Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice is a film, that at some level, defines definition. The Wikipedia blurb calls it a "2014 American stoner crime comedy-drama film." An adaptation by Paul Thomas Anderson elusive picture comes from a similarly elusive author, Thomas Pynchon. It was rumored Pynchon had a cameo in this winding film starring a hippie named Doc, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix. However it's unclear where the cameo comes in as nobody knows what Pynchon looks like in 2014.

     Shot by Robert Elswit, who collaborated with Anderson on Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love among others, creates a beautiful and elaborate  aesthetic that matches the flow of Pynchon's prose.

The plot is entirely convoluted and complex, but the story is pretty simple. Doc's ex girlfriend, Shasta Fey, is mixed up with some bad people. Doc, a private eye, tries to crack the case. All under the constant supervision of the straight-laced hippie hater Lt. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen breathing down his neck. All while Doc is really, really high. Which is a lot of fun.

 Vice could be a straight laced drama if it weren't for the lyrical prose of Pynchon. The difference between comedy and drama is surprise, which Anderson works with well. Whether it's Doc's reaction to the stillborn baby of heroin addicts or it's Owen Wilson coming out of the fog or the fact that Benicio Del Toro plays Doc's lawyer who is an expert in maritime law.

Paul Thomas Anderson leads us to the resolution of the case. But like the novel, the film is more about the journey than the destination. The case falls by the wayside as the story shows more of Doc's struggle with finding love. Shasta Fay is a catalyst for the mystery but also for Doc's regret. Anderson does a masterful job of portraying all this complex human emotion while surprising the audience.

Surprising and beautiful enough for this to be the best stoner crime comedy-drama of 2014. 

Beginners

     Beginners is a movie that hides comedy in a multi-layered drama. Starring Ewan McGregor as Oliver, the film begins with a voice over about Oliver's father Hal. The monologue mentions the death of Oliver's mother and the announcement that Hal is gay. Also Hal has cancer.

    Hal is portrayed by Christopher Plummer, a role he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The movie talks deeply about the relationship between an adult man and his father and paints a realistic picture of both men who struggle with Hal's identity. This is not what the movie is about. The movie is about Oliver and Anna.

     The movie mostly focuses on Oliver's resurgence into the world via dating Anna. They meet at a costume party Oliver is reluctant to attend until he meets Anna. Their relationship grows organically from the moment she asks him:

                                           

     Oliver is an artist and Anna is an actor and their creative sadness drives them together. It is moments like these, that romanticize creative depression that are turn offs to me. However, these moments come few and far between. This is a movie that is full of hope, showcased by its eccentric directing style. This film brought Mike Mills into the spotlight. The story relies heavily on narration and fun elements, such as Baxter the dog.

Mills uses elements like Baxter, or a repeating shot of Christopher Plummer in different outfits. To weave the nonlinear storylines of Oliver and Hal, and Hal's new lover, and the story of Oliver and Anna. This postmodernist technique create a full character that is only full realized through past experiences. 

     Beginners is a drama with a lot of comedy elements. Baxter the dog being subtitled is funny in its surprise and uniqueness. But it is the dark sense of emotion that comes with complex characters that really makes this film work. Despite the cheesy artist language.

        

Louis CK's Horace and Pete

     Louis CK is a busy guy. He's both an acclaimed stand up comic, who's the only comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden three nights in a row, but he also writes, directs, and edits a critically acclaimed tv show Louie. He hasn't stopped there. Instead Louie has put out another self created show called Horace and Pete.

    Horace and Pete is a pretty experimental project even for a creator whose show is often described as surreal. H&P is only available on Louie's website and are pay per view. The first episode runs 67 minutes and costs $5. Each remaining episode runs progressively 10 minutes shorter and costs $3. Stylistically the show is a strange set up for television in 2016. The set is plain and the lighting is flat and it's clearly a multicam but there are never any shot reverse shots, only different angles. This lack of cutting and this open set design makes the show feel more like a recorded play than an episode of television.

                          

The show is about a bar in New York called Horace and Pete's which was founded 100 years ago by a Horace and operated in conjunction with his brother Pete. It has passed down for generations to the current Horace and Pete's, Horace portrayed by Louis CK and Pete portrayed by Steve Buscemi. 

The cast is filled with older comedy and drama stars: Alan Alda plays a curmudgeonly Uncle Pete, Steven Wright plays a bar patron, Edie Falco plays Horace's sister, and Jessica Lange as the dead Horace's old girlfriend. All the actors obviously have the entire script memorized and their are no cuts to help with lines or no close ups to convey emotion.

