Rating: Summary: another Cusack classic Review: Cusack is a great actor period, theres no denying it. this one fits him as well as he's the owner of a record store called Championship Viynl and his coworkers are Jack Black and Todd Louiso who in everyscene they have together are great, especially when they beat the crap outta Tim Robbins. Cusack plays down the list of his 5 most memberable breakups. a must have also in everyones collection
Rating: Summary: Read the book Review: ~I watched the movie when it was first released and it didn't make that much of an impression on me. Recently I read the book, then I rewatched the movie, and now I find the movie funny, but I still think reading the book was way better. I enjoyed the book a lot and I thought watching the movie was like going through excerpts from the book. With the exception of transplanting the setting from London to Chicago, I appreciate how closely the movie follows the book, the first-person narrative, even~~ the exact words used in the dialogues, etc. But as I was watching the show, I couldn't help thinking how the parts from the book that were not portrayed in the movie could have helped enhanced the movie further. Understandably it will take a tv series to cover everything in the book, and being a movie, I give 'High Fidelity' credit for doing justice to the humor and honesty of the novel. But I still recommend the book over the movie.~
Rating: Summary: A must see!! Review: When people first told me about this movie the general consensus was that it is too long. After I saw it my conclusion was that it isn't long enough. I absolutely love this movie, for a bunch of different reasons. The music in it rocks, and the various themes are just so well illustrated and presented. Great one-liners and dialogue make this movie excellent. I am only 20 so I can't really relate to the whole "what does it all mean??" episode that Rob is going through but I found this movie great nonetheless. If you are going through a tough breakup I totally recommend this movie. Watch out for the scene in which Rob is just leaving Marie de Salle's apartment...he just slept with the woman but still says "What did it mean when Laura said she hadn't slept with Ian yet??"...it brilliantly captures the emotional paradox that people feel during a breakup...simply great.
Rating: Summary: Commercials Spoil The DVD Review: Nice movie but there are over 5 minutes of commercials at the beginning which had to be watched. It was impossible to skip them or fast forward past them. If you want the movie, get the VHS tape. I don't plan on buying any more Touchtone DVD's because I hate these commericials.
Rating: Summary: High Fidelity: A Guy¿s Perspective to Dating and Life Review: The story is centered around the failing love life of Rob Gordon (John Cusack), his failing record store, failing friends. . .and well failure. Rob decides that he has had enough with failure, in a bold move he traces back the root of all his problems; he confronts his five worst break-ups in an attempt to regain perspective. Along the way, he realizes that life is not as bad as he lead himself to believe. Rob is the pessimistic protagonist in this story, possessing as many pitfalls as strengths. His life is filled with subtle observations, weighing heavily upon how he will shape his future. Audiences are drawn into Rob's world immediately, at times he speaks to the camera like the viewer is his best friend, revealing all of his secrets or ingenious thoughts. An amusing, charming script helps keep the movie upbeat and entertaining, even during it's somber sections. Characters reveal their true personalities through pop culture references and musical tastes. Imagine a greatest hits collection of the best conversations you ever had; those are the brilliant deductions and snappy comebacks throughout the film. The movie works well because it builds upon many ideals, such as: the insecurities of men and how they deal with these problems of inferiority, the vague impression of commitment and love, an entire subculture of music obsessed maniacs, and the forced removal from adolescence where one truly fulfills their potential.
Rating: Summary: Version Mania Review: This movie is wonderful, but you won't find the good version of it on this DVD! Instead of giving you the entire movie, as it aired on many screens across the country, they give you an edited version. The clipped scenes are on the DVD as a "special" but you can't view them in context. This is an amazingly stupid thing to do. Why even include the scenes if you're not going to put them in context? We see "special editions" of all kinds of movies on DVD, many with scenes added that were never shown in the theatre. Why, oh why, would anyone butcher a great movie like this? The "best" chopped scene, by the way, is the one where John C goes to a lady's home to buy her separated husband's prized record collection. She just wants to dump the whole lot of very rare and expensive records for virtually nothing, just to punish her ex. It's a used record store owner's dream come true, and it's a great counter-point to the more depressing side of the story. Somebody PLEASE put out a DVD with the complete and unedited version of this movie!
