New DVD Review
by: Valerie Meeks
This summer, many comedies came out, but the true 'diamonds in the rough' were the thrillers. Three such movies are Zodiac, Perfect Stranger, and Fracture. These movies make viewers think, jump, and, hopefully, applaud.
Zodiac is a movie based on the main suspicion behind the infamous Zodiac killer. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a cartoonist for The Chronicle in San Francisco during the time of the Zodiac murders. He gets to be around the stories being published about them and hear the letters from the Zodiac. He begins to take a keen interest in the Zodiac killings and started doing his own investing into it with help from the police officers on the case. Other famous names in this movie include Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downy Jr.
Zodiac, hands down, is the best crime film I have seen. I've tried to figure out what makes it so, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my preference in crime and horror movies is that they are true; this element makes it ten times scarier; not only could it happen, it has; and what's really creepy about the Zodiac killer is that they never had enough evidence to catch him, though, supposedly, the main suspect died of a heart attack. So you have this element, but then after that, it's just wonderfully done with great acting, great writing, beautiful interpretations, it's just amazing. I heartily recommend it for anyone; not only those who like crime and movies about crime, but to anyone at all. One thing that does play against the movie is that it is about 2 1/2 hours long, which for some could be "tedious." I am certainly not under this impression, because, especially in this movie, but really any crime movie, every minute counts; you always have to be on the lookout for something that could solve the case. Although I sing Zodiac's praises, it is not for children, because it shows the murders and has a fair amount of language and could also be potentially quite scary for kids, but I still give it four and a half stars. ****(*)
Perfect Stranger is about another newspaper reporter, Halle Barry, whose main "beat" is to cover seemingly upstanding figures in society and exposing their "dirty little secrets." But when she gets involved in a story that is to expose ad agency (H2A) owner, Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), she finds that sometimes being undercover isn't always an infallible way to get information without getting caught. It's a spider web full of lies, deceit, and secrets and when all comes undone, it shows how ugly being human can be.
Alright, I'm going to level. I didn't really care for this movie, but I have told myself that if someone puts the time and money into making a movie for me to see, and I took the time out to see it, and pay for it to boot, I have to at least find one good thing about it, so, here goes it: Perfect Stranger has a very...unique...plot. There, I've been nice, now I'm not going to be so nice; no more Ms. Nice Reviewer. This movie, in my opinion, added things that were tactless and unnecessary to the story, and this is coming from the girl who loves movies like Crank, Wonderland, and American History X, to name a few; I'm no (perfect) stranger to the not-so-appealing looks into human nature. This movie, though, kind of, sort of, made me want to take a shower. It was just so... I can't even think of a word to describe it. Unnecessary is the only one that comes to mind. It's got loads of pointless sex scenes, cussing left and right, and just overall a nasty, and hopefully misleading, portrayal of people's behavior. This is, again, definitely not a kid-friendly. In fact, it's not even really anyone-worthy. Nonetheless, I still must grant it 1 star. *
Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling co-star in this murder mystery about a man, Theodore "Ted" Crawford (Hopkins), who attempts to kill his wife because she was having an affair. Crawford goes on trial for his wife's attempted murder because he openly confessed, handed in the murder weapon, and came willingly with the police. His case seemed to be one that was "open and shut," as those in the legal field say. As the case, and the movie, unfolds, though, it seems that there are a few cracks in this leak-proof, fool-proof case that not even William "Willy" Baucham (Gosling) can close; not even Willy Baucham, who has a 97% win rate.
I loved this movie. Okay, I know, "wow, great feedback." Well, this is a tough one to do, as there are quite a few points that cannot be mentioned, or else you might as well not watch it, if they are to be given out, they will ruin the entire movie; spoilers, if you will. These same points though, the spoilers, these are the best points of the film. Though Fracture wasn't one of those films that are like walking through mud until you get to the end, when they blast you with a fire hose, it was still sort of slow throughout, with bits that kept your attention for a little while, which, I must say even though I liked the movie, took away from what it really could have been. In my opinion, Fracture is actually pretty clean, considering what it is about, though I would not let my sister, who is twelve, watch it. It has plenty of "bad stuff" such as allusions to sex; obviously including the affair; language, and violence. Overall, I have to give it about 4 stars of 5. ****