TV on DVD Review: Gotham – The Complete First Season (2014-2015)

Now Available to Own


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Rather than rebuild Gotham from the ground up for 2014's stylish small screen series of the same name, Mentalist mastermind Bruno Heller opted to dig deeper into the origin stories of some of D.C. Comics' most notorious heroes and villains.

Although he initially follows the Batman play-book to the letter in a pilot that is anchored by the shocking murder of Bruce Wayne's parents which leaves the boy orphaned and sets him on the path of becoming the Dark Knight, Heller makes a bold decision to deviate from tradition in a move that both helps and hinders Gotham in equal measure.

For instead of jumping ahead in time to center the series around the adult Bruce Wayne's double life as a wealthy playboy and the caped crusader as expected, Heller breathes much needed new life into the famous franchise for its latest incarnation by promoting Officer Jim Gordon (an excellent Ben McKenzie) to the show's lead.

Working alongside the equally captivating character actor Donal Logue as his cynical partner Harvey Bullock, McKenzie's young idealistic rookie defies the status quo of a historically corrupt police department, eagerly taking down a colorful rogue's gallery of B-villains as the next generation of future A-villains wait impatiently in the wings.

And through McKenzie and Logue's terrific dynamic, Heller establishes what will become a recurring motif in the series of multi-generational partnerships among those on both sides of the law. Fortunately, this technique works extremely well for two of the best and brightest members of the Gotham P.D.

However, the same magic cannot be duplicated in a few of the densely populated show's other unlikely pairings, which is particularly apparent in the first half of the season when we're inundated by so many unlikable characters and the overwhelmingly bleak tone that Gotham begins to wear on our patience.

Moreover with so many double-crosses and shifting alliances, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep everyone straight, especially when formerly vital players are suddenly dropped from Gotham’s storylines as if their scenes were edited out for time and left on the cutting room floor.

And although the behavior of some of Gotham’s secondary characters (including Jim's troubled fiancé Barbara) grows increasingly illogical, the structurally challenged series fortunately finds its footing once again in a gripping final quartet of episodes involving Milo Ventimiglia's horrific Ogre.

Better off developing complex multi-episodic arcs instead of following in the footsteps of an early X-Files "freak of the week" standalone paradigm that does little to advance the overall storyline, as the seeds are planted for the future, Gotham's exceedingly well-researched writing staff begin to exude confidence in the season's stronger second half.

Soon enough, new threats emerge from the shadows – some of whom rise to power while others fall from grace.

Carving out clever new backstories for fan favorite characters like Edward Nygma (a.k.a. The Riddler, played by Cory Michael Smith), Gotham is at its best when it employs foreshadowing so subtle that if we weren’t aware of the impressive minds working behind the scenes, we’d swear it was accidental.

Undoubtedly challenged by an overly padded twenty-two episode season that was extended after it had already begun, at times the tonally uneven Gotham swings like a pendulum from over-the-top gross-out violence to darkly comedic camp.

Caught between a variety of genres and audience brackets, while some of the coming-of-age arcs for the younger cast members lag in comparison the show’s grittier crime elements, the uniformly excellent and refreshingly diverse cast of all ages, races, and faces (including terrific newcomers like Robin Lord Taylor, Camren Bicondova, and David Mazouz) help keep us riveted.

Along with McKenzie and Logue, season one's MVPs also include the versatile Morena Baccarin as Jim Gordon's lady doctor love Leslie Thompkins, scene-stealer Jada Pinkett Smith as notorious villainess (and Penguin's former mentor turned nemesis) Fish Mooney, as well as a refreshingly bad ass version of butler Alfred Pennyworth played by Sean Pertwee.

An artistically sumptuous series, Heller's show is filled with texture and sparkle in its jaw-droppingly inventive costume and set design.

Set in an indeterminate period of time, while Gotham owes perhaps the biggest debt of gratitude to Tim Burton's two breakout Batman pictures based on Frank Miller's comics, it's also indicative of the best parts of other franchise favorites.

