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| Friday, March 28, 2014 02:35 PM |
| On the Viewer - Veronica Mars |
 by Fëanor |
After I supplied my drop in the bucket for the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter, I realized I really had to go back and watch the rest of the series (I never watched the last season first time around). And while I was at it, I should really watch the whole thing over again from the beginning. So I did. It was a blast. The show can tend a bit toward the repetitive and the melodramatic, but it always cuts the melodrama with sarcastic humor, and I never really got tired of its standard formula.
Once I was done with the series - which ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, to my surprise - I quickly downloaded my copy of the movie and fired it up. I was not disappointed. It's a wonderful and faithful continuation of the series, returning to all our favorite characters nine years later, and examining how they've grown and how they've not in the intervening time. (Even Dick Casablancas! My favorite dumb-ass asshole of all time.) In particular, and understandably given the title, it's a portrait of Veronica Mars herself and her destructive, addictive personality. She realizes ultimately that the past nine years have been her attempt to come clean, to escape the dark need inside her - and it's all been a lie. She's been playing at being a good, normal woman with a good, normal job; pretending she can be with a plain, upstanding, nice guy (poor Piz); trying to convince herself she can live without the dirt and the darkness. But with her 10th High School reunion looming, and an old lover in trouble again, she's quickly sucked back to her old town and her old ways, and nearly loses everything in the process.
The movie has the same cleverness, the same sharp sense of humor, the same wild drama as the show. But now they can also say curses! Well, some curses. It's PG-13, not R. Also, Wallace and Mac got super hot.
There are some great cameos from celebrities playing themselves, my favorite being James Franco, as his appearance involves a super-nerdy Tolkien reference. Also, remember to stay tuned after the credits for an extension of his cameo (yes, the movie has an after-credits scene; these seem to be de rigueur now).
I don't know how interesting or entertaining the movie would be for anybody who had not watched the show, but then again, I don't know why anybody who had not watched the show would bother seeing the movie, so there you go. |
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| Friday, April 25, 2008 04:05 PM |
| On the Viewer: Veronica Mars, Season 2 |
 by Fëanor |
I finally finished watching this. Good lord, what an insane final episode! All the loose ends are pretty much tied up, and they even put your mind to rest for good and all about the mystery from the first season. But it felt hurried, and almost too packed with action. Plus the final solution to the bus crash mystery is a bit melodramatic. And I don't really believe Veronica's Dad would have left her standing at the airport just because Kendall dropped a briefcase full of money on his desk.
Still, it's an extremely exciting and entertaining episode. I also really like the surreal "What If?" opening dream sequence. And I'll definitely be adding Season 3 to the Netflix queue... as soon as I can make space for it... |
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| Monday, March 31, 2008 05:57 PM |
| On the Viewer - Veronica Mars, Season 2 |
| by Fëanor |
I'm not actually done watching this yet; I'm only on the third episode of the third disc. But I wanted to say that, even though I'm still enjoying the show, it is getting a little tired. I mean, how many cases can Veronica be on at the same time while still somehow maintaining her school work? I don't think I've even seen her go in the school in the last two episodes. And just how much soap opera-like drama can one girl have in her life? It's getting a little hard to believe at this point, what with all the ex-boyfriends and murders and ex-girlfriends in comas who are pregnant and school bus tragedies and so forth. I was also a little disappointed that when Veronica got jury duty, it couldn't just be like a normal person's jury duty experience; she had to get involved in a 12 Angry Men scenario. It's true that she wasn't the one lone dissenting juror, but she ended up being the champion for that juror's point of view. And while we're on the subject, is there a TV drama or movie where someone goes to jury duty and it doesn't turn into some kind of 12 Angry Men scenario? Sigh.
But like I was saying, I still find the show very entertaining and engrossing. Jury duty cliches aside, it can be quite clever and creative, and it can really surprise me. Plus, I'm pretty invested in the characters and the overall story at this point, so those soap opera-type plot events totally work on me. "Gasp! Wallace came back on New Year's! Aww, that's so nice." "Oh no! Veronica broke up with Duncan! Again!" And so forth.
The point is, it's silly, but I'm sticking with it, at least for now. |
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| Thursday, November 29, 2007 09:52 AM |
| (Last updated on Monday, March 31, 2008 06:03 PM) | | Veronica Mars Season 1 |
| by Fëanor |
Since there were no new comic books out yesterday (rassa frassa), I ended up spending a lot less time in the comic book store than I'd thought I would. Which meant I spent the extra half hour before movie night sitting in a Starbucks watching the rest of Veronica Mars Season 1 on my iPod. And cursing and crying all over the place.
Well, okay, I wasn't quite that ridiculous. But a tear or two did come to my eye during that scene where the paternity test results finally come out; I did get pretty pissed at Veronica for how she was treating Logan; and I did get pretty tense and freaked out during the climactic crazy slasher movie/action movie fight sequence at the end.
That final sequence seemed a little out of place in what had otherwise been a pretty straight, relatively realistic detective/high school show, but I went along with it. And it was good to finally see all the crazy crap that had been building throughout the season finally get resolved and tied up. Well, most of it, anyway.
About Logan: I know he was a dick most of the first season. But for God's sake, Veronica, at least wait around and wait to hear his side of things before running out on him and not speaking to him for a week or so! That's just stupid and heartless. Plus, you might have gotten the poor bastard killed!
When I got to the end of that last episode, I was like, "Crap! I didn't know it was going to end like this! I need Season 2 RIGHT NOW!!"
So yeah. Netflix, here I come! |
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| Wednesday, November 7, 2007 12:14 PM |
| Quick Updates |
| by Fëanor |
Metroid Prime 3 - Still awesome. Currently on the Space Pirate Homeworld, looking for a way to protect myself from acid rain.
Veronica Mars, Season 1 - Still hooked. Also, poor Mac!! :( I would love her, if she were mine... |
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| Wednesday, October 10, 2007 02:47 PM |
| Entertainment Updates |
| by Fëanor |
Metroid Prime 3 - Still enjoying it very much. I'm on the second planet now, although I'm planning to head back to the first after I get the plasma beam, as I'm pretty sure there's some bonus stuff hidden about. Also, I now know how to change my angle while swinging from the grapple beam (just tilt the joystick, of course!), which will help me get into a room I couldn't reach before.
Veronica Mars - Just finished watching disc two of season one on my iPod. I'm enjoying it quite a bit more than I thought I would. It's a very entertaining, very clever mystery/comedy/thriller/soap opera/detective story.
Hellboy: Odd Jobs - This is a book of short stories about Hellboy that I got from poppy for my birthday. I just finished it. It's a bit uneven, as short story collections pretty much always are, but I enjoyed it, and I'll put together a detailed review as soon as I have the time.
The Children of Hurin - Another book I got for my birthday, and which I just started reading. Loving it so far. In fact, it's making me want to go back and read The Silmarillion again. I'm a sick man, I know.
I've also been getting tons of music from record companies, marketing and PR guys, and I got a few new CDs for my birthday besides, so I was thinking of putting together another "latest musical discoveries" post soon. We'll see if I can make that happen... |
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Jim Genzano's books on Goodreads
