Whiplash (2014) - Reviewed

If we've talked recently, you've probably heard me talk about this movie at least several times - I've praised its amazing characters, the addicting soundtrack (which my roommates have had to listen to endlessly), and just everything about it. Well, I'm here to do it again.

Whiplash features Andrew, a jazz drummer at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory, and Terence Fletcher, his maniacal instructor. Andrew aspires to become 'one of the greats' of jazz and practices insanely to get into Fletcher's band. When he invites Andrew into his band, the best one in Shaffer, Andrew is happy to have finally been recognized. But Fletcher's teaching methods aren't orthodox - he believes in pushing students beyond their limits and does this by inflicting physical pain and verbal abuse. As Andrew continues to desire acceptance by Fletcher, his goals become an obsession, which slowly drives him insane.

According to IMDb, Whiplash's genre is drama and music - if you ask me, I'll tell you it's a thriller. When I first stumbled upon Whiplash, I honestly didn't expect much. I hadn't seen too many memorable music-themed movies, and I didn't think this would be any different. Boy, how wrong I was. When the movie ended and the credits rolled, I wanted the movie to keep going for another two hours because the 100 minute run-time was too good.

Whiplash is set in the U.S., but there is almost nothing that ties it to a specific place or time. Andrew could be a student in any setting, along with the other characters. Anyone can relate and empathize with this timeless and place-less story. Although they do mention Fordham University, football, and the NFL, they are insignificant and do not detract from the emotional connection. Along with the story being relatable, it is also very ordinary. What do I mean by this? In many movies these days, the world within the movie seems different from the real world. An obvious example would be Transformers, a world in which giant alien robots that can turn into vehicles exist. But this is the case even in non- Sci-fi movies. In Gone Girl, there is still something that makes me think, 'most likely, this cannot happen in real life'. But for Whiplash, I believe that this could happen. I know from friends who study music that there are very harsh, terrifying teachers out there. I know some extremely ambitious students, not just in the musical world, who will do anything - anything - to achieve their dreams. I consider Whiplash to be an epitomes of a good movie: it doesn't have fancy special effects or a spectacular cast, but it can take an ordinary situation, mix in some interesting characters, and produce the best movie of its year.

Let's talk about the characters. In the beginning, I didn't think that Andrew, the main character, is very unique. We've all seen an ambitious but unconfident college student without many friends. On the other hand, Fletcher was an original piece of work from the start. He is neither the mean, despicable coach who bullies his students for fun nor the caring, saint-like mentor that turns the life of a troubled kid around. He is obviously extremely mean (I could talk about his badass insults, but that's a whole other topic), but there is also a meaningful motive behind his actions which he mentions throughout the movie. Because of this strange dichotomy, we cannot make up our minds about him, hating him one moment and admiring him the other. Back to Andrew - he doesn't stay the boring character that he is. Through his interaction with Fletcher, he continues to change - but it's not necessarily for the better. As Fletcher continues to torture him, he simultaneously motivates him, turning him more and more crazy. His insanity spreads to other aspects of his life, as we see in the dinner-table talk scene and the way he breaks up with his girlfriend (which, by the way, is not a spoiler because it's in the trailer). I cannot say that this movie has the best characters I've seen (that award is still kept by The Fantastic Mr. Fox) - but I can definitely say that it has one my favorite character interactions.

The plot itself is very simple and concise. A majority of the scenes focus on the two's relationship. The other scenes add character and insight into Andrew. There are no elaborate plot sequences or plot twists (which seem to be a trend these days), but I have heard people say that Whiplash has the best ending to a movie they have ever seen. I've also heard from others that they felt it was too sudden - they were expecting more but it just ended. I relate with the latter more, although I don't necessarily deem the ending as bad: a movie makes me crave two more hours is a pretty damn good movie. Whichever side you're on, the 100 minutes will fly past without you knowing.

