Whiplash

4 out of 4 Stars

The slow pace of a drum beat fills the screen. Then, it gradually gets louder and faster until you are grabbing the arms of your chair in anticipation as if you were riding to the top of a roller coaster. All of the sudden,  the title card comes up and the next hour and forty minutes becomes a hair-standing, wide-eyed look at two people pushing beyond the boundaries of talent and mentorship. The film is Whiplash, the story of an overly-ambitious drum major (Miles Teller) at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music in New York who is chosen to play for the Conservatory band under the leadership of a tyrannical conductor (J.K. Simmons) and will go beyond any ethical code of conduct to turn his student into the next jazz virtuoso.

The performances in this movie are flat-out amazing! Miles Teller was fifteen when he started playing the drums and practiced 4 hours a day to prepare for the movie, which was shot in a period of 19 days. Teller's passion and drive as a drummer and actor are shown in full view in his performance as Andrew, a musician who will sacrifice his blood, sweat, and tears until it pours out over the drums.  J.K. Simmons, an actor who has been type-casted for his comedic, yet sympathetic, warmth, gives the performance of his career as Fletcher, an instructor so sadistic that he would make R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket look like an agony aunt. Both Simmons and Teller clash on the screen like Ali and Foreman in the ring or Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones on the drums.    

Witten and directed by Damien Chazelle, he drew from his own experiences as a high school student in a jazz ensemble group, in which his band instructor was a force not to be reckoned with. His static camera catches the energy and emotional swings with such unpredictability you would think it was a documentary. At first glance, you might think of this movie as "Rocky with drums" but, if anything, it draws comparisons to Raging Bull; from soaking a clenched, bloody fist into a bucket of ice after an intense drumming session to the dilemma of how one functions off the drum kit when the band stops playing. If you're looking for a film that pulls sympathetic punches in the style of Fame, Mr. Holland's Opus, or an agonizing episode of Glee, take a hike! Whiplash is a film that cuts deep with an intense and visceral edge that will make your jaw drop with amazement.        

St. Vincent

No Stars

Vincent is a drunk and grumpy war veteran who befriends a scrawny, yet mature, ten year old. Am I watching Gran Torino? Also, the ten year old boy is raised by a single mother trying to make ends meet and trying to gain custody over her son. Doesn’t this sound like Kramer Vs. Kramer? In addition to the curmudgeonly war veteran babysitting the precocious young boy, he is trying to scrape by at either the race track or by selling pharmaceuticals to pay his stripper/hooker girlfriend who just so happens to be pregnant. Now I feel like I’m watching an episode of Shameless. 

The film, or bastardization of the aforementioned films and television shows, is St. Vincent, the flat directorial debut of Theodore Melfi. Marketed as a comedy based on the trailer and publicity, the film only gets a few giggles from the same gags repeated in the trailer. Despite a star-studded cast, the performances are stuck in the quicksand of typical Hollywood claptrap. At first glance, you would think the film would be a quirky, slice-of-life look at the generational gap between Bill Murray and his young protege, played by Jaeden Lieberher, in a manner similar to the writing of Wes Anderson, but the result is a film with cliche piled on after heart-string pulling cliche that it might as well be titled, “Not Another Oscar Movie.” The running time of the film is an hour and forty-two minutes, yet it drags on to the point where I thought my watch stopped. 

   

Gone Girl

4 out of 4 Stars

One of the most talked about and unhinged date films of the year, Gone Girl is David Fincher's gripping adaptation of Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel about the disappearance and suspected murder of a writer's wife in small town Missouri. On the morning of his five year wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home from the local watering hole, which he owns, and finds that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Amy's disappearance leads to an investigation led by local law enforcement and fueled by media speculation over whether or not Nick kidnapped or murdered his wife. Standing by Nick's side over the televised grilling from cable news pundits is his twin sister, Margo (Carrie Coon) as she houses Nick during the investigation. Revealing anything else would spoil this white-knuckled thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat and rethinking of whether or not to clutch your significant others' hand.

