Detective movie
Zodiac
Storyline
A serial killer in the San Francisco Bay Area taunts police with his letters and cryptic messages. We follow the investigators and reporters in this lightly fictionalized account of the true 1970's case as they search for the murderer, becoming obsessed with the case. Based on Robert Graysmith's book, the movie's focus is on the lives and careers of the detectives and newspaper people.
Review
Audiences have waited a while for a new piece of work from Mr. David Fincher and now that hiatus is officially over. Straying away from his style that earned him a 'cult' following, he brings out a new side to himself, some techniques not yet observed in his repertoire.
ZODIAC feels like it was made by a perfectionist, everything flows so smoothly. The editing is pinch-perfect. Not only that, but Ficher shows that he is an actor's director as well, directing his cast into true life roles wonderfully. But the credit does not go all on to his shoulders. The actors have a lot to do with that themselves. Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays the author of the book of the same name, plays his character with an irresistible 'nerdiness' that is just fun to watch. Then it is amazing to watch Gyllenhaal transform that character into an obsessed wannabe detective, losing all focus and normal aspects of his life. Mark Ruffalo plays a humorous and overworked cop with incredibility. He really gets the job done. Downey Jr., however small his role was, plays on the screen with witty insanity that brings most of the laughs of the movie. The acting really is a major pro. ZODIAC may come out at a long time slot but the viewer will never realize it because of the film pulling one in, and not wanting to leave until the case is solved. That is why ZODIAC is fantastic and a great welcome back gift from Fincher to not only his fans but to everyone. ZODIAC is definitely the best film of 2007 so far.
ZODIAC feels like it was made by a perfectionist, everything flows so smoothly. The editing is pinch-perfect. Not only that, but Ficher shows that he is an actor's director as well, directing his cast into true life roles wonderfully. But the credit does not go all on to his shoulders. The actors have a lot to do with that themselves. Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays the author of the book of the same name, plays his character with an irresistible 'nerdiness' that is just fun to watch. Then it is amazing to watch Gyllenhaal transform that character into an obsessed wannabe detective, losing all focus and normal aspects of his life. Mark Ruffalo plays a humorous and overworked cop with incredibility. He really gets the job done. Downey Jr., however small his role was, plays on the screen with witty insanity that brings most of the laughs of the movie. The acting really is a major pro. ZODIAC may come out at a long time slot but the viewer will never realize it because of the film pulling one in, and not wanting to leave until the case is solved. That is why ZODIAC is fantastic and a great welcome back gift from Fincher to not only his fans but to everyone. ZODIAC is definitely the best film of 2007 so far.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Storyline
To be a Pet Detective, you have to understand both criminals and animals. Ace Ventura goes even further... He behaves like a criminal animal. When a football team's mascot (a dolphin) is stolen just before the Superbowl, Ace Ventura is put on the case. Now, who would want to steal a dolphin, and why?
Review
The undeniably juvenile, but funny and entertaining comedy stars Carrey—in his breakthrough role—as a goofy, wildly eccentric pet detective hired to find the missing Miami Dolphins mascot. He's the right man for the job but his childish idiosyncrasies, uncanny bond with animals, and aberrant investigative techniques cause outsiders to question whether or not he can actually make good on his word. Aimed mostly at fans who really enjoy silly humor, others will quickly find it tiresome. There are some amusing cameos by real Dolphin football players (including an engaging Dan Marino) but this film belongs to Carrey and his constant outrageousness. Sure-fire entertainment for fans of this genre.
Lucky Number Slevin
Storyline
In an airport waiting room, a man in a wheelchair tells a stranger a story about a fixed horse race in 1979 that resulted in a family's deaths. In Manhattan, two bookies and the son of a Mob boss die. A young man just out of the shower answers the door to a neighbor woman and explains that he's visiting, has had a bad week, including being mugged, and doesn't know where his pal, who lives there, is. The neighbor is chatty; she's a coroner. Two thugs arrive and, believing the visitor to be the guy who lives there, take him to see the boss with the dead son, who tells him to kill the son of his Mob rival. Mistaken identity? What connects the threads? Cops are watching.
Review
Lucky Number Slevin – no, that's not a typo – will easily be dismissed as Tarantino-esquire. Starring Josh Hartnett as the unlucky title character, the film has more twists and turns than a high-tech roller-coaster, but it's just as much fun (and almost as immediately forgettable).
