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In "Whiplash" (R, Sony), the promising feature debut of writer/director Damien Chazelle, J.K. Simmons plays a music professor, a tightly coiled martinet who joins a long line of cinematic drill sergeants, football coaches, prison bulls and dysfunctional fathers as a towering patriarchal figure who breaks down an impressionable young man, the better to build him back up. The Sundance favorite, which also stars Miles Teller as the impressionable drummer, earned five Oscar nominations, including best picture. Also, on Blu-ray: a 42-minute documentary on famous drummers including Chad Smith, Peter Erskine and Gina Schock.
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