Whiplash

e_e

Yeah I wouldn't hesitate to call it a great film at all. It does make you wonder with it only being Chazelle's second feature where the hell he's going to go from here. :pac:

AboutaWeekAgo

Watched this last night, how intense was that ending? Outstanding movie.

tigger123

MagicMarker wrote: »

My only real gripe with the movie is the lead drumming, it's clear he doesn't play drums.

As a drummer, I can't agree with you at all on that. He's a good player, very very talented. One thing that struck me while watching it was how difficult it must have been to cast the part.

MagicMarker

tigger123 wrote: »

As a drummer, I can't agree with you at all on that. He's a good player, very very talented. One thing that struck me while watching it was how difficult it must have been to cast the part.

Can you point out which bits in particular you were impressed with? Because everything I saw that was particularly impressive was filmed from angles that seem to purposely hide his face. And the times when you can see his face, you can't see his hands! There are even times when there's a full frontal shot, but Simmons character conveniently steps into the shot to block a fill at the exact moment.

DoYouEvenLift

AboutaWeekAgo wrote: »

Watched this last night, how intense was that ending? Outstanding movie.

Yeah, I was a in a mixture of laughing and anxiousness.

As soon as the teacher told him he knew it was him I was like "aww fuk, here we go. Now he's gonna crash and burn in front of everyone." And when he did I felt terrible for him as he walked off. The way he turned it around and basically gave a big "fuk you" to the teacher and then proved him wrong by giving such a good performance was incredible. Seeing the teacher also get over the hate and smile about it in the end was unreal. Really wanted to hear the audiences reaction though, would've been the cherry on top.

Gamb!t

Brilliant.
What a great movie,didnt want it to end.

cloud493

Yeah it is as good as I expected. Not my best 2015 movie, but very very good. Still don't like Miles Teller.

tigger123

MagicMarker wrote: »

Can you point out which bits in particular you were impressed with? Because everything I saw that was particularly impressive was filmed from angles that seem to purposely hide his face. And the times when you can see his face, you can't see his hands! There are even times when there's a full frontal shot, but Simmons character conveniently steps into the shot to block a fill at the exact moment.

Do you play drums?

cloud493

Also, this is a tiny thing, but

in the trailer, in the first practise, he says 'I will gut you like a pig' but in the movie, he says 'I will **** you like a pig.I think, thats how it sounded to me. Might just be me being weird

MagicMarker

tigger123 wrote: »

Do you play drums?

Can you answer my question?

e_e

cloud493 wrote: »

Also, this is a tiny thing, but

in the trailer, in the first practise, he says 'I will gut you like a pig' but in the movie, he says 'I will **** you like a pig.I think, thats how it sounded to me. Might just be me being weird

That's the line alright. I'd say the trailer was edited just so it can fit before films at a lower age rating.

cloud493

e_e wrote: »

That's the line alright. I'd say the trailer was edited just so it can fit before films at a lower age rating.

Makes sense, you can hear it in the trailer in fact.

LuckyLloyd

MagicMarker wrote: »

My only real gripe with the movie is the lead drumming, it's clear he doesn't play drums.

the incredible pudding

He clearly doesn't play the drum parts that are on the soundtrack but he does a very good job trying to emulate it. His hand technique is pretty poor but he's an actor and the music is being played by a professional musician so i'd certainly cut him some slack.

The editing really could have been a bit better for the parts with regards the syncing of the music and the shots but it's really just finicky criticism as, in terms of a film that was put together in such a short time it's quite good. The dramatic effects that are unrealistic in terms of how music is played can be forgiven as they're there just for that, dramatic effect.

All in all, I loved the film. It was wonderfully acted and has a great soundtrack.

adox

MagicMarker wrote: »

My only real gripe with the movie is the lead drumming, it's clear he doesn't play drums.

It's as clear as day that he does play drums. There's no way on earth you could simulate the way he played the kit, absolutely no way.

