Skip to main content

Zodiac

I was updating the library's official webpages on the county library site earlier this evening, and there were some issues that were really frustrating. I decided to post a review to cheer myself up. Only this review isn't about a comedy, it's about a drama with subject matter that is only a little disturbing.

FYI: if you go to our page on the county site, and there are issues with font size, etc. please bear with me... I will prevail and make that site bend to my will! Insert evil cackle here. Yes, the frustration with the website has finally sent me over the edge.

Zodiac stars the very talented and always cute, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr. The DVD is available upon request from Annville Free Library. I am always most annoyed when a DVD comes without any special features... and this is one of those DVD's because apparently they are saving them all for the director's cut. And do you know what else? I am also always annoyed when a DVD does not have any previews; I feel ripped off when there aren't any coming attractions. Oh, well.

This movie is based on a true story; in fact, I believe it is the film adaptation of the book of the same title by Gyllenhaal's character, Robert Graysmith. It tells the story of the serial murders committed by a killer who called himself "Zodiac." The action takes place in northern California in the 1970's. When the police investigation stalls and the case goes cold, Graysmith decides to pick up his own investigation which is portrayed in the movie. Eventually his research solves the mystery of the identity of the Zodiac killer but not before his investigation becomes an obsession that takes over his life and destroys his marriage. While this is a very long movie, it is also a very good movie, very fast paced--the movie skips ahead in time by days, weeks, months, sometimes years to advance its narrative. This device can be confusing and hard to keep track of for someone who is not mathmatically minded. While it is a dramatic movie about disturbing events, it also has its lighter moments. For example, one day Graysmith enlists his young children's help in tracking missing persons' dates of disappearance and tells his children not to tell mommy about this because this is "their secret project." Slightly inappropriate, but still amusing nonetheless.

Gyllenhaal's performance is one of the most interesting in the movie as we witness his editorial cartoonist turned investigative reporter/author descend into obsession and go to great lengths and great risks to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed this movie, and if you like mysteries and true crime stories, you will also enjoy this one.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In The Woods by Tana French

"What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Our relationship with the truth is fundamental, but cracked, refracting confusingly like fragmented glass. It is the core of our careers, the endgame of every move we make, and we pursue it with strategies painstakingly constructed of lies ... and every variation on deception. The truth is the most desirable woman in the world and we are the most jealous lovers, reflexively denying anyone else the slightest glimpse of her. We betray her routinely ... This is my job ... What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this--two things: I crave truth. And I lie." opening lines of In The Woods chapter 1, pages 3-4 In The Woods by Tana French, an Irish writer, is an extremely well-written and well-crafted mystery novel. The downside is that this is French's debut novel, and her website (located at http://www.tanafrench.com/ ) does not off...
24 comments
Read more

Broken by Karin Slaughter

Before I begin the formal review there are a few things I need to get off my chest in the wake of finishing this book; I'll do so without giving away too many (or any) spoilers. The OUTRAGE!: the identity of Detective Lena Adams' new beau; the low depths to which Grant County's interim chief has sunk and brought the police force down with him; agent Will Trent's wife, Angie's, sixth sense/nasty habit of reappearing in his life just when he's slipping away from her. Thank God for small miracles though because while Angie was certainly referred to during the book, the broad didn't make an appearance. One sign that I've become way too invested in these characters is that I'd like to employ John Connolly's odd pair of assassins, Louis and Angel, to contract out a hit on Angie; do you think Karin Slaughter and John Connolly could work out a special cross over? Hallelujah: Dr. Sara Linton and agent Will Trent are both back. There is no hallelujah fo...
3 comments
Read more

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is the first book by this author that I've read.  I'm not sure how I first came across it, but it's been on my books-to-read list for a while.  Recently my library acquired a copy, and since I was between books, I thought, hmm, let me try this one and see if it sticks.  Sometimes when I'm between books I have a problem starting and actually sticking with a book to the end. The historical part of the story of Orphan Train is actually inspired by true events.  There really was a train in the 1920's that took orphaned children from the Children's Aid Society in New York City out to the Midwest in a quest to find families to place them in.  Some of these children are still alive today.  However, I don't think that the characters of Molly and Vivian are based on any real life people. Molly Ayer has spent the last nine years bouncing among over a dozen different foster homes.  She's developed a tough shell and a ...
2 comments
Read more