Amazing performances by the two main stars, Miles Teller, and of course Simmons. He will get all the praise but Teller is fantastic as Andrew, an acolyte of jazz and inspired to become "one of the greats".

this movie is not really about jazz or practice as much as it is about obsession and mania. the lengths andrew goes to trying to be the best are just as audacious and crazy as fletcher (the teacher)'s bullying methods to get the best out of his players.

everyone is miserable, nothing is fun (an irony when fletcher says "let's have fun"), because obsession and drive is not fun or pleasant. this is a perfect representation of that.

simmons is an antagonist but he's not really a villain. he will do and say whatever it takes to bring out what he thinks is the best. while you want to see him get his clock cleaned, you cannot look away ever when he's on screen.

This movie was absolutely intense...the last 10 minutes, i could hardly breathe.

out of

Agreed. Very good.

_________________
"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Simmons had a comedy on NBC where he played a blind father. He also had a comedy on ABC where he was a retired plumber. I thought he was great in both shows but nobody was watching. He should have received more movie roles after playing J. Jonah Jameson in the first Spiderman Movies.

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Saw this last night with the fiance. Everything WZ said is spot on. Teller and Simmons kill it from start to finish and there were more than enough surprises along the way to keep us entertained. And the music...oh...the music is so fucking good.

I now desperately want someone to make a talking portrait of Terrence Fletcher and his various creative insults that I can hang next to my Cave Johnson.

Yep. Saw it this afternoon.
Whiplash is the goods.

_________________
Just chillin' like Garret Quillin.

there's no fucking pot of gold down there.

I just watched it. Instead of an abusive, sadistic, Bobby Knight type being a jackass on a collegiate athletic field, an abusive, sadistic, Bobby Knight type was a jackass in a music school. The end was nice, but I really stopped caring at about the 60 minute mark when Fletcher was making the three students play for hours on end.

The dinner table scene when Andrew was a dick to the DIII QB was kind of funny/surprising as it painted him has a less than sympathetic character than he had been up to that point.

Based on the press and awards it received I was expecting more, and overall I was disappointed.

I'm going to listen to Metallica's Whiplash so I can once again have a positive association with the word.

Yeah, at times reminded me of the Alec Baldwin scene in GGR.

_________________

I liked it but I'm conflicted about whether to accept the film's overall message. Normally, I'm against this type of degrading and dehumanizing motivational technique. But I've always been a fan of JK Simmons' work so I find myself agreeing with his approach in this case since the kid ending up excelling at the end. It's a testament to his acting performance. I loved Fletcher setting him up to fail with the "I knew it was you Fredo" moment. That look on his face was superbly villainous.

_________________
Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

The end is what made the movie for me. Can't remember any recent film that's grabbed and held my attention the way the ending of whiplash did. Better than bird man too.

_________________