31st Jan2014

Rush – DVD

by timbaros

images-90Rush tells the true story of Formula 1 racing car rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda and the intense rivalry between their respective racing teams, McLaren and Ferrari, in 1976. It is the best film of 2013.

Chris Hemsworth plays James Hunt, the English racing car driver also known for his exploits off the track – his exploits with women, sex and drugs. Daniel Bruhl plays Niki Lauda, the famous Austrian racing car driver and three time F1 World Champion who was disfigured in a car crash during a race, which, however, did not stop him from competing again. Rush is set against the backdrop of the glamourous and excitement of Formula 1 racing and in the 1976 Formula One season which featured the 1976 World Championships of F1 drivers and the 1976 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and contested over a sixteen race series.

In the film, McLaren driver Hunt takes the World Championship by one point over Ferrari driver Lauda, who is determined more than ever to win the World Championship himself. The 1976 Formula One races took the drivers all over the world, beginning with Brazil and next to South Africa, to the U.S., Spain, Monaco, Sweden and France. From one thrilling race scene to another, with Hunt winning a few and then Lauda winning a few, Rush excitedly portrays the rivalry between both men, their ups and downs and their wins and losses, both on and off the track. This includes the many affairs of Hunt, and his brief marriage to model Suzy Miller (a fantastic Olivia Wilde), who would go on to leave him and wed Richard Burton. Lauda, on the other hand, meets and marries Marlene Knaus (a very lovely Alexandra Maria Lara), and it is not long after that he is in an almost deadly car crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix that causes severe burns to his head and body and in which Lauda inhales toxic gases that damages his lungs and blood. As a result of the crash, Lauda had extensive scarring on his head, lost most of his right ear and lost the hair on his eyebrows and eyelids. Miraculously, Lauda would return to the race track six weeks later to finish in 4th place in the Italian Grand Prix, though at the time he was still severely scarred and still bleeding from his wounds.

Directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost Nixon), with a script by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), Rush has Academy Award and BAFTA written all over it. With excellent lead performances by both Hemsworth and Bruhl (with Bruhl having the extra edge because of horrific car crash scene), to the very good performances by both actresses Lara and Wilde, Rush will be the movie to watch and the movie to beat at all of the film awards next year. Even for non-Formula One racing car fans, Rush is a thrill a minute and expertly tells the story of the rivalry between Hunt and Bruhl. Hunt would go on to die of a heart attack in 1993 at the age 45 due to his fast and furious lifestyle, while Lauda would go on to become a television pundit and is still alive today.

 


Category : DVD
Tags : , , , , , ,
0 Comm
08th Dec2013

A Long Way From Home – Film

by timbaros

In the new film A Long Way From Home, Joseph (James Fox) and Brenda (Brenda Fricker) have been married for over 50 years and are retired and living in Nimes, France. Joseph is bored with his life (and wife), and their relationship is stale and predictable. Suzanne’s biggest worry is getting a letter posted to one of their sons, while Joseph keeps on getting nagged about getting the letter posted. They do the same things everyday, including having the same conversations and eating at the same restaurant (where Suzanne orders the same meal every night).

One evening, in that same restaurant, they are seated next to a much younger couple, Mark (Paul Nicholls), and the very lovely Suzanne (Natalie Dormer). They start chatting to the couple, and immediately Joseph is smitten with Suzanne, her cute smile, the sparkle in her eyes, bubbly personality and amazing beauty. Just her very presence makes Joseph want her. Mark and Suzanne, who are not married, are visiting Nimes for the first time and Joseph recommends a few places that they should visit, especially some Roman ruins on the outskirts of town. The next day Joseph goes to those ruins in the hopes of running into them (especially Suzanne). He sees various couples there, but not them, until when he has almost given up, he sees them. Joseph, dressed up in his usual get up of a hat and linen suit, chats to them briefly before they walk off. Joseph’s eyes linger on Suzanne. Over the course of the next few days, Joseph furtively tries to find them in and around the town’s tourist sites, even hanging out near their hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse, and more, of Suzanne.
Both couples eventually bump into each other again at the same restaurant, and Joseph recommends a day out of town to visit a friend of his who has a winery. Mark is very excited as he is a big wine fan who wants to start up his own wine business and accepts with much enthusiasm. The next day they head out of town for the adventure, leaving Brenda at home so that she can concentrate on writing more letters and doing the ironing. Once at the vineyard, Mark is shown around the main house by Joseph’s friend while Joseph and Suzanne stroll around the crops. With the sun fully shining on them, Joseph can’t help but gaze at the gorgeous Suzanne, with the sun glistening in her hair and her flowery dress blowing around in the light wind. Joseph wants to kiss her, and it appears that Suzanne is fully aware of this, but nothing happens between them as they need to go back to the main house. Joseph is fully disappointed as he feels that he missed his chance, especially after Suzanne asks him “does it ever get lonely for you, living out here”. And Brenda feels that something is going on with Joseph, but she doesn’t want to accept the fact that Joseph, who had been suffering from depression, has suddenly become alive and happier. The next evening it is Mark and Suzanne’s last night in town, so they treat Joseph and Brenda to dinner. Suzanne confides to Joseph that Mark has asked her to marry him, but she is ambivalent about it and hasn’t said yes yet. This leaves Joseph to ponder what he should tell her. Can he confess to her that he has fallen in love with her before it is too late?
Fox is simply amazing as a man who cannot overcome the fact that he has fallen in love with a much younger woman. Fox, the elder statesman of the famous Fox acting family, who has been acting in films since 1950, adds another amazing performance to his belt in a career of such incredible films as The Servant (1963), Performance (1970), A Passage to India (1984), The Remains of the Day (1993), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and most recently W.E. (2011). Dormer, as Suzanne, steals the screen everytime she is on. She has the kind of face, smile and beauty that every man could fall for. Earlier this year Dormer most memorably played the nurse in the beginning of the film Rush where she gets seduced by Chris Hemsworth. Fricker is very good as the wife who preoccupies her time with the most mundane of stuff, who at the same time instinctively knows that Joseph is having some kind of midlife crisis. Nicholls is also very good as the man who doesn’t realize that Joseph covets his girlfriend.
A Long Way From Home, directed by Virginia Gilbert, is a very good, simple film that keeps your interest throughout, with amazing performances and a great storyline.
Category : Film
Tags : , , , , ,
1 Comm