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Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle
Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle

Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle

(R, 107 minutes)

An Oscar-winning drama that follows the travails of an attractive, talented 19-year-old student at a prestigious New York music conservatory may sound like yet another smug story of a first-world problem. Don't believe it. Whiplash, which concerns jazz drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) and his cruelly manipulative teacher Terence Fletcher (Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons), is as intense as any globe-spanning thriller.

Andrew's cockiness quotient inflates greatly when Fletcher chooses him to join the top jazz ensemble at the school. That's where the kid's passion to achieve perfection quickly degenerates into obsession as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of his ability and his sanity.

Neither Andrew nor Fletcher is a likable character, but both actors manage to turn these flashy personalities into recognizably human creatures. And while the other students at the conservatory have little to do in the way of dialogue (other than occasionally snap or blubber), they all accurately convey the discomfort of the cowed and intimidated.

A simple plot synopsis might make Whiplash seem ordinary, but such reductive reporting misses the point of this beautifully crafted, nuanced and wonderfully energetic film.

Blu-ray bonus features include commentary with writer/director Damien Chazelle and J.K. Simmons, the original short film on which Whiplash is based, a featurette on renowned drummers, and a deleted scene with optional commentary.

Beyond the Lights (PG-13, 116 minutes)

Beyond the Lights has so much going for it -- an attractive cast, capable performances, distinctive cinematography, a thoroughly modern story, and a respected writer/director in Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball). Yet somehow, all those attributes fail to create a film that's diverting enough to stick in anyone's memory for more than a few minutes after the credits roll.

The opening sequence is promising: A flustered yet determined south London mother and her sweet 5-year-old mixed-race daughter are at a kids' talent show. The youngster pours her heart out delivering an a capella version of Nina Simone's crushing "Blackbird." She earns a first runner-up trophy. Her frowning mother is not pleased. She demands that her daughter be a star, not a runner-up.

Fast-forward to grown-up daughter Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) on the verge of celebrity, prancing on stilettos through a sex-charged music video in a skimpy leather dominatrix getup at a nationally televised awards show in Los Angeles that's honoring her talents. Mom Macy (Minnie Driver) watches with a critical eye from the side of the stage. She and Noni didn't claw their way here by being anything less than ruthlessly focused.

But is stardom what Noni really wants? Apparently not, as her post-performance evening includes a very public attempt at suicide that's thwarted by earnest young cop Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker). Sympathy is in short supply from Macy as well as from Noni's record label executives. Suicide is not sexy as far as they're concerned.

Reporters, bloggers and paparazzi are swarming in anticipation of a juicy story. So the cop, against his better judgment, appears at a news conference alongside the celebrity to proclaim the incident an accident. But they both know better, and their shared knowledge unites them against the self-imposed pressures of a world of fame that has been the center of Noni's entire existence.

Parker and Mbatha-Raw, a competent pair who dominate the film's screen time, exhibit a just-short-of-steamy onscreen chemistry. Too bad it's often undermined by awkward dialogue that leads them into verbal standoffs that anyone besides a Hollywood screenwriter could have easily cleared up with a pacifying sentence or two if one or the other of them hadn't stomped out of the scene.

Then there's the music. For a film about an internationally recognized pop star modeled on the likes of Rihanna, the songs Noni performs are mediocre. Such bland musical choices pull the rug out on the film's credibility -- especially since the flashy (and totally artificial) performance scenes, blazing with lights, edgy graphics, daring dancers, glittering costumes and all sorts of stage trickery -- are the film's most enduring moments.

Big Hero 6 (PG, 108 minutes) Big Hero 6 is so much fun that it's easy to forget it's another superhero origins story. This animated adaptation of the comic book by Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle has a routine story. We learn how a team of oddball young students learns to defeat villains with high-tech weapons.

Nevertheless, Oscar-winning Big Hero 6 has lovable characters, a brisk pace, a sense of humor and a unique setting. San Fransokyo (a mashup of the City by the Bay and Tokyo) is home to a thriving robotics trade. In addition to producing legitimate uses for cyborgs, there's also an underground robot fighting scene.

Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter) has graduated from high school at 13 and spends his time creating ingenious fighting 'bots that destroy the androids others have created. Unfortunately, the owners of those robots don't take well to losing, so Hiro has to find a legal way to hone his skills.

His older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) suggests that Hiro study robotics under respected professor Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell). His students include a skateboarder named Fred (T.J. Miller), fast-fingered Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (voice of Genesis Rodriguez) and Go Go (voice of Jamie Chung).

Tadashi has created a cuddly robot named Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit) who can provide nursing services for those who can't afford them. Seeing how Baymax can diagnose patients without even touching them convinces Hiro that his brother's department is where he should be.

Before Hiro can start planning for his future, the school burns down and a mysterious masked fellow who has stolen Hiro's versatile nanobots starts terrorizing the city. Hiro tries to repurpose the loving Baymax into a fighting machine with dismal results, so he recruits his new friends to design devices that can meet the threat.

Just as the people are lively and genial, the setting is practically a character in itself. The hills of San Francisco and the architecture of Japan are lovingly captured and melded into a fascinating new world that, thankfully, looks a little different and captures what's beautiful in North America and Asia.

The Intruders (PG-13, 92 minutes) A straight-to-video psychological thriller in which troubled teenager Rose (Miranda Cosgrove), after moving into a new house with her dad, begins to experience seemingly supernatural occurrences. Are they caused by mean kids in town, or are they all in her head? With Donal Logue, Austin Butler, Tom Sizemore; directed by Adam Massey. Bonus features include two behind-the-scenes featurettes concerning the film's story and the filmmaking process.

MovieStyle on 02/27/2015

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