Runner Runner (2013)

Year: 2013

Running Time: 91 minutes

Director: Brad Furman

Writers: Brian Koppelman and David Levien

Cast: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie

 

Runner Runner is now showing in Australia and is distributed by Fox. Also now showing in the UK and opening in the USA on 4 October 2013.

 

Runner Runner is the perfect definition of cinema mediocrity.

 

Neither bad, nor good and can't seem to move from that line right down the middle between the two. There is nothing terrible about it, but nothing mind blowing either. There is the potential for it to progress to the good film part of the spectrum, but the screenplay and Brad Furman's direction doesn't permit this advancement to take place and just let's Runner Runner become a completely forgettable film and a film all involved would rather forget.

 

Princeton student, Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake), who made the mistake of relying on his winnings from an online poker game to pay his college fees, travels to Costa Rica to meet with the man who's website he lost his money on. He believes there is someone on the site who is cheating people out of their winnings and wants to approach owner, the elusive Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) face to face to tell him. Block is impressed by what he learns about Richie and offers him the opportunity to work for him, which he immediately accepts. Richie has the time of his life in Costa Rica enjoying the high life and his new romance with Block's close confidant, Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), until he realises that he may have become involved in activities that are less than ethical and legal, and that he is also the one being played.

 

When you stand back and look at the breakdown of Runner Runner, you can see how much could have been done with this film. The combination of an uneventful screenplay and Furman not knowing what to do with the opportunities that are there makes this film not at all suspenseful and just bland. Sadly, the film seems to think that it is much more exciting than what it is. Everything points to the ending being some amazing breakthrough, except for the fact that there was no tension at all and nothing strong about the delivery. The dialogue is filled with metaphors rather than the characters just getting to the point and saying what they mean, which is both irritating and pretentious. It is as though the script is trying to make the film intelligent and clever, but just goes the opposite way.

 

Perhaps the only real saving grace which the film has is that it is quite attractive to watch. It makes Costa Rica seem like a perfect holiday destination and the high life which the characters are living does look visually attractive. Funnily enough, Runner Runner is a bit like a relaxing holiday itself. It is a little too laid back and it just coasts along through the 90 minutes. Qualities that are great for a holiday, but not so great for a film.The musical score isn't bad and reminds us that we are watching a thriller.



Justin Timberlake doesn't seem comfortable in this role. It doesn't feel as though he fits into the character at all and one feels that with another lead man Runner Runner may have been more of a success.. The first 15 minutes of the film are actually very reminiscent of his role in The Social Network, as it is his Sean Parker in college. He and Gemma Arterton have absolutely no on screen chemistry at all, and Arterton herself really doesn't have much to work with. Ben Affleck doesn't do badly in his role as Ivan Block, but there is so much more that could have been done with his role but he is just not given the opportunity. He has one scene where the mean streak in his character appears and it starts to get interesting, but at no time after that is he able to show that streak again. The film would have benefited so much more by the character going further and having an interesting villain, but Ivan Block isn't all that intriguing, even though you are waiting for him to be so.

One forgets that Runner Runner is supposed to be a thriller, in much the same way that people will forget that this film ever existed.

4/10


You may have also seen Justin Timberlake in....
The Social Network as Sean Parker

You may have also seen Ben Affleck in......
Argo as Tony Mendez

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Song For Marion as Elizabeth

Rush (2013)

Year: 2013

Running Time: 122 minutes

Director: Ron Howard

Writer: Peter Morgan

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara

Rush opens in Australian cinemas on 3rd October and is distributed by Hopscotch Films. Now showing in the UK and opening in the USA on 27th September 2013.

Rush is absolutely the ultimate film for Formula One fans. It is completely impossible to be a fan of F1 and not have an incredible two hours with this film.

This isn't to say that if you are not a fan of this mode of car racing that you will not also enjoy Rush. Ron Howard's latest film is incredibly suspenseful and immaculately made It is also a very good character study of two of the most intriguing figures in motor sport history and an extremely comprehensive retelling of the story of their rivalry.

In the early 1970's, two aspiring drivers meet for the first time in Formula Three racing and quickly become rivals, never letting the other out of their sight. Austrian, Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) is extremely serious about his racing and life in general and always plays by the rules. Englishman, James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is the complete opposite, as he enjoys the wild lifestyle of drinking and women and the only thing he takes seriously is winning. The 1976 Formula One season was legendary for these two for the fierce battle for the world championship and also for how close one of them came to death during the war.

Rush is not purely about the sport of Formula One racing and more about the lives and personalities of Niki Lauda and James Hunt, so it is not to say that if you are not a racing fan you won't enjoy it. Although it does help to have a love of the sport in order to get the most out of this film. The racing jargon and personalities are what F1 fans will be used to hearing and watching and are presented with great care. Rush is absolutely the best car racing movie which has been released in years.

