Zodiac (2007)

Zodiac (2007)
D: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/

Zodiac is director David Fincher's less-known (?) crime mystery film. It revolves around the notorious 'Zodiac killer' who was a serial killer in the US from around the late 50's to the early 70's. Controversy exists over whether all murders the killer claimed responsibility over were in fact his, so nobody can be sure how how long the killer remained active. The killer claimed responsiblity to 37 murders, while authorities confirm only 7 murders to be his  The mystery around the Zodiac killer remains unsolved until to very day. Read about the true story behind this film here.


The film is deeply atmospheric and saturated with Fincher's trademark film-noir-esque scenery. It rains a lot, most scenes take place at night and the general ambiance of the soundtrack makes it a subtly haunting experience.

The actor performances are great, with some great development in the characters as the movie depicts over 20 years of the lives of the characters. I was quite impressed by Mark Ruffalo's performance, as he's a somewhat unknow actor to me, and I've never seen him quite this serious. Robert Downey Jr. pulls off a perfromance not unknown to him. The happy go lucky turned drunkard playboy we all know is The San Francisco Chronicle's main writer Paul Avery, assigned as main journalist of the Zodiac murders.

The most interesting character in the film is however Jake Gyllenhaal's Robert Gracesmith, who becomes the main character in the film only after about half-way through the film. This is the most interesting thing about Zodiac: the film seemingly has two storyarcs, both serving one overall story arc. The transition in the story from one to the other is done beautifully, and the second half succeeds in entertaining you even more than the first one. IMDB's description of the film "A San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer." actually only depicts the second half of the film.

The movie is just under three hours long and so if you're looking for a light quick film with some suspence, this isn't your film. If you have time to sit back and enjoy a deeply psychological and atmospheric detective story, this is the film for you. This film has become a classic and a favourite movie of mine, and I haven't been intrigued this much by a crime story since reading 'In Cold Blood'.

5/5

YouTube's spawning some crap-tastic trailers as usual, but here's the best one I could find:



Robert Gracesmith's Zodiac book on Amazon.

(THANKS GUYS BUT YOUR FAN MADE TRAILERS SUCK)

Sicko - Movie Review

Sicko (2007)
D: Michael Moore
Cast: Michael Moore & his hand-picked victims
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/

"A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories"

 
Michael Moore's best known for his docudrama Bowling of Columbine, that discussed firearms laws and regulation in the US. Often wide-eyed and constantly hiding his agenda behind a "pathetic little average American Joe looking for justice", he's received his share of criticizm as well.

There was some of this present in Fahrenheit 9/11, but luckily not so much anymore in Sicko. Sure, he drags WTC rescue workers all the way to Guantanamo Bay just to be stopped at the gates to request the same medical care for them as the prisoners receive inside. Obviously they weren't going to let him in.

Sicko makes a couple of great points, though about the American healthcare system. This is particularly relevant now, as Obama's health care bill was just passed. This is something that's been sought after by some politicians for the last 100 years, but is coming a reality only now.

Being a Scandinavian I had no clear understanding of the US healthcare system, so I will briefly explain it here. In the US you buy health insurance, so that if something goes wrong your treatment will be paid for by your insurance. We at least in theory. Moore tells the stories of numerous people that are turned down by their insurance companies because of frivolous reasons and thus are denied any treatment for their illness. According to Moore, the insurance companies hardly ever truly cover you, but try to help you out as little ass possible. If it was this bad every time, I can't understand why Obama's bill receives so much opposition in the States - even from citizens, not just the insurance companies.

So Moore's film has incidentally become very relevant to our time, even though at the time of filming this now passed health bill wasn't even heard of. For us Europeans that are mostly used to the opposite kind of healthcare, it's a great wake-up call to appreciate what we've got. Also, a study should be done accross European healthcare systems to highlight differences and similarities between them. I personally think that Finland's healthcare system would have a few things to learn from say the Britts and the French.

Check this one out, it will make you think, not sob eventhough the latter seems at times to be Moore's ultimate goal.

3 / 5