David Fincher, one of the masters of neo-noir, delivers a stunning film that ranks up to his previous thrillers like Se7en, The Game, and Zodiac. Fincher manages to find the delicate balance of directing a thriller with the suspense of Hitchcock's North By Northwest and Reed's The Third Man with a style that is vivid and chilling thanks his collaboration with long-time cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth and accompanied with an industrialist score by alternative virtuosos Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay to her own novel making the visual experience as memorable and suspenseful as reading the book by focusing on the mass media-obsession and insanity over American crime without resorting to the same soapbox messages preached in Natural Born Killers or Kalifornia.     

Ben Affleck gives a great performance as Nick Dunne, but it is Rosamund Pike's performance as Amy that will bowl you over. Known for her previous work in action flicks like Jack Reacher and Die Another Day, Pike delivers an unforgettable performance in Gone Girl that is as full of shock and awe as Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction or Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion. Tyler Perry delivers a surprisingly solid performance as a high profile lawyer involved in Amy's disappearance while Neil Patrick Harris shows his Barney Stintson-esque flair as a flamboyant face from Amy's past.

Gone Girl is one movie that hits at the core over the conventional issues regarding marriage, trust, and fidelity without becoming a Lifetime movie of the week or stalling the plot with cliches resulting in one of David Fincher's finest works so far.  
     

     

The Zero Theorem

3 1/2 out of 4 Stars

The Zero Theorem is the latest installment in the dystopian society trilogy from the surreal and philosophical mind of Terry Gilliam. Like Gilliam's previous nightmarish-epics (Brazil and 12 Monkeys), The Zero Theorem is a futuristic look at a society ruled by an Orwellian presence of bureaucracy and corporations. At the center of this hectic society is Qohen (Pronounced "Cohen", not "Quinn"), an introverted data processor who cannot handle the real world outside of his home as he requests Management (Matt Damon emulating Richard Burton with cold reserve) to crunch numbers away from the office. Qohen finds himself to be the head of the Zero Theorem project, in which he tries to compute, day in and day out, an equation in which zero equals 100% leading him into a world in which his sanity and social inequalities are tested by those around him.

Christoph Waltz is amazing as the unhinged and introverted Qohen. Funny and moving, Waltz captures the essence of a man bogged down by a technologically driven society and trying to find solace in his life in the most surreal ways, such as virtual reality dating with Bainsley, played by a vivacious and zesty Melanie Thierry. Assisting Qohen is the optimistic and foolish Joby portrayed by a hilarious David Thewlis and the son of Management played by Lucas Hedges. When not being in the presence of his coworkers and superiors, Qohen is synthesized and deconstructed by a nutty psychotherapist played by an always amazing Tilda Swinton.    

The film does steer into some head-scratching hairpin turns in terms of the story, yet that is the beauty of a Terry Gilliam film. Through the dark and humorous mind that has crafted the satirical and surrealist cartoons for Monty Python's Flying Circus, Gilliam manages to make a version of Her that is more visceral and wild mixed with a genuine cautionary tale about how we can nor cannot socialize in an over-saturated world of technology.   

Frank

3 1/2 out of 4 Stars

Frank is a surreal, hilarious, and moving portrait about the struggle for fame and the struggle with reality. Based on Jon Ronson's semi-autobiographical story, Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) is an aspiring singer-songriter who is brought in to play keyboards for a band called the Soronprfbs led by Frank (Michael Fassbender), the lead singer who is unseen by all due to a football-sized head he wears over his own head; think of Daft Punk meets Peter Gabriel during his stint with Genesis. After a five minute gig in a Welsh pub, Jon is recruited by Frank to live in a desolate part of Ireland to record the Soronprfbs debut album. The recording process leads Jon to question his own musical talents whilst working with a band that is as hilariously dysfunctional as Spinal Tap.

Acting as mediator to the band and to Frank's introverted state is Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a shrill Theremin player with a voice as hauntingly sedative as Nico from the Velvet Underground's first album (listen to her rendition of a song from "A Clockwork Orange"). As she despises Jon's attempts to get the band play at the South by Southwest music festival (SXSW), Frank cherishes Jon's promises of the band being recognized for their music as opposed to their comical fights on stage. As the Soronprfbs prepare for their album to be finished and their performance at SXSW, a series of mysterious events occur leaving you guessing what's in Frank's head and who is in Frank's head.