A TV series that’s cinematic in scope, from Graeme Revell’s thrilling score to the freewheeling creativity on display in the luminous cinematography bathed in the silvery, gunmetal gray moonlight of a dark night sky, Gotham follows through on the recipe of something old, something new, something borrowed,and something blue.

Along the way, the screen is filled with old world Italian gangsters that might as well have wandered off the Warner Brothers lot in the 1930s and '40s working alongside Hammer horror style villains sure to terrify young viewers.

And although the Gotham City Police Department resembles a more chaotic version of Grand Central Station, Logue and McKenzie's Serpico meets French Connection style '70s antihero antihero leads do their best to keep things moving in the right direction without a Bat-signal to save the day.

A character driven superhero spinoff that's steeped in richly extensive D.C. Comic mythology, only time will tell if viewers will tune in long enough to see Bruce Wayne take his place as Gotham’s dark night somewhere down the line.

Yet even though Heller didn't exactly reinvent the wheel, putting Batman on the back burner and ignoring the well-traveled terrain undertaken by the Batmobile in previous productions forced him to look beyond all of the caped crusader's wonderful toys and try something new.

Knowing that there’s much more to an origin story than a mere prologue, even though it falls short from time to time, Gotham proves that there's more than one way to reboot a series – using present day Batman mythology as the jumping off point to delve deeper into the past.

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Blu-ray Review: Zodiac (2007) -- 2-Disc Director's Cut

"This is the Zodiac" Blu-ray
Arriving on 1/27/09

An Introduction

While I'm hesitant to make lists, once I saw 2007's Zodiac, I realized that it was hands down one of the five best films released that year. More All The President's Men than Psycho-- this true tale gives audiences a factual account of the maddeningly unsolved serial killings perpetrated in California during the '60s and '70s.

Basing the film on not only San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist turned amateur detective Robert Graysmith's definitive books on the case but also the exhaustive police interviews, witness accounts, and facts that could fill countless football stadiums, it gives us the opportunity to sleuth along, trying to solve the case.

Quickly into the movie, we take in the facts, rule in and out testimonies and get an insider's view of the various police departments involved, the journalistic plight (as primarily it's told from Graysmith's point-of-view)and the witness accounts of each horrific incident.

Gripping and never exploitative-- the type of intellectually challenging filmmaking that proves that truth is always more compelling than fiction, David Fincher's underrated masterpiece puts all of those sensational and gritty crime scene television shows to shame with this startlingly authentic work.

Primarily using digital photography throughout to recreate streets and areas that no longer exist and with an unrelenting struggle to represent the characters, settings, and events with the utmost in integrity and accuracy-- this 2-disc Blu-ray edition of the Director's Cut, previously released as a 3-Disc DVD is filled with more case files and interviews that will no doubt send your minds working overtime and second-guessing not just the film's prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen but also some of the other characters used throughout.

However, before I go into the extras of the eerily packaged collection that replicates the Zodiac's letters, misspellings and an old fashioned Chronicle like typeface, I'll serve up my original review of Fincher's work, dated 11/7/07.

I. The Film

Director: David Fincher

Although I loved David Fincher’s Fight Club and Panic Room, I still remember being absolutely repulsed and terrified by the exploitative, disturbing Seven—so much so in fact that it was with great hesitation that I sat down to watch Zodiac—Fincher’s return to the serial killer genre.

However, humans are advised to face their fears for a reason and I couldn’t have been more surprised or impressed by Zodiac which, despite a few brutal and gory crimes in the beginning to set the tone of obsession that will follow, quickly becomes what Roger Ebert justifiably called the “All the President’s Men of serial killer movies, with Woodward and Bernstein played by a cop and a cartoonist.”

Opening with Paramount and Warner Brothers logos that IMDb reported were nearly identical to the ones used in the 1960s, we are plunged back in time to a long hot summer where two young lovers are murdered in their local make-out spot in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The killer phones the police with cold, yet giddy excitement filled with details of his crime and later decides to send letters and ciphers to local papers including The San Francisco Chronicle.

