Jake G and Jonathan T and Hugh G...hee!
Zodiac messed me up good. It's like a terrifying, frustrating, riveting documentary. It felt a teensy bit long about three quarters of the way through, but after a few minutes it picked up again. There's a lot of info, a lot of characters that they throw at you. What's startling as you watch the picture is how much things have changed in the last thirty or so years. Police work has been completely altered with the advent of computers. The things that happened with this case, the miscommunications, things buried in paperwork in different jurisdictions...it makes you wonder how they ever solved any crimes at all.
Mark Ruffalo is someone who, even though he's been in a lot of films, I haven't really had the chance to see him in much. OMG, he was PERFECT in this. He sold that whole 70s cop vibe so incredibly; he just fit. Plus he was just someone you really could identify with and feel for. Robert Downey Jr. is brilliant of course...pretty much goes without saying. As much as I'm angry at him for the mistakes he's made in his personal life, I can never take away from him his talent. He and Jake had nice chemistry...the movie's little bits of daily humor came from them. Jake once again got to display his affinity for quirky characters...he's also wonderful in that he's able to carry that little boy quality with him, the earnestness and vulnerability, but yet it never comes across as cloying or unmasculine.
Considering the subject matter, the movie is not particularly graphic, though it was violent and very very disturbing. There is one particular scene I had to look away from and I'm not sure I'll get over it for awhile, and it was because the victim's terror was so real. A reviewer of the film said the film starts to bother you more and more the farther you get away from it, and I agree. The real fear of it starts to hit you as the days go by.
Definitely I would recommend the film, but be aware that it's not your typical action-packed drama. It's a procedural, with lots of facts and details and following leads. You have to be patient and attentive. The movie is brilliantly acted, chock full of character actors that make it so real, like Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, and John Caroll Lynch. The only disappointment was Chloë Sevigny, who had a thankless and underwritten role. Drop me a note if you've seen it...I'm interested to know what you all thought!
Now, just a brief note about The Black Donnellys...AUGH! This is just not fair. On one hand you've got Jonathan Tucker, who's hiding a gorgeous hot body under those clothes, and shows it off in a scene where he's in nothing but tiny white briefs and hosing himself off until he's soaking wet...*gurgle* But on the other hand you've got lots of violence and despair and I'm not really sure who I'm supposed to be cheering for on this one. *sigh* Hubby says he's not interested in watching any more of it: "He's always making that angry Irish face" is how he described it...lol. Add a bit of a sneer to Jonny's picture and there it is...that IS a majority of the show. And I just accidentally typed "movie" in that sentence, which is basically how I feel about it. The first episode and perhaps a bit of the second made for a good, chilling film experience, but I'm not sure these are characters I can stick with. Grr.
But you know, pretty brothers. It's realllllllly hard to say no to them! *wails*
In other news, I heart Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant in the hugest possible ways. Music and Lyrics has got to be one of the cheeriest, hilarious, most fun films I've seen in AGES. I laughed until I cried, it was so perfect, especially if you were a teenager in the 80s. Hugh Grant is at his best with the dry humor...sometimes the scene is fading into the next while he's still muttering something that is so funny you start to howl. I'm sure someone could call it predictable, blah blah, but Drew and Hugh are sooooo much fun to watch none of that matters. If you need a good pick-me-up, definitely go see this film!
Well, I suppose that's enough blather for now!