Author Topic: Sandy Faces the Music  (Read 44502 times)

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #190 on: March 05, 2017, 04:23:24 AM »
The dance sequences are anything but safe. What the cameraman had to go through in the first two bits is pure madness. It is astonishingly difficult to operate the whole apparatus with the control he displays.
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Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #191 on: March 05, 2017, 08:16:10 PM »
The dance sequences are anything but safe. What the cameraman had to go through in the first two bits is pure madness. It is astonishingly difficult to operate the whole apparatus with the control he displays.

I agree that the degree of difficulty in doing the traffic jam is very high, but the trick of movie magic is to make a scene look effortless, not difficult. I'd have to watch it again to give clearer details (and I don't think that is going to happen), but the lingering effect is one of laboriousness. I found myself "holding my breath", hoping they'd hit each subsequent mark and feeling there was a missed opportunity for something much more dynamic. 

We may have different definitions of "safe," but the dancing itself felt safe -- dance lesson painstakingly safe. I don't want to take the joy of the movie away from anyone who had a great experience, but needed to process what my own was.

Just for fun, here's some decidedly unsafe dance numbers. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhdFcSFJkDU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIxNN8ptE90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKRm6H-qOU

oldkid

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #192 on: March 05, 2017, 10:19:20 PM »
Not that all musical sequences need to be THAT unsafe.  But La La Land is (except for the first dance scene) decidedly safe and mediocre, especially compared to some of the amazing classic Hollywood musicals I've been watching the last few years.
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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #193 on: March 05, 2017, 10:29:40 PM »
La La Land was proof that the entertainment industry is no longer creating triple threats with years of training who can build off of the greatness of the past. The closest we will come to this level of skill is on the stage, but most of them don't yet have the movie screen talent of Stone and Gosling. Idina Menzel is a great singer, but can only work as a character actress, like Nathan Lane. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the hot ticket, but Hamilton is about the songs. The dancing is part of the atmosphere and most everyone agrees Miranda is one of the weaker actors in the cast.

There seems to be a number of actors who can sing, but breathtaking dancing ability is elusive. The top of the list is Justin Timberlake, but while he's come along as an actor I still wouldn't put him with Hugh Jackman or Neil Patrick Harris. Everyone is on level with James Corden.

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #194 on: March 06, 2017, 12:31:35 AM »
Nice breakdown of what types of talent are out there. I wish Miranda wrote the music to La La Land and somebody like John Gallagher Jr. took the role of Sebastian (not a big fan of Gosling). Actually, I bet Gallagher could have written some great songs. oh well... I like the idea of doing musicals and want Hollywood to not give up! There's got to be enough talent out there and you're right, it might need to come from the stage.




Not that all musical sequences need to be THAT unsafe.

:)

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #195 on: March 06, 2017, 03:52:50 AM »
Channing Tatum's probably the best actor/dancer combo. No idea what his vocal cords look like though, and I always care more about the singing than the dancing.

Those comparisons are unfair (I am talking about the YouTube clips) because they're not the same kind of dance scenes. The ones you posted are dance numbers being filmed. The whole point of them is to have someone dance on set and follow them along with the camera. All the musical scenes in LLL are about the story, except for the first one. The opening is about spectacle, and the explosion of colours, the camera pirouettes, the extravagance of it all are at least as important about the quality of the actual steps. The second song is about the party side of LA and the life of people who live there and places Emma Stone in that context, as someone who wants to make it but feels alone and isolated. And so forth. Every other song progresses the romance or brings something to the story. It's never just about dancing. In fact, yeah, the dancing is often pretty basic, but that's not the point. The observatory scene is about that space background more than what the black figures are doing.
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Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #196 on: March 06, 2017, 09:44:49 AM »
Channing Tatum's probably the best actor/dancer combo. No idea what his vocal cords look like though, and I always care more about the singing than the dancing.

The little he sang in Hail Caesar! sounded pretty solid. Technology can help a lot nowadays with vocals, so it could be the weak link, but still be serviceable.

Quote
Those comparisons are unfair (I am talking about the YouTube clips) because they're not the same kind of dance scenes. The ones you posted are dance numbers being filmed. The whole point of them is to have someone dance on set and follow them along with the camera.

You missed the part about "just for fun." You're right, they're not the same, but they are unsafe!

Quote
All the musical scenes in LLL are about the story, except for the first one. The opening is about spectacle, and the explosion of colours, the camera pirouettes, the extravagance of it all are at least as important about the quality of the actual steps. The second song is about the party side of LA and the life of people who live there and places Emma Stone in that context, as someone who wants to make it but feels alone and isolated. And so forth. Every other song progresses the romance or brings something to the story. It's never just about dancing. In fact, yeah, the dancing is often pretty basic, but that's not the point. The observatory scene is about that space background more than what the black figures are doing.

Again, I'm really glad this movie worked for you. It just wasn't my thing.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #197 on: March 06, 2017, 09:54:11 AM »
I am not objecting to your liking it; I just don't understand how the tour de force scenes can be safe, or insipid.
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Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #198 on: March 06, 2017, 10:12:49 AM »
It's like calling someone's baby ugly and I don't like doing that, but I do want to answer your inquiry.

The opening scene didn't work for me, because I could see the strings and the missed opportunity of something really wowing. The roommate one left me cold (like The Young Girls of Rochefort), because the song really was insipid and I didn't care one whit about the characters. The story had the makings of something interesting, but it was presented as insular, smug, superior... If people wants to celebrate the greatness of themselves, they better be prepared to back it up in a big way, for skeptics like me. The Griffith Observatory scene was nice, but I ceased carrying by then. The only times I was moved is during Mia's first audition (her vulnerability and how it was ignored) and her little song about her aunt. I wanted more of those moments. I didn't see the tour de force scenes as impressive as others did, so had a different experience with the film.

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #199 on: June 01, 2017, 02:45:48 AM »
« Last Edit: June 02, 2017, 01:50:29 AM by Sandy »