Directed with the breakneck technique by Paul McGuigan from a clever though highly implausible script by Jason Slimovic, the film is cast, with one minor exception, impeccably. It marks the first role that justifies Josh Hartnett's hype and bestows Lucy Liu the most normal – and incandescent – part of her career. It's a bonus that they have palpable on-screen chemistry, as well as great foils in the guise of Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman (though Ben Kingsley's high-strung performance as The Rabbi is a miscalculation). The film itself is stylized – written in high gumshoe/screwball mode, with a guided tour of ugly wallpapers throughout history as part of its hard-boiled milieu – though the actors' convictions root the topsy-turvy narrative in recognizable human terrain.
At its best, Lucky Number Slevin has the feel of a minor John Huston caper directed, with prankish glee, by Brian DePalma. It's a blood-revenge thriller with no depth, though there are reservoirs of feeling in Hartnett's and Liu's performances, as well as wit. Liu seems to the screwball manner born. And Hartnett prances around for nearly 30 minutes of screen time in nothing more than a long purple towel and a quizzical expression. He's such a game actor that his performance is both a put-on and homage to the long line of MacGuffins in film noir. With, of course, a twist.
Directed with the breakneck technique by Paul McGuigan from a clever though highly implausible script by Jason Slimovic, the film is cast, with one minor exception, impeccably. It marks the first role that justifies Josh Hartnett's hype and bestows Lucy Liu the most normal – and incandescent – part of her career. It's a bonus that they have palpable on-screen chemistry, as well as great foils in the guise of Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman (though Ben Kingsley's high-strung performance as The Rabbi is a miscalculation). The film itself is stylized – written in high gumshoe/screwball mode, with a guided tour of ugly wallpapers throughout history as part of its hard-boiled milieu – though the actors' convictions root the topsy-turvy narrative in recognizable human terrain.
At its best, Lucky Number Slevin has the feel of a minor John Huston caper directed, with prankish glee, by Brian DePalma. It's a blood-revenge thriller with no depth, though there are reservoirs of feeling in Hartnett's and Liu's performances, as well as wit. Liu seems to the screwball manner born. And Hartnett prances around for nearly 30 minutes of screen time in nothing more than a long purple towel and a quizzical expression. He's such a game actor that his performance is both a put-on and homage to the long line of MacGuffins in film noir. With, of course, a twist.
Memento
Storyline
Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One storyline moves forward in time while the other tells the story backward revealing more each time.
Review
If the director of this independent film tried to make us feel really confused, like the main character, he did it wonderfully. There are only a few movies like this one, the kind of movies that makes you pay attention to every minute of it. Obviously, that doesn't work all the time, but this case is the exception. Really well directed with wonderful photography and an excellent cast. The main actors' performances are great. We really root for the guy as we hate the ones who try to take advantage of him.
Original films like this one always stand out. Perhaps it didn't catch much attention at first but now it is in an important position at the IMDb top 250 and that means that most people recognize great movies when they see them.
As I said before, this movie is a little confusing because it runs backward while the black and white scenes run in chronological order. But that wasn't a cheap trick to make the movie more "intellectual", it was its strength. A rare film that shouldn't be missed.
Original films like this one always stand out. Perhaps it didn't catch much attention at first but now it is in an important position at the IMDb top 250 and that means that most people recognize great movies when they see them.
As I said before, this movie is a little confusing because it runs backward while the black and white scenes run in chronological order. But that wasn't a cheap trick to make the movie more "intellectual", it was its strength. A rare film that shouldn't be missed.
Brick
Storyline
The lonely teenager Brendan finds his former girlfriend Emily dead in the entrance of a tunnel of sewage and recalls her phone call two days ago when she said to him that she was in trouble. Brendan, who still loved Emily, met bad elements of his high-school trying to contact her, and when he succeeded, she told him that she was OK. He hides her body in the tunnel and decides to investigate the meaning and connection of four words, including "brick" and "pin", that Emily told him to find who killed her. Using the support of his nerd friend Brain, he successively meets the small-time drug dealers Kara, Dode, Brad Beamish, Laura, and Tugger, to reach the teenager powerful drug dealer The Pin. Slowly, Brendan unravels the motives why Emily was killed and plots a revenge.
Review
Saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival. It's essentially a film noir set in present-day San Clemente High School, reminiscent of "The Big Sleep," but with drug-dealing added to the mix of double-crossing. The characters may be teenagers, but the dialog channels Chandler and Hammett, and my only real complaint with the film is that Joseph Gordon-Leavitt (in an otherwise wonderful performance) sometimes mumbles; this is the dialog you don't want to miss. Lukas Haas is wonderfully eccentric in what is essentially the Sidney Greenstreet role, Noah Fleiss as the dumb thug, and Nora Zehetner even LOOKs like Mary Astor. As with all the great American noir films, there are many sardonic laughs inserted into the dark story.
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