The Legend of Korra (2012-14)

As an independent show, The Legend of Korra is pretty good, but it cannot escape comparison to Avatar: The Last Airbender, to which it pales. For one, it lacks the cohesion of Avatar, which tells a single grand overarching story over 60 episodes. Korra has four seasons, each season with a new enemy. Korra also doesn't have the rewarding story arcs that Avatar did. Everyone on Team Avatar was a sympathetic, relatable character that grew over the course of the series. On the other hand, Mako and Bo Lin are extremely annoying. There are some cameos from the old characters; some serve more purpose (Katar and Iroh) than others (Zuko and Toph). The newer show updated the graphics, creating 3D depth, that admittedly look kind of weird sometimes, especially the robots. The style is also more overtly anime than the unique Western/Eastern hybrid from Avatar. The music is not as hauntingly beautiful as in Avatar, though the 20s jazz is a welcome touch, along with the old-timey newsreel recaps.

Now for what Korra does well...It continues to build on the themes that made Avatar so good: real-world politics. Republic City is the bustling immigrant city that transcends the boundaries of nations. Such a United Nations is what follows a world war. Season 1 is about The Equalists. They are portrayed as a domestic terrorist group on the surface, but there is always some ambiguity as to their evil, after all they're only asking for equality in a land that may or may not deny them their (super-)humanity. It is similar to X-Men, overtly political. It might not be too off to compare them to the PLO or the Black Panthers. Season 3 is about a group of anarchists and in parallel rebuilding a culture nearly lost to genocide (a beautiful example of the type of balance that the Avatar is meant to restore to the world).. Season 4 is about a warlord who has taken advantage of a power vacuum to seize legitimate control. Season 2 is the outlier, portraying an irrelevant and unrealistic civil war between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. A big caveat though is that the best episodes of the series come in Season 2, that's the two-part story of the first Avatar, told in beautiful Kaguya-esque animation.

The bending in Korra is also pretty cool. All the elements are taken up a level, unlocking new bending styles that make sense in the established magic system: lava bending, flight, expanded metal bending, etc. I was slightly disappointed that Korra didn't really discover her spiritual side until Season 2, because the spiritual balance the Avatar brings is really the defining characteristic of its purpose, rather than the flashier mastery of the four elements. When she finally does find her inner spirit, they muddy the rules of the Avatar state and the spirit world almost beyond recognition.

In conclusion, not as good as Avatar but a worthwhile viewing experience.

Justice League (2017)

I know when we get these superhero movies, we should expect something derivative, but this was just too derivative. There was nothing original about this. It's more than just Marvel beating them to the punch. Boxes of energy? A God-like villain? A God-like villain with an M-shaped crown? The team of superheroes? I know this is the set-up movie, but the whole thing is set-up.  That's what the individual movies were for! We don't want more intro here. The best parts of the movie are Flash and Wonder Woman. Ezra Miller is charming and funny. He's the only person that doesn't take it all so seriously. That's really the heart of the problem. The movie takes itself too seriously. We've come to expect funny superhero movies. This isn't funny. It isn't as dark as some of the older DC movies, but it's too serious still. Also, Cyborg is kind of cool, Aquaman is still lame, and Ben Affleck looks terribly bored. 

Patriots Day (2016)

Mark Wahlberg continues his collaboration with Peter Berg, following Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon. Does that make a trilogy? They obviously feature a different cast of characters, but Wahlberg consistently plays the American hero. The film perhaps focuses on our fictional hero a little too much. I understand that he is the protagonist but you get the sense that the film wants to be about people. The beginning and end feature a cast of characters that are largely missing from the middle of the film, absent from the action. But they should be the focus, a portrait of a strong and resilient city. The great drama of the film is of course the manhunt that captivates the city. But there is a lot of buildup to get to that point. The omniscient point of view perhaps reduces the thrill because we always know what is happening on the other side.  The film stirs up emotion because it's about a close-knit community. It's Boston. The accents won't let you forget it. 

La La Land (2016)

La La Land is exactly the masterpiece I hoped it would be. I have been waiting to see this film ever since they announced casting of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for a jazz musical (two things I love) directed by Damien Chazelle, hot off of Whiplash. He is perhaps our finest young director today. It did not disappoint; it was so beautiful. How do you know you're watching something special? I literally had goosebumps, and there were moments in the film that just brushed over me. It's when you can physically feel the euphoria take your breath away. Only film and classical music do that to me.

Let's start with the plot. It's simple but it's classic a la Golden Age Hollywood. I have to admit, their first encounter in the restaurant tricked me. It was the seen that we're fooled into thinking we knew already from the trailer, but it's not that scene. At first you're taken aback, but then you understand that their courtship is a little more complex than that. Amidst the dream-like sequences, the plot and dialogue is actually extremely realistic. The dialogue is perfectly natural. The movie is so emotionally affecting because it is so well written.

This is a contemporary musical nostalgic for a time gone by. That theme is played out through Seb's infatuation with traditional jazz. It makes a plethora of references to the classic musicals of yore, but it looks forward. It includes the requisite pas de deux, and the big numbers, and the recurring musical themes. It moves towards a wistful ending, not necessarily the happy one you expect from old Hollywood (the ending actually sort of coincidentally reminded me of Once). This movie has depth the way song-and-dance used to be able to get away without.

