A Star is Born

Had heard nothing but great things about this latest 'A Star is Born' film, with even my own sister saying it was a must see. There was also the interest to see how Lady Gaga would fare in her acting debut and how Bradley Cooper would fare as first-time director. Decided to see it when taking a break from practise with nothing else better to do, going in with very high expectations, as part of my "seeing as many 2018 films as possible" quest.

This is not the only, or first, 'A Star is Born' film. There is one from 1937 with Mitzi Gaynor and Fredric March, my personal favourite. There is one from 1954, the most famous, which is overlong but does contain Judy Garland's best ever performance and terrific songs (especially the heart-wrenching "The Man That Got Away"), love James Mason in it too. There is the 1976 film with Barbra Streisand, personally don't care for it but Streisand sings beautifully and "Evergreen" is to die for.

As far as the versions of 'A Star is Born' goes, this one from 2018 compares extremely favourably. Not quite as good as the 1937 film, but on the same level as 1954 and better than 1976. May not love it as much as others, but the appeal is justified and the acclaim is deserved from my personal perspective. In terms of films from 2018, 'A Star is Born' is among the better ones.

It's not perfect. A few story elements are a touch rushed and lack credibility, like Ally getting stage spotlight in such a short space of time, and occasionally it's a little on-the-nose like the making Ally glitzier advice from Rez.

The final act also could have been tightened, slightly too padded and dragged out.

What 'A Star is Born' does so well is taking a familiar story and making it still fresh and relatable. It's always entertaining and glamorous yet the love story is every bit as important, and even more so, and is both charming and emotionally impactful. Everything about 'A Star is Born' is slick, endlessly entertaining and with lots of heart and surprising poignancy, also had the experience of not a dry eye being in the auditorium with tears silently rolling with me.

Visually, it's very eye catching and sumptuously made, beautifully shot with lots of glitzy glamour and style. Loved the songs, none are quite on the same level as "The Man That Got Away" and "Evergreen" but they are extremely well written, easy to remember, have a wide range of emotions, are very well sung and staged, are integrated beautifully integrated into the story, some moving the story forward or telling it through the song rather than being a grinding things to a halt distraction. "I'll Never Love Again" and "Shallow" stand out.

Dialogue has wit and heart and the story shines particularly in the first third. Cannot say anything bad about the performances, with Lady Gaga providing a contender for the most surprising performances of the year in a quite outstanding acting debut (her singing is also absolutely great of course), a star is born indeed. Bradley Cooper gives one of his best performances as a charismatic and charming yet conflicted leading man, do not associate him with musicals and worried as to whether he would fit but it fits him like a glove. He too directs for the first time, and it is hard to believe that a directing job this slick and audacious was only his debut, really do disagree about his contributions being a vanity project with so much effort being put into everything. There is fine support from particularly Sam Elliott and the chemistry between the two leads is wholly believable.

Altogether, very, very good and often splendid. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I did not want to watch this movie but took my wife to see it, because we both saw the one with Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand, growing up. The crowd was a lot older than we were(we are almost 50) it was the biggest screen they had at our theater and seats a lot but it was maybe half full on Sunday afternoon. Not one dry eye in the place, it had a great tempo and didn't drag on or have any lulls in the story. We were both very pleased and are still engaging in conversations about the movie. It's my opinion to highly recommend to everyone go out and watch a great movie and a heartfelt movie that redefines love in this time and age we live in. That is my two cents, hope you enjoy as much as we have.

This is the 4th version of A Star Is Born I've seen - 5th if you count What Price Hollywood - each version had a life of their own and reflected the times of the time in which it was made. The 2018 version is no exception. For me represented also the revelation of Lady Gaga as a phenomenal film presence. She is, quite simply, superb. Moving, powerful and real. Janet Gaynor had brought a form of overwhelming innocence, Judy Garland exploded in heartbreak in a Hollywood that doesn't exist anymore and she was, unquestionably, memorable. Barbara Streisand was tough with a strong sense of self even during her tribulations. Lady Gaga brings a little of each of them as well as something profoundly personal. Kudos to Bradley Cooper. His Norman Maine has a new name and a totally new presence. At times this version seems more about him than about her. In any case, I loved them both - Bravo!

I must be on a streak with the amount of excellent films that I have been seeing lately, because A Star is Born is fantastic. If this film does not get nominated for Best Picture or Best Actor, Best Actress, or Best Original Song, then I will literally be stunned, because every single aspect found within the film was perfect. I would really love to see Lady Gaga win the Oscar for Best Actress because she totally nailed it here. She went from poking faces in 2007, to make the audience's heart sink in 2018.

Honestly, the one thing that I love the most about this film is the fact that the chemistry between Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga is so genuine and authentic. Their relationship is so perfect, so real, and I honestly felt like I was getting a realistic perspective of a couple, with all of their happiness, struggles, and everything in between. It is so funny that I thought Bradley Cooper was absolutely awful in American Sniper, so I was incredibly shocked to see how well he did here. Like in American Sniper, Cooper is also suffering from an alcohol addiction and relationship, but in A Star is Born, it is handled much more brilliantly. You see, we actually get to feel for his character. He is such a likable guy, that even when he makes a horrible decision, we understand why he is doing it, and we sympathize with in throughout it all. I loved both his character and Lady Gaga's so much. They were so damn perfect together.

As for the music, on its own it may have not been my cup of tea, but in the context of the film, it was outstanding. From country, to pop, to a little bit of rock and roll, I was sold on every song. Even with the final song, which totally wrecked my heart, along with everybody else's in the theater (who was sobbing like I was), I was hooked all the way through. The music was so perfect and I loved the transition in the tone of the music from the one-man show of Bradley Cooper at the beginning of the film, the duo of Cooper and Lady Gaga towards the middle, and the one-woman show of Gaga at the end. It was just outstanding.

You know, as much as I love La La Land, I started to understand why some people disliked that film after watching this one. A Star is Born is far more realistic, grounded, has better chemistry, and is just much more powerful. I loved this film, not only more than La La Land, but more than any other movie I have seen this year. This was excellent, without flaws, and if anything, really started to make me feel that love might be real.

So many soundtracks to continue listening to: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Mid90s, and now A Star is Born. I love it!

Being a film buff I never watched the older takes of "A Star is Born" however I watched this latest modern spin with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga(who have great on screen chemistry together). The film is a joy as it touches your emotions and grows on you from the love of the two central characters and the pain combined with fame and sorrow make this musical drama(the songs are uplifting)a wonderful watch.

Jackson Maine(Bradley Cooper) is a hard living and hard whiskey drinking western rock singer who lives it up entertaining crowd after crowd. Jackson is a man who's got plenty of personal demons besides the bottle as his family friction with only brother Bobby(the great Sam Elliott) weighs on his heart heavy. Things change when Ally(Lady Gaga) captures his heart along the way the two get to know each other in an intimate way as passion becomes love.

Still the love is not without struggle and heartache as Ally becomes famous and well known while Jackson's music and personal life both take a downward path with alcoholism as he just can't escape his own dark shadows. It's like you as the viewer could see the tragedy coming all along.

Overall entertaining film with fine and beautiful music and the on screen chemistry between Bradley and Gaga is in top notch form, as clearly this is one love drama to see that showcases the rise of fame and stardom, also while showing a grim personal downfall.