A Star Is Born (2018)

Directed by Bradley Cooper · Drama, Music, Romance

Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott, Anthony Ramos, Michael Harney, Rafi Gavron, Rebecca Field, D.J. "Shangela" Pierce, Willam Belli, Greg Grunberg, Ron Rifkin, Lukas Nelson, Anthony LoGerfo, Corey McCormick, Logan Metz, Tato Melgar, Eddie Griffin, Luenell, Marlon Williams, Brandi Carlile, Halsey, Alec Baldwin, Don Roy King, Barry Shabaka Henley, Michael D. Roberts, Drena De Niro, Gabe Fazio, Jacob Schick

IHBM8.75Excellent

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discoversand falls in love withstruggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singeruntil Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

My review · Reviewed 01/19/2019

It's fundamentally difficult to try to tell a story that's been told several times before. We all know roughly how the story is going to play out so the telling of the story already has a strike against it before it even starts. For me this film was broken up into two completely different viewing experiences. The first half of the film is absolutely electric. Bradley Cooper is endearing and charming and Lady Gaga is .... spunky?... and in her own way very endearing. The first few scenes between them are magical and their chemistry is undeniable. The two leads are perfectly cast and their performances are phenomenal. The second half? That's where the film needed to make its bones and I think it fell short. It has to be a lot harder to tell a story of a relationship falling apart than it is to show it coming together (although some films like Blue Valentine pull it off well). The movie started to ramble a bit and may have even gone on a bit too long. I don't think that it portrayed the heartache that it needed to. My 8.75 rating is a reflection of how good the first half is.

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