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Quint deciphers David Fincher's ZODIAC!!!

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my second review of the day. I jump from Joel Schumacher to David Fincher.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but the Zodiac killings were before my time. However, it's impossible to grow up there without hearing all about it from neighbors, parents and grandparents. And there's always some schmoe on the news who revisited the killings. I moved before the big Zodiac book hit, so everything from then on, including the assertion as to just who was the Zodiac killer, was something I missed.

I was very excited going into this movie. I loved SE7EN to death and the idea of Fincher taking on the Zodiac killer sounded great to me. I prepared myself for a different film from SE7EN thanks to some early word on the film and I'm glad I did because there's very little resemblance to Fincher's previous serial killer movie.

What is similar is the level of talent in front of the camera working at their absolute best. You have Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Brian Cox, Anthony Edwards, Chloe Sevigny, Elias Koteas (Casey Jones!), Donal Logue, Philip Baker Hall and even Charles Fleischer, Roger Rabbit himself! And they're all fucking great. Especially Robert Downey Jr.

Downey plays a smart-ass reporter named Paul Avery who catches the eye of the Zodiac killer. Avery's a man of great ego, so this is very flattering, but soon the reality sinks in and Avery begins to have this haunted quality that was just fascinating to watch.

The movie is long and as a result we spend different segments in the shoes of different players in the whole Zodiac story. It's not until the end that we really spend a lot of time with Gyllenhaal, which was really surprising to me, but this part of the film was filled with the most suspense, mainly because of all the characters Gyllenhaal's gets the closest to discovering the killer. There's a sequence in a house that had me tense.

You also spend a lot of time with Anthony Edwards and Mark Ruffalo, two cops, partners, that spend decades tracking the Zodiac killer.

The descent into obsession is fascinating to watch. It's fascinating because you see so many different characters become obsessed with the Zodiac. Avery, Gyllenhaal's Graysmith, the two cops... every main character.

The killings are shown without much razzle-dazzle, making them feel very real, like you could be sitting there with the victims.

Fincher's film feels epic and you really feel they left no stone unturned. Everything you can imagine wanting to see about the Zodiac case is up there, on the screen and you have one of our most interesting filmmakers bringing it to life with a brilliant cast.

I highly recommend this one.

