Whiplash

I'm happy with the way the movie ended. I wouldn't want to see what happened to the characters later, especially if the director is serious in his post-movie scenario.

 

Great movie, finally saw it tonight. A great music lover's movie, and a great movie period. A great portrayal of a love-hate relationship between two people wedded to excellence in music at any cost. Did I use the word "great" enough?

 

Saw it last week, we enjoyed it.

 

To me, it's the sign of great writing if the filmmakers have managed to make you care about and believe in the characters enough that you want to know what happened after the film ended. To me, that's the highest praise anybody can ask for.

 

Not really...it's the exact opposite in my opinion....

 

stunningly good movie.

can't figure out for the life of me why miles teller was not nominated for an oscar.

 

I've seen this movie three times, once with the blu-ray commentary and I truly enjoyed it. My best friend's late father was a longtime band director in our small hometown growing up, so we were around band directing all the time. He was admired by everyone in town and after he retired from teaching, he took a small job at the local grocery store, helping bag and carry groceries out to customers cars, which kept him in peoples lives. With that said, I asked my friend to watch this with me the third time and he felt that J.K.'s character was over the top and that he would naturally never keep a job teaching, if he were really THAT mean in real life. I love the fact that his character is trying to find and nurture (brow beat, in this case), the next great musician, but, sometimes music miracles happen on their own and they don't need someone making you feel like a loser, just to get you to become something special.

I found that listening to the director and J.K.'s commentary after my first viewing of the movie was interesting, as many things were omitted, including much of the relationship of the lead and his father. J.K. deserved the Oscar and I'm glad that I got to sit with my friend and see it, as it brought a little of his father back to us for a moment, if only "musically".

I should also mention that the soundtrack of this film and the actual musicians who played on it, should have won an award themselves, as this is easily the most fun that I've had with jazz in many years. Only recently discovering the previously unreleased Benny Goodman recordings, that Benny willed to Yale University, when he passed away, have given me as much pleasure, as this film and it's soundtrack! BRAVO!

 

This is kind of funny ...

"Whiplash", as a sitcom!

 

That is hysterical! Thanks.

 

I agree with the seemingly unanimous agreement that JK Simmons deserved the Oscar for his performance. I also agree, as stated above, that me wanting to know more about the backstory of the characters makes the film a very good one.

I am left wanting to know more about what Simmons did before he came to conservatory of music to teach. We know he wants the next Charlie Byrd, but how did that come about for him? I have more questions, but it's only a movie. I wish some of those questions would have been addressed in the movie.

 

A bad music hater's movie? What do you mean by the exact opposite? The music teacher was an over the top jerk, but I thought it was ripped right from today's headlines. It reminded me of the abusive Rutger's U. basketball coach that got away with that kind of behavior until someone put it up on YouTube.

 

I went to see the movie yesterday and unfortunately I have very little positive to say about it. From technical perspective there is nothing to complain: good editing with no dull spot, great actors play and rousing music. However the screenplay about a young Rambo-drummer confronted with Sgt. "Full Metal Jacket" Hartman is absolutely horrid and pathetic, which has sadly become a norm in the US high-profile cinema of recent decades. The audience bursting out with hysterical laughter upon gravely wounded Rambo...

Spoiler

getting out of his wrecked car

... is sufficient commentary for this whole ridiculous hogwash.

If movies of this kind start to get nominated for Oscars now, one may only expect that in a few years the cinematic "works" on the level of sophistication of Mummy, Godzilla or Night at the Museum will be winning in all the categories.

 

I just now finished watching this movie. Man I love it! It makes me want to get back to drumming even more now. I miss it so much!

There are two parts of the movie that got to me:

1) where the band director picked on a trombone player for being out of tune when he wasn't. He made a point by saying that the problem wasn't that he wasn't out of tune, but that he didn't know it.

2) where he f***s with people's' heads to push them to be better instead of saying "good job".

Those are good, yet hard lessons.

