Whiplash

"Damien Chazelle stages S&M drum duels with strafing mastery. And Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons will blow you away. Beat the drums for a Simmons Oscar, and add a cymbal crash for 'Whiplash'. It's electrifying! (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of four)" 

"Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons go toe-to-toe in a potent drama about an ambitious young drummer and his abusive teacher." 

"Chazelle proves an exceptional builder of scenes (...) that grab our attention (...) thanks largely to co-star J.K. Simmons." 

"Music instruction and combat are rarely linked in movies, and particularly not in the singularly riveting way they come together in 'Whiplash'. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of four)" 

"The film is gripping, funny and inspiring." 

"It's rare to see a film about music that professes its love for the music and its characters equally. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of five)" 

"It may get a few things wrong, but it aims at, and finally achieves, an authenticity at once more exalted and more primal than mere verisimilitude."