Talk About Movies: Part 4
Somehow threads merged, so here's part 4 of our ongoing movie discussion.
year ago i knew nothing of the film but put on whiplash in the background while i was doing some work with no interest at all in it - it was just one of a handful of free american movies on my xiaomi box so figured why not
in the beginning i also didn't really care and found myself only passively viewing as planned
soon enough i found myself closing my laptop to give it my full attention
absolutely shocked by how much i enjoyed it
I loved Whiplash. I also love a good rant and the guy who called it a movie about a douchebag giving a blow job to an ******* gave a great rant with some excellent points, especially about how the main character was presented. I actually think his arguments made the movie a bit stronger for me since I don't need a likable protagonist to root for and his main critique (at least as I remember) was that the main character was a prick but the movie tried to make him seem nice.
I'm also still torn about the ending. We had a discussion in here about whether or not Simmons was trying to sabotage the main character or whether that was his way of making the main character rise to the next level.
what was the verdict? i felt like it was pretty obvious that simmons character had one goal and one goal only - which was to develop a generational talent at whatever means necessary and he felt that the way to get that done was through pressure and hardship
I agree with you. At the time it seemed to me that most people felt Simmons was just a prick.
Never thought of Teller's character as being a jerk.
was a huge jerk
look at his relationship with people - everyone is just a means to an end for him and all his social connections were about what value they provided to him
he even broke up with his girlfriend because "he needed to be the best" which is about one of the most arrogant and condescending things possible - it wasn't that he let her down by not being able to spend enough time with her because he was rehearsing and she said "make more time for me or this can't work" she was already down with his intense work ethic
he cast her aside for no other reason other than "i'm not the best in the world yet, the problem must be her"
he's an absolute dick
One example from the post that I can remember is the dinner scene. They said that we were supposed to sympathize with Teller here, but Teller is clearly in the wrong and trying to attack someone for being proud about a major accomplishment. The viewer is meant to view music as being a higher pursuit than football, and therefore to sympathize with Teller. I'm not sure the last part is correct, but Teller is clearly mean in the scene.
did they ever discuss the missing music sheet?
the film made it appear like he didn't do it
but, it also doesn't really leave any plausible explanation
its off camera for a total of 13 seconds, he's never more than 2 feet away from the music
there are no cuts nor jumps in time
anyone grabbing it would have done so with him standing right next to it and they didn't walk forward and enter the frame and if they stayed where they were they'd have been on camera and if they went in the opposite direction of the hall then the other drummer would have seen that person
it was a very interesting choice to film and portray it that way - it would require either some elite ninja sabotage by someone (simmons or maybe even the drummer himself who felt threatened by teller and thought him losing the music would hurt him), an act of god, or the camera is not a reliable narrator here and teller either intentionally misplaced it knowing the #1 guy didn't memorize the songs or accidentally lost it and we're just going off his faulty memory of "i had it, it was right here"
i kind of lean towards the lead drummer trying to nip this upstart in the budd but honestly have no clue
I loved Whiplash. I also love a good rant and the guy who called it a movie about a douchebag giving a blow job to an ******* gave a great rant with some excellent points, especially about how the main character was presented. I actually think his arguments made the movie a bit stronger for me since I don't need a likable protagonist to root for and his main critique (at least as I remember) was that the main character was a prick but the m
This is my son’s favorite movie. We were talking about it recently and he brought up how he was pushing him to his limit to be the best and I was like “no he wasn’t”. It didn’t even hit me until afterwards. We re-watched it and I conceded that he was probably correct but I’m still not 100% sure. I love the movie and I prefer his version of the ending.
You can’t take someone’s criticism seriously if they think the movie wants Miles Teller to come across as likable.
I am not doing the review justice, and I am likely misrepresenting several parts of it as this was years ago. I agree Teller wasn't supposed to be likable, but just by being the protagonist he's presented in at least a more likable way. I think that's pretty much always the case unless the character is Daniel Plainview or someone along those lines.
The dinner scene definitely chose football for a reason imo, and if the other person was bragging about a more intellectual pursuit to brag about rather than football Teller would have come off as even less sympathetic imo.
rick: I don't know if the reviewer complained about that scene, but they HATED the car scene. That scene was over the top and ridiculous, as is the music sheet.
On my first watch I was so engrossed by these things that they didn't both me in the least bit though, which says a lot about the quality of the movie. I definitely rank it very highly.
Hey guys, has anyone seen the Twilight series, and do you recommend it for men? Or is it targeted toward younger women.
I've only seen some of the last one on TV; Breaking Dawn part 2. Just wondering if it is worth my time to watch the whole series.
Re: Whiplash.
In "Self-Reliance," Emerson says, "I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls me."
Emerson echoes Jesus saying much the same thing when Mary and Joseph seek him and he says, "Why did you look for me? I must be about my father's business." At twelve years old, Jesus declares his independence and shuns Mary and Joseph.
Isn't this what Whiplash is about, the son being about the father's business?
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I think the subtext in the first 20 seconds of the dinner video really gets that point across in an amazing way.
Just came back from seeing Poor Things. It's fabulous and funny. Maybe my favorite movie this year. It's also beautiful to look at, and the score is exceptional.
Lanthimos deals with serious topics in all his films, but in this one he's more lighthearted in his approach, more comedy than black comedy this time.
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Just rewatched Green Room after first seeing around the time that it came out. Aside from it being weird as hell that Sir Patrick Stewart is in it, it’s really freaking good! It’s a harsh watch but there’s a lot of impressive details early on that locked me in the first time I watched it and a ton more that stuck out to me this time. The cast is great and realizing how many of them are from the comedy world is pretty cool.
Easy 4/5!
Hey guys, has anyone seen the Twilight series, and do you recommend it for men? Or is it targeted toward younger women.
I've only seen some of the last one on TV; Breaking Dawn part 2. Just wondering if it is worth my time to watch the whole series.
Haven't seen them but my daughter watched them with her husband. He said he liked them.
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Just saw that Pauly Shore will play Richard Simmons in a biopic. Can't wait.
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hype
American Fiction is adorably superb.
AF Has shades of Alexander Payne but in its own unique way... a more Fictionalized way.
It stumbles slightly at the end, like a runner trying catch themselves as they jump from a moving vehicle, and we never actually get to see the runner tumble to the ground... but this can not take away from the great story that had been told.
There is some really great dialog in this one with adults that speak, converse and reason with each other... Intercourse.
HIGHLY recommended.
Watched A Walk in the Woods this afternoon. Had read and enjoyed the book, though quite a while ago. Generally like Bryson. It's got Redford and Nolte, who I enjoy.
This fell pretty flat though. IDK, made it through, but mostly because the weather turned cold, and I really didn't have anything else to do.
Going for Bottoms round two. Hope I like it more this time. Felt like I was reaching giving it a 7 on first watch.
American Fiction is adorably superb.
AF Has shades of Alexander Payne but in its own unique way... a more Fictionalized way.
It stumbles slightly at the end, like a runner trying catch themselves as they jump from a moving vehicle, and we never actually get to see the runner tumble to the ground... but this can not take away from the great story that had been told.
There is some really great dialog in this one with adults that speak, convers
I loved the ending. Maybe not the ending ending so much as all of the other endings lol
Second watch and I didnt like it more. It’s just too over the top to be top tier. It’s pretty funny overall but I think I only had three big laughs the whole movie. Rachel and Ayo are great. It’s an easy watch, a bit clever and pretty fun but I laughed way more watching Poor Things, Rye Lane, and Barbie, to name a few.
