Licorice Pizza

Set in the San Fernando Valley of 1973; Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created a loving and nostalgia-filled look at that era with his new film Licorice Pizza. The film focuses on a teenaged Gary (Cooper Hoffman) who becomes intrigued by an older photographer assistant named Alana (Alana Haim); during his school photo sessions.

Despite their age difference; the two become friends and Gary attempts to impress her with his hustle as he works in the fringes of Hollywood and has become a regular on the audition circuit and various events thanks to his agent.

When he is able to get Alana to act as his chaperone on a promotional trip to New York; reality sets in when Alana catches the eye of an older actor and starts dating him; G...

I can't say I enjoyed 'Licorice Pizza' as much as most, but this flick from Paul Thomas Anderson is a good one.

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are entertaining in the lead roles, with Haim particularly standing out - though Philip Seymour Hoffman's kid definitely improves as the film ticks by. There are some amusing roles for more well known faces, my favourite parts of this 2021 release are in fact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Cooper">one of them</a> - funny stuff! Some parts are amiss, mind; e.g. the strange Japanese wives bits.

I did find the dialogue a little pretentious I can't lie, mainly early on as we get to know the characters - once everything is fleshed out and set it's all shipshape, to be fair. The f...

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/sweet-valley-high-licorice-pizza-review<a>

Theres a lackadaisical feeling that runs throughout writer/director Paul Thomas Andersons Licorice Pizza. It feels like summer, where theres nothing in the world but time and friends to spend it with. With a loose narrative and a long run time, Licorice Pizza has moments of magic. Its a perfect snapshot of wasting lazy, hazy, eternal summer days with your best friends and the crazy ideas you cook up together. Getting to see it on 70mm really adds to this dreamy ambiance.

The is a real colourful oddball of a movie. From start to finish we are instantly thrown into Alana´s journey and are taken trough a series of strange situations and developments. There is no pre-development or little to be told about the main characters history. The movie is a moment-to-moment tag-along story of romance and its ups and downs. However i enjoyed the little humour moments in it and i had to giggle at times. Catches the 70´s vibe mighty good and i personally enjoyed every moment of it. Of course the woke community had to react to this movie but there is nothing to be offended about anything. Enjoy the film.

Licorice Pizza: Paul Thomas Anderson's Masterful Meditation on Becoming

In "Licorice Pizza", Paul Thomas Anderson does what he does best: he transforms the messy, uncertain terrain of human becoming into a luminous, deeply compassionate narrative.

Set in the San Fernando Valley of the 1970s, the film follows Alana and Gary - two souls navigating that treacherous landscape between adolescence and genuine adulthood. Their relationship isn't a traditional romance, but a complex dance of aspiration, confusion, and tentative connection.

Anderson's distinctive cinematic language is perfectly suited to this narrative. His episodic structure mirrors the non-linear path of personal discovery. Scenes drift and connect like memory itself - im...