Crime beat reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) begins his series of articles on the man who soon named himself Zodiac and proceeded to break his own pattern with two more murders seen in the first half hour that, although shocking, do not seem quite as exploitative or as painstakingly gruesome as the ones exhibited on a typical CSI or Law and Order spin off series.

The sudden succession of crimes in the beginning admirably--as most critics noted-- gets the traditional horror out of the way so that for the rest of the film we can get lost in the mystery as Avery along with former Eagle Scout, Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) who later wrote the definitive books on the case begin trying to solve it.

Their efforts consist largely of a love of research and bookwork that present a more academic side to the case, which is balanced out by the "just the facts" mentality and efforts of a talented group of police officers, including Anthony Edward’s Inspector William Armstrong and his compulsive animal cracker eating partner, the scene-stealing Mark Ruffalo’s Inspector Dave Toschi who movie buffs may recall was McQueen’s inspiration for Bullitt.

The two inspectors try to coordinate their exchange of information with other local cops from nearby cities including Sgt. Jack Mulanax (Elias Koteas), and Capt. Ken Narlow (Donal Logue), among others.

Although he’s a bit young for his role as Graysmith, there’s a certain natural boy scout quality about Jake Gyllenhaal that has us instantly on the admittedly nerdy hero’s side in his Clark Kent like quest that dangerously becomes such a preoccupation that he begins to receive anonymous calls at his home and his actions threaten the stability of the family he has with second wife Chloe Sevigny.

Philip Baker Hall, Brian Cox, Adam Goldberg, Dermot Mulroney, Clea Duvall, James LeGros, Ione Skye (un-credited but her father Donovan’s "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is featured on the soundtrack) and a chilling turn by John Carroll Lynch as prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen help us get lost in the compelling film with an admirable attention to detail that entrances viewers so much that it isn’t until later that one realizes the amount of visual artistry at work from former music video director David Fincher who’s a subtle stylist and received a much-deserved nomination for the 2007 Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Further research into his deliberate choices revealed that he cast numerous actors in the role of the Zodiac so that, for each scene, it reflects the victims' and witnesses' impression of the perpetrator. It’s these little touches that are so easily lost in the crisp high definition digital cinematography by Harris Savides that calls to mind the same look of the work of Michael Mann.

As someone who was very unfamiliar with the case and like some movie fans just recall the name and the facts being used as fodder for Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, it’s hard for me to judge whether or not viewers well-versed in the case will find it all too introspective and contemplative but it worked well for me and is one definite entry on the very short list of my favorite films of 2007; although sadly, I worry that it was released too early in the year to be first and foremost in the minds of Academy voters.

II. The Blu-ray

And while unfortunately I was right in that Academy voters ignored the film and disappointingly, it also failed to garner a single accolade in its twenty-four nominations from various sources, most likely because of its early calendar year release, it's nonetheless a film that improves not just on repeat viewings when one becomes more aware of the subtle nuances throughout but also given its originally and predominately technical source digital photography.

Simply put while I'm sure that the theatrical version was something to behold, the digital transfer of Zodiac is mind-bogglingly good and although initially, my first encounter with the film was via DVD, the Blu-ray surpasses it easily with extraordinary crispness in picture and sound.

Moreover, you can tell how proud Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures are of the finished result, as they went ahead and upgraded every single special feature save for one on disc two into high definition to make it worthy of an upgrade and are additionally offering a ten dollar rebate to those who already own the film on DVD who are switching to Blu.

The engrossing 162 minute film stands alone on the first disc with two commentary options-- the first with helmer and noted stylistic perfectionist David Fincher who is able to best articulate his decisions throughout (as in disc two we see Jake Gyllenhaal complete 36 takes of flipping a book to make it land precisely the right way) and the second by actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. along with producer Brad Fischer, James Vanderbilt (who produced and penned the screenplay) as well as critically acclaimed mystery scribe and crime aficionado James Ellroy (author of L.A. Confidential).

