Absolutely incredible

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2015)

I was expecting a lot from this movie. With all the Oscar nominations and positive reviews from audiences and critics alike I had some pretty high standards. Who knew that this film was going to blow those standards out of the water? This film was absolutely brilliant. It's about jazz drumming and its probably one of the most intense films I've ever seen. Go figure. Both Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons delivered incredible performances. I don't know how much of Miles Teller's drumming was real, but from what I saw, it was mostly real and ridiculously impressive at that. I really felt like he was the next Buddy Rich at some points. J.K. Simmons outdoes himself here. He even beats his performance as J. Jonah Jameson from the original Spiderman movies. He plays a seriously hardcore jazz teacher who really reminded me of that drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket. Every second he's on screen, you can't look away. Probably a career best for him. The music is amazing as well. The level of effort that appeared to have gone into the soundtrack is highly respectable. The highlight comes at the very end, which I won't spoil, so watch this film for yourself to find out. I cannot recommend this film more. Seek it out immediately.