REVIEW- A STAR IS BORN

*** ( out of four stars)

I just saw the latest "A Star Is Born"over the weekend. We caught it at a matinee at Oaks. It is slowly being phased out of the theaters for the newer blockbuster Christmas movies. There were two other people in the theater when we saw it.

After hearing so much about this film over the past few months, mostly positive reviews, we had to check it out, especially before all the nominations came out for the upcoming awards season.

Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director are all in play for A Star Is Born. I don't remember much of the previous A Star Is Born movies, including the 70s Barbra Streisand/ Kris Kristofferson vehicle. So I went into this new version frsh and without preconceptions.

I had heard so much about Lady Gaga's performance. Bradley Cooper is getting Oscar buzz as lead actor and director. And i heard the music is great.

Most of what I heard before, from reviews and word of mouth, is true. Lady Gaga is very good. I've never been a fan of Lady Gaga or her music. To me she always came across as a poor man's Madonna.But maybe its the other way around?

Whatever you think of her music  she can sing. She also has a natural way about her acting. It will be interesting to see where she goes from here on the screen and what roles she considers.

I liked Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Sniper.' Here he comes off as a Springsteen-type Country-Rock singer/songwriter. Cooper does a credible job holding his own singing.

The first part of the movie seemed too contrived. The Cooper character just happened to stop at a bar where the Gaga character just happened to be singing and they happened to meet and fall in love, not only with each other's heart but with each other's talent.

The second half of the film seemed more believable. I liked the honest rapport between the two main characters. Cooper and Gaga do have a nice chemistry between them.

The music, ranging form rockers to tender ballads, is exceptional. Will there be Oscar-winners and Grammy-winners, like "Evergreen" from the 70s version? Interesting comparison between current soundtrack albums  on the charts- A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Yes, the ending got to me, predictable as it was. The conclusion still packs a punch.

A Star Is Born should win a boatload of awards soon, from Golden Globes to Academy Awards.It's a good film, maybe a bit old-fashioned in it's story, but it's not a great film. Best Picture? Not sure I would go that far. But it was an entertaining, quick two-plus hours of movie enjoyment  in an almost empty theater, a nice break from the holiday shopping, decorating and chaos.