Category: Announcement

Former Mexican Federale and all around bad-ass, Machete, gets recruited by the United States government to go after an arms dealer, Voz as he plans to enact an insane scheme.

Yep, that’s all I’m going to say about the story to Machete Kills, the latest film from director Robert Rodriguez and the sequel to 2010’s Machete, which in turn was a pseudo-sequel of sorts to 2007’s Grindhouse. Grindhouse (my personal nod for movie of the year for 2007) was the brainchild of directors Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino that sought to bring back the flavor of 70s and 80s exploitation films with it’s double feature of movies, Planet Terror and Death Proof. Peppered around the movies were all sorts of cool “fake” trailers for upcoming movies as well as assorted ads (and this is where I insert my personal appeal to Rob Zombie to yet again make a full-length feature around his trailer, Werewolf Women of the S.S., forgive me, I have to do this every time I talk about Grindhouse in any sort of review- what can I say? I had no idea how much I wanted to see this movie until Zombie made that trailer, but I digress). One of those trailers was for a movie called Machete which in itself is also a little nod to Rodriguez’s past movie, Spy Kids, as this is the same character seen in that film, but in a completely different light (an R-rated light).

Anyway, enough with the background, so how was the movie? Well, I had a good time with it, but then I’m a huge fan of Grindhouse films, exploitation films and B-movies in general and fans like myself will probably have a lot of fun with Machete Kills. This doesn’t take itself too seriously in the slightest and borders on the edge of parody. Now some might see this as a sort of betrayal of the Grindhouse theme, but I guess it all depends on just how wide you define that theme. If you’re thinking more of 70s exploitation films, yeah this strays from that, but I tend to include the 80s movies in that as well, and when you do that, then it fits. When Rodriguez made Planet Terror in Grindhouse, I likened that movie to the films of cult director Fred Olen Ray (whose filmography includes films like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Bad Girls from Mars amongst others). Ray’s movies are about as broad as it gets for exploitation films and while I have no idea if he’s an actual influence on what Rodriguez does with these movies, it’s certainly a sensibility that I think they have in common.

Staying true to it’s roots, right off the bat, we get a “fake” trailer for Machete Kills Again… In Space though it may not be as fake as you think, but it sets the tone of the whole piece right away. This is broad, over-the-top stuff that winks more at James Bond movies more than anything else, right down to the structure of the rest of the movie. Machete meets an assortment of villains throughout, all of which could be a Bond villain as seen through a Fred Olen Ray lens, and battles them all in some sort of over-the-top manner. It’s obvious to me that Rodriguez and his cast and crew are having a ball putting this thing together and we just shouldn’t take it seriously in the slightest.

It’s definitely a low-budget movie, but that’s how Rodriguez works and manages to see his vision through. Robert Rodriguez usually has his hand in everything including the movie’s excellent score and it’s visual effects. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t cook for the crew at some point either. To me, he’s one of the most talented creative forces in movies today- he knows what he wants and he always gets it and he’s willing to put himself into it fully to get it. Now with that said, this isn’t quite as satisfying as it’s predecessor and a lot of that is due to the film’s ending or rather lack of one (though again, this is set up from the start). This could also all be by design as maybe a bit of commentary on Rodriguez’s part about major studio tentpole films, but if so I still wasn’t quite satisfied by it, but still had a good time with the film overall.

Once again, veteran character actor Danny Trejo plays the title character. He’s a definite tough guy and this film just amplifies that. He’s there to be super-cool and that’s it. And he is; his look is terrific and whenever he gets ready to do his thing, it’s right on the money. Trejo’s character is designed as one-note so the drive forward in the film comes from the rest of the cast. Demian Bichir (from FX’s The Bridge), Amber Heard, returnees Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Carlos Estevez (Charlie Sheen), Lady GaGa, Antonio Banderas, Walton Goggins, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Mel Gibson round out the support here and all certainly fit well into Rodriguez’s vision. My own picks for standouts here are the gorgeous Sofia Vergara as the man-hating head of a whorehouse, Desdemona, Charlie Sheen as the President of the United States and Mel Gibson as the main villain of the piece, Voz. They all look like they”re lapping this all up and it makes them all fun to watch whenever they’re on-screen.

