"Rush" is definitely one of the best movies of the year and has many strong points to offer - even to those who aren't into motor sports at all. First of all, the acting is simply incredible. Chris Hemsworth performs the slowly dying kind of charming and charismatic pop stars among athletes that doesn't exist anymore in modern motor sports. He portrays a self-confident daredevil, playboy and sex symbol who seems superficial and unsympathetic at first sight but who turns out to be courageous and have more values than one might think. Behind his arrogant appearance is a breakable young man destined to live in the fast lane and die young. Many real persons from that time and especially the real Niki Lauda said that Chris Hemsworth acts and speaks exactly as the real James Hunt did which proves his incredible acting job. His antagonist is portrayed by Daniel Brühl who incarnates a young and motivated man who seems to be an arrogant and bourgeois nouveau riche at first sight but who turns out to be as breakable, courageous and determined as his concurrent. The two main characters are very different from each other but at the same time they have enough things in common to be at eye level during the most exciting Formula One season in history. I think that Daniel Brühl's acting is even better. He had to incarnate a real person that is still alive which is always tough. As a German he had to learn an Austrian accent to speak German and English in a credible way, he had to have the same gestures and he had to incarnate the same temperaments the real Niki Lauda. Thanks to a lot of details and time put into this acting job and many meetings with the real Niki Lauda, Daniel Brühl perfectly succeeded and delivers without the glimpse of a doubt the best acting performance of his career. The thing that impressed me the most was that the real Niki Lauda said that he thought of people being cruel and superficial when they have watched him with disgust or scare after his accident but when he watched this movie he had the same terrified reaction and finally understood why I all people had reacted that way so many years ago. His reaction proves how intense and real this movie is even though a few historical facts are of course exaggerated to put additional tension into this film. Next to the incredibly gifted two main actors who almost have the same screening time and are equally treated in depth even though the story is told by the film character Niki Lauda, one should not forget about a whole bunch of great supporting actors in this movie. There is simply no bad actor or actress in this film.

Another strong point of this movie is the way it mixes the incredible true events by using many original settings from museums or archive footage with well integrated cinematographic elements such as an atmospheric soundtrack, intense dialogues and very well done special effects that are not overloaded with cheap effects but that feel as real as the rest of the movie. The camera work is quite perfect as it has a balanced mixture of cinematographic and documentary shots once again.

And then there is the story which is highly based on true events. You don't need to be a fan of motor sports to get into this film. The story is about the clash of two very unique and different characters who seem to be antagonists and the roughest kind of competitors at first sight but who turn out to be more similar to each other than they might think. This movie is about competition, sportsmanship and more than all the precious value of life. It's also about the ups and downs that come with success. It's a movie about family values, love and friendship but also about extreme loneliness and despair. Many people don't understand why motor sport athletes are risking their lives for this sport. This movie gives us the answer. This sport is a lifelong dream of both characters and they entirely owe the lives they are living to their successful career. At the end, the movie shows us two very different ways how to deal with the risks of this dangerous job and where to stop playing with fate. This opens an almost philosophical and quite profound perspective that makes this movie something more precious than a simple action film or drama. It inspires you to think of which path you would have chosen as anybody should be able to at least partially empathize with the characters. 

In the end, I recommend this film to any movie fan. No matter if you are a fan of action movies, biopics, dramas or suspenseful movies, this flick has it all and even more for you and the incredible acting plus the detailed settings are the cherries on the cake. The movie even includes a few humorous scenes, erotic moments but also philosophical elements. It's hard to create a more complete movie than this one but at the same time, this film always feels consistent and never loses track of its clear guiding line. Right now, this movie is worth nine out of ten and time will tell us if this might even be worth the perfect rate. I think this might be the case and hope that the movie will win a few Academy Awards along with the superb crime drama "Prisoners". These two movies are definitely the best of the year until now and the year is almost over. If you were hesitating whether to watch this film or not, you should by now have made your decision to go to the cinemas as long as this film is still there. Needless to say that the great camera work and the impressive sound effects work even better in cinema than at home. 

"The Family" is an enjoyable and entertaining movie that though lacks depth and direction. It's a comedy movie that intends to be a satire of several gangster movies. The clash of cultures between a family of Italian origin from Brooklyn living in a remote small-town in France is another main element of this film. While the movie has a couple of hilarious scenes, most of them remain predictable and are filled with dumb stereotypes that had already been cited over and over again. Among the funny moments, there is also some action and suspense but not too much of it.

What I liked about the movie were the perspective changes. At some points, you see the gangsters trying to track down the family and the American agents giving their best to protect them even though they act somewhat silly and unprofessional. In the movie, you follow the traces of the criminal family father who is ready to change things in town he doesn't like and who starts writing his memoirs. You also see some scenes of the mother who seems naive and religious at first sight but also uncovers a lot of criminal potential. The family's daughter looks very good and gets a lot of attention at high school but her unrequited love to a math geek adds a dramatic and romantic touch to the movie and drowns her into depression. The son is going through hell on his first day at high school and then starts to elaborate a smart revenge on everyone around him where he comes close to his father. The acting in the movie is quite okay. Robert De Niro has some charm and charisma. Tommy Lee Jones as ill-tempered, serious old school agent also has a few strong scenes. The best acting though comes from the family's dog and I don't mean that in an ironic way. The pet is involved in some of the funniest scenes of the entire movie in my opinion. Each time it appears, the movie gets rather interesting and a new twist or turn while some parts of the film feel disoriented.

The story of the movie is very thin and some scenes are completely dumb. The way the imprisoned gangsters find the whereabouts of the family is nonsense. The final fighting scenes on the movie are rather lame as well and I was really expecting something longer and more intense. The way the movie ends is almost abrupt and didn't please me as well.

This all sounds rather negative now, but fact is that this movie is a quite diverting film that never gets boring despite its obvious flaws. It's a good film to have some laughs and switch your brain off because there is no big story you need to follow. You see a couple of older star actors and actresses as well as some solid young actors. If you can live with an absent story and a lot of stereotypes, you might eventually enjoy this action comedy movie but don't expect too much from it. Let's also add that this is a "film for the whole family" compromise kind of thing which means that everyone may find it okay but nobody really adores it. In fact, I would rather recommend you renting or buying the film instead of going to the cinema just for this. 

October 7, 2013 in Reviews