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DVD cover for La La Land
DVD cover for La La Land

La La Land,

directed by Damien Chazelle

(PG-13, 2 hours, 8 minutes)

Although it didn't collect a Best Picture Oscar in February (but seemed as if it was going to, in advance of and during the Academy Awards presentations), La La Land is a favorite of many thanks to its old-time Hollywood song-and-dance appeal.

It's a charming if predictable story of an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a glum jazz musician (Ryan Gosling) who seem to have nothing in common. Until they do, and an endearing romance begins. They burst into halfway decent harmonies regularly, and take to hoofing out simple rhythms in Los Angeles' lovely Griffith Park (with mixed results as far as technique is concerned, but plenty of charm). Nostalgia abounds.

It has been years since the mainstream movie machine has cranked out a musical. If there's a film that is capable of starting a trend in this direction, it might be La La Land. We can't watch comic-book heroes all the time. With Rosemarie DeWitt, John Legend, J.K. Simmons.

Underworld: Blood Wars (R, 1 hour, 31 minutes) The signature stylized violence rolls on, but otherwise nothing much is new here in the fifth of the Underworld franchise. A grim struggle to end the seemingly endless war between vampire clans is led by vampire death dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale). With Theo James, Charles Dance; directed by Anna Foerster.

Detour (R, 1 hour, 25 minutes) A mediocre effort at noir in which Tye Sheridan (Mud) plays Harper, a law student who convinces himself that his sleazy stepfather had something to do with a destructive car crash that leaves his mother in a coma. His revenge fantasies get closer to reality when he meets a bad-tempered grifter (Emory Cohen) and his stripper sidekick (Bel Powley) and the trio undertake a road trip to find the stepdad in Las Vegas. With Stephen Moyer, Jared Abrahamson; directed by Christopher Smith.

The Daughter (not rated, 1 hour, 36 minutes) Heavy on exposition, this talky Australian melodrama concerns Christian (Paul Schneider), who returns home to New South Wales after 14 years to attend the wedding of his dad Henry (Geoffrey Rush). Soon he's attracted to the dynamics of the family of his old friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie), which is about to suffer repercussions from the imminent closing of a local mill (where everybody works) owned by Christian's father. Based on the novel The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen. With Miranda Otto, Sam Neill; directed by Simon Stone.

Girl With All the Gifts (R, 1 hour, 50 minutes) Full of gore juxtaposed with surprising humor, the zombie adventure centers on a group of children who are immune to a humanity-destroying fungal disease that eliminates free will and who are the unwilling subjects of nasty experiments by an ambitious biologist. With Sennia Nanua, Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close; directed by Colm McCarthy.

Catfight (not rated, 1 hour, 36 minutes) A biting, snippy urban satire in which college pals Veronica Salt (Sandra Oh) and Ashley Chambers (Anne Heche), who haven't kept up over the years, see their relationship deteriorate rapidly thanks to a series of insults exchanged at a stylish birthday party, which leaves them at odds for years to come. With Alicia Silverstone, Amy Hill; directed by Onur Tukel.

Right Now, Wrong Then (not rated, 2 hours, 1 minute) South Korea's Sang-soo Hong directs this low-budget, low-key drama in which a famous film director meets a just-getting-started artist. With Jae-yeong Jeong, Ah-sung Ko. Subtitled.

MovieStyle on 04/28/2017

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