Even with my own problem with the film, I still had a great time with Machete Kills and would certainly want to see it again down the road, but again, I’m a huge fan of this type of stuff. I saw this the very next night after I saw Captain Phillips and it made for a very nice film palette cleanser for as heavy a movie as Captain Phillips was. Certainly recommended, but primarily for fans of Rodriguez and whacked-out exploitation films.

#1 Gravity from Warner Bros. held at #1 with a gross of $43.2 million (-22.6%) in 3,660 theaters (+85).  Total gross to date is $122.3 million.  Budget was $100 million.

#2 Captain Phillips from Sony/Columbia opened at #2 with a gross of $25.7 million in 3,020 theaters.  Budget was $55 million.

#3 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 from Sony/Columbia fell from #2 to #3 with a gross of $13.8 million (-34.3%) in 3,874 theaters (-127).  Total gross to date is $77.6 million.  Budget was $78 million.

#4 Machete Kills from Open Road Films opened at #4 with a gross of $3.83 million in 2,538 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#5 Runner Runner from Fox fell from #3 to #5 with a gross of $3.77 million (-51.1%) in 3,026 theaters.  Total gross to date is $14.2 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#6 Prisoners from Warner Bros. fell from #6 to #6 with a gross of $3.6 million (-36.8%) in 2,855 theaters (-381).  Total gross to date is $53.6 million.  Budget was $46 million.

#7 Insidious Chapter 2 from FilmDistrict rose from #8 to #7 with a gross of $2.7 million (-30.2%) in 2,156 theaters (-451).  Total gross to date is $78.5 million.  Budget was $5 million.

#8 Rush from Universal fell from #5 to #8 with a gross of $2.38 million (-46.7%) in 2,130 theaters (-178).  Total gross to date is $22.2 million.  Budget was $38 million.

#9 Don Jon from Relativity fell from #6 to #9 with a gross of $2.36 million (-43%) in 1,996 theaters (-426).  Total gross to date is $20.2 million.  Budget was $6 million.

#10 Baggage Claim from Fox Searchlight fell from #7 to #10 with a gross of $2 million (-50.1%) in 1,320 theaters (-910).  Total gross to date is $18.2 million.  Budget was unknown.

#11 Enough Said from Fox Searchlight fell from #10 to #11 with a gross of $1.9 million (-12.8%) in 606 theaters (+169).  Total gross to date is $8.2 million.  Budget was unknown.

#12 Pulling Strings from Lionsgate fell from #9 to #12 with a gross of $1.3 million (-48.5%) in 428 theaters (+41).  Total gross to date is $4.2 million.  Budget was unknown.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $106.6  million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

In 2009, Captain Richard Phillips and his crew of 20 began a routine transport job through international waters off the coast of Somalia. His ship, the Maersk Alabama is carrying valuable cargo and is soon the target of a crew of four armed Somali pirates, led by a young Somali named Muse. What follows is as tense a story as any you’ll see in film this year…

Captain Phillips is the latest film from director Paul Greengrass who’s certainly no stranger to presenting stories of both domestic and international tension having helmed two of the Jason Bourne films (The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum), Bloody Sunday, and one of my personal favorites, United 93. Greengrass is back in fine form with Captain Phillips, a film that works as both an edge-of-your-seat thriller as well as a complicated picture of the various effects of globalization. Obviously this is based around true events, but having not read the book from which it’s adapted (Richard Phillips’ and Stephen Talty’s “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea”), I’m really not for sure how much here is totally accurate, though it certainly feels that nothing’s been let to question. Regardless of it’s accuracy, it’s still as good as a thriller of this sorts gets and is bound to stir conversation after viewing (or at least it certainly did with the group I saw it with).

Technically, well this is terrific filmmaking and certainly right in line with the other movies on Greengrass’ resumé. Greengrass’ use of handheld cameras is certainly evident and while their effect normally doesn’t bother me, for one scene here, I did have some slight issue. This scene involved the introduction of Muse and his crew. Basically the action and camera works is pretty swift here, the Somalis are speaking in their native tongue and subtitles are trying to keep up with the conversation. Because these actors aren’t really known to us, Greengrass’ handheld camera work makes it a little difficult to get a bead on who’s saying what, though eventually we do get past that. That’s my only complaint with the film and I’d categorize that in the “extremely moot” column when it comes to total enjoyment of Captain Philips.

