La La Land PG-13
Magic is an overused word, but La La Land is truly magical. It reunites Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for another round of young love following their success with Crazy, Stupid, Love. La La Land’s love story involves chasing dreams across the city where dreams have long been manufactured, Los Angeles. It’s also a musical, and as in Singing in the Rain, conversations can erupt into song and dance. La La Land is a smashing reprise to director Damian Chazelle’s Oscar-winning Whiplash. Both films trade on the dreams of young creative people, albeit La La Land is softened by wistfulness, romance and a twist of melancholy. (David Luhrssen)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story PG-13
The Death Star is the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction, poised to destroy the home planet of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). Remembering that her father (whom she hasn’t seen since she was a young child) designed this weapon, Jyn joins an unlikely crew of crusaders on a mission to steal plans to the Death Star. ILM visual effects supervisor John Knoll originally pitched this story concept more than a decade ago. When Disney Studios purchased Lucasfilm, Knoll took a flyer, and pitched it again. This time he hit pay dirt. Set just prior to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope from 1977, the film’s otherworldly locations include: the Laamu Atoll in the Maldives, Iceland and Jordan. Additionally, this film does not open with the traditional Star Wars story crawl. (Lisa Miller)
