Hollywood

Hollywood. The land of dreams is no stranger to appearing on the big screen and being presented from many different angles, but it has been a long time since it was quite so colourful and quite so musical. This is La La Land.

Seb (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are both dreamers. The former longs to own and manage his own jazz club, the latter sees her name in lights, her face on the big screen. Their paths are interwoven and they can chase their dreams together with encouragement and support but the world we live in isn't easy for dreamers. There are expectations to live up to, finances to organise, and the proverbial 'man' keeping our protagonists from their ultimate success. Also, the film teaches us that sometimes success and dreams do not come hand in hand, that one does not necessarily equate to the other. This is not just a story of Seb and Mia, of their love and dreams, this is a story of how Hollywood engulfs those who wish to chase their dreams, how it forces compromise and conflict, how small decisions can change everything. And this story is told through song and dance.

The film opens with a traffic jam - welcome to Hollywood. But one by one, the commuters begin to sing; they step out of their cars and dance down the road in a spectacularly flowing set piece. Welcome to La La Land. The tone is apparent and the stage is set; we are thrown into a two hour rush of colour, music and movement. Director Damien Chazelle glides through his narrative with confidence, the film dancing along with its stars, helped in no small part by cinematographer Linus Sandgren. Chazelle and Sandgren choreograph each scene to the beat of the film, their camera as one of the performers. It weaves in and out of cars and bars, it swings around the piano that Seb plays, it circles Mia as she sings her heart out; it captures every ounce of emotion and, more importantly, soul that the film has to offer. If Chazelle's last feature Whiplash embodied the intensity of jazz, La La Land captures its warmth.

That warmth is amplified by the charisma and chemistry of the two leads. Both Mia and Seb are instantly and overwhelmingly likeable and their pairing slowly builds, eventually blossoming into love. From the gentle touch of finger tips in a cinema to helping plan each other's visions, their relationship is electrifying and full of life. The two powerful performances from Stone and Gosling over the course of the film culminate in a riveting and emotional climax with one of the most charming sequences in the film, leaving you smiling despite being metaphorically punched in the gut. The talent of the whole cast cannot be overstated with cast members learning new instruments (for their roles, Gosling learned piano from scratch and John Legend learned guitar), as well as dancing and singing live onset. No doubt you will be leaving the cinema tapping along to the catchy songs now permanently etched into your brain.

La La Land is a musical adventure into fantasy. It's more universally appealing than Chazelle's Whiplash, it's more charming and a lot less bleak, and also harks back to the golden age of Hollywood. This is almost a guaranteed formula for critical success (see The Artist's Best Picture win in 2012), but it also makes for a wonderful piece of cinema. It lacks the depth and power of some arguably better films, but it is inoffensive and totally captivating. It is a glimpse of what happens when a skilled film-maker decides to create something joyous; La La Land does not need to be dark to be brilliant.

MLK

Equality. It started as a dream. A dream voiced by one man as he led the oppressed masses in rising against the powers that held them down. That man was Dr Martin Luther King Jr., and today's film tells some of his story. This is Selma.

King (David Oyelowo), King's dream is being held back by voting laws in Southern USA. President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) is reluctant to take immediate action and Gov. George Wallace (Tim Roth) has riddled the voting system with all sorts of hoops for the black community to jump through if they want to cast a ballot. For King, this does not stand. With James Bevel (Common) and Hosea Williams (Wendell Pierce) he begins to plan marches from Selma to Montgomery to protest. But with the FBI watching King's every move and the hostile Alabama police force doing everything they can to prevent the protesters getting what they want, simply marching between two places becomes a life or death situation.

King apparently briefly dressed for work on the railroads

If there is something to be outraged about regarding Selma it is perhaps the lack of nominations for performances. Oyelowo, particularly, stood out as Martin Luther King, a voice known throughout the world, a face plastered across any equality movement. He does not just portray the doctor, he becomes him. At points, it is hard to tell if archival sound and video are used as he is so convincing in the role. Supported by a powerful ensemble, both as friends of King and as obstacles to overcome, Selma excels in representing a community. A community consumed with rage and anger, which is felt in the audience. The silence broken only by the sound of a police baton striking flesh encourages an enraged response, much like the clergy that viewed the hostility towards the peaceful protesters in 1965. We are drawn in to feel the upset of the characters on screen.

The importance of Selma today

Selma, as many successful biopics do, tells the story of a game changer. The marches portrayed pushed the president to take action, signing the voting act. Where it draws it strongest power, however, is in its continuing relevance in the United States today. Released in the year of numerous racial controversies (the Ferguson shooting, Tamir Rice's death, the chokehold that killed Eric Garner, the hashtags #icantbreathe and #blacklivesmatter), the film says, 'This is still important. We still fight these battles', a message captured brilliantly in Common and John Legend's 'Glory', a message which old white Oscar voters are offended by. Selma does more than tell a story, it holds up a mirror. Ava DuVernay has not only done justice to an important historical event, he has tapped into something topical and somewhat unnerving.

Selma is an important film. At times it moves a little slowly and drags around many scenes of King's personal life, but its set pieces are captivating, engaging, and upsetting.

Best Bit? The protesters sit, hands on their heads, knowing that the police will get violent. It is still, it is tense. It is powerful.