Whiplash

WHIPLASH (2014)

written & directed by Damien Chazelle

[director filmography: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009)]

starring Miles Teller [Divergent (2014), That Awkward Moment (2014), The Spectacular Now (2013), Rabbit Hole (2010)], J.K. Simmons [Juno (2007), Thank You For Smoking (2005), Spider-Man Trilogy]

ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"Loved it"

Before Whiplash emerged in mid-October this year, I think everyone was a bit worried about 2014 and its lack of excellent films (besides, of course, Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel). Maybe it was because last year was such a magical year at the movies--one of the best of my life--but we were in deep need of something to build some optimism in those who live for this sort of entertainment. So, Whiplash came along and not only did it give me the much needed jolt that I needed, I guarantee it will blow away anyone who is willing to give it a go. Whiplash is about jazz, sure, but it is about more than that: it is about a man [Miles Teller] growing up and wanting to be great, realizing that to be great he must make sacrifices, that he needs people who push him and he must be able to push himself. However, what makes this film special is that it takes him a step beyond this and makes him, along with the audience, question whether being great is so great after all. Some have called this film Full Metal Jacket meets Dead Poets Society, but whatever it is, Whiplash will be remembered as one of the greatest films of 2014.

The cinematography, music, directing and acting make Whiplash look like it's at the helm of some seasoned filmmaker; however, Chazelle is only 29 years old and this is only his second feature. Back in 2009, Chazelle was recognized for his only other film Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench by a couple of film festivals. Then, last year he made a short film called Whiplash, submitted it to Sundance, and was awarded the Short Film Jury Prize and secured funding for the feature length film by the same name. As a result, Chazelle will now be among the greatest of his peers, and just about everyone should be looking forward to his next film La La Land coming out next year. 

From the preview alone, I knew that Whiplash was not an average independent film; it was not just for a select audience who was escaping the explosions of the summer blockbusters and looking for an introspective tale about what it takes to succeed. Whiplash is an in-your-face film with yelling, profanity and intense music that will incite both smiles and profound anxiety. The main character wants to be great so bad he'll sacrifice friends, his girlfriend, his family, the skin on his hands, his mind and his health. His teacher [J.K. Simmons] wants his student to succeed so much he's willing to throw a symbol at his head. This is a story about what it takes and whether it is worth it, and will entertain the hell out of you along the way.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Whiplash will be nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons and Best Sound. If there was justice in the Academy Awards, Miles Teller would also be nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. J.K. Simmons will win for Best Supporting Actor.

Other ratings: IMDB (8.7/10), Rotten Tomatoes (96%)

Birdman

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (2014)

directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

[director filmography: Biutiful (2010), Babel (2006), 21 Grams (2003), Amores Perros (2000)]

written by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu [Biutiful], Nicolas Giacobone [Biutiful], Alexander Dinelaris [debut], Armando Bo [Biutiful]

starring Michael Keaton [Jack Frost, Multiplicity, Batman Returns (1992), Batman (1989), Beetlejuice] , Zach Galifianakis [The Hangover movies], Edward Norton [The Incredible Hulk, Fight Club, American History X], Emma Stone [The Amazing Spider-Man movies, The Help, Easy A], Naomi Watts [The Impossible, King Kong, The Ring, Mulholland Drive]

ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"The most original film of the year"

The first year I really paid attention to movies was back in 2002, and Amorres Perros was one of the first foreign films I fell in love with. Since then, I've seen everything Inarritu has directed and have loved how he constructs ensemble casts to tell stories that interweave and show the interconnectedness of all of us. Birdman is no different. This film had my mouth hanging open nearly the entire two hour running time, and it was not just for the amazing cinematography, acting and dialogue. This film contains the longest continuous shots without a cut I've ever seen in a movie. I swear, there was 20 minutes that passed before I noticed the first cut. This is an art that is rarely used in movies for obvious reasons, but largely because filmmakers think it bores the audience, the choreography and camera work is demanding and actors are not trained to perform with the needed accuracy. Nonetheless, Birdman is incredibly exciting and freaking hilarious, and may end up garnering the most Oscar nominations of the year. 

From the opening scene, where we find Michael Keaton's character in his dressing room preparing for a day of rehearsal in his acting/directing/producing debut on Broadway, we know that we are about to see some crazy stuff in this film. From that point on, we are led to believe that Keaton has ultimate control of his life and people around him, but that perhaps this control is the problem. Keaton embodies the definition of literary irony in his portrayal of a washed up superhero actor from the 90s who is now fat and old, but still rich, and is searching for recognition once again. He decides to pour everything, including his fortune, into adapting the Raymond Carver short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" for Broadway. In the process, he juggles the intense personalities of his co-stars [Norton and Watts], the struggles of being a father to a beautiful and rambunctious daughter [Stone], and his own view of himself. Throughout the film, we are reminded that Hollywood does still have some tricks up its sleeves, that 2014 was not a bust for filmmaking and that the only judge that really matters is us... and the influential theatre critic who can ruin our chances at a comeback. 