Rating: Summary: P.O.S. Read the book. Review: What an offense to frontal lobes everywhere. The book was a riot, the characters were engaging AND REAL, not like these nihilist puppets. A waste of every actor in the film (all of whose work I have enjoyed elsewhere but each of whom owes me a handwritten letter of apology for this one). Mr. Springsteen, how could you have given 30 seconds of your valuable time to this pile of festering refuse? I wish Amazon allowed no-star reviews.
Rating: Summary: ... Review: High Fidelity is probably a perfect or near perfect movie. Like the best songs in its soundtrack it manages to touch that part of your mind that lets you know that this is good, that it is the rare thing connected to the rest of the universe by feat of some imperceptible quality. It is agonizingly well crafted and acted, and is especially proof why John Cusack and Jack Black are typecast so often. Even though I can't particularly identify with the romance aspects of this movie, they seem to be of negligible importance compared to certain other aspects. The frustration, joy, and thoughts the characters interact with in both romance, collecting, and taste are easy to identify as our own - if Cusack is the representation of our selves, then black and louiso represent the cartoon devil and angel interacting in our heads, telling us when to be subdued and when to be outrageous.5 stars because I LOVE it, but would be 4 if I didn't (only because it's not mindblowing, "just" a movie that my body responds to as good). Although the last fifth could have used a couple of pick-me-ups along the lines of the hilarious scene when tim robbins walks into the record sho). Probably worth a purchase (i've seen it 3 times and can forsee no point at which my mind would revolt against having to watch it many more), certainly worth a rental, and not a movie you should miss. Pick up the soundtrack too (ear opening experience for those of us mired in clear channel muck, npr dullness, and college radio confusion).
Rating: Summary: A rock'n good time... Review: This delightful comedy explores the limited emotional capacity of thirty-something males in their relationships with the opposite sex. Based on the best selling novel of the same name, the text was originally set in London, and per the author, Nick Hornby, the novel's theme was the setting -London. John Cusack and company adapted the novel to a wonderful screenplay set in Chicago. In the film the focus is on relationships, particularly the central character, Rob Gordon, a second hand record store owner, who has an obsession for making lists: top five relationships, top five break-ups, top five careers, top five favourite songs, etc. Rob Gordon is not a very likable fellow: self-absorbed, hypocritical, emotionally challenged though one can relate to his feelings when it comes to grappling with sex and love. John Cusack in the lead carried the film a long with his high energy, great skill and that renowned Cusack charisma. But Jack Black stole the show as the witty and comically sarcastic music-dweb and pop-culture snob. I think we've all met 'Rob' at one point or another, where 'taste' is accountable. Rob's estranged girlfriend, Laura, played by unknown, Iben Hjejle, really captured the kind of girl that most of us mere males would fall in love with. Her performance was understated, sensitive and believable - she also has a great smile. Tod Louiso as the quiet underachiever, Dick, had the most expressive close-ups, communicating exactly what he was thinking and feeling. In the interview section of the DVD, Cusack comments that Tod was an assassin when it came to close-ups. Dick is another character that most of us have met somewhere along the line - another great performance. One can see that the actors and crew had a great time making this film. This translated in the overall performance. The choice of music, (another central character) felt to be right on the mark. Music is autobiographical - a particular tune from the past can ignite memories, some good, and some bad, representing a phase of our history. The film showed this fact with accuracy and charm. This film has certainly made my top ten of all time favourite modern romantic comedies. Four and a half stars.
Rating: Summary: Jack be nimble... Review: I intensely disliked Nick Hornby's book High Fidelity - in fact, I dislike pretty much everything that Hornsby stands for in contemporary British literature, and so I only ever came to see this courtesy of losing in a game of Scissor-Paper-Stone at the video store. It's one game I'm glad I lost. This is a terrific, intelligent comedy, set on fire by the outstanding performances of the cast, but especially the comedy double act of Jack Black and Todd Louiso, John Cusack's geeky sidekicks at the record store. Black, in particular, should take credit for converting a half-chance record-store geek role one of the most accutely observed and and perfectly executed comedy supporting roles in all of motion picture history. Black utterly steals the show, which is saying a lot, as Cusack himself completely nails the lead character, in whom all males of a certain generation will intantly, and horrifyingly recognise themselves. High Fidelity almost loses impetus in the middle, but pulls itself around with a storming finale in which, appropriately enough, Jack Black features, in a scene stealing act. The fact that Cusack et all were able to craft such a winning film out of such an irritating book earns this effort the big rack of five in my book.
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