8March 2017EntertainmentL a L a L a n d ‘ s t a r t s a f i r e ’ i n t h e a t r e s

By Matt StreckerStaff Reporter

“Another Day” of Sun in Los Angeles sings and dances its way into the hearts of audiences everywhere

with the new hit film La La Land, written and directed by Damien Chazelle. Starring Emma Stone as Mia, an aspiring actress working in a coffee shop, and Ryan Gos-ling as Sebastian, a dedicated classic jazz musician, La La Land fails to disappoint the

musical and performing arts genre. With catchy music and mesmerizing dances scenes, this movie will have any au-dience member humming and tapping their toes for weeks.

Critics and movie goers alike have been raving about La La Land from the moment

it hit the theatres on Decem-ber 9th of last year. Since then, it has won 148 awards out of its 223 nominations. Nominations include Golden Globes, Oscars, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. After attending this movie multi-ple times, I agree with every award that it has received.

The movie starts off with a large traffic jam, something to be expected with living in a big city like Los Angeles. All of a sudden, a huge flash mob breaks out with one of the catchiest songs you’ll ever hear, “Another Day of Sun.” It got me interested and extremely excited to see what the movie had to offer. After a clean four minutes of singing and dancing on cars, everyone calms down, and we meet our main charac-ters. Stone is practicing her lines for a big audition, and Gosling is listening to a tape of jazz music, studying every note. Gosling then unleashes a prolonged honk directed at Stone (that will come up again later, several times) and passes her as they exchange some harsh emotions. Ah, love.

From the opening scene to the closing credits, this movie captures you with all brands of music. For being a musical, there are still several songs in this movie that stray from the status quo of musicals. Multiple times in this film, we find our lovebirds in jazz clubs listening to trumpets blasting glass shattering high notes or saxophones stealing the show with melodic tones and beautiful strings of notes. It was a fantastic blend of musi-cal numbers and classic jazz music. Sebastian’s passion for starting a club that only plays true jazz music had me cheering for him to succeed throughout the entire movie.

Another aspect of this movie that had this film blowing up the box office (BOX OFFICE $) is the love story between Stone and Gosling. Starting with a less than friendly encounter on a freeway, the two meet several times at parties and at a restaurant from which Gosling gets fired from for playing his kind of music. The way these first cou-ple meetings go, it had me

feeling like these two would be sworn arch-enemies throughout the whole film. Then, after a party, a scene of them walking to their cars and stopping to sing and tap-dance to “A Lovely Night” changed my whole way of thinking. From there on, their love story is easy to follow and draws audience members in by making them wish they were in their relationship. With Gosling on piano, and Stone throwing some of her horribly awkward dance moves, they quickly turn into a power couple.

From its catchy songs, to its elaborate dance numbers, famous faces such as Stone, Gosling, and John Legend, and its addicting love story, La La Land was a late edition to the conversation of “best movie in 2016.” Though it was only in Columbus for a week, I highly recommend purchasing a digital or physi-cal copy when it comes out in mid-to-late April. It lives up to the high expectations, and you will get more than your money’s worth.

A D o g ’s P u r p o s e d o e s n ’ t d i s a p p o i n tBy Layne Schroeder

Staff Reporter

Some movies leave the audience dumbfounded, and others leave an audience sorry that they wasted their money and time on a piece of Hollywood garbage. For me, A Dog’s Purpose found a spot right in the middle. Just as you would expect from a family friendly and heart-warming story that tugs on the viewer’s heartstrings, the movie did not have an over-complicated plot; however, it was developed thoroughly enough to keep the viewer entertained.

The movie is based on author Bruce Cameron’s

2010 book A Dog’s Purpose. It is a story about a dog who is reincarnated several times to discover his ultimate pur-pose in life. Voice actor Josh Gad voices Bailey, a golden retriever, Buddy, a black lab, Tino, a corgie, and Ellie, a German shephard on a journey with several different owners to discover what a dog’s purpose truly is.

Anybody who has ever owned a furry friend will find this movie extremely relatable. The movie explores a dog’s role whenever their owner is feeling a certain way – whether it be sadness, happiness, or angry venting. There were several moments throughout this movie that reminded me of my own experiences with my dog, and

I have to admit, I did “aww” a couple times.

Pretty much every movie about pets ever has a pet die at some point in the movie. Spoiler alert, it happens in this movie, too. It is scenes like this that are especially memorable, and they are sure to make the viewer extremely emotional. If you’re anything like me and have had to say goodbye to a pet, scenes like this are especially hard to watch. It is sure to leave anybody watching the movie who currently has a pet appreciating their own furry buddy.

My only real gripe with this movie, and what you’ll read in almost any movie review about this movie, is how the animals were treated

A Dog’s Purpose grossed $18,222,810 on opening weekend in the United States. Josh Gad voices Bai-ley on an adeventure that finds what a dog’s pur-pose is in life.

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behind the scenes. Now by no means am I a member of PETA, but if you’re like me then knowing about some of these incidents before watch-ing the movie may make some of the sappy moments seem slightly less genuine.

Overall, I would recom-mend that you see this movie, especially if you have a pet. The underlying theme of this whole movie is that your pet may only be around for part of your life, but to them you are all that they have. This entire movie from start to finish does an excellent job of hitting that theme home. It teaches you that the next time your dog scratches at your door at midnight, you should let them in. When they drop their favorite toy in

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling dance the night away in the newest hit movie La La Land. The movie has been nominated for 223 awards.

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front of you as you sit down to watch Netflix after a long day, hopefully you will spend a few extra minutes playing with them. If there is one les-son that you will learn from

this movie, it is that pets won’t be around forever, so it is important to enjoy and appreciate them while you still have a chance.

K.L. Schroeder, P.C.Personal, Prompt,

and Professional Service3215 22nd Street

Suite DColumbus, NE 68601

Kelly SchroederCertified Public Accountant

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