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High Fidelity, a review by Antares

High Fidelity (2000) 62/100 - Back in the glory days of Blockbuster I must have had this film in my hands at least a dozen times, but wound up putting it back on the shelf after finding something else, but vowing to get it "next time". Well, I stopped going to Blockbuster and this film just kind of slipped from my memory. But now after watching it, I'm kind of glad I always found something else to watch. I'm not saying it's a bad film, but it really is just trying to be a little too hip and cute. What really struck me was how it wanted to be a hip amalgamation of Say Anything and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but sadly, never really gels. The continuous use of Cusack's character breaking the fourth wall becomes annoying after a while and keeps the film from concentrating on what really works in the film, namely, the scenes in the record store. I remember record stores like this and I definitely knew guys just like the three who worked there. There's a scene early in the film when Jack Black's character toys with a geek over a bootleg album, and another customer expounds how all three are elitists. I loved this scene, because it was so true. Every person I ever met back in the day who worked at a record store believed that they, and they alone, were God's given messenger of Rock & Roll. It's too bad that they didn't just focus more on the comedic potential of the store and jettison the tired attempt at philosophizing out personal relationships. It's been done to death, and Cusack had already done it much better in the Cameron Crowe film. But I will give kudos to the screenwriter for one of the best lines I've ever heard in a movie. When Dick and Barry are discussing the Top 5 songs about death, Barry mentions the Rolling Stones seminal, You Can't Always Get What You Want, to which Dick rebuts... No. Immediate disqualification because of its involvement with The Big Chill. That's a fucking priceless line and had me ROTFL.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 7th, 2013)

The Whole Town's Talking, a review by Antares

The Whole Town's Talking (1935) 3.5/5 - I caught this on TCM last night after about 25 years since I first watched it. It was fun to see Edward G. Robinson spoofing his tough guy, gangster persona. But the real surprise here is that it was directed by John Ford, a director you don't think of off hand when it comes to comedy. Ford does a great job at keeping the pace moving along and never once does it lag or falter in its delivery of laughs. Jean Arthur plays the wise cracking love interest Miss Clark so well, it probably got her the part of Babe Bennett in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town the following year. The story centers itself on a mousy accountant named Arthur Ferguson Jones (Edward G. Robinson) who's a dead ringer for one of the country's most feared outlaws, Killer Mannion. Mannion has just escaped from state prison and is heading for the big city to rub out a stoolie who was responsible for sending him up the river. The cops are frantically searching for him and mistakenly arrest Jones and Miss Clark, who they think is the gunman's moll. This leads to my favorite scene in the film as Jones tries to explain the mix up and Miss Clark is in a separate room being interrogated by over zealous boob detectives. They grill her as to recent heists all around the country and in deadpan seriousness, replies that it was Mannion. My description doesn't do justice as to how well and how funny this scene plays out, as Jean Arthur's delivery of that one word answer is absolutely priceless, especially when almost every crime of the previous five years is mentioned. If you ever get a chance to see this film, make time for it. I'm not as big a fan as most people are for John Ford films, but this one is definitely a forgotten gem.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 16th, 2012)

Veronica Mars Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

17. Debasement Tapes
An ex-rock star living off nostalgia and his deceased partner's talent arrives at Hearst -- but his backing tapes don't. Mac's romantic relationships become almost as tangled as Veronica's.

My Thoughts:
A good episode... as I liked the mystery.... but not one of my favorites. What with my dislike of music and this being about a rock star really is wasted on me.

My Rating:

18. I Know What You'll Do Next Summer
Veronica's new case involves a fellow student, a Ugandan who authored a memoir about his heart-rending experiences as a child soldier. Everybody's making summer plans, from internships to jobs to surfing.

My Thoughts:
An interesting episode. The mystery wasn't that hot in my opiniion. But I liked that this episode started telling us what is happening in the future for some of our favorite characters.

My Rating:


19. Weevils Wobble
A bum knee and a bum rap. Weevil injures his knee on the job, then is fingered as the mastermind of a campus fraud ring. Luckily, he knows this smart blonde who just got her PI license.

My Thoughts:
This is an awesome episode. I enjoyed every minute of it. From beginning to end Weevil proves to be the same old Weevil from beginning to end.

My Rating:

20. The Bitch is Back
When someone starts circulating a compromising video of Veronica, she gets mad, she gets even and she gets a harrowing blast from the past.

My Thoughts:
Another excellent epsiode! Personally I would have liked to seen some more of the video that was talked about... but that is neither here nor there. But I enjoyed everything about this episode. Well everything except the ending for Keith Mars... while it is the ending that had to be for the episode... it is not the ending I would have preferred to see.

My Rating:




Bonus Material:
Season 4 Presentation - This is the idea they had for the fourth season. It is a jump into the future... and Veronica Mars is an agent in the FBI. It is not the length of a full episode... it is only about 12 minutes long. But I really enjoyed where they were planning to go... I would have loved to of seen it!

Pitching Season 4 - 18 minute featurette about the hopeful 4th season. I only watched a portion of this tonight.

Going Under Cover with Rob Thomas - a 9 part featurette for the third season. Once again... only watched a portion tonight.

Webisode Gallery - pretty self explanitory... there is 5 different web features here.

Additional Scenes with Introduction by Show Creator Rob Thomas - several deleted scenes for season 3. Some of which I wish stayed in the show... some I can see why they were cut.

Gag Reel - One of my all time favorite DVD extras... I just think it is a lot of fun seeing the actors goof off or messing up their lines. This one lasts 7 minutes.

Not bad collection of extras... but I would have liked to have seen a bit more... maybe a few cast commentaries or something. I must say my favorite of the extras has to be the Season 4 Presentation followed by the Gag Reel.

(From Veronica Mars Marathon on April 20th, 2010)