I rarely talk about this aspect of a movie (mainly because I don't know much about it) but I want to praise the music in Whiplash. You might be thinking, 'it's a music movie - the music has to be good'. Well, it's really, really good. I've never been a fan of jazz - not that I didn't like it, I hadn't the opportunity to listen to it much. This movie not only showed me amazing filmmaking, but also introduced me to a previously-unknown beautiful genre of music. Ever since my first viewing, I've turned on the soundtrack at least once a day. I can't get it out of my head, and I don't want it to leave. Due to Whiplash, I'm trying to get more familiar with jazz, and I even have a growing desire to learn drums. If you don't watch too many movies but want to hear some good music, watch Whiplash. 

If you look closely at the poster, you can see many quotes from various sources. Every one of them is true. Oh, here's a fun fact. Whiplash was filmed in 19 days and edited in a month; most movies take years to its final product, and they aren't half as good as this one. To the director and writer of this fantastic movie: Damien Chazelle, I will be expecting many more great works from you.

10/10 - favorite movie of 2014.

The Oscars 2015: Predicts and Wishes

The Oscars 2015 are on Sunday, February 22 - or for my case, on Monday due to the time difference. Needless to say I'm curious about the results but even more excited to finally be watching the award ceremony live for the first time - do they even air it on TV in Korea? I should probably check that out.

Since the nominees have been released, there has been much talk about the Academy's choices, critics have given their professional predictions, and the public has been raging over what is apparently the biggest snub of the year: The Lego Movie not being listed on the Best Animated Feature Film. As I've been observing these phenomena, it would be impossible for me not to have my own thoughts on the whole deal.

For each category, there is a 'Predict' and a 'Wish'. If you haven't figured it out, the 'Predict' is the one I think the Academy will pick, the 'Wish' is the one I hope will be announced as winner. Now, I haven't seen all the movies in every category. That's why I won't talk about each one. But if I have seen two or more in a category I will choose one. And for others like Makeup and Hair-styling, I won't go into them for the obvious reason. So here we are -

THE OSCARS 2015: PREDICTS AND WISHES

• Best Picture [Seen all except Selma]

The Grand Budapest Hotel I had seen months ago but I still vividly remember being very impressed with. Wes Anderson strikes with his genius again: he unites with an all-star cast to create a beautiful story that feels like a roller coaster ride, but this movie also has a depth to it that is inexplicable. 

Boyhood, the indie film of the year, is so brave that you can't leave it out of any award ceremony. A 12-year-long journey to Mason's adulthood will have you reflect on your own past and wonder how well all the actors in the movie stayed in character. 

Birdman was yet another artistic film, but in a different way. It enlightens the viewer about the numerous issues in intra-/interpersonal relationships, the world of art, and just society in general and does it almost flawlessly. 

Whiplash's story was the most 'ordinary'. But by no means was it dull. Watching the relationship between Andrew and his teacher was so thrilling that by the time it was over I wished it continue for another hour. 

American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle and accurately depicts both the nerve-wracking situation at the war front and the its consequences of PTSD at home. It could have offered more, delving deeper on the psychological effects of war, but remained superficial. 

The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything were both great movies, but I'm not sure why they made it to this list. The Imitation Game felt rushed and convenient at the end and it had more potential. The Theory of Everything was not noteworthy compared to the other movies on this list.

PREDICT: Birdman - the Academy loves these kind of movies.

WISH: Whiplash - it was very close between this and Birdman, but in the end I chose Whiplash because I enjoyed it more.

•  Best Actor in a Leading Role [Seen all except Steve Carell]

Bradley Cooper's Chris Kyle was excellent at war. The intensity and pressure felt real as he was sniping terrorists, but he could have done better at home. I only felt the serious consequences of PTSD during the garden party scene and up until then. 

Benedict Cumberbatch's Alan Turing was real at first, but somewhere during the movie, he became a lot more sociable and likable, without much transition. 

Michael Keaton's performance made me believe that the character was so real that I felt like he actually exists and that I wasn't watching him through a screen. 

Eddie Redmayne also amazed me as Steven Hawking and his deteriorating conditions felt very real, but ultimately, I saw an actor playing Hawking, not Hawking himself.

PREDICT: Michael Keaton

WISH: Michael Keaton - flawless.

