The Great Farce that is August Rush

Unbelievable. This is a Academy-nominated film and is rated decently on IMDB. What a farce. Like the main character's made-up name, August Rush, the film's truly a fake.

I give props to the decent acting and the wonderful soundtrack, which was soulful and emotionally wrenching. Rarely will I ever complain if the movie's too short, but August Rush is really more like a musical rather than a movie. The important parts are too rushed and most parts of the movie feels surreal, almost too surreal and too unbelievable. Not in a fictitious manner, but how everything can fall into place so perfectly.

What's truly unfathomable is also how August Rush picks up an acoustic guitar and plays like a pro immediately. And I do mean IMMEDIATELY. Musicians all over know that this is bullcrap, that even how musically inclined you are born to be, it takes practice, practice and more practice to be technically skilled to play ANY musical instrument.

In the movie, August Rush took ONE day to learn that and be able to busk in the streets like a pro. What's the most laughable is that you can clearly see an adult's hand playing the guitar whenever there's a zoom in to the guitar-playing. I can see the wrinkles on the hands for ****'s sake!!

The director could spend just a little more time to develop the story and show the process of him picking it up gradually, that would help! Even if the director wanted to make August Rush's talent come naturally, nothing is more realistic than making him having to sweat over it and showing that he is human like us!

Shockingly, an Academy nominated movie that lasted slightly less than 2 hours, when this Oliver Twist inspired movie could've been so much more if the development of the story was milked and set at a slower pace.

What was Wizard's story? Was he an orphan who got put in so many different places that has him bitter over life? What happens eventually for Mr Jeffries? What was his role in the end? Believable that no one in the hospital bothered to inform Keri Russell's character (Lyla) that her baby DID NOT DIE? Jonathan Rhys-Meyer's character (Louis) didn't really try hard enough to look for Lyla? And the ending! We all know how predictable it was gonna turn out, then they shut the lights on us when the movie was climaxing. Poor poor poor! How did it manage to get nominated at all? It is truly a Oliver Twist wannabe movie. I wonder how did Robin Williams put his name to this movie at all. Maybe he is the only saving grace.

After reading the reception of the movie in wikipedia, I felt a sense of relief as I found out that I'm not the only one who is able to look through the farce of a movie. After watching hundreds of movies, I'm so glad my radar for bad movies is still working.

Rating: 5.5/10 - It goes mainly to the soundtrack and the acting. Huge points deducted for the hype and the above negatives.