OSCAR PREDICTIONS: This film will get nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton, Best Supporting Actress Emma Stone, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. Michael Keaton will win Best Actor.

Other ratings: IMDB (8.7/10), Rotten Tomatoes (93%)

Interstellar

INTERSTELLAR (2014)

directed by Christopher Nolan

[director filmography: The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight (2008), The Prestige (2006), Batman Begins (2005), Insomnia (2002), Memento (2000)]

written by Christopher Nolan [all of the above except Insomnia] & Jonathan Nolan [Brother & co-writer of The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Memento]

starring Matthew McConaughey [Oscar Winner for Best Actor in Dallas Buyer's Club], Anne Hathaway [Oscar Winner for Best Supporting Actress in Les Miserables], Jessica Chastain [Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, The Tree of Life] & Michael Caine [2-time Oscar Winner for Best Supporting Actor in Cider House Rules and Hannah and Her Sisters]

ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"One of the greatest science fiction films of all time, and second favorite of the year."

At this point it shouldn't be a surprise that Christopher Nolan made another masterpiece since he is undoubtably one of the greatest filmmakers to have ever lived (and is only 44 years old!), so I will not belabor the point. Interstellar is phenomenal. The first time I saw it was in standard definition, and I wasn't expecting it to be so deep and hard to wrap my mind around. When I walked out of the theater, and for the 24 hours afterward, I wasn't quite sure even what I thought. I knew I had seen a spectacularly shot film with stunning visual effects and sound and I was sure that there was brilliant acting, directing and set design, but as a whole I was really thrown for a loop. Had I known before I saw it that Interstellar would attempt to stay true to what is known, theorized or speculated about in terms of the science of relativity, spacetime, wormholes and black holes, I may have been prepared to not completely understand what I had just seen. Nonetheless, after a second viewing in IMAX, my questions were mostly answered and the film as a whole came together for me (especially with the incredible sound!). Interstellar is smart, touching, and inspiring and it keeps Nolan's perfect directorial credentials intact.

Back in 2006, before Nolan was attached to direct, Kip Thorne, a world-renowned astrophysicist, aimed to make a film that stayed true to the laws of physics and would be in agreement with respectable scientists in the field*. In fact, the first director attached to this project was Steven Spielberg and he agreed to direct the film after being presented with only an 8-page treatment. This shows the recognition and longing of a film that stays true to science, since any scientist will tell you that what is possible in this universe, both known and unknown, is better than anything even the best filmmakers in Hollywood including Stan Lee could make up. Interstellar is proof that these films should be made and need to be made. Who knows, in an age without an Apollo program, how many young people a film like this could inspire to enter science. This is a bit of a tangent from a typical film review, but it does emphasize the brilliance of this film. As of right now, Interstellar is #15 on the IMDB Top 250 films of all-time along with six other films that Nolan directed (and is behind The Dark Knight [#4] and Inception [#13]). No other filmmaker has this sort of recognition and it is proof that Hollywood can be both smart and entertaining and that the intelligence of audiences needs to be trusted with this sort of subject matter. 

Interstellar is an original science fiction film in the age of countless sequels and adaptations of comic book movies and fantasy novels, and it painstakingly confined itself within the realm of the possible in order to tell us a story audiences have never seen before. After watching this movie, it will be difficult to believe that this is in fact based on current understanding of physics, but that is the beauty and guts of this film. In addition, Nolan added brilliant characters, story lines and philosophies about love, altruism, bravery and evil to tell one of the greatest space odysseys ever told.

*If you're interested in more of the story behind Interstellar and to better understand the science behind it, pick up "The Science of Interstellar" by Kip Thorne.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS: As validation of how backwards the Oscars can be, Nolan has never even been nominated for Best Director. Despite the brilliance of this film, there is unfortunately no reason to believe this time will be any different. Interstellar will be nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Editing, and Best Original Score, and maybe Best Original Screenplay. It will win Best Sound.

