2/28/2015 0 Comments 'Whiplash' Movie ReviewWe all want something. Whether it's to be loved, to be famous, or just to be respected, everyone has a dream. Independent writer and director Damien Chazelle's Whiplash asks the question, how far are we willing to go for our dream?
The story follows Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), a college freshman at an elite music school. Neiman has aspirations of being a jazz drummer who goes down in history with Buddy Rich and Charlie Parker, and equally committed is the brutal instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Neiman is determined to be one of the greats, but can he survive long enough to make Fletcher's cut? Teller is excellent as Neiman, who puts himself through physical exertion on the drums. A most memorable practice scene ends with Neiman dunking a blood-soaked hand in a pitcher of iced water, during which I pondered, how much of that was authentic? Teller is either a committed physical actor, or really good at acting the part of one, and both scenarios are impressive. Simmons is a revelation as Fletcher, partially due to the lighting of his scenes. Every shot makes him out to be a larger-than-life villain, and he delivers a performance to match. Attacking Neiman physically and mentally, Fletcher makes Unbroken's Japanese war camp leader look like Mister Rogers, and not unlike Teller, Simmons had me questioning his acting methods at times. His darkly creative lines are reminiscent of R. Lee Ermey's drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, and I wondered to myself just how much of it was improvised and how much was scripted. As stated earlier, the film at its core is about what it means to yearn for something and how much one should be willing to work for it. Neiman wants to be the best, and Fletcher wants to push him beyond his limits to get there, but do the ends justify the means? How far is too far? Is there a limit? If you push yourself beyond enjoyment, what's the point? Is there a guaranteed payoff? All of these questions are dabbled with, but never concretely answered, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. This may not satisfy viewers who enjoy concrete resolution, but for me, a simple shot (without giving anything away) was all I needed. Whiplash is not your typical teacher-student story. It's a psychologically intense battle of wits between two charging elephants who have locked tusks, and only one can come out the alpha male. Set that to the tune of some classical jazz music, dazzle in some top-notch performances, and Whiplash is a film that takes pleasure in cinematic simplicity by making a huge story out of a straightforward setup. I'm giving it four stars.
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In the day of parody films like Spaceballs and Young Frankenstein, the trick was poking fun at individual films, such as Star Wars or Frankenstein. But now the goal is to take on the genre as a whole, as 2010's Kick-Ass did with superheroes. Now, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn takes on the classic 007 style with Kingsman: The Secret Service.
The story follows a rebellious adolescent named Eggsy (Taron Egerton), who is taken under the wing of Harry Galahad (Colin Firth), a member of a secret spy agency called Kingsman that operates under the disguise of a tailor shop. While Eggsy undergoes rigorous training to become a spy, an eccentric billionaire named Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) prepares to enact his outrageous plan for world takeover. Vaughn made a smart choice in casting film newcomer Egerton, who makes a rousing screen debut here. Even in the rebellious streak during which we meet the character, he never comes off as unlikable, and because he has moments of weakness during the film's heated climax, you buy his progression from street kid to gentleman spy. He doesn't finish the film as a veteran with nothing left to learn, which makes his transformation more believable. Unsurprisingly impressive are Egerton's costars, Firth and Jackson, as well as Michael Caine, perfectly cast as Kingsman's leader. Firth's performance is reminiscent of Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained: he carries with him an aura of unabashed class, holding doors for women and then beating on their scumbag boyfriends when the situation calls for it. Jackson is another animal entirely, and I mean that in the best of ways. He just has a total ball with the role, and garners most of the dark humor and James Bond-isms of the film, which is a mostly serious flick otherwise. As far as satire goes, Valentine is a mad Bond villain who (ironically) regurgitates at the sight of blood, and whose plan for takeover (without giving away too much) manages to say something about this generation's cell phone obsession. Even his unforgettable assistant, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella), possesses an unbelievable screen presence with her razor-sharp prosthetic feet of steel, a trait straight out of old Bond. If there's anything negative to be said for the film, it's that the violence can be a bit much for viewers expecting something more in the vein of 007. Sure, it's from the director of Kick-Ass, (a blood-splattered superhero satire), but not all of his projects are like that. Even within the context of the film, these scenes of boundary-pushing gore (one of them even harkening back to the head explosions of Mars Attacks) are few, but completely come out of nowhere and leave you breathlessly stunned. Overall however, while not for everyone, Kingsman: The Secret Service remains to be a very fun spy film that takes the best tropes of classic Bond and interprets them in new and exciting ways. I'm giving Kingsman three and a half stars out of four. |
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