First Man Explores Uncharted Emotionally Powerful Territory Within A Famous Historical Event

SPOILERS FOLLOW

We've all seen Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. Whether you've seen it in photographic form or in videos or in parodies of the man, we're all keenly aware of Neil Armstrong being the first human being to walk on the moon. It's a momentous moment in the history of humanity whose grand importance seems to be as deserving of a movie as any historical event but as many historical dramas have been grappled with in the past, how do you wring drama out of real-life events that everybody and their grandmother knows everything about? For First Man (Damien Chazelle's fourth directorial effort and his third winner in a row as a filmmaker), the solution is to explore both the extensive training leading up to the historic moon landing and the psychological condition of Neil Armstrong himself.

La La Land Explores The Costs Of Reality By Way Of Stylized Musical Numbers

In our dreams, anything is possible. You can go anywhere, you can be with anyone, you can do anything. In its own way, musicals are akin to dreams in that the stylized nature of these productions allows for an "anything goes" approach for storytelling to make the frequent action of bursting into song feel acceptable. Events like The Paris Uprising Of 1832, the psyche of felines or even the life of Alexander Hamilton can all become easy fodder for musical theater, all told with a heightened guise that allows the musical aspect of these productions to truly flourish. After all, just because you're telling a somber tale doesn't mean you can't use a musical number to express a characters emotions (just look at how enduring opera has been through the centuries).

The First Trailer For La La Land Is Packed With Gorgeous Visuals And Ryan Gosling Harmonizing

Look, I love Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. And I love musicals. And I loved Whiplash, Damien Chazelle's feature film debut from 2014 that changed how the world saw J.K. Simmons and drums forever. So the concept of seeing those three elements merge in La La Land? Yeah, that's a tantalizing prospect, especially given how scarce original live-action musicals are in a post-1950's world. Today, the world got its first look at the highly anticipated project in the form of a teaser trailer that you can watch below!

Cue The Applause; Lady Gaga Is Starring In A New Version Of A Star Is Born With Bradley Cooper

Three-time Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper has played many roles in his career. He's been an American Sniper, a guy who said Aloha and a gun-toting raccoon. Now he'll take on a new challenge; directing. Yep, Mr. Cooper is going behind the camera for the very first time. He'll be directing and starring in a new feature film remake of A Star Is Born. They've been looking for a leading lady before going full steam ahead on the project and it appears they found someone to star in the project with Mr. Cooper: Lady Gaga!

What Is 10 Cloverfield Lane? Who The Hell Knows, But The Trailer For It Is Pretty Memorable

Let's time travel back to the year 2007, when an eleven year old NerdInTheBasement saw Transformers on its second day of release. My first theatrical PG-13 experience, I got a thrilling rush when, prior to the screening, the trailer for the R-rated Superbad played. Woah! An R-rated movie! What a time to be alive! Sure, it was the green-band trailer and so no nudity, drug use or explicit swearing was to be found, but still, it was the trailer for what was pretty blatantly an R-rated feature film. Could it get any better than this??

Unbroken Review

Don't Go Unbroken My Heart

I find movies that have the elements of greatness and fail to utilize them far more frustrating than an outright terrible film like God's Not Dead or Transformers: Age Of Extinction. Not even Wes Anderson could have made Trans4mers compelling, whereas Unbroken has all the ingredients of being terrific right at it's feet. The story of Louie Zamperini is an astonishing one full of courage and bravery ripe for an effective cinematic depiction, and sadly, Unbroken just doesn't utilize it.

Whiplash Review

Those Who Can't Do, Teach

Devoting oneself to a particular craft is a tremendous challenge. I've dedicated myself to writing about pop culture, while others may devote themselves to the world of acting or painting. It is the world of music, specifically drumming, that drives Andrew (Miles Teller) to push himself far far beyond his limits. His quest to be one of the greats, to make an impact as a drummer is the focus of one of the years best movies, Whiplash.