Director Damien Chazelle was screwed out of the Academy Award for Best Picture two years ago for “La La Land.” So was his star, Ryan Gosling. So the big news is they are back with “First Man,” the gorgeously lyrical nail biting story of how astronaut Neil Armstrong became the First Man on the Moon. It will be hard to beat them this time.

“First Man” comes with a screenplay by Josh Singer, Oscar winner for “Spotlight.” The musical score is from Justin Hurwitz, also of “La La Land.” Cinematographer Linus Sandgren is also back from “La La Land.” They are all working at their respective heights.

Add to this group, Claire Foy, aka Queen Elizabeth from “The Crown” as Janet Armstrong. I’ll tell you now I expect she will win Best Supporting Actress without much trouble. She’s that good, the part is that well written for her. I’ve long admired Foy, but this is a stunning start to her movie career.

Chazelle already earned raves in Venice but tonight was the North American premiere. In Venice, a tempest in a teapot broke out over the exclusion of a scene depicting the planting of the American flag on the moon. This turns out now not to be true. The planted flag is shown, and there are plenty of American flags throughout. The movie is very patriotic.

So what happened? In order to avoid cliches, and depicted scenes shown previously in other movies like “Apollo 13,” Chazelle told me he chose not to dramatize those moments. ” We were looking for new moments not seen before,” he told me. So we don’t see Apollo 11’s re-entry either, or landing, or the astronauts getting a ticker tape parade.

Instead, “First Man” focuses on Neil Armstrong, his wife and children. The moon landing is seen through their eyes. This gives “First Man” a freshness, and a new perspective. The movie is a cinematic gift. This is no surprise. Chazelle’s first two movies, “Whiplash” and “La La Land” were the same. At 32, his career is soaring.

Great supporting performances from Jason Clarke, Ciaran Hinds, Brian D’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, and Lukas Haas among others. But “First Man” is almost a two hander, with Gosling and Foy doing superior work. I can’t wait to see this again– and to get the soundtrack.

This is what you shouldn’t do: watch a stunning three hour masterpiece foreign film so exhilarating you’re surprised anyone can still make cinema so good, then go to a contrived, hackneyed American studio creation that makes you want to throw things at the screen.

Perhaps Dan Fogelman’s “Life Itself” wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t just come from Florian Henckel von Dommersmarck’s “Never Look Away.” The two films shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence. Fogelman’s movie is just as manipulative and hoary as his TV show, “This is Us” except it doesn’t have Sterling K. Brown. As much as we love Oscar Isaac, he can’t save “Life Itself” from itself. I wish I had that memory fix stick from “Men in Black” to wipe it all out.

But I digress. Saturday afternoon was spent in cinematic nirvana with “Never Look Away.” Florian ten years  ago gave us “The Lives Of Others,” which so so superior it won Best Foreign Language film and was good enough that it should have won the Oscar for Best Film. If you watch it now, “Lives” remains a stunner.

I knew he’d back back despite making a studio catastrophe called “The Tourist” with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Just pretend that didn’t happen.

Four years ago Florian heard about the life of German artist Gerhard Richter, still alive today at 86. He sensed inspiration for a large film that would talk about art, creativity, modern German history and still have plenty of sex and laughs. The result is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life, “Never Look Away.” At the Saturday screening, the standing ovation was thunderous with applause and screams of “Bravo!” If you really like cinema, movies, film, this is the one we’ve been waiting for.

Three hours go by so quickly in “Never Look Away” — well, you never look away as Florian fictionalizes Gerhart as a Dresden born artist named Kurt who survives the 1945 bombing as a six or seven year old, and then watches as Russians decimate Germany post- Nazi. Eventually Kurt and his girlfriend then young bride, escape East Berlin in 1961 before the Wall goes up, and they embark on a post-war life with the long shadow of Nazi Germany hanging over them.

Sounds grim but it’s not. Florian in the zone to speak where the pace and rhythms are magnificently perfect. It’s almost like he made the movie in a trance where nothing can go wrong. There’s lot of humor, and I said, lots of sex, there’s plenty to distract from the very serious ramifications of history. It’s hey– life itself– it’s the way we live even now– enduring the terrible by skimming in and out of it.

It doesn’t hurt that famed American cinematographer Caleb Deschanel does things here that should earn him his own Oscar after 5 nominations. His work here is simply sublime. The creation of Kurt’s/ Richter’s art will be studied by film students.