One thing that came to mind to me while watching this was thinking about how a fictionalized version of these same events would be handled in another movie. A fictionalized version would call for the pirates to make their way aboard this ship and they’d manage it with some theatrical results. Here, the attention to real world detail certainly made me think about it in a different way- with the Somalis having to fight their way through violent waves from the wake of the Maersk Alabama and then just having to combat the high-pressure hoses that the ship uses for it’s defense. In addition, it’s certainly easy to think of the Somalis as the “bad guys” of this piece and yet there is a complexity to them, particularly with Muse who’s both filled with pride and yet a total result of the circumstances that he lives under. Yes, they are criminals and we want them to get what’s coming to them in the end, but still you can’t help but feel empathic to their situation.

Tom Hanks plays the titular part and this is right up there with the very best of Hanks’ past work and will certainly remind one that he’s still one of the finest of American actors. There’s nothing that’s theatrical about this performance, it’s a very lived-in part with Hanks playing this guy who was basically just going out to do his job. There’s certainly heroism on his part though again, it’s the type of heroism that you’d see in the real world and certainly way more relatable. Where Hanks really gets you though is in the film’s climactic scenes where he’s not only triumphant from what has just happened, but also extremely vulnerable. It’s very effective work on Hanks’ part and I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest to see him at least get an Oscar nomination for this part.

I’ve also got to call out the work of Barkhad Abdi (Muse), Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed and Mahat M. Ali as the Somali pirates. From what I can tell, they’re all making their debuts with this movie and certainly holding their own with Tom Hanks. Abdi in particular plays this part as almost a counterpoint to Hanks as just another guy who’s going out to do his job, though he’s looking at this as his chance to get some respect from his leaders. There’s a real sense of inevitability to Muse, and yet his own pride has him always being assured.

Much like last week’s Gravity I have to close with this urging- don’t miss this! Captain Phillips is a totally engrossing thriller that just feels totally authentic. Both director Paul Greengrass and star Tom Hanks are at the top of their respective games here and though the outcome of this is already known, they certainly still make the ride getting to the end as compelling as can be. Highly, highly recommended.

#1 Gravity from Warner Bros. opened at #1 with a gross of $55.8 million in 3,575 theaters.  Budget was $100 million.

#2 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 from Sony/Columbia fell from #1 to #2 with a gross of $21 million (-38.4%) in 4,001 theaters.  Total gross to date is $60 million.  Budget was $78 million.

#3 Runner Runner from Fox opened at #3 with a gross of $7.7 million in 3,026 theater.  Budget was $30 million.

#4 Prisoners from Warner Bros. fell from #2 to #4 with a gross of $5.7 million (-47.1%) in 3,236 theaters (-54).  Total gross to date is $47.9 million.  Budget was $46 million.

#5 Rush from Universal fell from #3 to #5 with a gross of $ 4.5 million (-55.3%) in 2,308 theaters (+11).  Total gross to date is $18.2 million.  Budget was $38 million.

#6 Don Jon from Relativity fell from #5 to #6 with a gross of $4.2 million (-52.1%) in 2,422 theaters.  Total gross to date is $16.1 million.  Budget was $6 million.

#7 Baggage Claim from Fox Searchlight fell from #4 to #7 with a gross of $4.1 million (-54.9%) in 2,230 theaters (+203).  Budget was unknown.

#8 Insidious Chapter 2 from FilmDistrict fell from #6 to #8 with a gross of $3.9 million (-40.5%) in 2,607 theaters (-513).  Total gross to date is $74.8 million.  Budget was $5 million.

#9 Pulling Strings from Lionsgate opened at #9 with a gross of $2.5 million in 387 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#10 Enough Said from Fox Searchlight rose from #11 to #10 with a gross of $2.2 million (+4.5%) in 437 theaters (+210).  Total gross to date is $5.4 million.  Budget was unknown.

#11 Instructions Not Included from Lionsgate fell from #8 to #11 with a gross of $1.8 million (-46.8%) in 858 theaters (-90).  Total gross to date is $41.3 million.  Budget was unknown.

