ZODIAC

I've had a week to let David Fincher's (Fight Club, Panic Room, Alien 3) ZODIAC seep into my consciousness. It's still boiling and leering like an impending migraine yet I can't help but think I've been shot by a crazed psychopathic killer. I wanted to enjoy the film a lot more than I did. It opens on Christmas eve when the alleged Zodiac makes his first attempt to kill. A very eerie meticulously crafted and utterly grizzly opening. Then we meet 'Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhal) an intelligent editorial cartoonist who stumbles upon his fellow reporters as they're introduced to the first cryptic message sent by the Zodiac.
We follow Graysmith a bit until we come across Inspector Toschi and Inspector Armstrong (Played wonderfully by Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards) as they try to track down the ZODIAC.
Fincher is a fine director. He has been know to film about 30 takes of one scene and working actors to death. Despite an over zealous work ethic ZODIAC is a well crafted beautiful suspense thriller. I can't say I was consistently entertained throughout the entire film. It kind of reminded me of "All the Presidents Men" meets "Summer of Sam." If you know what I mean. Some of the montages seem to repeat long after the audience has gotten the point. I also think a lot of the suspense was lost because I would assume that most of the audience knows that the Zodiac was never caught. The film (and the book) say that the Detectives had the Zodiac (Arthur Leigh Allen) but were unable to arrest him due to shoddy police work and the fact that the crimes were committed in different jurisdictions and the police officers were'nt legally allowed to share evidence. This was a little frustrating. The film does open up other possibilities but really points the finger at one man. This is a fine film, mostly entertaining and worth seeing in the theater if you don't mind an evenly paced thriller.

STAB! STAB! STAB! BLOOD! SEX! STAB!

Great movies are made with a controlled diet of story, technique and action. Great movies are like fine wine that only a few can taste with experience but all can enjoy and possibly get a little inhibriated. I entered the halls of the Palace Cinemas in Bloomington, Il. and joined the drove of 150 excited movie goers for the midnight screening of Frank Millers' 300.' I didn't know quite what to expect. I had not read the Graphic Novel about the 300 Spartans defending Greece against 150 thousand Persians.

Zack Snyder (director of Dawn of the Dead 2004) helms 300. The film uses digital backdrops and animation to enhance the battle scenes and not necessarily show off. This is the difference between say a new Star Wars movie and a movie like this. The Star Wars movies uses the action and the story to just do cool things with digital effects while 300 uses these tools to enhance the plot and create an environment not much unlike a Frank Miller graphic novel.
The battle scenes border on gratuitous and despite a pointlessly titalating Love scene the film is entertaining and visually stunning. The theater I saw the film converted all the screens to Digital porjection. The first time I saw a DP film it was 'Rocky Balboa.' Rocky was already a poor film but the DP didn't help out. Rocky is supposed to be gritty and real, right? Needless to say, it didn't work and the DP only aided in a poor quality film. A movie like 300 needs to be shown in this format, it's crystal clear, no flicker and no reel changes. A perfect visual experience.

LET'S GO TO PRISON!

The co-creator and director of 'Mr Show' and 'Run Ronnie Run' presents 'Lets Go to Prison!" A stupid movie about prison! So stupid in fact, I felt stupid while I watched it. Actually, a little bored. The actors are funny and I know Dir. Bob Odenkirk is capable of making funny. Mr. Show is very funny. Why is this movie not funny? I've seen the prison jokes a million times. Prison sucks and if you don't belong there it sucks even more. Why make it worse by forcing us to watch a movie about how funny it is? It's not funny. Neither is this movie.

BABEL

A morrocan Child, trying to prove his manliness to his brother aims a rifle a an American Tour bus and off goes the story of Babel. A very heavy film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu. (21 Grams, Amores Perros) Known for very heavy movies with multiple stories that interlock somehow. I could go on about how good this film is or i could just tell you to watch it. So there. Go watch it.

An interesting point I discovered is that Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) and Guillermo del Toro (Pans Labyrinth) made these films in succession as a sort of series. I plan on looking into this and figuring out what these films have in common besides being directed by Spanish directors. Labyrinth obviously takes place in the past, Babel; the present and Children of Men, the future. Each film deals somewhat with escapism and war time. Thje outcome of our modern lives and how we affect each other, how the past has effected the present and how the present may effect the future. Babel is a great film but like i said, it is very heavy and intense. One of the storylines takes place in Tokyo and follows an attractive deaf girl as she deals with her insecurities and the death of her mother. This is the least heavy (i keep using the word 'heavy.' is there a problem with the gravitational pull in the future?) storyline but nonetheless, still pretty damn heavy. (forgive me)
So many good films to see. Inarritu's films have always been good and Babel is no different. My favorite is still Amores Perros. Babel, like Crash, deals with race not so much on the screen but in the minds of the audience and how we percieve vastly different cultures and our fears of these cultures clashing even if our intentions are innocent.

Jesus Camp

I approached this film cautiously with the idea that it was probably made to poke fun at the evangelicals. Not to say that wouldn't have been an enjoyable film but it probably wouldn't have been a good one. One of my favorite audience experiences was watching BORAT in a packed theater last year. The laughs came non-stop but too my surprise when Borat went to the evengelical church at the end of the film the entire theater stopped laughing and there was an uncomfortable sad silence. I heard whispers behind me,"Are we suppose to laugh at this?"
My town is Rockford, Il. Rockford just opened its second gigantic 'Heartland Church.' The slogan "A new way to do church" entices a number of people. This is the midwest and despite all the atheism/agnosticism I come across Rockford is in fact located in the midwest and forgive if I am being Naive but not too far from the 'bible belt.' John Mellencamp is VERY popular around here.
Jesus Camp attempts to convey the idea that the Evangelicals make up 25% of the voting population and are have a big impact on elections. The film follows a youth pastor as she prepares for a week long getaway for evangelical children and their parents. She preaches fire and brimstone and gives a lengthy anti-abortion sermon to about 300 weeping, praying and speaking in toungues kids.

....Sort of disturbing.

What made the film so effective was that the filmmakers didn't try to cast a negative shadow on Evangelicals. It simply showed them for how they are and what a week with an Evengelical chuch might be like.