Great news that Lion is good. We typically try to go to one movie as a family the day after Xmas…but nothing has been appealing to all of us. Lion sounds like it will fill that bill. I’m going to suggest it for next week.
@rebeccar that’s exactly what my D17 said about Rogue One once the house lights came up (we all went to see it together because the entire family loves star wars).
I said it was a good thing I didn’t think about the movie timeline logically, because I probably wouldn’t have gone to see the movie. Which would have been my loss, because it’s a phenomenal movie.
@NJTheatreMOM Lobster is available on Netflix.
Went to see Manchester by the Sea with one of my daughters the other day. It was really good, but it was sad too. Not going to give it away of course, but there was an unexpected component that made me glad that I didn’t see it with my husband
Watching La La Land, I was stunned that Emma Stone had been able to play Sally Bowles in Cabaret. To be fair, she’s at her best when she’s belting, but that’s still mediocre at best, and her “quiet” voice is many levels below mediocre. She’s a fine actress, she’s very attractive, and her eye-to-face ratio is off the charts (something Stephen J. Gould identified as a major factor in what humans consider cute). She’s bankable, I guess. But she’s not a high-quality singer or dancer. Unless her clunkiness in La La Land was part of an elaborate deception to make her seem more relatable – which of course would have been undercut by the extensive use of a body double for her in dance scenes – I don’t believe Bob Fosse would have tolerated her for a minute.
According to Wikipedia, the lead roles in the movie were originally supposed to be filled by Emma Watson and Miles Teller, neither of whom is especially known for singing or dancing either. Watson developed schedule conflicts, and Teller was unceremoniously dumped for a bigger name.
Saw LaLaLand. Thought it was cute. Also saw Manchester by the sea. Did not like it at all. No idea why it got good reviews. Am supposed to see Miss Sloan on New Year’s Eve. Anyone see itt yet? Thoughts?
"and her eye-to-face ratio is off the charts (something Stephen J. Gould identified as a major factor in what humans consider cute). "
haha. We were discussing movies at Christmas dinner and one attendee said she looked like an alien. A cute one, I guess. 
The entire dance at the overlook in La La Land was performed by the principals, not doubles, though, right? I understand there were only five takes of that scene, because of the light, with one camera only, and if you watch the two+ minute clip available online (which is not the entire number), you notice there are no cuts. None, in two+ minutes of singing and dancing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWhKWhFWoc
This has to have been a directorial choice, to make the actors more relatable. A couple of people I’ve talked to in real life, not film buffs, have said exactly that they liked that Stone and Gosling seemed like real people.
It’s a whole lot harder than it looks, though.
@jym626 - do you mind sharing why you didn’t like Manchester by the Sea? Thinking of going to see that this weekend.
Report back if you go, @SouthFloridaMom9 . The people around us all agreed, it moved very slowly, it was depressing and it had no ending.
One of my best friends hated Manchester. I think I’m going to wait until it and LaLa are on DVD. Too many mixed reviews for me.
The critics’ reviews for LaLaLand are almost universally positive; not what I would call mixed reviews at all.
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/la-la-land/critic-reviews
Lots of critics have it on their ten best list. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
Just got home from seeing Lion. It was very good! The actor who played Saroo as a child was really wonderful.
I saw Emma Stone in Cabaret, and she was by far the weakest link. The only reason it worked at all is that you can imagine Sally Bowles actually wasn’t a very good cabaret singer, more of a wanna be than a star. If you’ve read the original story she’s no Liza Minelli.
I read that Emma Stone used acting to put her character across in Cabaret. Which is kinda what she does in La La Land too.
I wouldn’t say that Manchester By the Sea had mixed reviews. It’s been getting raves.
I can tell you that Manchester by the Sea would definitely be viewed as depressing by my husband. To me, it was sad , but showed a lot of complex family relationships. There were a few moments when the audience all laughed. I grew up in Mass and found the cinematography to make me wish I was back home.
My daughter and I saw “Fences” today. It was very good.
I heard that the new movie (will be released early January but is out in select theaters) Hidden Figures is REALLY good! It’s about three African American mathematicians that helped calculate the landing for John Glen with his spaceship! Good movie for those interested in STEM and it is nonfiction.
H and I went to see Lion tonight. We both loved it. The audience clapped when it was over.
We saw Manchester by the Sea last weekend. It is a hard movie to recommend. It’s a complex movie and I liked it but it isn’t for everyone. Moonlight left me with a similar feeling. A great movie but again complex and I would hesitate to recommend it to everyone.
My friend just watched Hidden Figures and said it was great. It isn’t out in my area yet.
I cried at Moonlight and can’t stop thinking about it three weeks later. I think it was extremely well done and extremely sad.