Chazelle's love letter to Hollywood is necessarily a love-letter to movies (the tone is reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso). You know I love movies about movies. But it's more than that. Because Los Angeles is a unique city. He captures the spirit of a town full of dreamers. Briefly about the ending--I think it's perfect. It reminds us that the essence of the film is not simply their love for each other, but for their high hopes and dreams. The film, after all, is named for the city that will make or break you.

This review is going to get a lot longer than I intended but I'm going to keep going cause there's a lot of ground to cover.

The look: the colors are perhaps a little too obvious. And by that I mean, they pop so much that we're not used to such bold un-patterned primary color coordination. But I think that adds to the dreaminess of the film. The ten-minute balletic epilogue is just stunning. The cinematography is just stunning. Los Angeles has never looked so good. La La Land is not the first film to do the long takes, but it does it very impressively. Someone in the Crowd requires some fancy camera navigation and a well-placed mirror. The opening sequence was all filmed in one shot. I think we've entered a period (maybe starting a few years ago with Gravity) in which the expectation is for contemporary films to go big and do the long single takes. It is becoming normal. But that is not to underscore the massive achievement of getting it all at once perfectly.

Jazz: The soundtrack is phenomenal. I've been playing it on repeat nonstop. Also, looking at the lyrics more closely, they're appropriately fitting. Justin Hurwitz has two Oscars coming his way, for sure. I think jazz is very fitting for Los Angeles. LA is not a jazz town, but the music really captures that trying spirit. Everyone is a constant struggle to make it and what is jazz if not about improvising your own path. As Sebastian points out, it is conflict and compromise.

Acting: I saw Emma Stone in Cabaret on Broadway and she was great. She's not the best singer and neither is Ryan Gosling. But if they could sing, then they wouldn't be struggling artists. The whole point is that they are talented in their own right, but that's not always enough in LA. The parts don't call for excellent singers. They were correctly cast. The leading lady and man are our new Hollywood couple. They've acted together before and I imagine they will continue. They have the look. I love the scene when they're singing City of Stars together. Whereas some scenes look like the actors are singing to a track, this one is unequivocally live. You hear and see it in the imperfect tone and the quavers in their voices. It is vulnerable and human. And it pulls us down from dream world (or la la land). Ryan Gosling plays piano very convincingly. Even if he can only play those couple of pieces, that is pretty impressive. Emma Stone carries the film though. We may focus more on Sebastian's story line, but Emma Stone gives her character dimension and emotion more interesting than Gosling's. I do think John Legend was a weird choice; he's a little too smooth for jazz. I kept thinking Jamie Foxx would've been great.

So if you couldn't tell, I loved everything about this movie. To people that say they liked it but didn't love it, just look and hear and moreover feel how beautiful this movie is. Don't confuse it for a shallow musical. It is more complex than it may let on. 

Zootopia (2016)

On the surface, it is an animated buddy cop comedy (helmed by a strong, dominant female lead), but there is so much more to it. Zootopia is a brilliant allegory that is funny, relevant, and witty. Predators and prey live together in harmony, or so they believe. But stereotyping and discrimination run abound. It is not a perfect analogy to the real world. Nor can it be expected to capture all of the complexities and intricacies of our society. But Disney creates its own world with its own imperfections, a utopia that cannot reach the high bar it sets for itself. It is very thoughtful and thought provoking. It preaches a message of tolerance that falls upon American ears that need to hear it. But the message is never too blatant--it is balanced well with genuinely funny jokes (including references to The Godfather and Breaking Bad) and modern animation. 

Whiplash (2014)

Pure, unrelenting intensity.  This film reminded me a little of Black Swan.  At their cores, both films are about the unstoppable pursuit of perfection  And the path to success is thrilling and nerve-wracking and slightly mortifying.  It reinforces to young artists that greatness is not easily achieved.  It requires persistence, determination, concentration, hours of practice and a teacher to push you beyond the limit.

The acting in this movie is phenomenal.  JK Simmons is the scariest band conductor you could imagine.  All of his students are terrified of him and avoid eye contact at all costs.  Simmons is really quite monstrous, inhuman.  And Miles Teller just takes it.  He uses the yelling and the insults to motivate him to be better.  He, too, deserves recognition for pushing himself to the limits--you can see it clearly in his facial expressions.  Both are helped by smart writing.

Damien Chazelle adapted his own short film into a feature length film.  What is the message that Chazelle tries to convey?  It is semi-autobiographical, and obviously he had a bad experience in band. The teacher has a lasting negative impact psychologically.   But perhaps Chazelle agrees that the teaching style brings out the best in the musicians.

The excitement level is helped by some really sharp film editing and cinematography.  The jazz rhythms dictate the fast and rhythmic cuts.  Each shot is beautifully composed.  My favorite shot is of Teller's character intensely practicing at his drum set. We see his face on the right half of the screen at an upward angle and the left half of the screen is blocked by the cymbal.  Who knew that drumming could be so exciting?