#12 We’re The Millers from Warner Bros. fell from #9 to #12 with a gross of $1.6 million (-42.8%) in 1,606 theaters (-799).  Total gross to date is $144.9 million.  Budget was $37 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $114.9  million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

The crew of the space shuttle Explorer are on a mission in orbit over the Earth to add a new component to the Hubble telescope. Everything is going by the book with Dr. Ryan Stone installing the component, with some uneasy feelings about being in space, as astronaut Matt Kowalski fly around trying out his jet pack and keeping tabs on the mission. Word reaches the crew of Explorer that due to an accident with a Russian satellite, debris is speeding their way. They’re ordered to abandon their mission and get back to Explorer as quickly as they can but to no avail; the debris is already upon them. The Explorer is damaged beyond repair and all of the crew, except for Stone and Kowalski, are killed. With the International Space Station nearby, now the two must work together to survive while still adrift in space.

This is the premise to Gravity the latest film from visionary director Alfonso Cuarón as well as written by Cuarón and his son, Jonás Cuarón. Cuarón is best known for movies like Children of Men and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While I’ve not seen the Potter film, I’ve definitely seen Children of Men and just get more taken with the movie every time I see it. When I first saw the trailer for Gravity, I was just blown away by it and couldn’t wait to see it. Mentioning this to other people at the time, they were more indifferent about it and just had no interest at all in it. I get that, you see this extravagant trailer, hear that it’s in 3D (which automatically reduces interest for most people these days), and just get the general premise and you think that there’s really nowhere to go with it. Well, for me anyway, my excitement for the movie is justified as I think Alfonso Cuarón has crafted one of the best movies of the year and certainly goes far out of his way to show you that 3D can greatly add to the experience of the film.

Right off the bat, this is some of the best 3D that’s been produced yet for movies. Cuarón has stated in some interviews that most 3D movies are crap, especially those that tack it on as an afterthought, and he was determined to use it in a way that truly added to the experience, basically also saying that if you only see the movie in 2D, you’re only going to get about 30% of what he wants you to get out of it. I believe that to be the case as well. The danger that Stone and Kowalski faces here is certainly stunning in 2D, but with 3D, you actually feel the experience to great effect making the circumstances even more dire. There’s way more to say about the 3D here, but to say too much would be to spoil it and I certainly don’t want to do that. Regardless, even if you absolutely hate 3D, it’s still the best way to experience this film.

Along with that, the visual style and effects of the film are as first rate as it gets. In Children of Men, Cuarón amazed me with some of his scenes that suggest the idea of a massive single take and he does the same thing here as well with the film’s spectacular opening sequence which runs about 12-13 minutes in length. Right there, with just technique alone, Cuarón sucks you into his premise and he keeps you there through the rest of the film. The survival tale here will certain bring to mind things like Cast Away for most, though for me, I get a sense out of it more from movies like Open Water or 2010’s Frozen (this is not the upcoming animated film, but a terrific little survival suspense movie with three people trapped aboard a ski lift)- situations that seemed even more hopeless than what Tom Hanks faced on an island (though don’t get me wrong, I think Cast Away is a terrific movie). The trick here is making your characters either likable or identifiable and I tend to think that the Cuaróns have done both with their script, as well as giving you this extraordinary thrill ride. In addition, the sound design and Scott Price’s excellent score punctuates everything in just the right way and further adds to the uneasiness of the entire situation.

Sandra Bullock plays Ryan Stone and George Clooney plays Matt Kowalski and both deliver terrific work especially when you consider the fact that they’re working in a special effects film that they have no idea of what the final piece will look like in the end. I mentioned above about making your characters either likable or identifiable, and that’s split between the two actors with Bullock playing the identifiable part and Clooney having the more likable part. Clooney’s Kowalski seems more like an extension of who Clooney is in real life, whereas Bullock is the one that’s more got to find a way to inhabit a part, and while the two may be diametrically opposed points of view, they still manage to find a way to have real chemistry, especially with a scene late in the film (can’t say much more about this scene other than at first it will have you thinking that there’s no way this could happen- but trust in the Cuaróns on this one). This is terrific work from two of the top stars of the day… but still, the real star here is Alfonso Cuarón with an amazing visual sense and pacing that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire movie.

Don’t miss this! Gravity is just amazing entertainment from start to finish and I cannot wait to see what director Alfonso Cuarón has next on his plate. He’s taken a premise that most would see as being thin at best and has turned it into completely compelling storytelling with some of the best visual effects of the year as well as totally re-defining what a 3D film experience should be. Highly, highly recommended and if you choose to see this, definitely see it in 3D.

