La La Land: A musical with a touch of the old school

'La La Land'. Recently, those words have been coming up a lot, and I believe for good reason. Normally, we are not captivated or excited by modern musicals, not in an "old-school defensive" sort of attitude, but because they don't quite capture the magic that musicals once did. Realistically, when somebody says musical, these titles spring to mind:

1) The Sound of Music - Cannot leave this one out, maybe one of the all time best musicals every made. But, we'll leave that up to debate.
2) Singin' in the Rain - The main song in the movie, and also the titular song, is universally known. What's incredible about that is, most people who know the song have not seen the movie, which is a real sign of greatness.
3) Annie - Most little girls have either played Annie, or dreamed of playing Annie. And its no coincidence. 'Annie' is a well constructed and full of heart, not to mention a little ginger kid with attitude singing some of the most famous songs of all time.
4) Oliver! - Growing up this was one of our favourites. Excellent movie, and we advise anybody who has not had the pleasure of seeing it does so immediately.

There are many more, in fact, we have purposefully left a lot out to save time. So don't worry if your favourite musical is missing, because it certainly doesn’t mean it isn’t great.

Back to the original point though, those musicals were truly great. They had a spark, a magic, and a heart to them that modern musicals do not. But here, with 'La La Land', it is what looks like a return of that very spark that has been missing for years. There seems to have been a very high level of care and love put into this film, that really shows through the trailers (and the early reviews). They have formed something fresh, while still maintaining what made all those classic musicals great. In terms of the set design, and in fact all visuals, we can see there's a very nostalgic look being formed which really brings out the jazz-y tone to this movie, and a look that is so warming that it can't help but make you smile.

Once again, our excitement for musicals has been reinvigorated and ripened, and we are extremely eager to get out to the cinema to see this film. After all, a film of this beauty and artistry cannot be watched any other way than on the big screen.

This film is certainly a film to watch out for. Start spreading the news...