7. Whiplash
Director: Damien Chazelle
Stars: Miles teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist
Synopsis: A promising young drummer enrolls at a cutthroat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Not only is Miles Teller brilliant as the highly motivated up and coming drummer in Whiplash, you could say J.K. Simmons is his equal. They battle it out like nemeses in any recent Marvel film. Combine this with a perfect explosive ending and you get one of the best, and at the same time, most entertaining independent movies of the year. — Rik Burnsting