     Thematically the show is sort of an anti-Cheers. There is a surprising amount of topical discussion, in the first episode the bar patrons discuss Trump and the coming election and the Super Bowl. However this banter is the only place, if any, the jokes lie. Steve Buscemi's character is the only one that seems likable and he's having a mental breakdown. The family drama hinges on keeping with the old and going with the new and none of the characters seem to like each other very much. If Louie is a surrealist comedy, Horace and Pete is a tragic play.

      

     I wrote about Horace and Pete because it's something I'm trying to do with this thesis. I usually make comedies, between stand up and sketches that's what people know me for. I, like Louie, want to try something new and more realistic. But I'm not sure I like Horace and Pete. It's draining and gives me a sense of anxiety as all the characters fail to get along. Hopefully I can make a film that is emotional significant, yet not emotionally taxing.

Comedy + Drama = DRAMEDY

Developing a story is often a work in progress. Even the most experienced writers know that story telling takes time. Myself and the creative team behind "Scout's Honor" are discovering first hand the struggles that come with creating a well rounded plot. All the ingredients are there for us, diverse characters, strong environment and a premise we're happy with. And yet, even with all these elements we're still working to get over the hump between draft 2.99 to 3.0 One of the things we've been struggling with is the tone of the piece. We're tabbing our film as a "family dramedy," key word being dramedy. This genre of storytelling combines parts of both drama and comedy, elements we're looking to include in our film. As we write and revise, we've discovered the difficulties that come from this type of storytelling.

Dramedy is tough because the author must establish a fine line between laughs and drama. A big part of a successful dramedy (or any story really) is establishing a tone and keeping it consistent throughout. Part of this is creating reliable characters. If they are, the audience will never question their emotions. Moments whether sad or happy will feel appropriate.

Even with all of these elements, it can still be hard to walk that line between comedy and drama. In "Scout's Honor" we're covering something that isn't necessarily funny: death. While our plot covers a sad part of life, we've been trying to find humor in the situational's, the aftermath. We've tried to create characters that feel real and relatable, however sometimes it can be difficult when the comedic element is added. One of our characters, the attorney, has sort of become our go to guy for comedic relief. In each draft we've tried to work on him so that his character feels multi dimensional and real, not just funny. Once again we had to go back to this character's situation and use that to justify his actions, trying to make them consistent with his predicament. As we work to complete our script we're focusing hard on finding a reliable tone.

One of the things that got me thinking more about the line between comedy and drama, is the netflix show "BoJack Horseman". I started watching this show about a week ago and have already finished the first season. I had heard good things about it, but my expectations weren't exactly through the roof. I liked the premise and most of the voice actors working on it, but otherwise I didn't think it would be much more then an easy to watch comedy. The first couple episodes were about what I expected; funny, decent plot, enjoyable enough to keep watching. As I got deeper into season 1, I was surprised to see storylines carry over episode to episode. Plot points started to get darker and the character emotions became relatable. This is when it really started to differentiate between other adult cartoons such as "Bob's Burgers" and "Family Guy." While it continued to make me laugh, the 2nd half of season 1 really pulled me in with the dramatic aspects. "BoJack Horseman" began to waver between comedy and drama. And while you can't really sell it as a drama, you can't discount the dark moments that resonate with the viewer. In one of the later episodes in season 1 there is a scene where BoJack takes too many drugs and begins to hallucinate. At coming off as funny, his hallucinations take a reflective turn as BoJack starts to visualize what his life would be like if he had a family, if he made different choices. He sees how happy he could have been before he wakes up outside a gas station collapsed in the pouring rain. As silly as the show can sometimes be, this scene really resonated with me. With graduation a year away, I'll soon have a lot of tough decisions to make as I pursue a career and a family. Each of these choices I make could have a ripple effect on the rest of my life. And while these are things everyone will think about at some point, it was this "comedy" "BoJack Horseman" that got me looking to the future.

Dramedies are awesome in that they can connect with the viewer in all kinds of ways. If done right they can connect with all kinds of emotions. Make you laugh, make you cry, and more then anything make you think.

True Detective

True Detective is an HBO original drama series that first premiered in January of 2014. This show, created and written by author Nic Pizzolatto, is designed as an anthology, or a series that changes plot and cast in between every season. The first season consists of eight episodes, costarring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as partner homicide detectives.

McConaughey plays "Rust" Cohle, a very intelligent detective that, due to his own ethics, is compelled to ravenously pursue a serial killer even though it brings great danger to his own well being. Rust suffers from depression, insomnia and alcoholism, all of which stem from the untimely death of his young daughter followed by the divorce of his wife. While Rust may be a flawed character who does not believe in or follow the norms of society, he still acts as the moral epicenter of the show.

Harrelson plays a decorated and veteran detective named Marty Hart. Marty has a troubled relationship with himself, his partner, and his family that eventually leads up to many of the troubles within his character. Marty's demons eventually get ahold of him before he turns to alcohol and divorces his wife. While Marty and Rust are partners they do not necessarily get along, this leads them to disagree on much of the morality of humanity and the human existence.

The plot of True Detective jumps between the years 1995, 2002, and 2012 while Marty Hart and Rust Cohle are delivering the tale of a previous homicide investigation that they both worked on. All previous information on the case was tragically lost in hurricane Rita, so the two characters were asked by investigators to recount their professional relationship, separate home relationships, and affiliation with the Dora Lange murder case. We bounce between the past and present while we progressively learn more about our character, the case, and that the perpetrator may still yet be at large.

I would highly recommend that everyone check out True Detective at some point. It is a show that is shot beautifully with an amazingly interesting story. The first time I watched it I was bored during the first episode and gave up on it; however, after I got to the third the show greatly increases in pace. The show is also scheduled to release a second season coming up in June of 2015.

Ex Machina

     I was told to watch Ex Machina with the person I'd seen Her with. The movies are similar, both feature AI women portrayed beautifully. However tonally the movies could not be farther apart.  Ex Machina is a powerful film that plays with audience expectation and creates a setting that is striking and unique. 

     Alex Garland, of 28 Days Later and Dredd, wrote and directed the psychological sci-fi thriller. The film is a blend of thought provoking cultural importance and visual storytelling. The main characters are Caleb, a sympathetic hard worker, who has won the lottery to meet his boss Nathan, who Caleb describes as a Mozart of programming. The last of the major players is Ava, an AI created by Nathan that Caleb is to give a Turing test. A test to see if Ava truly has consciousness. 

     The cast does a phenomenal job. Domnhall Gleeson, who actually played an AI himself in Black Mirror, is believably tepid and Oscar Isaac is brutally intimidating, both physically and mentally, as Nathan. This is the first major role for Alicia Vikander, who plays Ava, who creates a strong dissonance between the humans. 

     The film is heady. All the major players are hyperintelligent. In a moment in the film Nathan and Caleb are sitting under a hut on Nathan's beautiful estate. The colors are constantly blue and green outside and inside, when the power cuts out especially, the walls are red. This is an ode to RGB color. Nathan and Caleb are sitting under the awning and Caleb says "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." Nathan says Caleb is quotable. Caleb responds that it's a quote by Oppenheimer the inventor of the atomic bomb. Nathan says he nows.

     Ex Machina is masterfully rendered futuristic space with a plot that is created by characters working off each other in unfamiliar spaces. The film is powerful and wants it starts moving it can't be stopped.

MTV Cancels Eye Candy

MTV's TV show Eye Candy followed the life of Lindy Sampson, a 21 year-old hacker who's persuaded by her roommate to start an online dating profile. Lindy, portrayed by Victoria Justice, is hesitant, but does, and quickly starts suspecting that one of her many suitors might be a cyber stalker who is aiming for the kill. As a hacker who has been searching for her sister who was kidnapped 3 years earlier, she decides that she needs to team up with her friends to catch the cyber stalker before he can hurt anyone else. The show was based on a book by R.L. Stine and was picked up by MTV for season one in February 2014. Unfortunately, though, it's been confirmed that it will not return for a season two.
With an open-ended finale, and a lot of potential for the future of Lindy Sampson's story, fans are not impressed and not happy. We don't know if she'll find her sister or what the future holds for her and Tommy. The one thing they do know is that the killer is Jake. I don't know if the discovering of the killer was the selling point on canceling the series or what, but it doesn't make anyone feel anymore comforted with the series coming to an untimely end.
I do think that MTV is at a loss with this one. It was a young adult / teenage version of a Criminal Minds or crime show, and it was much better than the usual reality teen mom bull shit that they have on that channel. You can't tell me that Pretty Little Liars can go on for multiple seasons without revealing anything, yet a show that was progressing the story line thoroughly was canceled after the reveal in a season one finale and tell me that's fair. I think this show had a lot of potential, and the fans did too.  There could have been a sidekick to the killer, Lindy could have finally found her sister, relationships could have progressed, and the show could have gone on. Except it hasn't, which is definitely a loss in my eyes.

French Drama 'Les Revenants' ['The Returned']

Les Revenants

This series is a French supernatural drama, that takes places in a mountain town in the Alps. People who have died in the past start to come back to life. I have been watching this show on Netflix. They have english subtitles made for this version and is translated extremely well. I never would have guessed that even with subtitles I would continue to watch more than the first episode.  

I feel like the shots are longer than they would be if the show was produced in the U.S. At first you feel like the shots should cut quicker and they are showing a shot for too long. By the second episode I got use to these shots and it adds to the mystery of the show.  The overall look and feel of the mountains is very different from any location in the U.S. so the exterior shots grab my attention. Visually this show is so great that I could watch it even without subtitles and still find it interesting.

This show originally aired in France on Canal+ under the name Les Revenats, in 2012.  Not to get confused with the American series Resurrection (ABC, 2014), which has the same premise as Les Revenats. Or the American Adaption also call The Returned, which recently aired on A&E last month. I haven't seen the American version but it seems to not be nearly as good as the original, looking at the reviews.  

Season one of Les Revenats had eight episodes that are all just under an hour an episode. Season two is apparently in production, but I'm surprised they are taking this long between seasons. This show has been doing very well! They won an International Emmy for best Drama Series. 

Shows with subtitles don’t usually interest me. I feel like reading the subtitles takes away from the experience because I usually consider it too much work and not worth the effort. With Les Revenants, this is not the case. I could not stop watching this series after just one episode. The aesthetics are so strong that I didn’t even mind the subtitles. The setting, the shots, and the pacing all work together to keep me wanting more.

I would rate this show a 9/10, even if you don't understand any French and hate reading subtitles on foreign films you still need to give this show a try.  

Death in Paradise

I first started watching Death in Paradise after reading the series description on Netflix. I was expecting a kind of crime sitcom show but it actually turned out to be a serious show filled with murder and deception. I watched the entire episode regardless and I was pleasantly surprised to find a well developed twist ending. Before I knew it, I had finished the entire first season and moved onto the next. The characters are likable and deliver strong performances in crucial scenes as the plots of each episode develop very smoothly.

The series begins with British detective Richard Poole as he travels to Sainte Marie in the Caribbean to solve the murder of a fellow policeman. He is introduced to the local police force and investigates the body, interrogates suspects, and discovers clues as he progresses through the first episode. At the climax of the episode, it is revealed that the policewoman who worked alongside Detective Poole was actually the murderer all along. Until this point, I wasn't very impressed with the show so far but I did enjoy how they fooled the audience into thinking one of the characters would continue to be there throughout the series.

After the first episode, I continued to the next episode and then throughout the first season. While some episodes did turn out to be suspenseful duds, others lead to shocking twists that didn't seem out of place or to unreasonable. There are charming consistencies and running jokes throughout the series that make it worth watching through each episode, although anyone trying to get into the show can pretty much start anywhere. The acting is good, the plot delivers most of the time, and the tropical environments and beaches definitely make this show worth trying out.

I would recommend Death in Paradise to long time crime show fans and to people who are interested in getting into the genre. Overall, while it might not be on the same complex level as Criminal Minds or NCIS, but it is entertaining and definitely gripping at some points.             

'House, M.D.' Pilot

I was browsing through Netflix to find a new TV series to watch.  When I saw House, M.D. it was an easy choice to pick, when I noticed it nearly has a 5/5 Star rating on Netflix.  I also saw a few episodes of this show when it used to be on TV, and I remember it being one of the most popular shows to watch during its run.  All I remembered from this show is that "House" is the main character and he walks with a cane, so I wanted to see why this show was so popular.
House, M.D. stars Hugh Laurie as House. Working along side House is Dr. James Wilson [Robert Sean Leonard], Dr. Eric Foreman [Omar Epps], Dr. Robert Chase [Jesse Spencer], and Dr. Allsion Cameron [Jennifer Morrison]

This pilot starts out with guest-actor/patient [Robin Tunney] playing a kindergarden teacher. She is talking to her students when she starts to mumble and can't make out any words. During this part the music slowly increased, got louder and the beat would get faster.  The camera shots were extreme close ups of her eyes and mouth. Then all we hear is her gasping for air and her heart beat.  With all of these things working together I could feel how distraught the teacher was and how serious her condition is.
There were not many establishing shots; when there where they were of this red brick establishment, which is supposed to be the hospital they work in.  The doctors and patients shot inside the hospital all have a warm color look on them.  It seems like there is an orange light on the actors, it does do a good job of separating the actors from the background. Since the background is mostly windows with sun light coming in, I would almost expect a cooler color than a warm one on the actors, it was a bit distracting visually.
The character House isn't as nice as I would expect him to be.
 With doctors you usually think of them as caring for the paients and building some sort of trust and connection; with House he is a bit of a rebel.  He cares about helping his patients but it seems like he cares more about solving what is wrong with them over anything else.  He doesn't really interact with the patient played by Robin Tunney, until after he figures out what is wrong with her.
This show does a good job of grabbing and keeping my attention. House, M.D. has become one of my new favorite shows.  I would recommend this series to anyone who likes drama, mild comedy, and doctors.  I give the pilot a 8.5/10 and I would recommend this show to my friends. I plan on continuing to watch this series!

Sons of Anarchy- Season 1, Pilot

Sons of Anarchy is an American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter, about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show focuses on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), initially the vice president of the club, who begins questioning the club and himself, especially after reading a book his father wrote and left for him in a storage unit.  

Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 3, 2008, on cable network FX. The series' third season attracted an average of 4.9 million viewers per week, making it FX's highest rated series ever, surpassing FX's other hits The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and Rescue Me. The season 4 and 5 premieres were the two highest-rated telecasts in FX's history.  The series finale premiered on December 9, 2014.

During the first episode of the show, a rival gang steals the Sons' stockpile of assault rifles, while Jax's ex-wife's drug overdose leads to an emergency c-section and life-threatening surgery for their baby.  This is already an action packed show within the first 15 minutes.  Jax grows weary of the increasing lawlessness of the motorcycle club.  His life becomes more unstable when he discovers his late father's true vision for the Sons of Anarchy, and his crank-addicted ex-wife gives birth to his son.  He begins to realize that there might be more peaceful ways to handle the gang's affairs and to avoid conflict.  His stepfather disagrees and believes in the violence.  We find that our characters have a lack very soon in the show.  Jax needs to find a way to make the gang his father's vision and also find a way to help his poor son that was born in very serious conditions.  

In November 2013, Kurt Sutter indicated that he was in talks with FX to make a Sons of Anarchy prequel set in the 1960s.  I hope that this comes out soon, I miss watching this amazing show! I would encourage anyone that likes action, drama, and badass Californians to watch this show! Conveniently, it is available right on Netflix! 

5 Centimeters Per Second

5 Centimeters Per Second received a lot of attention when it was first released in Japan. People loved the breath taking animation and the mature story that was told. It was recommended to me by a friend who agreed that critical acclaim was rightly deserved. I watched the whole thing over the weekend and while I did appreciate the illustration, the story and characters didn't seem very realistic to me.

The story takes place in the 1990's and centers around Takaki Tono and Akari Shinohara, two elementary school students who form a strong bond between each other. Over the course of the film, the story follows them as they try to maintain a long distance relationship as Akari's family moves away. It follows them throughout their high school and early adult years and highlights the hardships and the crippling truths that arise from trying to maintain their relationship.

The film does do a good job of showing how realistic long distance relationships can be, especially in the early 90s when instant messaging and texting wasn't really around. However, I feel like the main characters, especially Takaki, wouldn't let a childhood relationship inevitably ruin there lives. In the third part of the film when they are both young adults, it shows how they are still heavily invested in a relationship that ended years before. The entire movie is only about an hour long and I feel like they really could have made the film a lot more impactful if they had added another half an hour of content. The characters would feel much more fleshed out and the time skips wouldn't have felt so rushed. The breathtaking animation is definitely worth sticking around for though, even if you find yourself less than invested in what is actually happening in the story.

Overall, I don't think I would really recommend this movie to anyone other than people who appreciate really nice artwork and animation. The story and characters fall short in my opinion, but it is only an hour long film so maybe I was expecting.          

Whiplash

I finally got around to seeing the film Whiplash recently and I walked away with very mixed feelings. This American drama, released late 2014, was both written and directed by Damien Chazelle about his first hand experiences in the Princeton High School Studio Band. This film stars Miles Teller as  a first year jazz student named Andrew Neiman and J.K. Simmons as an abusive jazz conductor named Terence Fletcher. This film follows Miles Teller's character as he strives to obtain the first chair drummer position in the school jazz band, all the while struggling under the hellish torment of J.K. Simmons' character.

Firstly, I want to address the positive traits of this film. Whiplash won three academy awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Supporting Actor. All three of these awards I think the film rightly won. I truly feel that J.K. Simmons' performance was more than oscar worthy, given that much of the intensity and mood of the film comes largely his presence. The pacing of this movie was expertly done, and I think the oscar for editing reflects this. The film never loses intensity, only building it through tight and intelligent editing. Overall, the technical aspects were well done and on the surface the movie definitely "looks" good. It's an aesthetically pleasing film, especially in the musical scenes, where the director and his DP shoot the instruments in such glistening closeups that it resembles soft-core pornography. However, the positive elements of the film dissipate when you look beyond the superficial aesthetic aspects.

I had a hard time figuring out what my problem with this film was. When I look at its surface I saw a film that was well made, had a good story and was aesthetically beautiful; however, there was something deeper about this film that I really disliked. I decided to discuss this film with a friend of mine who has spent the majority of his life studying jazz history and drumming in many jazz groups. This person, who wished to remain anonymous, is also a film major at Ithaca College. We watched the movie and discussed it in depth for a long time. The following quote is a filtered and approved version of what we discussed:

"Everything from the film's poster, to the tagline, to the entire plot screams that this film is about music; however, nothing could be further from the truth. The film might as well have been about a college football player being abused by his sociopathic coach and the only difference would be him wearing a football jersey instead of a tuxedo. The film lacks all of the heart and soul of the music it is so poorly depicting. Jazz music is about joy, collaboration, experimentation, and passion, with its roots coming from the struggle and desperation of the slaves our country so cruelly abused. It comes from their hearts, and their sense of community to keep their culture alive amidst an era of slavery and racism. It is a purely American music, and both it's personality and rich culture are reflected in the masters who evolved and perfected it. Names like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Jo Jones, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, John Coltrane: these were people who lived the music, whose soul resonated with the very music they played. Their mastery came from their passion and dedication to making the best music they could, to transcending the physical divisions between the players in their band and creating a unified sound. This is jazz. And this is where the film's main problem dawns. The characters in the film--apparently talented musicians--are constantly referring to being the best, yet they are shallow and superficial. They are looking for the quickest way to make it to the top without any true passion for the music, and the film glorifies this. Playing as fast as you can isn't skill--it's showboating. True musicianship doesn't come from hitting the drums like frenzied buffoon, yet the film--through long practice montages and sequences where JK Simmons yells for him to play "FASTER!!"--has no idea about this. It rewards Miles Teller's shallow pursuit of greatness with a climactic drum solo that captures everything about his character. The solo lacks any kind of musicianship, any kind of dynamic or melodic appeal. It is merely an orgy of classless, wild banging on the drums. And this issue is no better in JK Simmons' character. Although he professes to be a lone visionary amidst a sea of mediocrity, he is no better than the blinded Miles Teller. His cutthroat attitude is both completely inaccurate, but also against the very spirit of the music he claims to love. If any professor at that level of musical education slapped a student, called a student a faggot, or thrown a chair at a student's head, they would have been thrown out on their ass. Musical education is about inspiring students to embrace the collaboration and joy of jazz--not scaring them away from it. Yes, artistry demands a rigor and drive, but his character is blown completely out of proportion. There is no love for the music in his character, merely a love of power."
-From the perspective of an anonymous Jazz musician and film major here at Ithaca College

Having this great discussion with my friend I realized a lot about my underlying problem with this film. This film has a lack of soul. As a result, its portrayal of jazz music is a horribly superficial and inaccurate one. It is about cheap wannabe's looking for an easy way to the top. A familiar story set in an environment the filmmakers did not take the time to deliver justice to. They sacrifice the genuine for the dramatic, and while it does make for a thrilling movie, once the credits roll the viewer is left feeling confused about what they have just seen.

Overall, I think this is a good movie. It is well produced, directed and acted; however, I do feel the film lacks a connection to the soulful jazz music it is trying to depict. I think everyone should give this movie a chance, but be aware of the context of the film in relation to the music industry.