(The source has spoilers)

The Griffith Observatory's Planetarium

The first time I've seen this was at the Alabang Town Center, with three of my friends. The second time, dad was so guilty (and grateful at the same time) that he disturbed my resting because he became hungry that he made me cook a late lunch(we ate brunch after mass and he said I didn't need to cook lunch). I didn't know he saw me crying because my left side was numb. I was scared of being paralyzed, but I thought he was in the office(a room in the house). I cooked a large fish, that he almost devoured it(he thought I was cooking because he smelled something from the neighbor's kitchen that he called me up---yes, he did, because I was upstairs...I tried to sound happy to receive his call, so he wouldn't worry about me). Thank God, when I was able to taste a teeny portion, it was delicious.

"Let's watch a movie," he said. "What do you want to watch?"

"La La Land"

"But you've just seen it!"

"I don't mind."

This is my ticket. Mom and dad always get 50% off at the Commercenter and Festival Supermall Cinemas

Dad usually gets E row tickets, but this time it was either AB or K. Thankfully he chose K and he didn't have a hard time climbing the stairs.

The Commercenter Cinema 3 was full. If you are a regular there, you would know that it seldom gets full. Everyone was excited to see this movie that thankfully isn't some hyped up thing. It's really worth watching. Yes, it's a musical and almost everytime they are together, they are in a magical dreamlike state, but there are lots of scenes that would make you think and make you feel what the characters are undergoing. It was great to hear the songs again, most especially The Fools Who Dream, which later I learned, was almost cut from the movie.

Why I love musicals

My mom and dad love watching old movies, and that's why I grew up knowing more of Gene Kelly, Vera Ellen, Fred & Adele Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Ricardo Montalban, Esther Williams, Shirley Temple, Jane Powell, Judy Garland, Mitzi Gaynor, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Shirley MacLaine, Warren Beatty, Dean Martin, Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, et al than my contemporaries, except probably for the cast of Sesame Street and The Electric Company(LOL). When we moved back to the Philippines I met Rogelio Dela Rosa, Carmen Rosales, Jaime Dela Rosa, Delia Razon, Nida Blanca, Nestor De Villa et al. Thankfully, I knew about the Apat na Sikat, Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos too. Well, it was still Martial Law when we went back in the mid-seventies and we lived in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo(Camp Murphy). It was the year someone gave dad a chance to live in the New Alabang Village(now Ayala Alabang Village), but he chose where we are now(hmmm, but we have other places---some were eventually sold---inherited stuff and the like, but this is home. Yes, we were watching all those empowering animé, but the administration decided to change our viewing habits, so thankfully, we had all those musicals handy. A little later I "met" Doris Day and had high hopes. ;-) Because of this, the first plays I ever written were musicals, especially when I got hooked on The Sound of Music.

REVIEWS AND MY NON-REVIEW

From movieweb.com

‘La La Land’ Makes Musicals Matter Again

Three Classic Musical scenes in La La Land

La La Land Even Better on Second Viewing (I agree)

Emma Stone's Amazing La La Land Audition Song Almost Wasn't In The Movie

My personal blog about "this" (as if this one isn't personal---LOL)

(source)

Sigh.

I never had an ex-boyfriend named Sebastian, but since this is La La Land anyway, I imagined I was her, finally having that big break after some harrowing experiences. (A few of my friends know that I could have had that big break before, but I did something stupid. I thought a crazy foreigner was asking me to do something I wouldn't dare do that I shouted at him, but he turned out to be legit. Oh well. It wasn't for me, so I leave it at that.) It's not bad to imagine dancing and singing with Ryan Gosling too... ;-)

The first time I watched this, I loved it, but like what the Variety.Com article said, it's even better on second viewing and I agree with it.

The first time I watched it, my kidneys almost burst...I'm exaggerating, of course, because there was simply no dull moment, but when you give something or someone a second look, you appreciate that person more or that "thing" a bit better.

I even appreciated the "surprise" towards the end.

💚💜💚💜💚💜💚💜

La La Land reminded me of one of my best friends when I was in High School, Evie, to take control of my dreams and not let my dreams control me.

I chased my dreams, almost caught them several times, but I chose to let them go and to lay low.

During one screen test someone said I looked better in person and I was photogenic, but I don't look good on the TV monitor making me hate people taking videos of me. So I had lots of chances, but because of vanity, a lot of opportunities were lost. I decided to just concentrate on my writing then and even studied Comprehensive Writing(if you are not impressed with my blogs, it's because these are not my best work---excuses, excuses) just to improve my craft. I am grateful to have been given a chance to have a free Hollywood Tutorial. Would I ever use what I've learned? If not, I'll just send my mentor a "token" one of these days.

In one scene some people crushed Mia's spirit. She got bothered by those comments not knowing that she actually did great. Sometimes we hear stuff about us. Some of them might be true(Johari Window), but most of the time the ones making comments don't even have the right to make us inferior, but if we allow them, then that's our problem. Mia allowed them to make her feel inadequate(wow, another Mia felt this way in Princess Diaries and Mia is my second given name---and although I am a generally strong person, I do have vulnerabilies. Unfortunately, people usually only see my vulnerabilities, but those who really know me know I am strong and I don't easily get scared of people. I shouldn't care!), but thankfully something happened to change that.

Sigh...

Even if you hate musicals, please watch La La Land. It's really worth your time and money.

Other Movies of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone: