Whiplash

The quest for greatness, and all that jazz

In the first few moments of Whiplash, jazz instructor Terence (J.K. Simmons meets Andrew (Miles Teller), an ambitious young jazz drummer who wants to become one of the greats. He doesn’t want to excel in a Bring It On/Drumline kind of way, he wants to bet the best in a Black Swan kind of way. And Terence is just the terrifying instructor to get him there.

I didn’t rush to see this film because I was never in the mood to see an intense bully film. Let’s just say that I only watched Black Swan once.

My loss for waiting to see Whiplash. The tone of this movie is positively electric and this thriller is full of high-swinging performances. Teller and Simmons are both exceptional in their roles, playing off each other as seamlessly as musical instruments.

One ridiculously scripted plot twist took me out of the otherwise realistic story, but it was redeemed by the chemistry of the two performers, the music that comes alive on screen and a powerful ending. It’s hard to find a bad movie in the theater this month, but this one should be on the top of your list.

Simply put: March to the theater to see this film that stays with you for days after

Award potential: Potential for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. A front-runner for Best Supporting Actor, J.K. Simmons (Juno, Into The Air).

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

Golden Globes 2015 Predictions

International journalists who live in L.A. pick these awards, so anything goes. But I predict that Poehler will be funny, Fey will laugh at her own jokes, and that these folks will win:

Picture (Drama)

Winner: Boyhood

Spoiler: Selma

The buzz about Boyhood should officially begin tonight.

Picture (Musical or Comedy)

Winner: Birdman

Spoiler: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Tonight, Bird is the word.

Director

Winner: Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Spoiler: Ava Duvernay, Selma

Two choices the Globes would love to reward. Some historical accuracy issues give Linklater the edge — and they'd love to reward this project. 

Actor (Drama)

Winner: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Spoiler: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

The easiest bet of the night.

Actor (Comedy or Musical)
Winner: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Spoiler: Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Keaton would be a clear bet, but the Globes sometimes shock with a clearly comedic movie.

Actress (Drama)

Winner: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Spoiler: : Jennifer Anniston, Cake

Anniston has a strong campaign going, we'll see how it works out.

Actress (Comedy or Musical)

Winner: Emily Blunt, Into The Woods

Spoiler: : Amy Adams, Big Eyes

The toughest call of the night. None of these nominees will likely get an Oscar nomination. I'm betting that they reward the musical portion of the category here.

Supporting Actor

Winner: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Spoiler:: Ed Norton, Birdman

I'm rooting for both of these unforgettable performances.

Supporting Actress

Winner: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Spoiler:: Emma Stone, Birdman

Screenplay

Winner: Boyhood

Spoiler: Birdman

It could go either way. 

Foreign Language

Winner: Leviathan

Spoiler: Ida

International journalists who live in L.A. are picking the best foreign movie -so who knows. Force Majeure could win. Ida is a tough topic. IF they saw it, it wins.

Animated Feature

Winner: The Lego Movie

Spoiler: The Book of Life

Score

Winner: Birdman

Spoiler: The Theory of Everything

Birdman's score is not eligible at the Oscars; the Globes have the best opportunity to recognize Birdman for one of the best scores this year.

Song

Winner: Glory, Selma (John Legend and Common)

Spoiler: Yellow Flicker Beat, Hunger Games (Lorde)

I have a vision of Lorde on stage, but it's hard to bet against Glory. In this category, everything is awesome. 

Wild

Take a hike.

As a fan of Cheryl Strayed’s novel Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which captures one woman’s thousand-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, I’ve been looking forward to seeing this story told on a big, beautiful screen.

Today I have good news and bad news. Wild, the movie, does not showcase the great outdoors’ beauty in the way that I hoped. The director, Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), doesn’t give us those big, inspirational views. However, he doesn’t give us big speeches and big scenes either. It’s simply more authentic than poetic.

Given that I’ll likely never take a journey like that, I appreciate that approach. I now have a visual and an idea of exactly what that experience feels and looks like. That’s more powerful than the postcard-picture movie I expected to see.

Simply put:  A journey that’s worth your time.

Award potential: In the world of the Oscars, this is just a performance film, not a Best Picture. Reese Witherspoon is a lock for a nomination for her gritty performance as Strayed. Laura Dern (an excellent mother figure in both this film and also The Fault In Our Stars) could spoil and score a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

Five binge-worthy finds on Netflix in January

Netflix has some binge-worthy gems this winter that makes its $8 a month price totally ten-buck-worthy. 