The story of these two is an extraordinary one and it is astonishing the lengths they both went to in order to be victorious over the other. The screenplay by Peter Morgan, who has previously teamed up with Ron Howard when he wrote the screenplay for Frost/ Nixon , delves into the characters of Lauda and Hunt so we get to know the two of them in great detail before the film is finished. The only thing one might feel is perhaps even though so much is covered, some important aspects of the character's lives are just skimmed across and not given as much as we would like to see. As the film is for entertainment, there are certain aspects of the rivalry and the character's personalities that are enhanced, but for the large part Rush does remain true to life.

Howard's direction is wonderful. The film is very atmospheric as a result of the sounds, visuals and cinematography. The time period of the 1970's is very well recreated and you actually feel like you are right beside the track smelling the burnt rubber of the tyres and in the crowd of people enjoying life in that particular decade. The sound editing is particularly outstanding and the recreation of the racing scenes are superb. There is some really beautiful cinematography involved in these scenes. The slow motion shots of the cars in the rain and the photography around the track is wonderful. The soundtrack for the film is also perfect for the ambitious and competitive atmosphere of the film.

Both Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl do very well in their roles. Bruhl's Lauda is perhaps more interesting to watch as Hunt comes across as rather one dimensional in comparison, and thus Bruhl comes up with a slight edge and gives a better performance than Hemsworth. However, in saying this, Rush is quite possibly Hemsworth's best performance to date. Neither character is particularly likable for the large part of the film, but this is where the F1 personalities play a great part. In order to be as successful as these two men were at their chosen sport, there was a degree of selfishness and arrogance they both needed to have to succeed. In this way, Howard has got out of these two actors what is expected of them playing F1 drivers.

Rush is a wonderful character study of both Niki Lauda and James Hunt. F1 fans will be absolutely thrilled with what they see here and it is a must see for any sport movie fan.

8/10


You may have also seen Chris Hemsworth in.....
The Avengers and Thor as Thor
Snow White and The Huntsman as The Huntsman

Chatting with Captain of the Snapple Command himself, Karl Lentini

Writer, producer, director, composer and actor.

This is the superhuman effort of Karl Lentini in his latest feature film, Cleaver's Destiny which will be premiering at the Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena, CA this Friday the of 27th September. Lentini's film is about to embark on it's one week run at the Playhouse and audiences will finally get to see this feature film which has been years in the making.

Cleaver's Destiny is the tale of a troubled eighteen year old girl, Amy (Jenny Leona di Gennaro) who wants to find her long lost father who she has just found out was a Gulf War veteran. When she does find her father, Bill (played by Lentini), she finds he is not only homeless, but also has dementia and does no memory of her at all. Amy makes it her duty to expose him to people and places he has been to in order to restore his memory.

When asked where the idea for Cleaver's Destiny came from, Lentini explained that it all started with a short comedy film which he had made around twenty years earlier about the antics of an eccentric homeless man. This film was the beginning of Bill Cleaver, otherwise known as Captain of the Snapple Command, as he spent his days collecting Snapple bottles which people had thrown out.

 "Over time I was thinking more and more about this character and maybe he had a daughter who he had lost contact with, and maybe he was in the military" Lentini said. "I decided to make it into the movie and that it should be the daughter looking for him"

In preparation for the role of Bill, Lentini dressed up as though he was homeless himself and went out into the streets of Los Angeles, where he lives and where the film is also set, to get a glimpse into the life of those like Bill. He also said that "just being in L.A. means you get to observe the homeless in a big way".

Cleaver's Destiny was shot over a 14 day period in 2008. As Lentini was the writer, producer, composer, director and actor in the film, he admitted that the biggest challenge he had to deal with was the exhaustion. "The biggest challenge was being mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted because I was putting out so much" he said.

However, he is now able to see the more rewarding side of his hard work. Cleaver's Destiny has received rave reviews leading up to it's premiere on Friday night. Lentini is also quick to praise his leading actress, Jenny Leona di Gennaro, who is not only receiving critical acclaim for her role in the film, but has also since graduated from The Julliard School in New York.

Lentini, who is originally from New York, studied at Boston University's film school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in 1991. It was when he first saw Star Wars when he was a child that inspired him to work in film, a film which is still one of his favourites. He admits that he is not following the rumours circulating about the seventh Star Wars film as he would much rather be surprised and enjoy the film for what it is when it is released.

"I would love to someday make a sci-fi film" Lentini said. "But with a real emphasis of character like in this film".

Cleaver's Destiny will be screening at the Laemmle Playhouse Pasadena, CA from the 27th September-3rd October 2013. Karl Lentini will be participating in Q & A sessions at the 7:50pm screenings on the 27th and 28th of September.  Please see here for more information on times and tickets.

Thankyou to Karl Lentini for his time and having a chat to us about his film and we wish him the very best of luck with Cleaver's Destiny. Thankyou also to Amy Prenner of The Prenner Group and Monica Busby of Quantum Leap Entertainment.