The actors are sensational. Sebastian Koch is back as the Nazi father in law of Kurt, whom he doesn’t know is Jewish and with whom he has a tie that only the audience knows. (This is the difference between this subtly realized plot and the hideous mallet hammering over the head of Life Itself, which keeps screaming its secret at you like a mental patient on Broadway.)

Koch was a hero in “Lives,” here he’s the villain, but he just hits the right sympathetic notes. German child star Tom Schilling is Kurt. He looks like Aaron Paul and makes quite honestly the most important debut to the West from a foreign actor since Jean duJardin. The very fine Paula Beer is Kurt’s love. Saskia Rosendahl lights up the screen in what is the central and most compelling character, that of Kurt’s aunt. I don’t want to spoil her role, but this was they key casting and it worked.

There”s more on “Never Look Away,” which will open in December. But every Academy and Guild member must see this ASAP. This is it– this is why we do it. Something happens just before the end of the film that recalls a scene from early on. When it started to happen, you have a sense of how this will end– and it was so brilliant I wanted to stand up and start applauding then, not wait. We can talk about it in December. You’ll see, and you’ll need tissues.

Before we get lost in how wonderful Bradley Cooper’s version of Frank Pearson and John Gregory Dunne-Joan Didion’s “A Star is Born” is, and how Lady Gaga is now going to beyond Superstardom, may we stop and salute Sam Elliott? He’s going to get an Oscar nomination for playing Cooper’s much older brother and road manager in this movie. He is absolutely superb, perfectly cast, and this is his year.

I just wanted get that out of the way.

This “Star” is the great big studio movie every studio has pined for for a long time. I mean, it’s big. Cooper has outdone himself, he joins the ranks of Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Ben Affleck (and even Ethan Hawke, of late) has top notch actors who also became important directors. Good for him. There isn’t a nicer guy.

He brings a fresh look to “ASIB” while at the same time riffing greatly on that 1976 Streisand-Kristofferson chapter. Cooper and Lady Gaga are sort of playing those actors playing the new characters of Jack and Ally (formerly Norman and Esther). I hope the choices are intentional. But Cooper’s Jack is a newer grizzled Kris, and Gaga’s Ally is very Barbra centric– so many references to her nose and how she was told to change it. This is Streisand’s story! (Gaga’s nose seems just fine btw).

He’s a big rock-country star with a bad drinking problem. She’s doing gigs at drag clubs in Queens among queens who are nicely letting her be “the girl.” Drunk, and looking for more drink on the way to JFK, he tells his driver to stop at this bar. There he sees Her, and hears her sing, and that’s it: they must be together.

Sounds simple, right? But his star is descending, hers is ascending. Still, they love each other. But she can’t deal with the drinking, he goes to rehab, and she wins a Grammy Award. You know where this is headed.

We know this story so well, and Cooper et al know we do. So he makes it just new enough and of the moment to capture our attention. It doesn’t hurt that Cooper has a good eye and Jack turns out to be an authentic rocker. Cooper shoulders 2/3 of the movie, which is mind blowing for a debut. And he was smart. You can tell he drew on Robert Altman’s “Nashville” as some influence, a reference guide maybe. Still, it’s a new work.

But it’s all about Lady Gaga. She sings “La Vie En Rose” in the drag club first ten minutes, and you might as well give her an award right there. You could leave, she’s done it, her voice is rich and textured. Her time at Tony Bennett University was well spent.

But wait– she has ten more songs. She draws on Barbra and Liza and Judy and all the girls with gumption and a voice. She’s their kid vocally, although musically her heroine is represented in her Queens bedroom with a framed cover of Carole King’s “Tapestry.” The message is clear, so are all the piano based songs. If Carole and Elton John had a kid, it would be Lady Gaga. Her talent is really stunning.

The soundtrack is phenomenal. One hit after another. I’m concerned because it could unseat “The Bodyguard” as the biggest soundtrack of all time. The final song, sung by Gaga, is so Whitney Houston-Clive Davis-David Foster that the comparison must be made: someone read the playbook for that past triumph. And they nailed it. They’ve got enough singles to peel off for months to come.

Nods to Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay, and Anthony Ramos for fine supporting work. Matthew Libatique will get much applause for his exceptional cinematography. He and Cooper make the film fresh all the way through. Warner Bros. needn’t worry about a Most Popular Film award– they’ve got it. Now they can brace themselves for big big box office.

