Rushlights

This is a pretty good thriller as well as a mystery that takes many twists and turns with some unexpected surprises along the way. And the surprises don't end when the movie does.

I was going to say Crispian Belfrage, whoever that is, gave the standout performance. As drug dealer Eddie he looks and talks like Keith Urban, if Urban didn't shave for a while and let his hair grow even longer and was an angry blue-collar soccer fan from Liverpool. And was hoarse from too much singing.

But, no. While both Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn did good jobs early, they really showed what they were capable of later. Especially Bridges.

I'm not familiar with Haley Webb but she showed quite a range, starting out cute and nice but then having to be strong in the face of danger. Plus there is one close-up of her in her underwear. I do wonder why if it was so hot she was wearing shorts on one of the nights, why was she covered up so much in bed the other nights?

I saw the name Joel McKinnon Miller in the credits but couldn't remember who that was. He is the warm and fuzzy if incompetent senior detective Scully on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". He isn't warm and fuzzy here and in fact, in a brief role, he gets quite angry and violent.

There's quite a contrast between lawyers here. Cameron is professional and seems honest and moral. Once you see Philip Lenkowsky knowing he plays a lawyer, you know he is exactly who you want if you intend to sue for a lot of money and don't care what you have to do to win.

We also get two types of waitresses. Sarah is cute and friendly but she is in the big city. The small town sassy blonde waitress is found in Tremo, and at first I thought she was Amy Poehler. She just looks like her.

Is this family friendly? I don't think so. There may have been some details missing when this was cleaned up for TV. A lot of words certainly were. But there were references to being gay and suggestions of something that would have ruined the reputation of the respected Niles whose fortune was supposed to go to Ellen. Plus there is some violence, but not a lot considering the type of movie. The bloodiest scenes involve a body wrapped in a sheet and being dragged, with blood dripping all along the way, and someone being shipped in the way slaves were in "Roots".

Most of the music was not my taste. A couple of songs were what I would describe as "real country". Most of the music, including a lot of the background music, was a style related to blues and classic rock. This might be what is referred to as "roots" music. A less aggressive version of the style can be a part of bluegrass.

Overall, this was really well done, and while not ideal for me, quite exciting at times.

As the owner of a Ford Ranchero, I always get excited whenever I see a Ford Ranchero in a movie, therefore, I got all excited when the blue 1973 Ford Ranchero first showed up in this movie. In real life, Ford Ranchero owners do not appreciate their vehicles being called an El Camino. Not that we have anything against the Chevrolet El Camino, we just feel that people need to know better, especially if you have one in a movie. The '73 Ranchero in this movie repeatedly gets called a '67 El Camino. That really upset me, especially since it was the most talked about vehicle in the movie. Anybody's defense cannot be that it looks like an El Camino, because El Caminos look like Ranchero. The Ranchero was introduced in 1957 whereas the El Camino wasn't made until 1959. I understand that the story doesn't really have anything to do with cars, but they need to get these simple facts straight.

Mark Leeper from the ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY gives Rushlights a 6 out of 10, compares it to "early Cohen Brothers". While I agree with the Cohen Brothers likeness, my vote stands at a strong 8 out of 10. Rushlights is a solid, at times exceptional thriller. Director Antoni Stutz has a unique, talented eye - you can see right away that an artist is at work. In addition the acting is top-notch, however I think the script is a bit over the top. It'll be very interesting to see what project Stutz picks next, considering Rushlights is his first feature. Over the years, one sees a lot of first timers come and go - in this case, I'm certainly taking notice.

Sofia Peterson

The plot of this film is so ridiculous, it really is camp. The twists and turns are ridiculous. Josh Henderson is damn cute/hot and kept me tuned in. Most of the acting is over the top, and gives this movie a surreal feeling. The lighting is very,'TV movie of the week,'as are the sets. Watch only at 4a.m. when you can't sleep.

Where do I start? First the positives. The performances are okay but nothing memorable. Beautifully shot by Gregg Easterbrook giving a proper carmine tone to reflect the proceedings taking place in a small dusty Texas town. The score is slightly ambitious and overbearing for a flick that with few cuts and ADR should be perfect as Lifetime offering.

Nothing original about the plot. Girl (Haley Webb) meets a drifter (all smoldering Josh Henderson), become lovers with just bat of an eye and intense gaze and somehow construed to conned their way to riches only to find obstacles in shape of town Sheriff (Beau Bridges) with his deputy Earl (Jordan Bridges) in tow. I bet Bridges told the producers he will work for half the pay for price of two Bridges. The grifters also had to contend with the appearance of maniacal Edward (Crispian Belfrage) looking for the share of the loot.

Rushlights aim to be the type of B-grade noirish we used to get plentiful of in late 80's and early 90's with smattering of violence, characters with hidden agenda and oodles of nudity to cover for the familiarity of the plot and distract us until the final twist. Only that Rushlights lacked nearly all the ingredients listed. The flick needed something to make it a standout in the genre. Violence is minimal. Sleazy factor is zero. Shocking scenes to jolt us out of stupor.

Tacked on climax(es) is just plain ridiculous.

Aidan Quinn was pretty absorbing with his Texan lawyer persona. The guy needs to be a regular player on TV-circuit than merely being guest stars and supporting roles in films.

Josh is safe from unemployment thanks to TV's Dallas. He needs to put in more effort beyond getting in someone face or staring at them like they stole his bicycle or something.

English actor Crispian doesn't bother to hide his accent but comes off best especially in scenes with Haley which itself felt restrained when you needed the pair cat-and-mouse game to be more graphic in nature.

As a fan of film nudity, there is nothing from lovely Haley. Strangely, I would been disappointed if she went nude. I think she is way too talented to be involved in this middling effort. She got nothing to work with here. Her ability to emote in dramatic scenes is wasted on such a thin material worsened by flimsy clichéd dialogues. It's time for Haley to take a chance and step out of her comfort zone before it's too late. Young actresses have expiry date in youth-obsessed Hollywood.