Zodiac

Jake Gyllenhaal & Chloe Sevigny in a scene from the film

I have literally just finished watching Zodiac and I am buzzing so much after it that I don't think I'll sleep at all tonight. Don't be put off by it's 2 and a half hour length, it moves so quickly you could have sworn you sat down to watch it for an hour.

I am a big fan of murder mysteries. My cousin Bree & I lived on documentaries and films on true murder mysteries when we were growing up and are still watching them now. Of course it scared us but we were so drawn in by it that we couldn't stop watching it. We followed stories such the Frankston murders case, the Cromwell St murders, the Ivan Milat murders and more. But I had never once heard of the Zodiac murders on which this film is based.

The Zodiac murders case spans over a number of years following a few killings made by this man who goes by the name of the Zodiac. He promotes himself by writing letters to the newspapers as well as ones in code which people must decipher to find out more about him. I really don't want to give anything away though and I recommend not doing any research before the film because it will only spoil it. Just do what I'm going to do, which is reading about it after! (Something which I do far too often i.e. after I saw Changeling, I was reading about those murders for a few weeks. It's just so damn interesting).

When you have a cast starring actors as brilliant as Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr and Chloe Sevigny it's highly unlikely you'll be left disappointed. One key thing that really drew me in was the Director being David Fincher who brought us other great films such as Fight Club and Se7en. The cast really don't disappoint, the performances are superb. There is also one scene which truly frightened me, I was hiding behind my pillow in parts, (this rarely happens with me).

I could not recommend this film anymore! Save it for a rainy day when you've got some spare time, or better yet go and hire it right now and watch it immediately! (I am writing this at 1am in the morning though, so am thinking of you readers who are reading this during video store hours).

Rating: 4.5/5

Note: My last 3 paragraphs ended in bracketed sentences, hmmm.

Fight Club

Edward Norton in a scene from the film

It's been just over ten years since the release of David Fincher's 'Fight Club,' but it was only just last night that I finally watched it. Of course I was only ten-years-old when the film was made so I would have taken no interest in it back then, but after working in a video store for 3 years I've been informed to watch it for quite some time.

Perhaps what I most enjoyed about this film was it's original storyline, without giving away the ending, I was quite impressed with the unusual twist it took later on in the film.
I had never seen a film starring Edward Norton before this and judging by first impressions I was quite blown away. Norton definitely steals the show for me in this one, even more so than his well know co-star, Brad Pitt. Pitt is always one to pick quirky roles but Norton really did it for me in this one.
Norton stars as the Narrator of the film, an insomniac that tries a number of ways to help him get some sleep. It isn't until he meets Tyler Durden (Pitt) that his insomnia diminishes when the two start a Fight Club. Basically the club involves a bunch of everyday men who get together at night to fight each other until they are bloody and bruised. What starts out as a club eventually turns into a cult and Norton's character becomes weary of Tyler's leadership role.
Of course there is more to this than meets the eye but of course that is revealed to us later on in the very surprising twist.

One of my main interests when viewing a film is watching how the Director shot the film and how it was edited in the post production process. The moment this film began I knew it would be an interesting one. We are immediately thrown into the life of Norton's character. His mundane work life and his trouble sleeping at home. The best way he describes his insomnia is, "When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake."
The dialogue in this film is quick, intelligent and often rather humorous.

'Fight Club' is definitely one worth checking out.

Rating: 4/5