Rush

by Edward Dunn


RUSH
R
123 Minutes
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Peter Morgan
Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde

CAST
Daniel Brühl…Niki Lauda
Chris Hemsworth...James Hunt
Olivia Wilde…Suzy Miller
Alexandra Maria Lara…Marlene Lauda

Ron Howard: Why do you think I stopped acting and became a director?
Homer: I don’t know, because you weren’t cute anymore?
THE SIMPSONS, BABF02

A couple of months ago, if you asked me if I wanted to see RUSH. I would have been like, ‘no. no, man, shit, no, man’, I’d start swinging a broken pool cue at your face. And then you would have said, ‘oh, no I’m not talking about the band, its a Formula 1 racing movie’. I’d calm down, and think that it would be a crappy movie, like a POLE POSITION Video game movie.

The movie trailers over-hyped the merits of this film. That is my main issue with RUSH. It’s not bad, it’s about as entertaining as this type of film can be. I would go as far as to say that this is the best Formula 1 racing movie since DRIVEN. Watching this is not a life changing experience, unless you’ve lead a rather uninteresting life.

RUSH, another movie from the guy who gave us COCOON, THE DIVINCI CODE, and black stereotypes.

Hammer Time

James Hunt plays a British playboy-mack. With long, blonde hair, reminiscent of Fabio in his younger days. Before he tangled up with father time.

The Man Without A Face

Daniel Brühl is the conservative, overly-analytical Austrian. One look at him, and you know he’s no fun at parties. Like the Perrier guy in TALLADEGA NIGHTS.

Two competitive guys, in an epic rivalry, on par with Wilson and Kaepernick. The only difference is both of these drivers are very talented. You find yourself rooting for the carefree guy, there isn’t any other option. No one wants a guy with a stick up his ass to win anything.

The soundtrack is kind of what you’d expect. Seventies rock, that really isn’t that bad…I guess. If I were directing this, I would put Elton John’s CIRCLE OF LIFE somewhere, because it just seems appropriate.

Behind the veil of historical accuracy, they created a cigarette ad. When James Hunt wasn’t driving a Marlboro car he was smoking one. To me it’s not a big deal, but it’s a big part of the movie.

I learned many important life lessons from watching this movie


  • Some things are more important than winning car race. Like screwing models, and looking good.

  • Rush can mean energetic euphoria; or one be in a rush, as in pressed for time.

  • You can win a race, but there are no real winners in life.

  • Don’t intentionally hurt people when you’re driving.

  • Live each day like it was your last.

  • It’s about the journey not the destination.


The Ultimate Finish Line

James Hunt lived dangerously, without any consideration of the future. In keeping with his life philosophy, I suggest you watch this on your phone while you’re driving and texting. But only do this if you’re in a rush.

Final Verdict: 80 out of 100



Fast & Furious 6

by Edward Dunn


FAST & FURIOUS 6
PG-13
130 minutes
Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang

CAST
Dwanye Johnson…Hobbs  
Dominic Toretto…Vin Diesel
Brian O’Conner..Paul Walker
Michelle Rodriguez…Letty
Tyrese Gibson…Roman
Sung Kang… Han
Ludacris … Tej
Luke Evans… Shaw

‘I’m a little disappointed in the ass level of this movie. Me and Luda, specifically, are into way more voluptuous…round…not just a butt, were talking boboli’. –Tyrese Gibson (Interview, Jake the Movie Guy interview on YouTube…off the cuff…taken completely out of context)

Apart from LEONARD 6, in film franchises, the sixth movie usually isn’t very good. DEATH WISH 6 got made, but it was never released. As it turns out, no one wanted to see an 87-year old, Chuck Branson lie in a hospital bed for two hours. The DEATH WISH series isn’t about assisted suicide.

After barely escaping a car explosion, Letty develops amnesia. And now she is fighting for the bad guys, like Anakin Skywalker in STAR WARS.  This is OVERBOARD-style, she’s Goldie Hawn, and the Pierce Brosnan-sounding, villain is Kurt Russell. On a positive note, having amnesia means she doesn’t remember the first five ‘FAST AND FURIOUS’ movies.

I’d like to think, eventually, we’ll get to the point where we can create realistic avatars of ageing action stars, like they did with John Wayne in those beer commercials. They could make many people look less pathetic.

In my FAST FIVE review, I said Vin Diesel had Down Syndrome. It was completely out of line, it’s something I regret saying. Because that just makes people with Down syndrome look bad.

The white t-shirt and jeans look has never suited Dominic Toretto. A character like that, needs to wear a button-down shirt with flames on it.  Vin Diesel, that’s probably not his real name. I think he changed it, proactively, so he could appear in the perfect car movie. And when that didn’t pan out. He starred in THE FAST & FURIOUS. His scenes were priceless. Especially, when he’s talking to Michelle Rodriguez about the love they once shared. It makes you wonder whether she’s faking the amnesia to get out of the relationship.

‘Ride or Die’

FAST 6 is as close to perfection as it gets. I do have some minor complaints though. There weren’t enough explosions, suped-up Chargers, or chunks of bad dialogue.

Final Verdict: 15 out of 100

Sidenote: Fast 7 is on the way. Brace yourself.