Richie Furst is a Princeton student who’s having huge problems paying his tuition. He gets by by acting as an affiliate for an online gambling site called Midnight Black and turning on other college students to the site. Now, Richie’s in trouble with the school and in a last ditch effort to gather the funds that he needs, he banks it all into the site and attempts to use his skills to raise enough money to set himself up. Richie loses all of his money on the site and discovers that there is something shady going on in the programming of the system. Rather than going to the authorities, Richie takes it directly to the owner and founder of Midnight Black, Ivan Block. Since the United States put a clampdown on online gambling, Block has relocated to Costa Rica and so Richie gathers whatever money he has left and makes his own sort of pilgrimage.

Once there, Richie manages to get Block’s attention and impresses him enough to become part of Block’s operation. Things are going fantastically well for Richie including catching the eye of Rebecca Shafran, who’s a former lover and high-up associate of Block’s in Midnight Black. But that’s not the only eye on Richie as he’s also soon discovered by an FBI agent, Shavers and is pressured into giving Block up. Richie refuses but soon discovers that Block has a few more nefarious plans in store for him.

Runner Runner is the latest film from director Brad Furman (previously known for movies like The Lincoln Lawyer and The Take, neither of which I’ve seen) and written by the writing duo of Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Now I do know Koppleman and Levien’s previous work as they were the writing team behind the movie Rounders and the creators of the ESPN short run dramatic series Tilt, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit. Their knowledge oft the gambling world is certainly evident in this movie and for the most part, Runner Runner is certainly a watchable, but predictable film. This tends to lay it’s events out in a pretty much by-the-numbers way as Richie tries to get himself ahead of Block, before Block can set Richie up to take an even bigger fall. It’s nothing that you haven’t seen before, but I do think it’s well executed, looks great, and certainly if you have an interest in this sort of thing, and I do, then it’s still a pretty decent time.

The strongest cards that director Furman has in his deck are his lead actors, Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck who play Richie Furst and Ivan Block respectively. There’s a magnetism to both characters that makes them fun to watch. While I’m not for sure about Timberlake, I do know that Ben Affleck has some serious street cred in the poker world and so it’s definitely something that he’s drawing from for this performance. These are solid performances though both have certainly had better work in more memorable films and that can be said for the rest of the cast as well. The gorgeous Gemma Arterton plays Rebecca and Anthony Mackie plays FBI Agent Shavers, and again it’s solid work that moves this familiar story forward but not much else.

Runner Runner (the title here refers to a term in poker for needing two cards to fall in successive order to produce a winning hand- which is how Block looks at Richie from their first meeting) is basic light-pulp storytelling that’s more the kind of movie you might can enjoy as it’s running on background on your home TV than the sort of thing that you need to run right out and see immediately. If you’re familiar with either Rounders or Tilt, then it certainly fits comfortably right in line with those types of stories, though it’s a far lighter and less memorable experience. I had a good time with it and would certainly recommend it, but maybe hold off on it and wait for it to hit cable before investing the money for a trip to the theatre.

#1 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 from Sony/Columbia opened at #1 with a gross of $34 million in 4,001 theaters.  Budget was $78 million.

#2 Prisoners from Warner Bros. fell from #1 to #2 with a gross of $10.9 million (-47.8%) in 3,290 theaters (+30).  Total gross to date is $38.5 million.  Budget was $46 million.

#3 Rush from Universal rose from #38 to #3 with a gross of $10 million (+5,247.3%) in 2,297 theaters (+2,292).  Total gross to date is $10.3 million.  Budget was $38 million.

#4 Baggage Claim from Fox Searchlight opened at #4 with a gross of $9 million in 2,027 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#5 Don Jon from Relativity opened at #5 with a gross of $8.7 million in 2,422 theaters.  Budget was $6 million.

#6 Insidious Chapter 2 from FilmDistrict fell from #2 to #6 with a gross of $6.7 million (-52.5%) in 3,120 theaters (-35).  Total gross to date is $69.3 million.  Budget was $5 million.

#7 The Family from Relativity fell from #3 to #7 with a gross of $3.7 million (-46.7%) in 2,894 theaters (-197).  Total gross to date is $31.8 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#8 Instructions Not Included from Lionsgate fell from #4 to #8 with a gross of $3.5 million (-35.8%) in 948 theaters (-30).  Total gross to date is $38.7 million.  Budget was unknown.

#9 We’re The Millers from Warner Bros. fell from #6 to #9 with a gross of $2.8 million (-38.4%) in 2,405 theaters (-598).  Total gross to date is $142.4 million.  Budget was $37 million.

