Five Faves #5: “Whiplash” (2014)

We’ve reached the end of my Five Faves series, chronicling my five favorite films of all time! We’re ending the series with a bang today…pun intended, because we’re talking about Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, following an ambitious jazz drumming student (Miles Teller) who is taken under the wing of abusive instructor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). The film earned significant accolades during its theatrical run, nabbing three surprise Oscars, but I feel it deserves even more credit than it’s gotten. This is a modern masterpiece.

Five Faves #4: “The Social Network” (2010)

Welcome to entry #4 in my Five Faves series, chronicling my five favorite films of all time! We’ve already discussed Pulp Fiction, In Bruges, and The Dark Knight, and today we’re looking at Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher’s collaborative masterpiece, The Social Network (2010). The biopic based on the book by Ben Mezrich follows a young Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard as he builds Facebook from the ground up, and the resulting personal and legal drama with both his friends and rivals.

At first glance, some may find it strange that a story involving two legal disputes, a bunch of technical and financial jargon, and no discernable structure could be one of the most engaging dramas of the past decade. But Aaron Sorkin works his magic to craft a tense, gripping experience thanks to a few weird tricks. (Directors HATE him! You won’t believe #12!!!) Clickbait aside, let’s dive deeper into the script of The Social Network and try to make some sense of the madness…

Five Faves #2: “In Bruges” (2008)

Welcome to the second installment in my Five Faves series, in which I discuss the five movies that I consider my all-time favorites. Last time we dove deep into the screenplay of Pulp Fiction to determine what makes it so special. Today we explore the cinematic debut of former playwright Martin McDonagh, 2008’s In Bruges. While McDonagh later found mainstream success with awards darling Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, it was his first creation that resonates the strongest with me.

The film tells the story of two hitmen (Ray and Ken) hiding out in the titular Belgian town after a job goes bad. While waiting for further instructions from their boss (Harry), they take in the local culture, get into various misadventures, and reflect on their past lives. The film takes on a darkly comedic tone with outlandish scenarios and boorish behavior, but underpinning everything is a serious examination of guilt and redemption.

Five Faves #3: “The Dark Knight” (2008)

*Author’s Note: This entry was originally published as a standalone script analysis, but has since been rebranded as part of the Five Faves series. Enjoy!*

This weekend brings Avengers: Infinity War to theaters, a much-anticipated superhero extravaganza sure to rake in an embarrassing amount of money. I’ve never really bought into the superhero movies craze, finding most of them bloated and unnecessary, but I can appreciate when the good ones come around (usually once a year or so). This year’s Black Panther and last year’s Logan, for instance, are both excellent standalone films with strong screenplays that could exist separate from their larger universes and still be worthy of merit. In honor of comic book movies’ big weekend, I want to dig deeper into the greatest superhero film ever made, Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece The Dark Knight (2008), and examine why it works so well.