Peter Pluymers "Rush Lights" is a mediocre movie and for once the design and interpretation are not really the weak point. The storyline however is terribly simplistic and looks like a regular TV series. Often it seemed like I was watching an old episode of "Matlock" or "Columbus" cause it was so average and uninspiring almost during the whole movie. Then the unbelievable coincidences started to appear at a furious pace. I was just waiting for the next nonsense that they came up with.The performances and the displayed images need no criticism. The town Tremo is a small village in the middle of nowhere in Texas. It's a dusty place and it seems as if time stood still there. You can still look at the horizon while standing somewhere on a hill and when you're standing at the wrong place where at that moment an old Buick or Cadillac is speeding away, you can be sure that weeks later the sand is still gritting your teeth. So visually it looks acceptable. The fact that they managed to incorporate Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn is a positive thing.There is no doubt about the experience that both gentlemen have, given their huge list of films on their resumé. They are also the only two compelling actors and stand their ground in this crooked story. Josh Henderson as "Bill" isn't out of place in this movie. As I said earlier, it looks more like an episode of some TV series. And that's exactly the kind of thing he has a lot of experience in. Usually, his acting was fine but at times it was quite hesitant and faintly. Haley Webb acting as "Sarah" didn't thrill me that much. She looks absolutely stunning (besides the fact that she has such a weird crooked smile sometimes) but sometimes has a tendency to over-act. Despite their limited experience in feature films, they do ensure that their characters look credible.Where does this movie actually fail? It's the storyline, the conduct and that stupid ending that screws up the overwhelmingly positive feeling I had about this movie. The initial setup is actually average. Billy and Sarah meet and start a relationship. It goes terribly wrong when a friend of Sarah dies from an overdose. It's a bizarre coincidence they look like twins and Billy comes with the brilliant idea to use that benefit and cash an inheritance of the deceased. After arriving in Tremo it turns out this is not so easy and some secrets from the past start to reveal themselves. And from then on it's just a series of astonishing facts. *** SPOILER ALERT***Lets start with a little summary of some ridiculous things : - To receive a plain simple package here in Belgium I need to show my ID. So I'm pretty sure there is a bit more needed concerning an inheritance then just a quick check of the ID by a lawyer. And especially when it comes to an inheritance involving a significant value of real estate. - The family lawyer turns out to be closer to the family than he expected. Ignorant as he was in all those years, he can understand the whole thing by simply reading a letter from the deceased rich man and recognizing the handwriting of his mother. And in a magical moment the plot is very very clear to him. - While Sarah and Billy are passionately kissing, a shotgun falls down on the floor, goes off and miraculously hits an unknown person standing behind the window. - A burglar loses in a clumsy way a DVD with compromising material on it. The recordings show that the rich guy had some kind of gay relationship with his bastard son (This part wasn't made that clear in the movie) - Billy is looking in the yellow pages for another lawyer for a consultation. Turns out to be the lawyer the rich guy visited to change his will. What a coincidence. - A dealer is chasing the two lovebirds to collect his money. At first he kind of get killed. I was sure about that after seeing the cloth he's wrapped in, completely soaked with blood. He's thrown in the trunk of the car and then still appears at the end to claim once again his money. But then the unfortunate fellow suffers a heart attack. Isn't life a bitch ?Probably there are even more of those facts that can be added to the list. So concerning the content it feels a bit plain and it seems as if they had a lot of ideas and possibilities after a brainstorm session and put them all in this movie. Too bad, because ultimately the visual part wasn't that bad.More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

OJT I had heard nothing about Rushlights before I saw it, and sometimes that's a treat. And so it was, this time! It's an exciting and entertaining flick just for entertainment. It succeeds in entertaining me. A touch of Coen-brothers, a touch of Twin Peaks and a bit of films like "Shallow grave", "head above water", "True romance" or "U Turn".A young couple meet each other as waitress and customer in a bar. A week later they are a couple, and a tragedy struck. By coincidence they get a following idea, and goes to the small town of Tremo in Texas, which keeps the suspense high for the rest if the movie.Both main actors, Haley Webb and Josh Henderson are really good in their roles as the cute young couple, and their job are weighed well on great roles by Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn. The rest of the cast is just as good. It reminds me of the best crime flicks I watched back in the eighties, as it's got some kind of retro feel.I love the pace, the filming, the twist and turns, the cars, all the bad people and the Texas heat. And when the actors are doing such a fine job as well, there's a lot to enjoy.This is writer and director Antoni Stutz's second feature film, and obviously a large step up from the first. Everything about the film I would say is well made, maybe except from a sound mixing that could have been better. It's also funny that everybody, even the owner, mistakes the stolen pick up truck for a El Camino, when clearly is a Ford Ranchero.

vannemic So, I was waiting on seeing this movie since I loved the casting and actor lineup for it. All I can say is "saw it and loved it." The whole plot of this film was great. I love movies where there are cons being played and a lot of twists and turns that take the viewer for a ride. There is plenty of action to satisfy any thrill seeker and enough good story to keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more. I especially loved the performances by Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn. They are a couple of my favorites and it was so great seeing them in a film together and playing in this type of film. This movie is a must see for anyone!

Valentine Thomas Rushlights stars Josh Henderson and Haley Webb as an unscrupulous young couple trying to pull off a seemingly simple con; all they have to do is drive to Texas, pass Webb off as a recently deceased acquaintance, collect an inheritance, and skip town before anyone gets wise. Of course, if the con really were that simple, there'd be no movie, so Henderson and Webb end up getting wrapped up in some predictable small-town intrigue involving Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn—middle-aged brothers who are, respectively, the town's sheriff and its top lawyer.Unabashedly pulpy, Rushlights brings to mind the noir chap's churned out by the studios of Hollywood's Poverty Row in the early 1950s. It has a few of the better qualities of sub-B noir—above-average camera-work, a rogues gallery of bit players—and all of the flaws. It even has the sort of slipshod pacing—complete with abrupt, anticlimactic dissolves—that is usually associated with productions trying to conserve film stock.Whatever pleasure could be derived from the movie's generically twisty plotting is negated by cardboard characterization, indifferent editing rhythms, and a score that sounds like it was pulled from a production music library. Henderson and Webb are non-presences cast in roles that are less characters than collections of plot twists; because Rushlights spends so much time on two protagonists that nobody bothered to write or play, it ends up feeling overlong (even the blandest '50s quickies at least had the virtue of only running an hour). As if to make up for the blandness, director/co-writer Antoni Stutz—whose only prior feature is the Traci Lords/Julie Bowen vehicle You're Killing Me—throws in a lot affected violence; pseudo-shocking stranglings, stabbings, and bludgeons are a regular occurrence. As a result, the movie resembles a flavorless meal doused with hot sauce.