Hotshots Movie Reviews
Hotshots Movie Reviews by Dan Culberson
“Rush” about Two Beautiful Drivers
Oct 6th
“Two Beautiful Drivers”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Rush is the latest film from Ron Howard, maker of many successful films, and it is about the 1976 Formula 1 championship race, which was notable because of the closeness of the race and the rivalry between the two competing drivers on different teams, James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
The races lasted all year long, and the championship that year came down to the final race held in Japan.
However, that year the intense race for the championship was unique in what happened in August to Lauda, the 1975 world champion.
Chris Hemsworth plays Hunt, the flamboyant playboy driver from England, and Daniel Bruhl plays Lauda, the methodical brilliant technician from Austria, who was a genius at setting up his car for a race.
The two drivers met in 1970 when they were both driving Formula 3 races, and Hunt tells his current girlfriend, “The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel.”
However, they both want to move up and drive the more prestigious, more glamorous, and more dangerous Formula 1 race cars, and because of his family background, Lauda gets a ride first with the successful Ferrari team.
Then Hunt quickly follows by signing with the McLaren team, and the race to the top of their sport is on.
Then the movie starts following each race in 1976, and with beautiful cinematography and excellent camera work we get a terrific feel for how tight, how dangerous, and how exciting Formula 1 racing is.
In the meantime, we meet the love interests of the two drivers, Suzy, played by Olivia Wilde, whom Hunt beds and weds, and Marlene, who eventually becomes Lauda’s wife.
Incidentally, there is a hitchhiking scene with Lauda and Marlene that is reminiscent of the hitchhiking scene in the 1934 It Happened One Night, but with a much funnier ending.
Hunt begins to have trouble at home as well as on the racetracks, and Lauda is affected by marriage, because he believes that “happiness is the enemy” and now he has something to lose, which is a distraction while he is racing.
And then comes the race in August in Germany which changes everything for both drivers.
By the way, you don’t have to be a racing fan to enjoy this tremendous film.
Rush is about not one, but two beautiful drivers.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Prisoners” Dark and Disturbing
Sep 29th
“Dark and Disturbing”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Prisoners is a disturbing movie in more ways than one.
The subject matter is disturbing, the action of the characters is disturbing, but most of all the ending is disturbing.
In fact, this movie is a prime example for one of those movies with alternate endings on the DVD version.
Hugh Jackman stars as Keller Dover, a survivalist who, when the movie opens, is out deer hunting with his teenage son.
On the way home, Keller tells his son the most important thing his own father ever taught him: “Be ready.”
Mario Bello plays Keller’s wife, they also have a daughter, Anna, who is six years old, and on Thanksgiving the whole family goes to dinner at the home of their friends and neighbors, Franklin and Nancy Birch, played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis.
After dinner, Anna and her best friend, Joy Birch, go off playing, and the next thing the parents know is that they don’t know where their daughters are.
A frantic search throughout the house, outside, and back at the Dovers’ house leads to nothing, except that a suspicious RV that had been parked in the neighborhood is now gone, too.
When the police get involved, the investigation is led by Detective Loki, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who has solved every case he has ever been assigned.
The only suspect is the driver of that RV, Alex Jones, played by Paul Dano, who is mentally challenged and lives with his aunt, played by Melissa Leo, but no evidence is found in the RV or at the aunt’s house.
The hours that Anna and Joy are missing become days, and Keller is so desperate that he begins following Alex, the only suspect the police had in the case, and he does more than just follow Alex.
We see a lot of police work from Detective Loki, there is a lot of rain that makes the story and the events even darker, and a couple of suspicious characters lead to nothing.
In fact, at some point in the movie, you might come to the conclusion that the movie goes on too long and is far more dramatic than it need be.
But what an ending it has, and as I said, it could even have more than one ending.
Prisoners is disturbing from beginning to end.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“In a World…” Is Too Amateurish
Sep 20th
“Too Amateurish”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
In a World… takes its title from the opening words made famous by legendary voiceover artist Don LaFontaine from the many promos and movie previews he recorded in Hollywood.
Lake Bell wrote, directed, and stars as Carol Solomon in this film about the voiceover industry in Hollywood, which we are told is sexist, in that very few women are used as voiceover artists.
Now, we know how Hollywood likes to make movies about itself, but if most of those self-absorbed movies are about as interesting as insiders inspecting their own belly buttons, this one about an aspect of Hollywood that is less known than making films themselves is, could be dismissed as being so self-absorbed and self-indulgent that it is as interesting as insiders inspecting their belly buttons and their toes for toe jam.
However, it does contain some subplots that are intended to make the film more interesting, such as the lousy way that Carol’s father treats her and her older sister, Danielle.
For example, at the beginning of the movie Carol is living at home with her widowed father, who comes home one day and tells Carol, “Jamie is going to be moving in, you’re going to have to find another place to live.”
Jamie is Sam’s girlfriend, and she is the stereotypical dumb blonde bimbo, a character included in movies written by lazy writers to get some cheap laughs.
So, Carol, who makes her living as a vocal coach, moves in with her sister, who works as a concierge at a fancy hotel.
However, Carol would like to break into the voiceover business, where Sam is well known and respected as a voiceover artist.
A search is on for a voiceover artist to record the promos for an upcoming series of films known as The Amazon Games, and Carol would like to get that gig, knowing that her father desperately wants that job himself.
Then there are other subplots involving Louis, an engineer at the recording studio where Carol works, who would like to go out with Carol, but he is too shy to ask, and a guest at the hotel where Danielle works is interested in Danielle, which causes problems in Danielle’s personal life.
The main plot and all the subplots are like belly buttons and toe jam.
In a World… is too amateurish.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