#10 Lee Daniels’ The Butler from Weinstein Company fell from #7 to #10 with a gross of $2.4 million (-42.7%) in 2,062 theaters (-869).  Total gross to date is $110.3 million.  Budget was $30 million.

#11 Enough Said from Fox Searchlight rose from #33 to #11 with a gross of $2.1 million (+801.6%) in 227 theaters (+223).  Total gross to date is $2.5 million.  Budget was unknown.

#12 Battle of the Year from Sony/Screen Gems fell from #5 to #12 with a gross of $2 million (-56%) in 2,008 theaters.  Total gross to date is $7.5 million.  Budget was $20 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $95.7 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

It’s 1976 and in the world of auto racing, Formula 1 racing has captured the world’s attention and primarily due to the intense rivalry between two drivers; the British born James Hunt and the Austrian, Niki Lauda. Both men are opposite sides of a coin; Hunt, a handsome “bad boy” who fills his off-hours with pure physical pleasures and Lauda, a much slighter individual who’s highly disciplined and so filled of his own skills that it just makes him unlikable to the rest of the field. This rivalry builds to a head with the German Grand Prix leg of the season on the treacherous Nürburgring race track and this is the story that director Ron Howard tells us with his latest movie, Rush.

Howard is certainly no stranger to telling fact-based stories in his films and has done so in the past with movies like Apollo 13 (one of this writer’s all-time favorite movies), A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Frost/Nixon. Howard’s hallmark in each of these films are an amazing sense of detail getting his time and place down perfectly and usually with some pretty compelling performances. On it’s surface, Rush is certainly poised to take a place right next to some of these movies and while I think it certainly does do quite a bit right, it falls just a little short of being the same sort of compelling viewing that say Apollo 13 or Frost/Nixon is.

Taking a look over at IMDB and the readers reviews there, I’m definitely in the minority on this one, though this review is hardly going to be any sort of condemnation of the film. Looking at Howard’s other past historic films, there’s a certain rise over adversity in each of them that very much raises the bar for them to varying degrees and I just don’t think that’s the case with Rush with it’s competitiveness between two men of privilege. Now it’s certainly interesting to see how both fueled each other in their drive to the Formula 1 championship, but I don’t think it’s quite enough to make it as rich as some of Howard’s other past efforts. One thing that I would’ve enjoyed seeing a little more of here, that’s only touched upon slightly, would’ve been more of the passion for the sport from both Hunt and Lauda. There’s a cool little mention of Lauda actually walking the course before a race and a nice scene with Hunt practicing his technique before a big race as well as a good bit with Lauda during a race that slows the action down and shows him figuring out his approach. I would’ve loved to have seen more scenes like this that just show the sheer passion for the sport, even if it would involve a few more visual effects on the racing end to pull them off just right. Now again, I think what Howard does here with the race scenes is pretty darn cool (the late John Frankenheimer would be proud) but I wouldn’t have minded a few more tricks along the lines of what say Renny Harlin did in Driven but maybe not quite so over-the-top.

Still, even with my own issues with the film, Rush looks terrific and really shines with it’s race re-creations (making me wish there was even more of that in the film). Veteran composer Hans Zimmer certainly shines here as well with a terrific score that really soars.

Chris Hemsworth (best known for his work as Marvel’s Thor character) and Daniel Brühl (Frederick Zoller from Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds) play both Hunt and Lauda respectively and both are well cast in the parts. Hemsworth’s Hunt is a certainly charming and charismatic character, but I tend to give more points to Brühl’s Lauda for having the meatier and much more interesting part. Brühl’s Lauda shows real progression here especially with some of the film’s climactic scenes. Hemsworth is s a little more one-note, though I was particularly impressed with him during a scene after a press conference with Lauda that shows off more of the respect that Hunt had for his rival. Both actors are very well cast and they play their parts just fine, though they won’t come off as particularly deep. That’s certainly nothing that’s out of the ordinary for racing movies, the same could be said for the leads in Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix and most certainly with Renny Harlin’s Driven, I was just hoping for a little bit more here.

Even though I have some issues with Rush it’s still some pretty quality entertainment. I tend to think that it’s drama comes off as a little more soap opera and thus not as compelling as some of Ron Howard’s other movies, but still it’s a highly watchable film and certainly one that fans of auto racing will embrace.