Whiplash (2014)

4/5

Whiplash is a phenomenal film about ambition and the lengths people will go to create something great. After beginning school as a first-year jazz musician in a prestigious music conservatory, Andrew (Teller) finds himself recruited into the awe-inspiring studio band. He soon discovers that his instructor, Fletcher (Simmons), is verbally and physically abusive to his students in the hopes that he will direct them to greatness. And Andrew pushes himself to his limits to earn Fletcher's respect. The plot grips you from beginning to end, even as it takes you down some unexpected turns, and concludes with a finale that is somehow simultaneously satisfying and ambiguous.

The movie is full of fantastic music--that's a given--but it is also full of fantastic cinematography and editing that elevate this movie past its constituent parts. The camerawork is stunning, whether grandly swooping into a complicated scene or using a simple rack focus, and is supplemented by dramatic lighting and singularly beautiful compositions. The editing was playful and precise, adding another dimension to the music on screen. I was truly flabbergasted at the level of cinematic technique on display in this film.

However, I found the message to be a little simplistic and a little overdone. The film tackles a fairly clichéd question and doesn't add all that much to the discussion. Still, this movie is such a joy to watch that it's hard to come up with anything negative about it at all. JK Simmons is absolutely incredible, always going one step past acceptable behavior to be both eminently entertaining and instantly horrifying. Watch this movie. You won't regret it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/

The Spectacular Now (2013)

2/5

The Spectacular Now is a depressing and infuriating film. It stars Miles Teller as an alcoholic high school student who has confidence and charisma but no plans or hopes for his future. After being dumped by his "hot" girlfriend (Larson), he befriends an "unattractive" girl (Woodley) and she is smitten by his charms. They begin a romance that everybody around them knows is bad for both of them. Instead of some introspection, they just keep chugging along and enjoying the oh-so-spectacular moment.

I'm not really sure what the point of the movie is. It presents itself as a coming-of-age tale but nobody actually learns anything or comes of age. It's frustrating and painful to watch. Shailene Woodley gives a superb performance, emanating high school vulnerability as she is drawn to the debonair Teller, who also gives a stunning performance. But the rest of the technical aspects of the movie are either mediocre or subpar. Underage alcohol consumption in films should come with consequences, and this movie all but pretends there are none. (Or there are some, but then it gives the characters "second chances" without anybody learning anything.)

And just to complain some more: I'm still not clear why there needs to be any voice-over, at any point during this movie, given the fact that there is nothing particularly insightful that needs to be passed on to the audience. By the way, the college essay motif has been so entirely overplayed that it is hard to imagine that even an amazing movie could bring something new to the table. Avoid this movie, unless you're a rabid fan of Woodley and/or Teller's acting.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714206/

Footloose (2011)

2/5

This 2011 remake of Footloose is kind of a funny movie, although not always intentionally so. It purports to be a movie about an out-of-towner (Wormald) who discovers that public dance has been outlawed in his new small town home and attempts to overturn that silly law. It is also about a foolish, old-school preacher (Quaid) who must learn humbling life lessons from his far wiser, far sassier, daughter (Hough) and her precocious teen friends. I guess it's also supposed to be a dance movie, but there are about 3-4 scenes total that involve any kind of dancing. I say that it's funny because I can't wrap my head around the plot enough to suspend my disbelief. A group of drunk teens gets into a car accident while leaving a party that involved dancing, and the next logical step is to outlaw dancing. A high schooler gets so fed up with the unfairness and oppression leveled at him by adults that he has to go to an abandoned warehouse and dance his heart away. Most preposterous of all, however, is the drag race involving schoolbuses that ends in flames. Honestly, I'm not quite sure that the filmmakers were going for, but whatever it was, I don't think they succeeded.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068242/