Now I'm sure he didn't play a lot of what's on the soundtrack and he'd have to be a professional musician of a very high standard to pull that off but he's obviously a drummer and plays the part fantastically.

phil1nj

Really enjoyed this. Thought JK Simmons was absolutely brilliant in it (as he is in most things he's in). Interesting to see who comes away with the best supporting actor Oscar (saw Birdman in the cinema last week and enjoyed Edward Norton's performance in that too)

baby and crumble

Saw this yesterday, and I really loved it. It probably was the exact opposite of the intention, given Fletchers' methods but man, it made me really miss my playing days (ok not drums but still!). The last scene... hairs standing up on my neck for sure.

I know people were complaining about the drumming not always syncing with the soundtrack but I can't even imagine how hard it would be to edit that given the speeds of the drumming.

Mr E

I've seen all the Best Picture nominees this year apart from American Sniper and Selma. So far, this is my favourite film from all of them. Riveting is not a word I use often, but this was absolutely RIVETING. Superb stuff.

IsMiseMyself

Watched this yesterday. Thought it was very good, though the whole 'love story' part was fairly weak and latched on--but I guess that's what happens when the character is very intended as an add-on.

I thought Miles Teller was very, very good. I've seen him in a few bits and pieces over the last while but he really impressed me here. I thought get how anyone could call him Jonah Hill-lite. The comparison is quite peculiar.

I thought J.K. Simmons was also very good, but I'm not entirely feeling the Oscar nod. I'm not he was *that* good, but then it's an awful lot harder to win any kind of empathy as the charming arsehole so it's harder to call, I think. Solid film. Intense. Interesting watch!

adox

IsMiseMyself wrote: »

Watched this yesterday. Thought it was very good, though the whole 'love story' part was fairly weak and latched on--but I guess that's what happens when the character is very intended as an add-on.

I disagree, I thought it was an integral and important part of the story, no matter how slight and unðeveloped it may have seemed.

She was a hugely important crutch for him in the early parts of the film, when he has no friends at the school and is getting bullied and wilting under the pressure and was one of the key vehicles used in demonstrating his hardending in attitude and single and bloody mindedness when he decides that he has to dump her for th good of his career.

I think it's one of the leanest films I've seen in a long time.

IsMiseMyself

adox wrote: »

I disagree, I thought it was an integral and important part of the story, no matter how slight and unðeveloped it may have seemed.

She was a hugely important crutch for him in the early parts of the film, when he has no friends at the school and is getting bullied and wilting under the pressure and was one of the key vehicles used in demonstrating his hardending in attitude and single and bloody mindedness when he decides that he has to dump her for th good of her career.

I think it's one of the leanest films I've seen in a long time.

I mean totally, yeah, but I greatly dislike characters whose sole existence is as a metaphor/learning cue for the MC--especially if that's the love interest. They essentially had one scene together where they had a non-introductory conversation, and that's crux of the only friendship/relationship he had outside of family.

Like, you could cut her character altogether and the family/friends dinner scene would almost exhibit as much. Nicole was a vehicle for his single-mindedness too, sure, but it's impossible to watch the film and not see that--it's the crux of it: what would you forfeit for greatness. I dunno. If you cut Nicole from the film, I imagine you'd lose very little. Her existence had a point, sure, but it was a point that also existed in the film: even look at Neiman's relationship with Connolly. They're reasonably friendly at the start and by the end...well, you know.

I thought it was underdeveloped and felt a bit surplus-to-requirement.

cloud493

Doesn't feel like they have much of a relationship at all. We only see her what twice in the whole film?

santana75

Saw this tonight and I thought it was a really good film. I mean when I saw trailer I thought that this was a movie I wouldn't be bothered seeing but I think it's one of the few times when a trailer made a film look bad.
Jk simmons is brilliant for sure, although I think Ed Norton's performance in birdman is better......

MakeEmLaugh

Since the beginning of January, I've seen Birdman, Foxcatcher and Whiplash in the cinema. Whiplash is undoubtedly my favourite of the three.

Though Boyhood will almost certainly win Best Picture at the upcoming Oscars - and probably deserves to - I do hope the Best Picture nomination will encourage many more people to see this film than would have otherwise.

Simmons and Teller were outstanding, and the intensity of the film was almost unbearable.

A few questions...

How did Andrew's partner's folder go missing? Did Fletcher see it and take it? Did a janitor take it? Did Andrew hide it himself in order to get the chance to perform his partner's part?

