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Movie Review: Rush

    Hey, everyone. We had a nice day today. Carley and I were both off so we went to a movie and ate out afterwards. What movie did you see, you might have asked? Well, we went to see the racing movie called Rush. It stars Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda.
     This is based on a true story about two Formula 1 drivers during the 1970's. It is one of those deals where one guy meets another and there is an instant dislike between the two. Heck, let's just call it hate, because that is what it was. At the time of their meeting they are both in the minor leagues of racing and like everyone else, they wanted a ride with a major corporation in Formula 1. James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is the king of the circuit until Niki (Bruhl) shows up. Bruhl is a guy who has little (none) in the way of social skills but is very sharp at setting up cars and is a cool, precise driver. James is the polar opposite, a party guy, a chick magnet and 'live for today, for tomorrow we die' sort of fellow. I suspect they hated each other because there was envy for each others' gifts.
       Niki begins to win races and a rivalry is born. The clever Niki, whose dad is a banker, wrangles enough coin to get his own car and team together. He quickly improves the cars' performance and irritates everyone, two of his gifts.
     When James lands on the Formula 1 circuit with McClaren and Niki is with Ferrari, they dominate the tracks. Niki becomes World Champion while James has a few struggles with car performance... and women.
     I found the movie to be very good. I'd recommend it to anyone, whether a racing fan or not. I must confess that as I heard the high-pitched whine of the engines and the music of well-done gear changes, I felt the old thrill of driving too fast. I understand, perhaps just a bit, what 'drives' these guys. I raced a bit in my youth, just drag races at midnight on a four-lane, and I can remember laughing out loud at the feeling, the Rush, as I came off the line when someone flagged us off with their shirt. Stupid to risk an accident? Sure. Would I recommend it for people? No. Would I be P.O.'d at my kids for it? Sure. One of the few consolations of old age is a bit more sense.
      As this movie progressed, I respected a thing or two that Niki did that flies in the face of macho bull**** everywhere. There are some life lessons to be learned here. I don't want to drop a spoiler on y'all, but go see it if you can. You can probably take your lady without getting her too mad. After all, Chris Hemsworth doesn't need a hammer to be eye candy for the girls, does he? I noticed an abundance of ladies in attendance and I thought that it was because of Chris. Two of the women I talked to were, in fact, racing fans. One was a member of a Porsche Club. So, I displayed my ignorance of women once again. They, and Carley, liked the movie very much, by the way. One more thing, Chris Hemsworth, like Brad Pitt, is a heck of a good actor and much more than eye candy. To me, he'll always be the perfect Thor, though. But, if Thor drove a race car, he'd drive it like James Hunt. Haven't you ever heard of a guy "putting the hammer down"? Ha, ha.
    Check back later in the weekend, if you have time. From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.

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