Review of Whiplash (2014) by Cody C — 14 Aug 2015

There's good stuff here, but ultimately it's too cartoonish for its own good. I mean it's basically just anime. J.K. Simmons gives a great performance though, and there are some really visceral, suspenseful parts (and some that are horribly dumb) but ultimately, it's all as silly and frivolous as that Grand Piano movie Chazelle also wrote.

I would've preferred something more realistic. It's just inaccurate as hell. Even the Charlie Parker story, they get completely wrong. I think Chazelle just wanted to tell an exciting story, and laser focused on that at the cost of everything else.

(He's just as myopic as the main character, basically.) The film is worth watching, for sure, but just remember it's fucking anime.