressed in her barista uniform. While she has plenty of guts and a never quit attitude, the rejection cycle is hard on her, and it is only through the love of Sebastian and his belief in her that she can really reach her full potential. Like Gosling, Stone has plenty of chances to let her voice be heard, and her sincerity and passion that she brings to the song ‘Audition [The Fools Who Dream]’ will have you close to tears.

La La Land is nothing short of a cinematic dream come true, and Chazelle has created one of the most moving, entertaining and spectacular expressions of the cinematic art form that I have seen in a long time. This film is not just an homage and celebration of the grand old Hollywood musical, but of the power of cinema in general, and is packed with vintage set locations, stunning costuming, a thumping Jazz infused musical score and a powerful and emotionally charged narrative that pulls you into the journey of these two characters.

Image: EOne Films

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Here’s the synopsis:

Set in down and out jazz bars of Los Angeles, La La Land follows two dreamers, jazz pianist Sebastian Wilder (Gosling) and aspiring actress Mia Dolan (Stone) as they try to turn their dreams in Tinsel Town into a reality. 

The new trailer is absolutely magnetic and draws you in with its potent mix of cinematography, costuming, lighting, and riveting musical pieces. Gosling channels his own version of Fred Astaire as the whimsical Sebastian, while Stone’s Mia exudes plenty of confidence and spontaneity.

La La Land will be released in cinemas on December 2 in the US and UK, and will then make its way into cinemas in New Zealand and Australia on December 26.

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