Black Mirror 
If a fresh, modern Twilight Zone has your attention, stare into the TV for this British drama. It's a low commitment recommendation with just six, self-contained episodes. 

Sherlock
If you thought Benedict Cumberbatch was a dirty word until you saw The Imitation Game in theaters, then you should watch BBC's top rated show and, presumably dear Martin Freedman (The Hobbit, TV's Fargo, Love Actually), one of the best binges around.

 
Parks and Recreation
All 10 seasons of Friends are newly available on Netflix starting this month. I prefer to prepare for the upcoming final season of Amy Poehler's clever sitcom featuring a solid cast that includes Chris Pratt, before he became this year's box office megastar.

 

House of Cards
Seasons 1 and 2 of the best binge-worthy show of all time are on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, put this at the top of your list. Or refresh your memory before season three starts (February 27).

 


Chef (available starting January 28)

OK, so it's only one movie and not a TV binge, but you'll be binge eating after the display of food porn in this highly likeable film from last summer.





Worth ten bucks: Yes, Netflix in January is quite a deal. 

American Sniper

A bullseye.

American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Texan Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills. Clint Eastwood, who hits as often as he misses, is director.

Luckily, this film goes on the same shelf with Unforgiven, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. It’s a balanced war movie and anti-war movie at the same time. Sniper is skillfully able to celebrate the war-time warrior and explore post-war lament. And wow, I think gun lovers and gun haters can both watch this film together.

With an on-target Texas drawl, partially developed by listening to Texas singer Robert Earl Keen, Cooper embodies Kyle and is in the center of every scene.

Simply put: A return to form for Eastwood, and another star performance by Cooper who expertly captured our unique Texas accent.

Award potential: Sniper is not on a lot of early lists, but it is good enough to build up some last minute steam to upset for Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay nominations.

In a less political Hollywood, this film would be an Oscar frontrunner. (Lone Survivor was shut out last year.) Cooper, who is in every scene, is currently killing it on Broadway with The Elephant Man, and he has the best chance of scoring a nomination.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

The Imitation Game

Another genius film

Oscar season is prime time for movies about tortured geniuses. Earlier, this season, we had The Theory of Everything featuring the life story of Stephen Hawking; both are likely to move on to award nominations.

In The Imitation Game, we have Benedict Cumberbatch as World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, who is tasked with breaking the Germans' code while hiding his sexuality from 1950s British law.

It’s an amazing story. And it plays out nicely as a thriller.

Sherlock’s Cumberbatch is a natural in this savant role and Kiera Knightley is in fine form as his intellectual (and maybe too modern for this film) sidekick. Their chemistry is strong and it propels the film.

Simply put: This season’s best WWII film, and a highly-watchable thriller.

Award potential: Expect about seven nominations for this deserving film ranging from Best Picture, Actor and Actress to Best Score.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.

Unbroken

An unbelievable life, underutilized.

Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 best seller, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, tells the amazing story of Olympian Louis Zamperini who survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII-only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. It’s one of the most amazing stories of the past Century.

The film was directed by Angeline Jolie, written by screenwriters Joel and Ethan Coen, edited by William Goldenberg and scored by the great Alexandre Desplat. Sounds like the best movie of the year, right?

It’s a good film. But amazingly it’s not great. Fans of the book won’t be disappointed by the film’s scale or the dazzling air fight sequences; nor will they be upset by the faithful-to-the-book storytelling. But the endurance story seems to plod away at milestones without much feeling.

Some of the blame goes to the likeable but blank-faced Jack O’Connell who plays “Louie.” In his quiet moments (lots of them), I never knew what he was thinking about despite having read the biography.

More of the blame goes to an anticlimactic ending that skipped the redemptive moments, the biggest heart of Zamperini’s biography. Unbroken simply tosses them out with text at the end.

The rest of the blame goes to the choice to tell a broad story about a big life by leaving out the small details that connect to why that life mattered to future generations. Darn.

Simply put: Unbroken is good but not great. You will enjoy it, but it should have been excellent. Bridge Over River Kwai remains our best POW picture.

Award potential: I think the Oscars will like Unbroken more than The Golden Globes and myself. Best Picture is possible. Jolie for Best Director would be a nod to women directors everywhere. Miyavi (the Bird) is a distance but deserving choice for Best Supporting Actor. Best Screenplay is likely but the Coens share that category with the original writers. There was an editor before Goldenberg as well. Best Costume, Production, Sound and Sound Mixing seem likely. Best Score is the solid bet.

The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks.