Straight Outta Compton - Review

 

Even if you’ve never listened to it, the music of NWA is instantly recognizable and it’s easy to appreciate what it did for the likes of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and the rest of the group, as well as for the streets of Compton. With a group that this revolutionary and this remarkable, at some point biopic had to be made.

Enter “Straight Outta Compton,” directed by F. Gary Grey (“Friday,” “Set It Off”) and written by Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff (“World Trade Center”), S. Leigh Savidge (“The Legend of Dolemite”), and Alan Wenkus. This is a film determined to show, warts and all, the true story of how this group came to be. And the film wants you to know from the very beginning that this is a brutal, unapologetic retelling of this group’s origin, as it starts with the Universal logo with news chatter about drugs and gang crime, instead of the typical anthem. Within the first five minutes, guns are pulled, drugs are sold, four letter words are dropped, and cops literally ram down the front porch of a house.

This is an unflinching retelling, if nothing else. It’s also a very slow burn. From the moment the film starts, you know its building toward something, but you don’t know how it will get there, leading to each scene having a feeling of importance. You don’t know if this scene is going to be the one that makes a difference, or this one, or the next one, but because they’re all treated with the same level of importance to the story, it leads to an almost edge of your seat feeling throughout.

Each character is performed effortlessly, and while the controversy around Ice Cube’s oldest son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. in his film debut, playing the younger version of Cube, who serves as the film’s producer along with Dr. Dre, is easy to understand, by the end of the film you’ll see that the choice was made clearly based on talent and not relations. That also goes for Jason Mitchell (“Contraband,” “Broken City”) and Corey Hawkins (“The Walking Dead”), who play Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, respectfully.

The best part about the film is that, whether you like rap or N.W.A. or not, you can see it and relate. It’s a movie about creators and the ways that they used every connection they had to do the one thing they had to do; speak out, use their voices, and create. The montages of rap session, lyric writing, and recording sessions are inspiring, coupled with both a stellar musical score from composer Joseph Trapanese (“Earth to Echo,” “The Divergent Series: Insurgent”) and a great soundtrack of rap songs. The film bleeds inspiration and portrays a story of creative types in the wrong situation and wrong time.

But beyond the story of creative types, you can also see the seeds of descent that are being sowed throughout, and that comes from an incredible performance from Paul Giamatti (“American Splendor,” “Cinderella Man”), as the manager Jerry Heller, who both clearly cares about these young men and their safety, but also cares about the money, and given Paul’s great performance, it is difficult to tell which motive he is going with at what times. It could easily be money or caregiver instincts, making it difficult to predict which way the story will go. This also comes from Eazy-E, and the general sense of uneasiness that the rest of the group feels, as the crowds shout “EAZY!” in response the question “Who did you come to see?”

It’s really from this point forward that shows that this is a film not about the group in the public’s eye, but about these guys together as brothers. As the film progresses, emotions run high, and the writing and acting turns in some truly incredible, award worthy material. By the time the film ends, don’t be surprised if you have to dab at your eyes a bit. Because the story of the N.W.A. was a story of a group of brothers, men who loved each other, through all the dis tracks and all the money. And in the end, their incredible story, of an incredible group, turns into an incredible film, and by far one of the best of 2015. 5/5

Whiplash - Review

 Regardless of what you’ve done, be it band, art, theatre, or something in between, virtually everyone knows the pressures of performing in some way, shape or form, and everyone at some point has had a teacher or director who, to them, bears resemblance to an infamous German politician.

“Whiplash” is the second feature from director Damien Chazelle, who previous directed the gritty jazz musical from 2009, “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench.” “Whiplash” has that tyrannical instructor, and from the very first scene you realize that is who he is. He makes people perform outside of their limits for, what appears to be his own sick and twisted amusement.

But, more than watching our hero be tormented, the thrill of films with these premises is to see why exactly these instructors are like this. Is it really just a twisted mentality, or is there some alternate motive behind it all? Damien’s previous credits also include writing the films “The Last Exorcism Part 2” and “Grand Piano.” While not received as well as “Whiplash,” both films have an air of tension, thrilling-ness, and mystery to them, and Damien keeps that tone in this film.

What appears at first glance to be an inspirational film where a student overcomes the odds to become a great musician soon becomes a kind of psychological thriller, as J.K. Simmons’ Terence Fletcher oozes mystery and threat with every word shouted at Miles Teller’s Andrew. You hang on every scene that has the two of them and a drum set, making this the most powerful and intense thriller of 2014, not a claim I would have expected to give the film when first going in.

J.K. Simmons is a man that I have seen in many a role before, on television in “Gravity Falls,” “The Legend of Korra,” or live action fare like “OZ” or “Law and Order.” He’s been in Video Games like “Portal 2,” and in films like Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy. But nowhere have I seen him, let alone anyone else, pull a performance like this. He has this raw anger and malice to him, but still manages to be likable. You want to like this guy, even after you see him yell a child of relatively larger disposition out of the room, stating “I won’t have you cost us a competition because your mind was on a fucking happy meal instead of if you were out of tune!”

He clearly deserved the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but the fact that Teller can keep up with his relentless anger and pace is also a testament to the young actor, who has shown that he can do great work, like in “The Spectacular Now” and less than stellar work, like in the abysmal “Fantastic 4.” These two are an even match, with both soft looks and steely eyed gazes locked onto each other. Unfortunately, the female lead leaves a bit to be desired. She isn’t awful, but just in comparison with the talent shown by Simmons and Teller, she feels subpar.

Music also deserved a nod, because if it was shit, well then a film about music wouldn’t really be able to do that much then. Every scene with music being played is a delight, making it clear that these guys are musicians first and foremost. The ending in particular got my blood pumping and my adrenaline up more than any action movie has in years.

It’s a testament to the writing of Damien Chazelle and the acting talents of Simmons and Teller that turn “Whiplash” into a tight knit, and fascinating film. It’s intense and will leave you speechless in many points. All of this, matched by a truly unpredictable pace and story makes “Whiplash” one of the best films of 2014. 5/5