-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com



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Reader Talkback

sounds good
by hif4life
Feb 22nd, 2007
11:50:50 AM
looking forward to this
by just pillow talk
Feb 22nd, 2007
11:52:34 AM
My Boner Smells Like Alcohol
by MattyBoomStar
Feb 22nd, 2007
11:54:52 AM
That was...
by BanAllFIRSTPosters
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:00:55 PM
See, now, I kind of appreciate the brevity in this one.
by Childe Roland
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:10:10 PM
I would've liked to hear more about where this fits...
by gobofraggleuk
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:14:05 PM
The trailer for Zodiac was cut by Cameron Crowe
by Spandau Belly
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:16:31 PM
I'm crossing my fingers that David Fincher makes...
by rbatty024
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:27:16 PM
the review is short but not sweet
by Gwai Lo
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:28:10 PM
Quint = Codebreaker
by Mr. Nice Gaius
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:30:57 PM
rbatty
by Gwai Lo
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:32:16 PM
... and thus Quint has missed his flight...
by Quintus_Arrius
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:33:40 PM
Wonder Con
by drucifer4490
Feb 22nd, 2007
12:38:40 PM
Plant!
by Abin Sur
Feb 22nd, 2007
01:15:25 PM
I'll see anything Fincher does
by Garbageman33
Feb 22nd, 2007
01:17:06 PM
Oh, and Michel Gondry
by Garbageman33
Feb 22nd, 2007
01:18:25 PM
IT WAS SHOT ON HD
by THE KNIGHT
Feb 22nd, 2007
01:33:47 PM
That was a shitty review, Quint
by Dannychico
Feb 22nd, 2007
01:36:57 PM
That's interesting, but what about
by Olsen Twins_Fan
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:07:39 PM
Video
by Quint
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:23:16 PM
PS
by Quint
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:28:08 PM
Short and sweet
by Fabulous Freak
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:31:09 PM
Im not a negative hater by the way.
by Fabulous Freak
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:34:56 PM
si quint, that helps
by just pillow talk
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:37:36 PM
Saw It
by NYCYada
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:53:48 PM
Jake gets the closest?
by Douche Baggins
Feb 22nd, 2007
02:55:10 PM
VIDEO
by THE KNIGHT
Feb 22nd, 2007
03:39:49 PM
sitting with victims
by Napoleon Park
Feb 22nd, 2007
03:52:25 PM
What's in the Box?!
by GrandMuffTarkin
Feb 22nd, 2007
04:17:43 PM
I guess I'm shocked to hear about the meh...
by Childe Roland
Feb 22nd, 2007
04:18:12 PM
woah Quint, perfunctory much?
by newc0253
Feb 22nd, 2007
04:21:00 PM
Yeah, that review was pretty much useless to me.
by JackBauer24
Feb 22nd, 2007
05:27:06 PM
Fincher
by SanityKaos
Feb 22nd, 2007
06:05:57 PM
My problem with Fincher is that he's visually...
by rbatty024
Feb 22nd, 2007
06:37:33 PM
All you bitches talking shit about David Fincher..
by polyh3dron
Feb 22nd, 2007
06:55:14 PM
Well either that or,
by polyh3dron
Feb 22nd, 2007
06:56:58 PM
Can't wait to see this and Black Snake Moan together...
by DanielKurland
Feb 22nd, 2007
07:10:43 PM
The Knight - Viper a real test?
by half vader
Feb 22nd, 2007
07:12:14 PM
Hey, man, I like short reviews but that was just
by Orbots Commander
Feb 22nd, 2007
07:12:50 PM
Sounds good. Colour me interested
by Teamwak
Feb 22nd, 2007
07:40:03 PM
KipKinkel...
by JackBauer24
Feb 22nd, 2007
08:09:38 PM
Kipkinkel..
by Gwai Lo
Feb 22nd, 2007
08:17:05 PM
Holy run on sentence Batman
by Gwai Lo
Feb 22nd, 2007
08:18:32 PM
Good to hear.
by AnnoyYou
Feb 22nd, 2007
08:32:09 PM
Childe Roland
by THE KNIGHT
Feb 22nd, 2007
09:02:08 PM
half vader/Panavision Genesis
by THE KNIGHT
Feb 22nd, 2007
09:03:52 PM
Michael Mann did use the
by THE KNIGHT
Feb 22nd, 2007
09:04:54 PM
rbatty024-The twist in Fight Club made the movie.
by Lovecraftfan
Feb 22nd, 2007
10:02:55 PM
Film vs Digital
by Bronx Cheer
Feb 22nd, 2007
10:14:38 PM
Look, people....
by JumpinJehosaphat
Feb 22nd, 2007
10:23:17 PM
It's Been So Long Since a Fincher Film
by Professor Krapp
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:02:38 AM
Oh, And I Once Thought I Knew the Zodiac Killer
by Professor Krapp
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:07:42 AM
Thanks Knight, Bronx
by half vader
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:08:12 AM
Professor Krapp, please share
by thebearovingian
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:14:20 AM
It's a long story
by Professor Krapp
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:51:43 AM
Quint- Amazing how far Fincher's come since Alien3, eh?
by GreatWhiteNoise
Feb 23rd, 2007
01:54:46 AM
Well to be fair to Fincher Alien 3 was a mess
by half vader
Feb 23rd, 2007
02:17:19 AM
Saw it tonight
by Trader Groucho 2
Feb 23rd, 2007
03:22:31 AM
Will it be better than Dirty
by sstlouis
Feb 23rd, 2007
06:55:45 AM
Prof Krapp
by just pillow talk
Feb 23rd, 2007
08:22:57 AM
Yeah, Seven ain't "whack"...
by JimmyLoneWolf
Feb 23rd, 2007
08:59:13 AM
What I REALLY don't get...
by JimmyLoneWolf
Feb 23rd, 2007
09:02:52 AM
'panic room' isn't a patch on 'rear window'
by newc0253
Feb 23rd, 2007
10:59:38 AM
Finchers worst
by kilik777
Feb 23rd, 2007
12:39:02 PM
Sorry to shock you but..
by The Advance Guard
Feb 23rd, 2007
06:34:31 PM
Nice story Professor Krapp.
by mrfan
Feb 23rd, 2007
07:31:39 PM
KipKinkel, it's MORE powerful with Mills not dying.
by half vader
Feb 23rd, 2007
09:35:49 PM
Professor Krapp
by thebearovingian
Feb 23rd, 2007
10:16:14 PM
Wow Kilik
by half vader
Feb 24th, 2007
09:05:21 PM

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