Also, why did Fletcher invite Andrew back to perform with his band at the end? By that point, Andrew had given up playing drums (they were in his wardrobe), and it seems rather an extreme move for Fletcher to do, as surely it would make him look bad too?

The Strawman Argument

Thought this was absolutely fantastic, lived up to every ounce of potential shown in his first film and a whole lot more. Find it very hard to imagine many people coming out of it thinking it was anything other than fantastic, could be a pretty big word of mouth hit.

I'm sure it'd be a very easy watch at home but as a wholly immersive sensory experience, it was a treat in the cinema, I'll be going again for sure.

don ramo

i cant believe how intense and sucked into this film i was, i just couldn't take my eyes off the screen, especially when Simmons was on screen, he was like a magnet, and just the intensity of it all, when drums were playing, especially lightly, my stomach was nearly in knots, waiting for Fletcher to clinch his fist,

brilliant film, id be surprised if norton beat simmons to the oscar, norton was great, but **** me simmons was unbelievable, for me anyway,

i dont think either will win best picture, i think boyhood has that in the bag, but both these will give it a run for it money, the only film i havent seen for best pic, is selma, but i cant see it topping the 3 of these,

DoYouEvenLift

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Since the beginning of January, I've seen Birdman, Foxcatcher and Whiplash in the cinema. Whiplash is undoubtedly my favourite of the three.

Though Boyhood will almost certainly win Best Picture at the upcoming Oscars - and probably deserves to - I do hope the Best Picture nomination will encourage many more people to see this film than would have otherwise.

Simmons and Teller were outstanding, and the intensity of the film was almost unbearable.

A few questions...

How did Andrew's partner's folder go missing? Did Fletcher see it and take it? Did a janitor take it? Did Andrew hide it himself in order to get the chance to perform his partner's part?

Also, why did Fletcher invite Andrew back to perform with his band at the end? By that point, Andrew had given up playing drums (they were in his wardrobe), and it seems rather an extreme move for Fletcher to do, as surely it would make him look bad too?

He tricked him. I took it as Fletcher orchestrating his payback for getting him sacked. And when he was talking to him outside the pub and told him the other drummer was purely for incentive he was blowing up his ego to build up his confidence before he destroyed it (or tried). He was calculating it all like the fuking psycho he is and drops it on Andrew that he knows it was him right as he's about to play in front of a large audience for the first time in a while, when he knew he would be anxious as it is. And then Fletcher was putting the cherry on top by making the band play a song Andrew had never played before so he would definitely screw up and embarass himself in front of the audience/people who he mentioned "will never forget you if you screw up". That's what made the ending so good, Andrew completely messed up and was giving up until he went back on stage and turned Fletcher's game on him by giving an insane performance that was so good that even Fletcher joined in when he realised Andrew was his[/] Charlie Parker.

run_Forrest_run

loved it. I used to sit behind drums and beat them with 2 sticks with a singer and a few guitarists around me but I certainly wasn't a drummer..:D

Psychedelic

The music teacher's character was totally unrealistic, to the point that the whole film was bordering on cheesy. It felt like a cult film that's so ridiculous and corny that it's lovable.

J.K. Simmons was fantastic in TV show Oz, and he is fantastic here too. His cartoon villain character is completely over the top as a music teacher, using physical violence and drill instructor style putdowns on his students who are absolutely terrified of him. The main problem with this premise is that that kind of sadistic motivation would not get the best of out of a musician, especially a jazz musician where improvisation is such a big part of the music.

I am confused about the tone of this film - people are talking about a tense drama, but to me this is almost a comedy. From the opening lines from Simmons ("Did I tell you to stop playing?") I knew this was going to be a bit silly so decided not to take it too seriously and just go with it.

In saying all that, this was fun to watch, great acting, direction & cinematography and of course the music. I would recommend this to everyone.

e_e

So I went to see this again (this time paying because the film really deserves it) and if anything it was even better on the re-watch. Think I can safely call this one of my favorite movies now, I love it that much.

Also Mark Kermode summed up the film's drama brilliantly in just 3 words: Full Metal Hi-hat!