RUSH

Last week I went to see RUSH at the movie theater. For those who have not heard of it yet, I will give a short summary of the plot. The film is based on a real story, more precisely on the beginning of Niki Lauda’s career as a racecar driver. The plot mainly focuses on the rivalry between Niki Lauda and the British driver James Hunt. While Lauda is portrayed as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist, Hunt was more of a charismatic playboy. Both were exceptionally skilled and determined to win the Formula One world championship in 1976.  This was also the year when Niki Lauda’s horrific car accident took place…

I will not give any more details, but I absolutely recommend the movie to all of you. Even though I am really not into Formula One and I have to admit I have not even seen an entire race in my life, the movie completely captivated me. Furthermore,  even if you are Austrian and therefore are partly familiar with Niki Lauda’s story, the movie is still very exciting and thrilling.

Here are some more reasons why it is a good idea to watch the movie:

1. Considering how rare it is that an international film about an Austrian person is shot, I think we ought to watch it and be familiar with the person’s story.

Brühl and Hemsworth

2. It is a really catchy and entertaining movie. In addition, there are some aspects which make the movie extremely interesting from a psychological point of view, for example: the differences between Hunt and Lauda, their rivalry, but also their respect for each other, as well as Lauda’s willpower after his accident.

Hunt and Lauda

3. Personally, I was impressed by how accurately the actors Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth impersonated Lauda and Hunt. Especially after having seen a documentary on the making of the film, which featured some real video material, I realized how well they acted. Apart from looking very similar, also their behavior and even speech was very well adapted. I know that impersonating a person is an actor’s job, but the direct comparison still impressed me.




Here is a short clip that shows interviews with Brühl, Hemsworth, director Ron Howard and Niki Lauda. The interviews were conducted at the film's premiere in London. Try to pay attention to Niki Lauda's accent and the way Brühl tries to imitate it. It is even more evident in the movie and I can only agree with most critics who say that Brühl did an incredible job in terms of speech adaption.

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

After several missed opportunities I finally managed to watch “The Hobbit” and I really enjoyed it. It drew me into Middle Earth in an instant, as the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy did. In my view, these movies and the world they build up are just stunning. And what makes the three LoR movies even more special is that they were actually shot ten years ago (!), in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (yeaa I know, we’re getting old, right?). However, they are still great to watch and have a very high quality.

Now back to "The Hobbit". I’d like to tell you what I thought about the movie, so for those of you who haven’t seen it yet: I’ll try not to spoil anything, but I’ll write about a few scenes of the movie; just so you know in advance.

One of the scenes I really enjoyed was a chase in an underground network of tunnels and caverns built by orks. I found this scene very entertaining, especially when it comes to the dynamics of events.

Furthermore, the part of the movie when the huge eagles, which we already know from the LoR movies, made their appearance captivated me. I still regret not having seen this in a movie theatre because I bet it was even more impressing on a big screen.

A scene that started out quite funny was the one when Bilbo and Gollum/Smeagol met. Some parts of Gollum’s schizophrenic soliloquies were hilarious. Also I’m in awe of actor Andy Serkis, who manages to make these monologues sound like a conversation and provides this character with an incredible voice.

Here's an interesting interview with Andy Serkis in which he explains how he "found" Gollum's voice:

And this video shows part of Bilbo's first encounter with Gollum. 

Another remarkable thing came to my mind at the end of the movie. The plot centers on Bilbo going on an adventure with Gandalf and 13 dwarfs and I realized that throughout the entire movie (169 minutes) only ONE woman, the elf Galadriel, is somehow of importance. I think she even is the only woman who actually had a speaking part! As a result of this, the movie lacked romantic moments, but it was very entertaining and definitely fun to watch.

For those of you who haven’t seen The Hobbit yet, I warmly recommend watching it. And those who already know the movie are welcome to leave comments about their personal favorite scenes of the Hobbit.

And by the way – the second part is supposed to be released on December 12, 2013 – I can’t wait for the journey to continue…