Whiplash

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Monosterio, Nov 12, 2014.

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  1. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    I saw this during the weekend, about the tortuous -- and torturous -- relationship between a young jazz drummer and his teacher. With the possible exception of Boyhood, it's my favorite movie of the year. J.K. Simmons, who played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies (as well as Juno's father) is brilliant as the teacher, as is Miles Teller playing the student. And you don't have to be a music lover to like it, though it sure doesn't hurt.

    Anyone else seen it?
     
  2. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Must be in limited release.

    Miles is a very good young actor. Spectacular Now was good.

    Is this supposed to be about anyone real?
     
  3. Tlay

    Tlay Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast
    Just saw this movie. Intense is an understatement. One of the best I've seen in some time. Acting was superb across the board. Go see it!
     
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  4. amoergosum

    amoergosum Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
  5. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    Whew. Intense. Not a movie you forget and very difficult to watch the abusive behavior in parts. The jazz music is outstanding, IMO. At first I thought that JK simmons was the same actor who played the surly disciplinarian in the Breakfast Club, Paul Gleason (now deceased).
     
  6. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    I finally found a theater playing it.

    Easily one of the best acting movies of the year.

    Great music in it also....
     
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  7. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Btw, one review I read mentioned that Miles Teller does all his playing in the movie (IIRC, he was a drummer before turning to acting). Which, if it's true, is remarkable considering the quality of his drumming, particularly in the final sequence.
     
  8. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    I saw him on one of the late night shows (Fallon?) about a month ago talking about this, and he did say he did his own drumming and did a demonstration on the show.
     
  9. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I don't believe for one second he did all the drumming. There were certain points in the movie where you could tell he was really playing (like the first extended shot of him practicing, or the scenes where he's trying to match Simmons' tempo in the rehearsal room) and you could hear his playing is nowhere near as good as the drumming in the extended musical sequences (and which is obviously pre-recorded).
     
  10. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    I have to admit I too have my doubts. This guy would be a drumming GOD if he were as good as the movie suggests. Doesn't take anything away from the movie, though.
     
  11. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I'm really looking forward to this movie, maybe I'll get a chance to go see it this weekend.

    Miles Teller REALLY impressed me in The Spectacular Now, I thought he was fantastic.
     
  12. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Saw it, but my wife and I weren't as impressed as others in this thread.I'll put my complaints in a spoiler for those who haven't seen the film yet:

    It was impossible to believe that Simmons' character would do something as colossally stupid as sabotage his own concert just to get back at the kid by launching into a song the kid did not know. Sorry, but his character, up to that point, may have been vicious and petty, but he wasn't an idiot. It was a classic example of cutting off his nose to spite his face, and pretty much ruined the film for us.

    There are plenty of great films about music. This is not one of them.
     
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  13. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I could buy it because he didn't really care about that group he was conducting -- it wasn't like it was his ensemble from the school. And because Miles ruined his career. And because it was a movie.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2014
  14. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    The way it was presented, this was a huge thing for him, and he's going to make himself look like an idiot who hired the wrong person. It pulled me out of the movie, and it was bad, lazy writing.

    I could be wrong. We only saw it the once in the theater, but neither my wife or myself would want to bother watching it again to see if we were wrong.
     
  15. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    OK, I guess I'm misremembering that.
     
  16. I just saw the movie, and while it didn't wreck the movie for me I was thinking the same thing - a totally unrealistic action thrown in to generate plot tension.
     
  17. IIRC correctly from an article I read a few weeks back, Teller did indeed do some of his own drumming, and his past experience helped him to convincingly mime the more difficult bits - although that also took a lot of hard work and he legitimately bloodied up his hands in the process.

    Also: my, doesn't he look like a young John Cusack?
     
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  18. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Yeah, it struck me as bad, lazy writing - having the characters do things solely to have a third act, divorced from reality. And I could not imagine him ever rising to that position if he had routinely been physically abusive to students - he would have been caught and disciplined long before. Again, mediocre writing - it's easier to write a character being physically abusive than psychologically, and it's a cheat you use if you're not that talented.
     
  19. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    My wife and I loved this movie.

    If you are a musician, see this movie, for me, it was great.
    Great acting, great playing, and some great Jazz. As a musician I found it inspiring.
    When I was a kid, I approached bass playing the way this kid played the drums. You
    can't maintain that intensity or you would go mad, but it works. I only lasted 3 years
    like that, I had to get a job, life happens.
    Again, If you are a musician or you enjoy good musicianship, this is a movie for you.:cheers:
     
  20. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    As far as Chris DeVoe's complaint, that part of the film didn't bother me at all. I just thought Simmons' character was trying another ploy to push Miles' character to what happens at the end.
     
  21. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    I'm watching another film about an abusive jerk - Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown. It does a far better job of helping me understand just how messed up he was. He got amazing music out of these players, but he did so in spite of his abusiveness, rather than because of it. This year, I saw the single best concert of my life - Kate Bush's Before The Dawn. She had astonishing players, drilled to perfection, and she is, by every account and personal experience, sweet and kind.

    Abusive jerks can be great teachers but only coincidentally. The best teachers do so by inspiring people, not by abusing them.
     
  22. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    Speaking of that, I'm surprised no one's mentioned the language Simmons' character uses toward his students. The vast majority of his critiques center on a certain lifestyle, if you know what I mean. I thought for sure that would bother some people.
     
  23. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Yeah, I've never seen anyone who used that sort of abusive language that I didn't think was going to eventually be discovered having to defend their wide stance when visiting the restroom.
     
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  24. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I think the whole point of the movie was to get you to debate whether it's encouragement or pressure that pushes people to perform. The situation at the end may not have been totally realistic but it was in service of that question -- is that what it took to get Andrew to play that way? Was there any validity to Fletcher's speech about "good job"? Does the end justify the means? Etc.
     
    RK2249 and Monosterio like this.
  25. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    You weren't supposed to approve of it.
     
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