“Whiplash” is an intense movie on the subject of music. The film is riveting, vulgar, electrifying, I could not turn away. It stars Miles Teller as Andrew, a young drummer at a competitive music conservatory, and JK Simmons as Fletcher, an abusive and negligent instructor that will be as mean as he can to his students to test them to achieve. Only question is…is it really worth all of the trouble to be so mean to students?

“Whiplash” contains many heavy moments of competition and demand. Director and writer Damien Chazelle (Director of “Grand Piano”, 2013). Does a great job at making the relationship between Andrew and Fletcher seem like a boxing match for success. Also, JK Simmons is at his best, he deserves to win for best supporting actor at the Oscars (I hope he wins). The setup of this movie is captivating, and the film is completely engrossing from beginning to end.

Here is the plot of the film. Andrew is a drummer. He is recognized by Fletcher. Fletcher comes off at first as laid-back and this leaves Andrew to assume he is in for a positive treat to success with his music career being in the hands of this professor. Once he enters the class with him though, he realizes that Fletcher is not as easy-going as he expected. He throws objects at students, calls them names, pushes them to the extreme, and is just very outspoken and unpredictable. Andrew tests Fletcher though, he does not want to quit what he loves doing, he wants to succeed. But can he do it without being abused by Fletcher?

One of the best elements of this movie is its editing. The editor is Tom Cross and he did the editing for “Crazy Heart” (2009). The repetitive intensity of Andrew practicing his music is just mind-blowing. Cross has it transition multiple times where we wonder if Andrew will be one of the best drummers at his conservatory. I see this as something that is also oscar-worthy, since it is attention-grabbing and adds intensity to its plot and the movie’s goal. That goal being a daring movie to viewers.

Overall, “Whiplash” is not for everyone. It contains many moments where it may get intense. But it is a good movie. Not great, but good. Three stars.

With tons of Oscar buzz, numerous sold-out screenings, and a big moneymaker at the box office, I saw “American Sniper” in IMAX. I found the movie quite compelling. “American Sniper” is the true story of the Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper). The movie is attention-grabbing, but is quite dramatic.

The film is directed by Clint Eastwood and is nominated for six academy awards. These awards include best picture, best actor, best writing, best editing, best sound mixing, and best sound editing. First, when I experienced “American Sniper in IMAX I was dazzled by the sound effects and the editing, so I think it is worthy of an award on those two technical aspects. Finally, Bradley Cooper knocks his performance out of the ballpark as he plays the brave Chris Kyle. The technical aspects and Cooper’s acting are both mesmerizing.

The plot of the film is Kyle’s life. a man from Texas who thought at first he wanted to become a cowboy, but all of a sudden, he decides he wants to be more involved in his life somehow. This makes him become interested in joining the Navy and becoming a sniper. He goes on numerous tours with the Navy, he gets married and has kids, but his tours are impacting him. Impacting him where he cannot find ways to be a father he can be and also not being able to function in his urban life.

The one thing I liked about this movie was how Cooper played the part. His seriousness, his intelligence, and his ego keeps you guessing and you do not want the movie to end. And I see that to bleed into the audience. It leaves you to ask yourself how much can this guy take? He can take quite a lot, and the intensity does not end.

Overall, this is a good movie, not great, but is definitely worthy of some awards. More on the technical and acting aspects, but definitely not for best picture. I see “Birdman” or “Boyhood” a bit more worthy of the best picture award.

Three stars.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” follows the story of a washed-up actor who use to receive a heavy amount of recognition, but has issues with his ego, his family, and it is all in the midst of a new Broadway show he is set to star in. The cinematography is done by Emmanuel Lubezki, who did the cinematography for “Children of Men” (2006), The photography for “Burn After Reading” (2008), “The Tree of Life” (2011), “Gravity” (2013), and this masterpiece “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” This film is about the stress of being famous on Broadway, and the ugly competition of critics reviewing Broadway productions. It is also like Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012), however with much more emphasis on the situation with many technical effects to make melancholy. Therefore, “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” is a dark comedy, but is also spectacle.

The movie’s star, Riggan (Michael Keaton) is a man with many challenges ahead of him. The film starts off with him being in his imaginary mind-set with a voice speaking to him. While trying to figure out how his next production is going to workout properly, he happens to dysfunctions with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone). Sam is someone who has had to go through rehab and such for depression and probably other reasons (but her issues are not defined as much because she is not much of the focus of the subject). Riggan realizes also that his agent Jake (Zach Galifianakis) is desperate for his approval of a new cast member to join the ride for Riggan’s new production. Riggan is not easy to get along with on sides of the industry of Broadway. He is extremely self-centered. Surprisingly, in a heart-beat, Mike (Edward Norton) steps in to be a part of the production. Mike is talented but believes he has much more going than Riggan does and he always wants to receive attention on a variety of levels because he is obsessed with himself purely. Finally, there is one of the lead actresses of the production Lesley (Naomi Watts). Lesley is captivating and has high expectations as well but does not know if she can work with Mike or Riggan, given they can both be complete jerks. The characters in this film are all set for a recipe to be either a masterpiece or a disaster.

Mike is a strange man, on first sight, he may seem like a lady’s man (Norton generally appears that way in almost all of his films in the beginning). He is not afraid to expose himself or how he feels towards other people. In a glance between him and Sam he goes for his opportunity to get laid or to catch her eyes into her believing that she would want a relationship with him. He does the same with Lesley but goes overboard a bit. I am not going to explain anymore because if you want to know how twisted Mike really is, you will need to see the movie to find out for yourself.

The lead Riggan is quirky also, but his quirkiness plays into the film’s seriousness much more, however Norton’s role is oscar-worthy. In some moments, Riggan is seen having a bad day (on numerous occasions) or just stressed out to the extent. In those times, the voice comes back to him and he imagines his old character that earned him lots of appraisal and that character is “Birdman.” A character he played years ago but turned it down because he got bored with it. Just he does not know what he wants to be known as. Either between Riggan or “Birdman.” To be honest I think “Birdman” the name that makes his mark.

I love this movie, I am a huge fan of stage productions because of past experiences and ushering in Not-for-profit theater venues. The weird-world of “Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” makes seeing Broadway feel like a first from its immersive and creative background behind it.

Four stars.