Saw this over Thanksgiving weekend. Badass movie. Haven't seen a movie like this, but it had me wired the whole way.

Saw it tonight. So stressful and exhilarating. Loved every minute

Just saw it as well and thought it was amazing

I don't think I've seen unanimous love for a single movie on TexAgs maybe... ever?

Just watched this tonight. Holy f-ing hell that was amazing. Like Birdman on steroids.

just watched this last night too....loved it. so intense. i've always loved jk simmons in pretty much any movie i've seen him, but this was a f-ing incredible performance. i thought he was hilarious and hated him all at the same time.

Great movie, very well acted, great music. That business is pretty damn cuthroat and pressure packed, and not in the cliche "Asian father pressure to play cello" way.

Well that was the best movie I've seen in a very, very long time. Holy smokes.

Saw it last night as a doubleheader with Birdman and LOVED both.

Teller has been good in everything. JK Simmons I've loved forever as a Reitman player and he is lights out. The Oscar is his. He is terrifying, but yet you identify with his passion and almost envy it.

I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The scene where Teller tries EVERYTHING to make it to the show was just jaw dropping. I was drained and just thought "Where the hell can this movie go from here." That was a hell of a first act to follow and they did it perfectly.

When JK delivers that line at the end "Do you think I'm a f'ing idiot? I know it was you." OHHH sheet. Buckle up! The drumming was just insane at the end. I agree with the conundrum but I kind of liked it. Although at odds they both recognized the drive they both had to be great, that to each of them anything less was failure.

I felt like when I was a kid seeing Rocky and then shadow boxing all day. I walked out and drummed on the steering wheel the entire ride home

Great interview with JK Simmons on Howard Stern this morning. Think it's still going on. Had to go in to work so I couldn't hear the end. Will definitely catch the replay this evening.

Just saw it

I do not know if I have ever seen a movie that has had me sucked in like this. Complete immersion into the film....f-ing intense.

JK's performance was hauntingly perfect.

Anyone know where to watch the 17 minute short they made for investors to get funding to shoot the feature length film?

watched over the weekend online and find myself watching segments here and there today and yesterday. thought it was great. Teller was also very good in a lesser known movie a couple years back called Spectacular Now co-starring Shailene Woodley.

I think it's safe to say this is now officially the most well-received release in TexAgs history. Never would I have guessed that Fast Fred, of all people, would be the lone holdout, though.

Ha, at least you saw it! I still can't convince half of my LA friends to see it.

for those who are interested, JK Simmons is hosting SNL tomorrow night. In the promos him and Kenan did a spoof off this scene

Here's the SNL promo link. Whiplash bit at 1:02:

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I think it's safe to say this is now officially the most well-received release in TexAgs history. Never would I have guessed that Fast Fred, of all people, would be the lone holdout, though.

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The consensus is amazing. But even more so is Fred's view on it. Baffling. I usually agree with Fred on all movies.

Also, that last bombshell he drops before the performance about being aware of it...just awesome.

Fred probably approached the movie from a different set of coordinates on account of his music background. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Love Fred, but he wiffed!

The intensity of the drumming related directly to Simmons character and the underlying inner drive of the protagonist..

Bravo. Take away a few silly parts (awful car crash that he walked away from, bleeding all over his drums) and you have a perfect movie.

The car crash wa definitely a little over the top, but I give it a pass simply because I was SHOCKED when it happened. Usually when they show that profile view of the driver, camera looking out the driver's side window, it's beyond obvious a car wreck is about it happen. Or if not, it's cliche when it does. Here, that was the last thing I was expecting, and it actually surprised me, so I give it points for that.

The protagonists situation is just completely unenviable. I have trouble understanding musicians like him. I can't fully empathize with the value he assigns to a figurehead, when his craft is essentially an art. I understand and accept that figureheads in art are figureheads for a reason, and I accept that it is possible for one person to have a great affinity, passion and insight into the beauty of their art than another. I'm stuck in that belief that all art is beautiful and that everyone is equally adept at it. For instance, I fully accept that a master chef can observe my eating habits and know better than I do what I would like to eat than myself. I have no problem with accepting that concept, but I could never trust any expert in any field of art in the same way that the protagonist did in this film. I'm not saying that he was foolish to do so, but rather that I just don't have the nerve and commitment to devote myself as an apprentice in such a way in a subjective field. I wouldn't be able to find that sort of certainty within uncertainty.

