Film Review: RUSH (comes to all theaters Sep 27th)

This is only my second film review and yet I’m still so super excited to share this one! This film is... well, I’ll let you read on to figure that out. 

But wait... this film isn’t out yet, how do you know about it? (or it was not out when I wrote this, but it may be in some theaters when this is posted. oops) To answer that question I want to explain some stuff.

photo courtesy of IMDb

Lets back up a bit and get some bearings. From June 20th through the 22nd I attended Campus Movie Fest 2013. Campus Movie Fest is a large student film festival that takes the top short films from each campus across the nation and brings them together to celebrate the art and the passion of the movie business. My short film LiFE was selected as Best Drama at my university and therefore I was invited to celebrate my film along with those of other students at colleges from all over the United States. I had never been to any film event like this before. 

On the first day I met the amazing Mia (as she will be formally known). She was probably my best friend on this trip. We ended up hanging out a lot. The Amazing Mia asked me if I was going to the advanced screening of Despicable Me 2 or Rush. I sadly had to tell her that I had not signed up for the screenings in time and was placed on the wait-list for both movies, meaning that if someone could no longer make the movie, then well, there were 100 other people that would get that seat before me. 

Mia seemed shocked that I was not on the list for the advanced screenings and, like an angel sent from heaven, she told me she had an extra ticket. For a second I thought she was just disclaiming the facts, but then she proceeded to say, “You can come with me!” I was so excited! And of course, being a movie lover, I said yes! So the next night I went with Mia to go see Director Ron Howard’s Rush. (The Amazing Mia also ended up not using her Despicable Me 2 advanced screening tickets so she gave them to me and my family. If you are reading this, Thank you once again Mia!)

Rush was filmed on the RED camera and let me tell you, that made a HUGE difference. RED is the chocolate of the film industry. It’s THAT good. haha. Anyways, I was lucky enough to get to visit the RED studios in LA and work on some RED cameras on the set  where the movie Hitchcock was filmed. The beast of the camera world was rather intimidating at first glance, but ended up being just as polished and wonderful as expected. All of the revolutionary features and footage that my team shot on set that day was just a small preview of the amazing images I would see in the film Rush.

Rush... where to start? When looking back on this film all I can see is this one image of wheels spinning so effortlessly in slow motion as rain falls on the pavement. This shot will forever be in my mind because that was the moment I realized film is magic. Every second of this film works to keep the audience enthralled and by the sound of the applause at the end of the film, I knew it was a hit. A theater full of film buffs and movie enthusiasts, I was right at home and so was Rush.

I have seen this movie already for free but there is nothing stopping me from seeing it 10 more times so I may have to do that. Most of the time people who analyze films review the film at least two times, so keep in mind that I have only seen this film once, but it was engraved into my brain as a masterpiece. Maybe once I see it again, which I will, I will find more negatives, but for now this film is almost perfect, almost.

Overall I would give this film a rating of 9 out of 10. 

The only way it could have been better was if, well actually, this film was just about perfect, but I’m leaving that 1 point out because I feel like there has yet to be a film that is perfect, but I’m waiting for the day.

Keep in mind, IMDB rated this film an 8.4 (one of the highest ratings I have EVER seen) and Rotten Tomatoes rated it an 85% (another high for Rotten Tomatoes). Please enjoy this film before reading any of the below. There are major spoilers and will ruin the magic of the film if you have yet to see it. If you have seen it, then please do read on.

* * * WARNING - THE FOLLOWING DOES INCLUDE MAJOR SPOILERS * * *

Rush is all about the people we hate to love. 

James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is an egocentric Formula One driver with the secret to wooing the ladies. He is the pinnacle of all that is racing. Soon his track is welcoming a new driver Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) with whom Hunt despises. Lauda and Hunt are in a vigorous battle to beat out the other causing their judgement to be skewed by their urge to win.

Through the years both men find love, Hunt finds Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde) and Lauda, with whom I find myself smitten for (sorry Hemsworth), finds himself marrying the lovely Marlene of which once did not even believe he was a Formula One driver. He proved her wrong. Anyways, with both men driven(pun intended) to win the prize, they lose sight of their wives. Lauda refuses to listen to his wife when she asks him not to race during the rain because of the dangers and Hunt convinces the racers to vote otherwise. The race goes on and Lauda pays for his decision to race in the rain over listening to his wife. Lauda crashes and ends up struggling back into racing. 

Warning, if you don’t like to see people in pain this part can come as hard to watch for you. Niki Lauda forces his helmet back on before his face is done healing and that part of the movie had me cringing. The slow process was near to impossible to watch. Well I’m starting to tell you the whole movie rather then my opinion so lets just skip to the end and sum this baby up.

In the end Hunt and Lauda find themselves at the pinnacle of all races and once again the rain pours down like the day of Lauda’s crash. The always arrogant James Hunt decides once again that he will race and Lauda, unwilling to lose to Hunt passes up judgement one more time, however; as the race plays out Lauda realizes that loosing his wife and himself is not worth it to win against his rival. Lauda pulls himself from the race resulting in Hunt winning the title. Even thought there was no crash on the track, Lauda’s move made me so happy. I expected to be upset that he let the a**hole Hunt win, but I was more proud of Lauda. 

As most movies based on a true story there is text at the end that explains what happened to the real life people after this part of their life, and well, it saddens me to say that there was only bad news for James Hunt. 