• Best Actress in a Leading Role [Seen Rosamund Pike and Felicity Jones]

Felicity Jones was good but not noteworthy in The Theory of Everything. Rosamund Pike, on the other hand, made me shiver more than a horror movie would. Her performance made me search her immediately after watching Gone Girl to see her filmography.

PREDICT: I feel that I cannot predict since I have only seen two, but there is much talk about Julianne Moore and she's won it before, so chances are she'll do it again.

WISH: Rosamund Pike - as I've said, her role as a psychopathic wife had me at the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie.

•  Best Actor in a Supporting Role [Seen Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, and J.K. Simmons]

The fact that Ethan Hawke managed to stay in character that well for 12 years still amazes me. But when thinking about the specific role, it was actually a pretty common character without much depth. 

For the supporting actor in Birdman, I couldn't see Edward Norton even though I had seen him in many movies in the past. He was completely fresh and so genuine, giving one of the best performance of his career. 

J.K. Simmons. His role as an extremely-passionate-but-just-as-cold teacher was outstanding. Your opinion of this character constantly changes - from cool to admirable, and back and forth from actually decent to a complete asshole - his character still makes sense and feels so alive.

PREDICT: J.K. Simmons

WISH: J.K. Simmons - Sorry, Edward Norton. Simmons was too good.

•  Best Actress in a Supporting Role [Seen Patricia Arquette, Keira Knightly, and Emma Stone]

Again, all nominees in every category were nominated because they were at least good. But some are just not much more than that - just good. That's how I view Keira Knightly and Emma Stone. Emma Stone was better than Keira Knightly, but both of them were in this middle zone. 

However, Patricia Arquette, as I've mentioned, amazes me for being able to keep that character for such a long period of time. An unlike Ethan Hawke, she was central to the story and her character had much more depth, making it that much harder to stay in character and build onto it as the story progressed for 12 years.

PREDICT: Patricia Arquette

WISH: Patricia Arquette

• Best Animated Feature Film [Seen Big Hero 6 and How to Train Your Dragon 2] 

Having seen only two movies, I cannot say much again. But in this case, it's especially more so because neither of the two that I have seen were anything close to noteworthy. Big Hero 6 was enjoyable only for the first 10 minutes. Baymax was unique and hilarious, and the setting was interesting. But for the rest of the time, it felt like many other animated movies in the past. The other characters were not unique at all and nor were their powers - in fact, Hero and Baymax felt like Hiccup and Toothless only replace Toothless with Ironman. The plot was mediocre. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was better in general, but the plot nor the twist was not very interesting.

PREDICT: I don't know. And the Academy's choices have been confusing in the past, like with Brave instead of Wreck-It Ralph in 2012. For all I know, Boxtrolls will win.

WISH: I just wish it's not Big Hero 6, because I was very disappointed with that movie. But it probably will be.

• Best Directing [Seen all except Foxcatcher]

Richard Linklater deserves to be here just because it took him 12 years to make Boyhood and it ended up being a great movie. Birdman's Alejandro G. Inarritu definitely needs a seat as well, since a script like that could not have worked without a masterful director. For Birdman, however, much of the unique feeling to this movie is credited to the cinematographer, so I'm not sure whether it should win in that category, this one, or both. One thing to add though, is that I sometimes, maybe once or twice tuned out of the movie for a short time. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel is another movie that could not have worked with a great director - but not just any director, but Wes Anderson. His style is usually not for anyone, but in this movie, he makes it enjoyable for nearly everyone while maintaining his style. 

The Imitation Game's direction was not very memorable for me and as stated above, the end felt rushed.

PREDICT: Richard Linklater - largely due to length its making

WISH: Wes Anderson - This was incredibly tough between the first three movies, but I chose it because of the complexity of the story and how perfectly it was directed in every scene.

•  Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay [Seen all except Inherent Vice]

American Sniper had more potential. There could have been more detail - especially the scenes at home, it might have been better to focus on some different parts of his life. 

The Imitation Game wasn't noteworthy and neither was The Theory of Everything. The script for The Imitation Game could have used more nuances in the story with this character, the progress through which they build the machine, and even afterwards. 