I'm reminded of one apprentice in Jiro Dreams of Sushi Who made egg omelet sushi day after day. Each day, Jiro would throw it out as it just wasn't good enough. One day, after hundreds of attempts, the apprentice was able to produce a satisfactory product. The thing is, my impression is that at this point the apprentice wasn't satisfied only to meet the standards of his master, but that he himself was able to see the vague/subtle perfection which Jiro had been aiming for. It was a subjective mark to meet, but it seemed as though once the apprentice reached that mark, he was in complete agreement with Jiro, that there was a right way, or rather a best way to make egg omelet sushi.

That perfectionism in craft/art is hard for me to get into, when it feels like I'm seeking a moving target. All I can say is that I believe in the people who are able to do this. I don't believe that subjective perfectionism is complete bull****, but only technically bull****. It can't technically be true, but those that seek it seem to be to be onto something, at least in the example of Whiplash and Jiro Dreams of Sushi. There is not a better answer, but there is a best answer, and these are the individuals who are pushing the envelope on that best answer. It seems like it is a very difficult path to go down, a path on which don't know where you're going until you've reached that point. This is a concept that I struggle with, but I feel I have sort of a grasp and appreciation for.

And to reiterate what TCCTS has said, such a path for subjective perfection is not worth the sacrifices to any sane human being. That level of perfection is completely unreasonable and so completely decadent. It's painful to behold.

This subject is quite difficult to articulate.

Is this still out? Anyone know where it can be viewed alternatively? Legally of course..

I'm going good to see it in Tyler tomorrow night. It just hit the theaters here on Friday. Can't wait.

Hits Blu-ray/iTunes/etc. on February 24 for those who can't see it theatrically...

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The protagonists situation is just completely unenviable. I have trouble understanding musicians like him. I can't fully empathize with the value he assigns to a figurehead, when his craft is essentially an art. I understand and accept that figureheads in art are figureheads for a reason, and I accept that it is possible for one person to have a great affinity, passion and insight into the beauty of their art than another. I'm stuck in that belief that all art is beautiful and that everyone is equally adept at it. For instance, I fully accept that a master chef can observe my eating habits and know better than I do what I would like to eat than myself. I have no problem with accepting that concept, but I could never trust any expert in any field of art in the same way that the protagonist did in this film. I'm not saying that he was foolish to do so, but rather that I just don't have the nerve and commitment to devote myself as an apprentice in such a way in a subjective field. I wouldn't be able to find that sort of certainty within uncertainty.

I'm reminded of one apprentice in Jiro Dreams of Sushi Who made egg omelet sushi day after day. Each day, Jiro would throw it out as it just wasn't good enough. One day, after hundreds of attempts, the apprentice was able to produce a satisfactory product. The thing is, my impression is that at this point the apprentice wasn't satisfied only to meet the standards of his master, but that he himself was able to see the vague/subtle perfection which Jiro had been aiming for. It was a subjective mark to meet, but it seemed as though once the apprentice reached that mark, he was in complete agreement with Jiro, that there was a right way, or rather a best way to make egg omelet sushi.

That perfectionism in craft/art is hard for me to get into, when it feels like I'm seeking a moving target. All I can say is that I believe in the people who are able to do this. I don't believe that subjective perfectionism is complete bull****, but only technically bull****. It can't technically be true, but those that seek it seem to be to be onto something, at least in the example of Whiplash and Jiro Dreams of Sushi. There is not a better answer, but there is a best answer, and these are the individuals who are pushing the envelope on that best answer. It seems like it is a very difficult path to go down, a path on which don't know where you're going until you've reached that point. This is a concept that I struggle with, but I feel I have sort of a grasp and appreciation for.

