La La Land (2016)

What a an absolute wonderful film this is, a jazz musical full of charm and heart that is thoroughly engaging throughout. It takes inspiration from classic Hollywood musicals and blends that influence  into a more modern, real life setting. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play the lead roles and their performances are great, with Emma Stone being a particular stand out especially during her one solo song towards the end.
Speaking of music the score is fantastic and works perfectly with the film and considering this is a musical it actually has quite a minimal amount of sung songs and the ones that there are have great purpose and never less than good.
The film also also beautifully shot with some great cinematography and set design that brings the films world to life incredibly well.
This was a project that Damien Chazelle had been wanting to make for a good few years and thanks to the success of his previous film Whiplash, he was able to and you can really see the passion and love that has been poured into making this, translating into a film that is truly wonderful film. A magnificent musical that is worthy of its awards buzz. ****

The Nice Guys (2016)

The Nice Guys is a neo-noir buddy comedy movie directed by Shane Black, which is hilarious and a joy to watch. It stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in the lead roles and they have great chemistry and are very compelling, with the rest of the supporting cast are also doing a good job and working well. The comedy is well written and executed, with lots of very funny moments spread throughout and the late 70's Los Angeles aesthetic is pulled of nicely. Overall there are a few minor issues with the script, but I found this to be a great comedy, that is very engaging,, funny and entertaining.
****