MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Zodiac’ is as suspenseful as ‘Hogs’ is predicable
Zodiac
Rated R, A-
Director David Fincher’s (“Fight Club”) latest film is decidedly less violent than his previous ones. But it still achieves a disturbing, doubtful quality.
Based on actual events recorded in the Robert Graysmith books, the film shows the reign of the notorious Zodiac serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco area beginning in 1969. The film also shows us how the famous murderer’s reign continued for years.
The Zodiac sends mysterious letters and secret codes to newspapers and breathes heavily during creepy phone conversations, consequently consuming the lives of various men on the murderer’s tail.
An exceptional cast portrays these real-life men, including Robert Downey Jr. (“A Scanner Darkly”) as a cynical reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Jake Gyllenhaal (“Jarhead”) as his socially awkward co-worker who draws cartoons, and Mark Ruffalo (“Just Like Heaven”) as a frustrated cop. Each man tells the story through his own eyes as they try to work together, and sometimes against each other, to find the killer.
“Zodiac” achieves success because it’s not just about the string of murders. It also portrays a compelling story of obsession and how it drives each man closer to danger.
Please be warned, this film is over two and a half hours long. So don’t expect to pop in and out of the theater unphased. A few times, the film seemed to be too long, as Gyllenhaal’s character endlessly pursues the case with a wistful hope for victory.
But through the gradual, tedious, unflinching treatment of the story, “Zodiac” reminds us that the greatest mysteries are the ones that never get solved.
Wild Hogs
Rated PG-13, C-
A midlife crisis can be lots of fun. Or at least it can be in the movies.
Director Walt Becker (“Van Wilder”) gives us another hearty slab of doltish humor for the masculine masses.
Tim Allen (“The Shaggy Dog”), John Travolta (“Be Cool”), William H. Macy (“Bobby”) and Martin Lawrence (“Big Momma’s House”) play aging friends nestled into quiet suburbia. Longing for their adventurous days of youth, they go on a motorcycle road trip across the United States and end up facing more rebellion than they planned.
Along their trip, they endure awkward moments with skinny dipping, running out of gas, eating chili and disturbing a real motorcycle gang – sublime moments for male bonding.
After watching this film and laughing only two or three times, I wondered if it would have been funnier if I were 40 years old. All the leading men have fun with their roles, and each of them adds their own style of humor to the film, but none of the comedy is new here.
Because of the lacking originality, patience starts to wear thin toward the end of this film, and the fun gets tiresome. There are even some moments when the story gets so ridiculous that you feel relieved when the end arrives just so you can get out of your seat.
“Wild Hogs” gives plucky effort at being a great, memorable comedy film. But in the end, it just seems to act as an attempted career rejuvenator for its aging actors.
Casey T. Allen is the movie critic for The Utah Statesman. Comments on his reviews or suggestions for upcoming movies you’d like him to write about can be sent to him
at caseyal@cc.usu.edu.