Whiplash

Is there a line? The Black Swan of 2014. In a younger guise, with liters of sweat, blood, and tears. And with a visual side that, with its precision, cuts, and interconnection with the unrelenting rhythm, does not allow you to exhale. Every attempt at harmony, every moment when you push Andrew to finally rattle the drumsticks in a satisfying way, which will keep the demon Fletcher under control for at least a few more minutes – they always result in the same thing: accelerated breathing, tensed muscles, heightened senses. Whiplash grabs hold, crushes, and does not let go. And it chewed me up to the highest rating, because even just a few years after it was shocking, it had aged in a remarkable way. However slightly it pinched me towards the end of its time and I wanted just one more hint, today I wouldn't change anything in the movie at all. It runs at full speed the whole time and in the era of increasingly predictable academic elections or nominations, it remains possibly the last surprising choice that pleasantly caught the critical and audience public off guard. And now I'm going to catch my breath. With every longer viewing, the finale physically exhausts me more and more, although I'm afraid to even move one bit. (10/01/2015)

It never occurred to me that I would see such a great and well-made drama. This movie is also about music, but the focus lies on the story and the relationship between the two main protagonists. The young and talented Andrew, played in an exquisite way by Miles Teller, gets regular dressing down from the brutal conductor Terence Fletcher, who might be a bastard with the best catchphrases in this millennium. The comparison of J. K. Simmons’ role to those of other movie psychos, for example from Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now, is really apt. You won’t believe until you watch this. And the hardest to believe will be the ending itself, which for me immediately became one of the most important and fundamental dramatic film endings I have ever seen. I stared at the screen and sweated for the actors. This was one of the most challenging films I've seen in a very long time... but it was worth it! (31/01/2015)

The film may push the despot-pupil relationship a little too much, but there’s no better demonstration in recent years that talent alone is not enough; that talent, not nourished by daily grind, immeasurable diligence, focus and a desire for maximalism, regardless of the obstacles, is actually useless. Because as J.K. Simmons says “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’.” Fuck "good job", geniuses must want more. The last time I experienced similar feelings was with the 1961 film The Hustler, with Paul Newman, which says the same thing about talent, though in a completely different industry. The message of this film is more or less clear and it doesn't matter if it is about drummers, violinists, billiard players or tennis players, its insight about Talent is universal. (04/02/2015)

I long ignored this film due to its genre, but The Queen's Gambit has awakened something new in my film heart, a liking for sports or musical films, especially those about the journey to fame, where an outsider dazzles everyone, and this also applies to Miles Teller, who delivers a great performance. But it is J.K. Simmons who elevates the whole film from above average to perfection, covering 70% of the runtime, and whenever he is on screen, it becomes captivating, shocking, funny, rough, and uncompromising. He delivers a demonic performance, and for a long time, nobody in the film commanded as much respect as him. Surprisingly entertaining and engaging from beginning to end, the finale is exquisite. In the drama genre, I think it's the pinnacle. 10/10. (02/02/2021)

A manipulative masterpiece. Actually, it has nobody to root for or to relate to – J.K.Simmons is almost a demonic caricature and Teller, with his drive to be the best of the best whatever the price, feels more like an unlikeable mule. But even with that, Whiplash is best enjoyed as an adrenaline ride where you can relish with how Teller hits those drums and Simmons screams and throws chairs at him. And then you don’t even notice those cheap crutches. 75 % (14/01/2015)