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Daniel Bruhl

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VOD film review: Next Door (2021)

October 4, 2021 |

Daniel Brühl stars and directs in this playful, spiky two-hander.Read More

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The Alienist: A dark crime drama dripping with dread

April 17, 2018 |

This grippingly dark crime drama is dripping with dread.Read More

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VOD film review: Inglourious Basterds

March 6, 2017 |

Tarantino’s stylish, striking revision of world history is impressive but uneven.Read More

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VOD film review: A Most Wanted Man

September 13, 2016 |

Philip Seymour Hoffman is superbly understated in this riveting, slow-burn spy thriller. Read More

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VOD film review: The Colony

July 1, 2016 |

Elevated by an excellent cast, this is an engaging drama that shines a deserving light on an unknown chapter of history.Read More

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VOD film review: The Fifth Estate

February 22, 2014 |
the fifth estate VOD film review

The film’s real failing is it has no idea whose tale it is telling.Read More

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VOD film review: Rush

January 20, 2014 |
irector: Ron Howard Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde Certificate: 15 "25 people start and each year, two die." That's James Hunt (Hemsworth) explaining Formula One. It sounds exciting but in real life, it's far from it. Cars going around in circles for hours on end? It's repetitive. Boring, even. You'd expect Rush, then, a film about exactly that, to be just as dull. It isn't. On the big screen, it's far from it. "What kind of person does a job like this?" continues Hunt. Rush finds out. And the answer is thrilling. Reuniting after Frost/Nixon, director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan cook up the same heated rivalry between two very different men: hunky Brit playboy Hunt and the ruthlessly logical Niki Lauda (Bruhl). Brushing up against each other in Formula Three, they both buy their way into the big league - polar opposites destined to attract trouble. As with their last collaboration, there are contrivances. Changing details for dramatic convenience, what could have been a biopic has been streamlined with machine-tooled precision. Morgan hasn't just written a film: he's crafted a collision course. Fortunately, it's one between two fantastic actors. Lining up to crash, the two leads flesh out their roles, giving the on-rails script real dramatic horsepower. The magnetic Bruhl is cool and driven as Lauda - it's hard to believe this is the same boy who starred in Good Bye Lenin! all those years ago - while Hemsworth is electric as Hunt, a man whose life makes his reckless driving look restrained. All hair and teeth, when he's on screen, it's impossible to look anywhere else. Howard uses these characters to hook us into his broadly familiar tale, giving us a reason to care about the cold machines driving in circles. He doesn't skimp on those, either: expertly cutting together archive footage, new set pieces and CGI work, the race scenes sizzle as though Tony Scott were behind the camera. And when things go wrong (as they inevitably do) and people get caught in the flames, the emotional impact is as powerful as the adrenaline rush beforehand. There are occasional skids - some burn make-up looks straight out of BBC's Casaulty, while, like Formula One, it feels a tad overlong - but Hemsworth and Bruhl are too charismatic for you to care. Supported by immaculate period detail - Hunt's hair, the jumpsuits, Olivia Wilde's model girlfriend and did I mention the hair? - Rush is a finely-tuned clash of egos, which matches sentiment with speed. Formula One may be boring in real life, but Howard's drama is engaging enough to entertain non-fans of the sport - even with its inaccuracies, a mark of success. Hunt strokes his car early on, while seducing his future wife. "It’s a bomb on wheels," he purrs. That's exactly what Rush is. Your heart will be ticking every minute.

Ron Howard’s streamlined story of Formula 1 rivalry delivers a thrilling rush of adrenaline.Read More

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