Michael Fassbender gives a comically brilliant and heartfelt performance as Frank; even though he's shrouded in plastic throughout most of the film, Fassbender emphasizes the mystery of Frank with his eccentric behavior leading to a stunning conclusion. Domhnall Gleeson gives a great performance as Jon as he blends ambition with journalistic observations of his life revolved around Frank. Maggie Gyllenhaal is hilariously cold as Clara by walking on the tightrope between obsessive control and the compulsive desire for love.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Adam & Paul, What Richard Did), Frank is a sublime cautionary tale about the quest for fame mixed in with the struggle with self-identity.
  

Boyhood

4 out of 4 stars

There are few films this year that have made me both laugh and cry and Richard Linklater's Boyhood is one of those films. Boyhood focuses on the life of Mason and his family over the course of 12 years, which is how long it took Linklater to film, and charting the ebbs and flows of his life: parental separation, his first love, and his first day of college. During the 12 year journey, Linklater chronicles the major events of the last decade (Iraq, the rise in social media, the 2008 election) with subtlety rather than being a major plot point a la Forrest Gump or an episode of The Wonder Years. Combining the wanderlust style of his previous works (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, and Waking Life), Linklater's two hour and forty-five minute epic cuts against the grain of the generic, bloated, coming-of-age films with a visual style and story that is ambitious as it is original.

An  unknown actor from Texas who was 7 when he started the film and 19 when he finished, Ellar Coltrane is amazing as Mason as he gives a genuine and authentic performance. Patricia Arquette gives an incredible performance as Mason's mother as she deals with the hardships of being a single mother and her own journey in providing for her two children. Her performance is reminiscent of Ellen Burstyn's leading role in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as she does what she can to find happiness for herself and her family. Ethan Hawke gives his best performance as Mason's father who acts as a cathartic release for Mason and the tribulations he faces during his ascent into adulthood while Mason's father grows up as well. Richard Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei, gives an incredible performance as Mason's sister, Samantha.

Boyhood is a film that focuses more on the journey than the destination with a freewheeling style of storytelling that will leave you stunned and holding back tears of sorrow and joy. In short, Richard Linklater has created a masterpiece.

Robin Williams (1951-2014)

In the past 48 hours, its been hard for me to face the fact that one of the great icons of comedy and cinema has departed from this world. Robin Williams was found dead in his Marin County home on Monday. Since 4pm on Monday afternoon, tributes have been paid on social media networks, late night talk shows, and his stand-up routines have been broadcasted on the radio. The details into Robin's death will be speculated and over-analyzed by the press as is common for anyone famous; hopefully, he will be remembered for his craft and warmth he brought to the world rather than be remembered for his departure.

The constant memory of Robin Williams that's been circling in my head these past two days was my Eighth birthday when my parents took me to see Jumanji. Based on Chis Van Allsberg's children's book, two siblings find a board game which comes to life as they roll the dice and battle with the creatures of the jungle. I remember barreling over in laughs over Williams' bearded presence on the screen and watching in awe as he played a bumbling Errol Flynn fighting crocodiles, running from a heard of rhinos, and acting as a father figure to two lonely children. Since then, I started watching anything he was involved in; from his televised antics on Mork and Mindy to his masterclass performance as a therapist in Good Will Hunting.

I could go on and on over the accolades Robin Williams has received over the years, his personal life, and his generosity with Comic Relief and his USO shows, but the only thing I can say about him was that he quenched our thirst with his presence. Last night, I was watching The Fisher King and during the nude sequence in Central Park, an Au-natural Williams tells Jeff Bridges about the story of the holy grail:  

One day a fool wandered into the castle and found the king alone. And being a fool, he was simple minded, he didn't see a king. He only saw a man alone and in pain. And he asked the king, "What ails you friend?" The king replied, "I'm thirsty. I need some water to cool my throat". So the fool took a cup from beside his bed, filled it with water and handed it to the king. As the king began to drink, he realized his wound was healed. He looked in his hands and there was the holy grail, that which he sought all of his life. And he turned to the fool and said with amazement, "How can you find that which my brightest and bravest could not?" And the fool replied, "I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty."  

Robin Williams quenched our thirst and knew we were thirsty for humor, for a sense of warmth, for something to distract us from our problems regardless of how big or small they were. He knew we were thirsty and whenever I see a clip of him doing stand-up or catch a glimpse of him on television, I know who I can rely on to pour another cup.