Sorry that this turned into a big plot summary with major spoilers, but if you have not seen the film and you still decided to read this far then what the heck are you doing silly? Get you bum to a theater and spend your money wisely by seeing this masterpiece! It is totally worth every cent. I am even going to go see it a second time when it comes out. 

Always,

Kirsten Nicole

Keeping Up With Kirsten

I know it’s been a few weeks since my last blog post, and I’m sorry for that. I have been so busy that my brain has failed to recognize the fact that I am neglecting to post. So this will be a Keeping Up With Kirsten post (of which I am only led to assume there will be a few more of in time to come).

Washington and Oregon Road-trip Continued...

A few weeks back I had mentioned that I was heading up to Washington to move my brother into his new home and get him all settled in for college. I followed up by posting a few photos from the road trip and the events as of that moment in time. Now, clearly it is past my trip and I have a lot to tell you.

photo courtesy of Google

The first day there was rather short. Since my father and I left our home in California around 7am we arrived in Washington at 10:30pm a mere 15 & 1/2 hours later. Yuck! I love road-trips, but that was the longest one I have been on to this day in my life and let me tell you... by the time we arrived you would have thought I ate some rather special brownies (of which I did not) because I was delirious and full of laughter. Ten-thirty at night felt like 2am and IHOP was clearly the only place to dine at that time of night. After food we met up with some family friends in order to borrow their blow-up mattresses since there were no beds in the house yet. A few episodes of F*R*I*E*N*D*S (sorry I had to type it like that) later and I was sound asleep.

I will not bore you with the hour to hour activities of the next few days because I don’t want to put you to sleep. There was a lot of painting, feng shuiing, patching holes, dusting, and just overall a lot of maintenance and repairs. When we first arrived at my brother’s place I have to admit I was nervous and a little hesitant of the place, but in the end once his stuff was all unpacked and the minor and major problems were fixed I was so excited for him and his roommates to live in such a cool home. 

This trip made me so ready for my big move from Northern California to Southern California. Even though my move is not as far, it is just as huge and life changing. I am so nervous to move, but ready to start a new adventure in my life. I am proud of my brother for moving to a place he has never lived with people he has never known prior. 

Congratulations on your new home Garrett!

Visiting My Friends, University, and AOll Sisters

On August 31st I drove to Sonoma State University of which I have now decided to transfer out of. It had been almost a month since the last time I visited my friends Aimee and Elisse and that stood for means of a road-trip. I drove up to Sonoma from my home on Saturday and spent the Labor Day weekend with them.

Over the few days I spent with them I was able to not only see their new apartment of which they share with each other, but also stay there. We had late night Walmart runs which consisted of me riding a bike around the garden section in order to test out the control of this adorable cruiser Aimee was looking into buying. 

http://www.verybestbaking.com/Toll-House.aspx

The next day we woke up and went straight back to Walmart to buy the bike. We brought some tools with us because we knew we would most likely have to take the front tire off in order to fit the bike into Aimee’s car. After about 10 minutes of trying alternate ways of fitting the bike into the car sans taking the tire off, as well as attempting to allen wrench the front wheel off, we decided we needed assistance. A lovely man from Walmart brought out some more tools of his own and after another 15 minutes of prying at the tires he was able to disjoint the front wheel from the rest of the bike. After that it was as simple as lifting the bike into the car. 

Once we dropped of Aimee’s new bike at their apartment we decided to go play some tennis. It was a lot of fun and sort of a biannual tradition for Aimee and I. Although after what felt like a lifetime in the hot sun (really only 30 minutes, haha) we decided to head back to her place to get ready for the Labor Day College-Style BBQ we were hosting. With burgers, buns, chips, cookies, and drinks in tow we started home. Now the reason we call this a College-Style BBQ is because Aimee and Elisse do not own an actual BBQ, so instead Aimee masterfully cooked the burgers on the stovetop. Needless to say everything was wonderful. And if you are ever looking for some easy 10 minute cookies that are to die for then I suggest you buy the Nestle Toll House Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough packages (pictured) from the store (we bought this as Safeway).

This trip also allowed me to visit my Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi which was going through Fall Recruitment’s Bid Day. Nerves were kicking in because I had not seen any of these women in over three months and was no longer a part of the chapter (I am an alumna) as well as the fact that they all had matching outfits and well... I was wearing the stark opposite. I walked up behind all of my sisters while the big reveals were happening and I tapped a sister on the shoulder. As soon as my sister turned around I got the biggest warmest hug ever. She screamed which drew attention and soon enough I was in a non-stop cycle of hugs and warmest welcome-backs. I was so happy I could have cried. Even though I was only gone for a few months they treated me like a sister still and that was the greatest feeling. I was able to receive a shirt and help set up some of the Bid Day festivities and meet some of the new sisters. Overall this night was a blast and I love and miss every one of my sisters. Alpha Love.

snapshot of my drive

It’s been three days since this trip ended and I miss Aimee and Elisse already. The late nights of nails, movies, popcorn, girl talk, boy talk ;) and Law and Order SVU was wonderful and I cannot wait until the next time I get to visit my friends and sisters up in Sonoma.

As For Now...

Now that we are up to date on my life I have one more thing to share. I am going on ANOTHER road-trip!!! Starting today... September 6th, I will be driving down to LA with my mom for a bridal shower for my cousin Rebecca. The theme of the shower is Pink and Bling, so of course I did my usual last minute shopping and found a shirt to wear for this special occasion. (I’ll post photos later of the entire pink/bling outfit) But of course no trip to Los Angeles is complete without Disneyland and the occasional random distraction of the city life.

Love Always,

Kirsten Nicole