Whiplash touches upon the inherent drive for greatness that many creatives experience and its follies when those desires are abused and pushed to their limit. Showcasing a journey that’s disgusting and hard to look away from, as the protagonist’s dreams, background, and insecurities are used against him until he is completely unraveled. This is supplemented by an outstanding performance of music, acting, and cinematography that makes this film a masterwork in depicting the darker side of creative **** film follows Andrew, a first-year student at one of the best music schools in the nation, following his dream to become a drummer who is seen as “one of the greats”. His family doesn’t understand him and he doesn’t have any friends, but despite this he continues to pursue his love of drumming. While practicing, he catches the eye of Fletcher, the instructor of a highly respected jazz conservatory, and adds Andrew as the newest and youngest drummer to the band. During this, Andrew is shown that Fletcher will do whatever it takes to produce only the greatest musicians for his band. Whether that’s through manipulation, insults, or physical harm, no action is deemed too excessive for Fletcher. As the end result of producing an artist capable of shaking the creative world justifies the means. This process ultimately destroys Fletcher both physically, mentally, and socially, as his life is dismantled in order to accommodate his desire to win Fletcher’s **** a creative myself, watching this film is like looking at a bloody but enticing car crash. That feeling of wanting one’s artistic pursuit to be commended is hung like a carrot on a stick over Andrew’s head throughout. What Andrew is willing to do to obtain that validation is strikingly relatable to someone who has put blood, sweat, and tears into their own creative endeavors. This is only strengthened by the captivating cinematography and acting performances that filled my stomach with dread throughout. The shots of Andrew’s blood and sweat dripping onto the drums and the close-up shots of Fletcher’s face and expressions really stand out as unforgettable moments within the cinematography, as it pushes the viewer's eyes unpleasantly close to the abuse that is happening. The pacing overall also felt fantastic, as these intense scenes are punctuated by the musical performances of Andrew’s drumming and Fletcher’s band. Allowing the pacing time to breathe in between the scenes while simultaneously creating an ongoing suspense as the viewer never knows when Fletcher will stop the performance abruptly to berate and calibrate his band to perfection.What really pulls these elements together is the overall messaging and bittersweet ending of the film. Whiplash challenges viewers, making them question how great artists are created and if suffering is truly necessary for greatness. Throughout the film, Andrew’s torment and relentless dedication appear to move him closer to his goal. However, this torment destroys him in the end, and right when it seems the film will take the stance that suffering is unnecessary for greatness, its ending leaves the question far more ambiguous. As the final moments force the audience to watch the culmination of Andrew and Fletcher’s efforts finally pay off but at what cost?Overall, Whiplash is essential viewing for anyone pursuing a creative pursuit or curious about the darker side of striving for greatness within the arts. The film fundamentally understands how that desire for greatness unwinds and hurts individuals and the people around them. Truly a 10/10 unforgettable film that will leave audiences shocked for years to come.
This film is impressive throughout, especially for the times, as Bonnie and Clyde presents the violent history of the two notorious criminals and their dysfunctional love of each other and bank robbing. Bonnie’s character was stand out with an emotional depth and attitude that made the relationship with Clyde and moreso her relationship with crime itself incredibly interesting. She seriously has better writing than female characters in some modern-day stories (which is kind of disappointing to write haha). The film’s way of presenting the slow corrosion of the two criminals lives as they delve deeper into their addiction was astonishing. As the expressions left by some of the character’s family and friends and the way death is portrayed in the film has a silent and haunting atmosphere that can only really be found in older films.However, the film did have some pacing issues as it was a little hard to keep track of when exactly certain scenes were taking place in the timeline. It probably would have helped if they had shown more of the progression of their popularity as criminals by showcasing more of the local publicity and newspaper articles that were often talked about but not shown very well in the film. Otherwise, it’s a great film that holds up very well today even if you don’t know anything about the history of Bonnie and Clyde.
Super Troopers opens with a genuinely funny joke that had me belly-laughing right from the start. Unfortunately, the film never reaches that same high again. As it goes on, the humor steadily loses its quality, and there’s little in the way of character development or an engaging plot to fill the gap. It felt like I was waiting the entire runtime for the real movie to start only to reach the ending and go “that’s it?”. While there are a few good jokes scattered throughout, they aren’t strong enough to support the film as a whole.
Wake Up Dead Man is a great mystery wrapped in beautiful, well-shot package with some good characters. The main character, Father Jud, stood out as a protagonist for me as a refreshingly complex priest trying his best to save a corrupt church and its followers. Father Jud grapples with his own guilt and uphill battle as he conflicts with the cast and his own beliefs. The murder mystery that appears on that journey left me on edge and interested to the very end. The scenes were beautifully lit, and the film had some funny moments that only added the experience. Although, the actual suspect line up could have used a little more focus to make me properly love the whodunnit aspect of the narrative. As I felt like the culprit was pretty obvious. Overall, this movie was great and had some incredible moments. I just wish that quality could have been sustained throughout the film in its suspects, tension, and most importantly the mystery that unfolded.
A Christmas Story was a fun watch but left me overall unsatisfied. As there is nothing in this movie that is particularly interesting and felt very middle of the road as Christmas movies go. I enjoyed how the narration made the story feel like it was being read from a book and the dream sequences were fun, but it still wasn’t enough to make me want to watch this movie again next year. I see why it’s a classic; however, it hasn’t really aged well. As the movie feels like comedy skit that was turned into a movie. Nothing wrong if that’s what people like, but it’s not something I find particularly worthwhile.
I may not be religious, but I believe this is the golden standard for religious movies. The art and portrayal of the characters is captivating throughout the film. The animation gives weight to the powers of God used in the story which is only enhanced by the incredible music displayed. Most of the scenes could be screenshotted and hung as a work of art on its own. Although some minor scenes may be hard to understand without prior context, this film does a great job at keeping the main plot digestible. A downright incredible experience throughout.
I Saw the TV Glow is a slow and skin crawling film on the horrors of identity and aging. It has a lot of transgender themes, but I still think many could enjoy this work. I do think its slow pacing does alienate some viewers and makes it a harder film to rewatch. Which is why I would only recommend this movie to people who are fine with a film with slower pacing. If you can get past that issue I highly recommend watching!
