At The Cinema - January 2015

Whiplash – 10

You’ll like this movie if you like music, drums, and drama.

In my formative music years of the 60’s all of us male types could pound out the great drum solo of In-a-Gada-da-Vida on the table at Burger King, even if we had no idea what the song was about.  We would wait til midnight and hope we would hear it on Beaker Street, a rock radio show on 50,000 watt KAAY in Little Rock that would often play the 17 minute version.  Drummers Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, john Bonham, Charlie Watts - they were the revered.

So, I grew up listening to guitars and drums.  That those two instruments have dominated pop music for over 50 years is certainly not what my parents expected.  Whatever happened to the big band era?

So finally, along comes a great drum movie.  It happens to lean toward jazz and those big bands, but make no mistake – the rock and roll foundation is here.

Miles Teller plays a young drummer trying to get through Shaeffer Performing Arts School in New York.  He aspires to join the highest jazz group in the school, run by the tyrannical conductor played by JK Simmons.  Simmons is a journeyman actor who has the role of his life here, and he delivers a slam dunk Oscar-destined performance.  His manipulations present the obstacle that his young musicians have to overcome to achieve greatness.  In the end this movie is about the dedication, persistence, and talent it takes to get to the top. 

This is one of those thrilling movies that tells its story in a logical, precise manner.  You can’t beat it.

Birdman (or the unexpected virtue of ignorance) – 8

This universally acclaimed movie comes flying in on a most erratic path.  A month ago Michael Keaton was the favorite for Best Actor, although the buzz has faded.  He plays an actor who previously starred as the superhero of the title.  Now he’s trying to put on a Broadway play and he’s getting help from a cast of characters played by Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, and Edward Norton who are all excellent, and all with problems that will rival his.

This movie is simply crazy.  Fantasy blends with reality, and there’s not a stable head in the bunch.  It’s hard to follow at times, and sometimes the point of it all is elusive.  But, there’s a rousing ending to it all, and it’s fun and even inspirational when it’s all said and done.