Surprisingly, director Damien Chazelle’s original concept for La La Land – a student film from his Harvard days, titled Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench and developed with then-classmate Hurwitz – was set in Boston. It wasn’t until they adapted it into one of those paeans-to-itself that Hollywood loves so much that they were able to find backers. (The critical and commercial success of Chazelle’s 2014 project, Whiplash, didn’t hurt either.)

A documentary film revealing the exhaustive records, both visual and audio, that the photographer compiled while living next door to a NYC loft that was a Mecca for jazz artists from 1957 and 1965. Smith installed microphones throughout the building, even in the stairwells, capturing off-the-cuff conversations between legendary artists along with their musical collaborations.

An assortment of picks from our movie critic.

Viola Davis’ big soliloquy is a stunner, cementing her ever-growing reputation as one of the greatest actresses of our time.

Gareth Edwards’ “filler” project is about 100 times better than George Lucas’ prequel trilogy (though that’s not saying much).

The timeless and irreverent holiday classic is based on the stories of Jean Shepherd in his book In “God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.” Bring a new unwrapped toy for People’s Place, and you will get in for free.

Director/writer Kenneth Lonergan has a fine ear for gritty working-class dialogue.

Alice Guy-Blaché, the first female movie director and studio-owner, made her first film in 1896 at the age of 23. She went on to write, direct or produce more than 1,000 films. She could be considered the first director (male or female), because she was the first to give direction to actors and to separate her role from the cameraman. Surprisingly, this pioneer of cinema was largely forgotten for decades.