Other ratings: IMDB (8.9/10, #15 on Top 250), Rotten Tomatoes (73%)

Boyhood

BOYHOOD (2014)

written & directed by Richard Linklater

[director filmography: Before Midnight (2013), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Before Sunset (2004), School of Rock (2003), Tape (2001), Waking Life (2001), Before Sunrise (1995), Dazed and Confused (1993), Slacker (1991)]

starring Ellar Coltrane [acting debut], Lorelei Linklater [acting debut & the director's daughter], Patricia Arquette [TV series "Medium", True Romance] and Ethan Hawke [The "Before" Trilogy, Training Day, Gattaca]

ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"Hands down the best movie of the year & one of the best films of all time"  

As a diehard film lover, this is the film you live to see. It is often easy to be cynical about the future of film, thinking that the best were behind us and that we will never be able to add to the list of all-time greats. Boyhood, however, is the exception to the rule. This film is not only the best film of the year or the best of Richard Linklater's storied career--it is one of the greatest films of all time.

When Boyhood first came out and it had 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and the New York Times called it one the best films ever made, I had my doubts. I thought that maybe it was getting such recognition because of how unassuming it was, or how innovative it was, or that it would be a big cliche. I half-expected it to to tell the story of two young siblings growing into adulthood along with the typical trials and tribulations you see in just about every other coming-of-age movie. However, Boyhood was different (and I should have expected more from Richard Linklater who was already responsible for three of the best films I've ever seen--Before Midnight, Before Sunset & Before Sunrise). The actual premise of the film is reinforced by how the film was shot: Linklater aimed to show a young family growing up over 12 years and thus filmed the movie over a 12 year period. All of the cast, including Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, enter on screen as they were back in 2002. The US had just been attacked on 9/11, Bush was preparing to invade Iraq and the economy was strong. The look and feel take us back in time the way a photo album or home camera only could; there is no way casting or makeup can transport the audience in the way they did. Moreover, this is the first time a feature film has endeavored to tell a story over this long of a time period. As a result, we get an epic masterpiece spanning nearly 3 hours and by the time it is over everyone in the audience is rooting for a sequel. 




In Boyhood, Linklater has turned this family into a family we know, perhaps even similar to our own, who face similar problems with money, jobs, marriage and divorce, raising children the best they can and sometimes just getting by. At times during the film, I was critical of its title because it seemed that this was just as much a movie about motherhood, fatherhood or even girlhood. However, Boyhood does focus mostly on Mason [Ellar Coltrane] and how he navigates life as a child when he does not have any autonomy and he is largely at the whims of his equally confused parents. Then enters Mason as a young adult and he starts to be able to make decisions for himself and ask existential questions in the way his parents did while he was growing up. Some of the parts that I loved the most were those that reminded me of parts of growing up that I had long forgot, like what it was like to observe your family as a young child without being able to intervene much and then what it was like to first fall in love and come home high on pot to suspecting parents. All in all, Boyhood is a film about life. Men and women and people all around the world can relate to this movie because what it is really about is the experience of growing up, coming into adulthood and realizing that you don't know shit about what to do or what will happen next.


OSCAR PREDICTIONS: This film will get nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actor Ethan Hawke and Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette. It will win everything but Best Supporting Actor.

Other ratings: IMDB (8.4/10, #85 on Top 250), Rotten Tomatoes (99%)

Scream 4

SCREAM 4 (2011)

directed by Wes Craven

[Red Eye (2005), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 2 (1997), Scream (1996), New Nightmare (1994), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), The Last House on the Left (1972)] 

written by Kevin Williamson

["The Vampire Diaries" (2009-2011), The Faculty (1998), Scream 2 (1997), Scream (1996)]

starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson, and Mary McDonnell (yes, the Mary McDonnel from Dances with Wolves 

ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"Loved it"

Academy Award Predictions 2011

Oscar Predictions 2011:

Best Picture:

The Social Network

Best Actor:

Colin Firth - The King's Speech

Best Actress:

Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor:

Christian Bale - The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress:

Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Best Director:

David Fincher - The Social Network

Best Original Screenplay:

David Seidler - The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network

Best Animated Feature:

Toy Story 3

Best Editing:

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall - The Social Network

The Social Network (2nd Viewing)

 THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

directed by David Fincher

[filmography: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Zodiac (2007), Panic Room (2002), Fight Club (1999), The Game (1997), Se7en (1995), Alien 3 (1992)]

written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin

[filmography: Charlie Wilson's War (2007), "The West Wing" (1999-2006), The American President (1995), A Few Good Men (1992)]

starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello, Max Minghella, and Justin Timberlake

   
ENJOYMENT: ***** (out of 5)

"The best movie of the year"

    I loved this movie, from the opening scene to the closing credits.  Its velocity is unmatched.  Its witty dialogues, narrative, score, and editing are unlike most films I have seen.  It's inspirational, but not in a cheesy way.  It's relevant.  It's the greatest film of the year.