Kim and I watch a lot of movies every year. There arent many worth mentioning. But just when it looked like Hollywood was stuck in a boring big budget, super hero, special effects rut, here comes WHIPLASH. If it isnt the most talked about movie of the year, Im looking forward to the one that steals its thunder. WHIPLASH will probably be up for Best Picture. J.K. Simmons will certainly be up for best actor. Who would have thought a movie about drumming could have had the intense conflict of WHIPLASH? You think theres conflict is SPIDERMAN, X-MEN, or PLANET OF THE APES? Childs play in comparison. You think GODZILLA is a cool monster? A flabby pushover compared to the jazz instructor in WHIPLASH. Its a movie about excellence and what it takes to achieve it. In a way its ROCKY for musicians. But as much as I love ROCKY, one thing always bothered me about that movie. You dont achieve excellence with a few hard weeks of training -- I dont care how much talent you have or how much you claim to want it. Excellence demands long-term persistence, grueling commitment. WHIPLASH takes no shortcuts. It shows what it takes when the goal is bigger than being the cutest girl on stage or the hunkiest guy on the field. It shows theres no way around the monsters on the Yellow Brick Road. The only choice is to push through them. Hack them away. Twenty minutes in I didnt think the movie was going to be special. It looked like it was headed toward a predictable end. Everything was setup. The idolized teacher. The hungry student. The love interest. Then it surprises you and you arent so sure where its headed. Then it looks like your first prediction was on track. Then not. Then on track again. Then definitely not. Then spectacularly YES and it goes exactly where you thought it would and should and then right past that and keeps going. Truly memorable. Its an excellent portrayal of excellence.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 17:09:11 +0000
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