Michael Moore got a rapturous standing ovation in Toronto tonight for his new film. “Fahrenheit 11 9” makes a devastating case against Donald Trump comparing him to Hitler and his followers to Nazis. He even dubs Trump’s voice into film clips of Hitler speeches at Nazi rallies.

But he also takes aim at the American political hierarchy that he says created Trump. It’s a powerful film that shoukd ignite voters. After the screening the Parkland students featured in the film appeared on stage and spoke to a wildly enthusiastic audience.

Moore ranges around a bit as he builds his argument. There’s no aha moment but there are revelations that are mind blowing. One involving Steny Hoyer admitting to a novice Democratic hopeful that his election is rigged against him by party elders is a wow.  Now you see why young adults are frustrated. Nancy Pelosi take heed.

“F 11/9” is a call to arms. Seen by enough people it will be catalyzing. To dismiss it really would be a mistake.

More later….

Sometimes the Academy gets it right.

The Lifetime Achievement Oscars, known as the Governor’s Awards, been announced and they are very, very good.

Legendary actress Cicely Tyson, 91, who continues to amaze, is top of the list.

Composer Lalo Schifrin, the man who gave us the “Mission Impossible” music and dozens of other scores, is next.

And then will come a trio very associated with Steven Spielberg. Kathleen Kennedy — now head of LucasFilm– and Frank Marshall, whose credits are a resume of the best films since 1976– will get the Irving Thalberg Award. Start clapping now. Their clip reels will take two days.

Joining this group is our dear pal Marvin Levy, Spielberg’s publicist since “Close Encounters.” He’s the first publicist to receive an honorary Oscar, and it’s much deserved. Marvin– who worked on all the Amblin, Dreamworks, etc movies, many of which Kennedy and Marshall produced– is beloved.

Nicely done, governors.

Ethan Hawke is a man for all seasons– actor, director, writer. He’s got a couple of well earned Oscar nominations, too. I’m always interested in what he’s up to, and now he’s made his masterpiece. “Blaze,” a complex, beautifully wrought sort of down and dirty version of “Crazy Hearts,” opens locally this week and nationwide next week. You don’t want to miss it.

Hawke directed and co-wrote with Sybil Rosen, a nice Jewish girl from the South who 30 years ago hooked up with an unknown genius country-blues star named Blaze Foley. It’s no spoiler that Foley died in 1989 at age 39 but because we never really knew him on a national level, his story unwinds as a riveting character study. He’s the guy who didn’t make it, but left behind the legend. A little better known was his comrade in arms, Townes van Zandt, who also died young (1997, age 52) but not before recording up a storm.

Rosen essentially was a Joyce Johnson, Jack Kerouac’s girlfriend who went on to become a famed writer and editor. Rosen wrote a memoir, published in 2008, of her time with these guys, called “Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley.” Ethan Hawke was smart enough to make it into a movie. It’s only taken a decade. The cost is under $2 million. It looks like ten times that at least thanks to cinematographer Steve Cosens. Everyone’s going to want to know how he and Hawke did it.

The actors are newcomers and novices. Ben Dickey, who won a special prize at Sundance, makes an astonishing debut as Blaze, a Charles Bukowski-esque larger than life country blues man way way way ahead of his time– of everyone’s time. Everyone’s going to be asking about Foley now, and Dickey may have some answers. He will wipe you out.

Another wonderful debut comes from Charlie Sexton as heroin-addicted Townes van Zandt. Sexton could be Sam Shepard’s younger brother or Harry Dean Stanton’s son. I have no doubt he will get a couple of Best Supporting Actor nods out of this from the Gotham and Indie Spirits (if the latter can let go of their Oscars wannabe addiction). Sexton is a well known veteran musician who’s toured a lot with Bob Dylan and David Bowie in years past. Watch out for him.  Alia Shawkat, granddaughter of the late journeyman TV actor Paul Burke, also makes an impressive turn as Rosen herself. Josh Hamilton, always an MVP, is their steadfast sidekick.

But it also comes down to Hawke, who just “got” this. Lightning has struck. The chemistry was right. The screenplay fully explores each character and gives depth to people who are not so easy to access on the face of it. Sometimes I wondered if they were living in 1980s Austin or 1930s dust bowl, they are so isolated from the go-go world of Reagan yuppies. But they lived on their own grid, and Hawke has electrified it. So nice to see some real cinema. Again, find this movie, because ads won’t be obvious.