March 18, 2008

Review: August Rush

'August Rush' is one of those soppy, predictable, uplifting movie that you can't help but fall in love with!

The main character in the movie is Evan Taylor played by talented Freddie Highmore (from 'Finding Neverland' and 'The Spiderwick Chronicles'). Evan is being raised in an orphanage with no contact with his parents.

Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Evan's parents were a famous concert cellist named Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell), and Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an Irish guitarist and lead singer from a rock band. They met and fell in love in one night, but through a series of events, were separated. Late in her pregnancy, Lyla was in a car accident and was told by her father (William Sadler) that her child didn't survive.

Evan believes that by creating and playing music, it will bring him back to his parent. So he runs away from the orphanage and head out to New York where he meets some colorful characters who teach him music.

Although some people might scoff at the logical flaws of the movie, I must stress that this is a 'fairy-tale' and the filmmakers must be applauded for making this as entertaining and uplifting as it can be.

My favorite aspect of the movie is definitely the music. The muscial performance by the stars are simply magical, especially Freddie Highmore's solo guitar performance (even though it was not really performed by him).

Overall, this is one of the best movies of the year. Don't miss this.

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