A Star Is Born

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.

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!

I know some will say this is a manipulative film. Perhaps, to some extent. When Lady Gaga began performing, I couldn't stand her. My old fogieness caused me to find her pretentious and doing anything for attention. Over the last couple years I have grown to really enjoy what she does. At an advanced age, I would love to see her in concert. Being able to here her great range and depth in this movie was a very pleasant experience. Also, the chops of Bradley Cooper were quite amazing. We all know the plot. I've seen all but one of the previous incarnations, so the big picture stuff was no an issue. There were a few slow moments but I think it worked very well.

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.