Whiplash (2014) Movie Review

Whiplash (2014)
Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist

Miles Teller is on a roll. A year after his critically acclaimed performance in The Spectacular Now, Teller’s latest film Whiplash is one of my personal favourite indie movies of 2014.

Whiplash is throughly engaging and entertaining. There’s genuine dramatic tension between characters, lines of dialogue that’ll either make you laugh out loud or marvel at its razor-sharp cruelty and an exhilarating ending.

Director Damien Chazell’s jazz music drama centers on a highly driven nineteen year old drummer named Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) and his music conductor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) whose bully like tactics can either make or break Neyman’s dreams for greatness.

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 3 “Four Walls And A Roof” Review

In “Four Walls And A Roof”, Rick faces off against the cannibalistic Hunters, Bob makes a surprise return to the church and Father Gabriel confesses his sin.

Everything after the break will contain complete spoilers and a discussion of The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 3.

Community Links & News: Most Anticipated Movies

A number of blogs are covering their local film festivals, giving us a first look at some movies I’m highly anticipating when they get a wider release (or depending on where you live, it might already be in theatres).

Here are several movies that might interest you:

The biographic flick The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a WWII code breaker looks to be a gem. Here’s a great review over at Cinekatz.com.

To the dark underbelly of LA, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a photographer arriving at crimes scenes before the police, turning his photos into quick money. Here’s a spoiler free review of Nightcrawler from The Review Club.

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 2 “Strangers” Review

In “Strangers”, Rick has suspicions on Father Gabriel while a member of the group gets bitten in more than one way.

Everything after the break will contain complete spoilers and a discussion of The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 2.

Community Links & News: WordPress Comments Going To Spam

With the help of some fellow bloggers, I’ve discovered the reason why my comments on other WordPress blogs have not always been showing up is because they are automatically going to the spam folder.

This has been an on and off problem for about the last month. Since I spend a fair amount of time reading and supporting other blogs with comments it’s been a bit discouraging.

WordPress uses a spam filtering service called Akismet. I’ve been working with them to resolve this issue.

The good news is that my comments have been getting through the last couple of days. But my previous comments might still be in your spam folder.

Here’s how you can help: Check your WordPress blog’s spam folder if my comments are in there and unspam them.

Apparently, Akismet is a learning engine, so unspamming should help subsequent comments get through the filter. On the flip side, I think leaving the comments designated as spam might give it the wrong idea. 

To help the unspamming, I’ve put together a list of some of the posts I think I may have commented on.

In any case, these are all friendly and quality bloggers, well worth your time to check out their posts and add them to the list of blogs you follow.

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 1 “No Sanctuary” Review

The Walking Dead is back with a vengeance! The outstanding fifth season premiere delivers on all fronts: the fate of the Terminus prisoners comes to a head, the butchers become the slaughtered and a heart warming reunion caps off the episode.

Watch the full episode of The Walking Dead Season 5, Episode 01 at AMC.com (No sign in required).

Continue reading for a spoiler filled recap and reaction to The Walking Dead Season 5 Premiere entitled “No Sanctuary”.

The Flash Series Premiere Review

CW’s The Flash 2014 TV Series: Spoiler Free Pilot Review

The opening scene to The Flash (8 pm, Tuesdays on CW) tells us exactly the kind of television show it is. It’s a fun, contemporary super hero series that asks the audience to believe that the impossible can be possible, if only for the next hour.

The Flash doesn’t set out to redefine the genre which is not a bad thing at all. The show embraces its comic book origins in a way that is accessible to new and old fans alike.

What sets The Flash apart from other comic book based shows such as Gotham, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even Arrow is that its lead character has super powers. It’s refreshing that while the amazing feats of The Flash aka Barry Allen are not grounded in realism, his personality and emotional reactions feel genuine.