Whiplash is brilliant with its characters as individuals, the relationship between them, and just the story itself.

PREDICT: Whiplash (Damien Chazelle) - although I have a tiny fear that something else like The Imitation Game will win

WISH: Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)

• Best Writing - Original Screenplay [Seen all except Foxcatcher]

By this time, I think I've said enough (mostly praise) about Birdman, Boyhood, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Of the three, I would say Boyhood was the least 'original' - the story of coming-of-age has had its precedents. 

Nightcrawler is a movie that I expected would be in more categories and not necessarily this one. Nightcrawler's story was very unique and realistic. The main character was intriguing but the viewer had to feel ambivalent about him. It was amazing to see him slowly transform to become what he finally turn out. My one problem with this script is the convenience in the middle, where things go very well for him, and one scene where it's just too good to happen. Other than that, it was a praiseworthy movie. 

PREDICT: Birdman (Alejandro G. Inarritu & etc.) - the Academy seems to like movies with more artistic value than purely entertaining (but brilliant) movies. Thus Birdman beat The Grand Budapest Hotel

WISH: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson) - this one was extremely difficult as well, especially since the two are so different as to be incomparable. But in the end, it was 'which script did I find more ingenious?' and my answer was The Grand Budapest Hotel.

- - -

And that concludes the Predicts and Wishes of this year. We'll see how many I guessed correctly in just a few days. But to finish it here would be a cake without icing... as we have some Oscar snubs.

1. The Lego Movie: People everywhere are raging over why The Lego Movie isn't one of the five nominees. I enjoyed The Lego Movie much more than I did the other two animation movies, but I wasn't that surprised when it did not get nominated. Maybe it's due to many scars from previous years in the Best Animated Film category. I have two possible reasons why they didn't nominate The Lego Movie. First, the Academy seems to like more traditional stories in this category (vastly unlike Best Picture category, especially this year's nominees) but I have no idea why. The second possibility is that The Lego Movie's content and humor is aligned to younger audiences. Sure, adults enjoyed it as well, but when you think about the fact that the Academy is mainly old, white men, it's understandable that they didn't enjoy it as much as we did. In conclusion, my advice to you is - don't expect much in the category in the future.

2. Gone Girl: As a fan of thrillers and David Fincher, it is no doubt that I enjoyed Gone Girl. And it was the most astonishing and infuriating snub for me. When I learned it received just one nomination, I could not contain my emotions. Where was it in Best Adapted Screenplay? A question to ponder for life. Gone Girl is ingeniously written - there is not one flaw to it. A nearly three-hour film that had me nervous and curious what the heck will happen next throughout the entire run-time. I had hopes for Best Director, even though this year's contenders were very strong. (I mean, if The Theory of Everything's Morten Tyldum was nominated, shouldn't Fincher be as well?) I even had hopes for Best Picture, but I knew that wasn't happening because the Academy dislikes thrillers. Big disappointment overall.

3. Jake Gyllenhaal: Those who have seen Nightcrawler were probably sure Gyllenhaal's name will be announced under Best Actor's nominees. I mean, his performance in Nightcrawler was mesmerizing. In fact, it's probably his best performance. You could not see Jake Gyllenhaal - all you could see was a creepy cameraman become more and more deranged. Having Cumberbatch on the list but not Gyllenhaal was incomprehensible.

Final note: There is much talk about the nominees lacking in diversity this year. This might be an actual, significant problem with the Academy this year (and in past years) - I don't know too well about this. But my strong belief is that the lack of diversity should not be the main issue in these award ceremonies. Awards should be solely based on the quality of the film and not swayed by external factors. I will use Selma as an example because this movie is one of the biggest controversies and since I have not seen this. Selma was directed by Ava DeVernay, a black female director, and many are criticizing the Academy by saying 'they lack in diversity and they missed the chance to nominate a black female director for the first time'. This claim seems absurd to me since this award should go to the best director, not the director who is most racially and sexually unique. I really wonder if the people who got mad would get mad if a white, male director directed Selma. My point is, the award title should reflect upon the title and nothing else.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on this year's Oscar nominees. If you have similar/different thoughts, please leave a comment.