John Cusack, Iben Hjejle and Jack Black in the Stephen Frears film ‘High Fidelity’

Venturing back into the romantic comedy genre with a film rated highly by blog fan Cobra, we bring to bear the record store bemusement of music fans everywhere with the Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity (2000).

(From left, John Cusack as Rob Gordon and Iben Hjejle as Laura in the Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity).

The centerpiece of the romantic comedy in the case of High Fidelity is record store owner Rob Gordon, as portrayed by John Cusack. Gordon owns and operates a record store with friends Barry Judd and Dick, who offer the emotional support of equally struggling music lovers whose love lives are in tatters as much as Rob Gordon’s are confused. The early trigger to our heroes love life comes when love interest and roommate Laura, as portrayed by Iben Hjejle, decides to move out.

(From left, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Charlie Nicholson, Lisa Bonet as Marie DeSalle and Lili Taylor as Sarah Kendrew in the Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity).

The existential crisis of mirroring a love life of failure ensues to the cadence of a friendship with Barry and Dick of discussing the pain of breakup set to ranked lists of musical breakups. This moves to different conceptions of love that have failed in the past or can take ones mind of the hurt of the current situation. Jack Black portrays Barry Judd and Todd Louiso portrays Dick as we the viewers learn of women such as Charlie Nicholson, Marie DeSalle and Sarah Kendrew, each with their distinctive charms and quirks in portrayals offered by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lisa Bonet and Lili Taylor, respectively.

(From left, John Cusack as Rob Gordon, Jack Black as Barry Judd, Todd Louiso as Dick and Tim Robbins as Ian ‘Ray’ Raymond in the Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity).

Meanwhile we learn that little breadcrumbs of love could still be pieced together into love for Rob and Laura. One of the obstacles that comes into view to turn this away is the realization that Laura has moved in with Ian ‘Ray’ Raymond, as portrayed by Tim Robbins. Rob’s response to Ian and the full situation with are comedically uneven. Things come together ultimately with support for Laura’s perspective coming from Rob’s sister Liz and Dick’s ultimate love interest, Annaugh Moss. Joan Cusack portrays Liz with Sara Gilbert having portrayed Annaugh.

(From left, Sara Gilbert as Annaugh Moss and Joan Cusack as Liz in the Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity).

Overall, it really is John Cusack‘s character of Rob Gordon that holds the movie High Fidelity together. You feel sympathy for the experiences he’s had in trying to find his way through the confusing world of stepping into his romantic feelings with maturity, empathy and finally love. Being a romantic comedy, High Fidelity does reward the viewer and the ever patient Laura for the pain of a confused leading man that needs that nudge to really feel the love that the movie delivers. I give High Fidelity as directed by Stephen Frears 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, July 31, 2021

Tom Hanks, Ed Harris and the Ron Howard film ‘Apollo 13’

It was 50-years ago this week that the first humans to walk on the moon occurred with the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission. Less than a year after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first walked on the moon, the intended Apollo 13 Lunar Landing Mission became a triumph of human ingenuity and tragedy averted when an explosion in space aborted that mission. Child actor and film director Ron Howard brought us the film of that latter mission in the blockbuster film that is our subject today, Apollo 13 (1995).

(Former actor turned acclaimed film director Ron Howard directed the film Apollo 13).

Three astronauts flew the mission depicted in Apollo 13, including Jim Lovell (as portrayed by Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (as portrayed by Bill Paxton), and the bachelor Jack Swigert (as portrayed by Kevin Bacon). Bachelor Ken Mattingly (as portrayed by Gary Sinise) was due to fly the mission, but owing the concern by medical flight controllers over the possibility of Mattingly getting measles while in space, Swigert was a middle-of-training replacement for the space flight. The movie offers a compelling introduction to each of these men, their pre-flight familial situations, and a foretelling of the relationships the men would have once adversity comes both pre-flight and in-mission.

(From left to right – Bill Paxton as astronaut Fred Haise, Tom Hanks as astronaut Jim Lovell, Gary Sinise as astronaut Ken Mattingly, and Kevin Bacon as astronaut Jack Swigert in the film Apollo 13).

Four NASA leaders important to the Apollo Missions overall and the Apollo 13 flight in particular were NASA director Christopher C. Kraft Jr. (portrayed as a loose composite in the film by Joe Spano), flight director Gene Kranz (portrayed by Ed Harris), flight controller Seymour ‘Sy’ Liebergot (portrayed by Clint Howard), and flight engineer John W. Aaron (as portrayed by Loren Dean). Kranz, Liebergot, and Aaron take prominent paths in the story, which dramatized the emotional stakes in the movie Apollo 13 so as to demonstrate effectively in movie presentation the dramatic story of what happened.

(From top to bottom – Joe Spano as a NASA director loosely based on Christopher C. Kraft Jr., Ed Harris as flight director Gene Kranz, Clint Howard as flight controller Seymour ‘Sy’ Liebergot, and Loren Dean as flight controller John W. Aaron in the film Apollo 13).

Heartstrings and emotional impact were shared back on earth during many critical junctures of the film. We met in loving detail an emotional depth for Jim Lovell‘s family and the growing quality of Fred Haise‘s family through the movie.

(From left to right, Mary Kate Schellhardt as Barbara Lovell, Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell, Miko Hughes as Jeffrey Lovell, and Max Elliott Slade as Jay Lovell in the film Apollo 13).

Beyond the compelling drama for whether the crew would make it home within the film, seeing the families of the crew, along with the extended NASA family of engineers pull together to bring about just that outcome, was quite dynamic.

(Tracy Reiner as Mary Haise, left, and Jean Speegle Howard as Blanch Lovell in the film Apollo 13).

The film Apollo 13 was a blockbuster movie with the budget and effects to go with it. The film won Academy Awards for sound and film editing. The film earned high marks among critics and moviegoers alike, per Rotten Tomatoes. As I continue to enjoy watching this film again and again, my overall rating for Apollo 13 is 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, July 17, 2019