One other part of the movie I think we all can relate to: the scene where his family is sitting at the dinner table, bragging about each other's' teaching and sports accomplishments, and making light of his desire to be the best at play drums.

I had forgotten all about that tune "Whiplash". I played that in high school!

 

Sure, but that's what men use to push other men's buttons in our world. They do it in the Marines, or they used to. I guess that kind of language has the same effect on a guy whether he's straight or gay.

 

I dislike bullies too, but, musicians take their skill very seriously. Very. Especially drummers. I come from that world. hate to break it to some of you guys, but being a musician isn't always a lovefest. Musicians can be nasty to each other all because of ego.

 

Uh. I saw one. He was a Black guy sitting in the back. The camera only showed him once.

 

I think it is neither. I think it is a film about life lessons, and musicianship was used as the vehicle this time. It is also about teaching skills.

The Fletcher character was over the top with the insults, and especially slapping the student's face, but not the part about driving the best to be better.

 

OK, my last post for a while about this:

He could go two ways:
1) he didn't care how good the kid is, he screwed him over with his job, and now he's going to do the same to him.
2) it is an ego boost to see how his head games pushed the kid to be his best. But, he's gonna be his bitch if he wants to be at the top.

 

Fantastic movie...loved it.

 

I saw this on the way back from JFK to LHR in March. Loved it. Great, intense film and the music was terrific.

 

Truth. I was always amateur but I just flat out gave up trying to play in bands. Some otherwise nice, thoughtful and artistic human beings turn into the biggest dicks...

 

My perspective is as a person who records dozens of concerts a year by young people, and I routinely see extraordinary musical growth from concert to concert. I see these kids (all between the age of 8 and 18) experience the joy of playing a concert for an audience, as part of a band, and that band gelling and becoming something far greater than the individuals.

And I know their teachers, every one I've met a decent human being, dedicated to inspiring their students to greater achievement.

Not one is anything like this ridiculous caricature of an educator berating and abusing his students. I'm on the Megabus at the moment, so I can't link to a YouTube video, but I can point you to dozens of examples of students playing pieces of music that would seem to be far beyond their years, inspired to do so by their teachers and their peers - the older students always mentor the younger ones.

There's this kid from the Chicago School of Rock. At 16, he rode his bike to an open audition for the house band of the Blue Man Group. This is one of the sweetest gigs in town; your kit is set up and mic'd, you come in, make sure your set is tuned, play a show, and then leave with enough time to play another gig that same night. All at Musician's Union wages.

He beat out 150 pros at the age his peers are applying for a job working the fryer at Micky D's. I know his drum teacher and he's a great guy. He didn't scream at or slap this kid, he just drew out the talent that was in there. The kid is playing with two other bands, makes enough to have his own drum tech setting up his kits for gigs after the Blue Man show.

So when I say this film is a twisted parody of music education, I have some level of experience with music education.

 

The movie came to cable this past weekend and I saw it for the 1st time, enjoyed it very much. I was curious and looked around and apparently Teller was actually doing the drumming along with one of the other actor/drummers', if true, that's impressive. I expected to see that someone else did the work when the end credits' ran. Been a HUGE fan of JK Simmons since OZ, thru Spiderman and insurance commercials, he never does bad work!

 

I saw the movie twice and really liked it. But there are things you have to accept are not very plausible.
A jazz teacher yelling at his students is counterproductive to music....and especially to jazz. Who plays music under pressure?
I could understand his teaching ideals as related to sports.

 

Spot on. Again, the best argument you can make in favor of this movie is that it's not about jazz and to ignore that part as best you can while focusing on other aspects of the movie. It's ridiculous to sell the movie as an authentic portrayal of that world based on one's experience in ANY band - the path to a career or life in music, especially jazz, and especially through respected music programs, is not going to have the same dynamic as a group of kids forming their own band without any formal mentoring, instruction or the maturity in how they approach something they love and excel at.