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There wasn't anything subjective about the criticism he was receiving. THe kid was clearly playing offbeat

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The protagonists situation is just completely unenviable. I have trouble understanding musicians like him. I can't fully empathize with the value he assigns to a figurehead, when his craft is essentially an art. I understand and accept that figureheads in art are figureheads for a reason, and I accept that it is possible for one person to have a great affinity, passion and insight into the beauty of their art than another. I'm stuck in that belief that all art is beautiful and that everyone is equally adept at it. For instance, I fully accept that a master chef can observe my eating habits and know better than I do what I would like to eat than myself. I have no problem with accepting that concept, but I could never trust any expert in any field of art in the same way that the protagonist did in this film. I'm not saying that he was foolish to do so, but rather that I just don't have the nerve and commitment to devote myself as an apprentice in such a way in a subjective field. I wouldn't be able to find that sort of certainty within uncertainty.

I'm reminded of one apprentice in Jiro Dreams of Sushi Who made egg omelet sushi day after day. Each day, Jiro would throw it out as it just wasn't good enough. One day, after hundreds of attempts, the apprentice was able to produce a satisfactory product. The thing is, my impression is that at this point the apprentice wasn't satisfied only to meet the standards of his master, but that he himself was able to see the vague/subtle perfection which Jiro had been aiming for. It was a subjective mark to meet, but it seemed as though once the apprentice reached that mark, he was in complete agreement with Jiro, that there was a right way, or rather a best way to make egg omelet sushi.

That perfectionism in craft/art is hard for me to get into, when it feels like I'm seeking a moving target. All I can say is that I believe in the people who are able to do this. I don't believe that subjective perfectionism is complete bull****, but only technically bull****. It can't technically be true, but those that seek it seem to be to be onto something, at least in the example of Whiplash and Jiro Dreams of Sushi. There is not a better answer, but there is a best answer, and these are the individuals who are pushing the envelope on that best answer. It seems like it is a very difficult path to go down, a path on which don't know where you're going until you've reached that point. This is a concept that I struggle with, but I feel I have sort of a grasp and appreciation for.

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There wasn't anything subjective about the criticism he was receiving. The kid was clearly playing offbeat

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Right. There's definitely correct technical skill to be perfected under a person like that. Tempo isn't an area in which your understanding of your objective improves in parallel with your pursuit of that objective. No doubt, there is a right answer when it comes to tempo, but there are definitely subtleties in drumming for which there are only better answers and worse answers.

Wife and I both loved the movie and related to the rehearsal scenes in many ways, the violence notwithstanding. The mania of the conductor, the not-so-subtle fear of getting caught not knowing if you're flat or sharp, the 'we're staying here until you get it right' sectionals, the 'you're ruining my band' might as well have been ripped out of our purposefully forgotten memories. Actually those scenes made me smile at how good and bad they were for 'growing up' and 'learning lessons' and 'practice makes perfect' only to then wonder if our kids are going to have the same experiences in music, sport or school and if I want that for them.

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Tempo isn't an area in which your understanding of your objective improves in parallel with your pursuit of that objective. No doubt, there is a right answer when it comes to tempo, but there are definitely subtleties in drumming for which there are only better answers and worse answers.

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This begs the question if movie would have worked ifdrumming wasnt the focus. Tempo is easy to define but the subtleties of great drumming are so very difficult to explain even for musicians. Watching a sax player run scales in front of a tuner wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. Also, drumming usually isn'tsupposed to be heard so much as felt. For a drummer knowing when, and probably more important when not use a fill is half the musical battle. When the fill or a hit is good it may go unnoticed but when it's wrong it sticks out. It comes back to musicality*.


*Favorite definition of musicality: Musicality, those who have it know what it is.

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And to reiterate what TCCTS has said, such a path for subjective perfection is not worth the sacrifices to any sane human being. That level of perfection is completely unreasonable and so completely decadent. It's painful to behold.

This subject is quite difficult to articulate.

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Just ask Neiman, for many it isn't subjective and it's worth the sacrifice. For those with the actual talent and mindset to reach the closest levels of perfection never seem to think they're crazy, It's just who they are. It's more painful for us, because to them it's not a sacrifice, it's just "going to work."

NOT MY TEMPO!

Great movie, just watched it on the plane on the way back to DFW.

9/10 would recommend

Whiplash blew us away!!! Fantastic movie!!! Definitely recommend!