However for curious would-be sleuths and those audience members who became easily obsessed in trying to solve the case, the real attraction of this edition is the second disc which is divided into two parts focusing on "The Film" and "The Facts," for those who want to go more in-depth with either the making of the feature or the overwhelming mystery itself.

Obviously, as a writer, I went directly for "The Facts," and devoured every detail of the feature-lenth documentary This is the Zodiac Speaking (directed and produced by Fincher himself) that covers every single crime scene, including the first one that wasn't depicted in the film and interviews every surviving victim, detective, and individual who took part in the investigation.

A recurring and underlining theme running throughout This is the Zodiac is that overall, we're dealing with human error, inexperience, and a thirty to forty year plus recollection as angrily we discover the numerous times that first responders may in fact have passed the Zodiac leaving a scene as they approached it in deserted side roads. Additionally, we learn about some facts that were left out of police reports including victim accounts that described the killer, contradictory testimony by a few witnesses and survivors where names other than Arthur Leigh Allen are used, and a general sense of confusion as we try to evaluate all of it with our civilian skills as opposed to the trained eye of a detective.

In perhaps one of the most revealing yet alternatively unsettling pieces entitled His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen, the Blu-ray offers viewers a 42 minute look at the man whom Graysmith and Toschi ended up concluding was in fact the killer, yet certain revelations including some chilling accounts from Don Cheney (who was initially the person that led the detectives and writers in Allen's direction) make one think there's more to the story than we'll ever know.

Was he a co-conspirator? Were there other people involved? Were copycats at play? We'll never know exactly and the investigation continues in a few departments with new leads and more would-be Graysmiths trying to see just what they can uncover, no doubt inspired by Fincher's film and Graysmith's true-crime classic accounts.

Sensitive to gore, I didn't investigate the non-high definition Previsualization extra which offers split-screen comparisons of the three murder sequences included in the film but did find the 53 minute documentary on the feature, Zodiac Deciphered to be well worth a look as those involved admit to finding the case contagious sometimes spending hours when they should be in wardrobe, going over various details and facts.

In order to honor everyone involved and make the film as authentic as possible, the filmmakers set out to use exactly what the victims were wearing and in one particular instance, had to shoot a crime scene in a different location to make it look identical to how it would've been back then as time has eroded locations.

Primarily shot digitally, the director, writer and producers all agreed that they didn't want to make Zodiac a horror genre film since real lives were taken, real families shattered, and so they made the killing scenes just as straightforward and accurate as possible, not adding extra gore or oomph for our desensitized audiences who prefer Saw to brainy Hitchcockian styled thrillers like Fincher's The Game.

And in doing so, it's essential to point out that the crimes all occur within the first 45 minutes and-- much like real life-- we're left with the aftermath for more than double that time as it continues. Well worth the investment and one of the most impressive true crime films I've ever seen-- while most who are rightfully alarmed when the phrase "serial killer" is used-- I urge viewers to give it a chance. This is all the more essential since the film is ultimately focused on determination, intellect, logic and the American obsession to ensure that the bad guys don't get away with bad deeds that's sure to pull you in along with Graysmith.

Moreover, we want to resolve the mystery, set wrongs right to at least give families closure because we can never bring back their loved ones and be able to say once and for all--in a civilized society-- you can't do this without consequences as the Robert Graysmiths, Dave Toschis, Paul Averys, James Vanderbilts, David Finchers and countless others will be watching you.

Blu-ray Review: Max Payne (2008) -- Unrated 2-Disc Version

Seeking Audiences With a Vengeance
On Fox DVD, Blu-ray
& Amazon On Demand
1/20/09



No Payne, No Gain

To begin, I must confess to gamers that I'm more inclined to opt for Miss Pacman over Max Payne. Although, when it came to the film version, I knew one thing would be certain and that was-- to misquote the title of one of 2007's best films-- "There Will Be Bullets."

In transferring the neo-noir shooting game to the screen, a major challenge seemed to be the lack of audience control. In other words, no longer could we lock and load to bust down doors and fire at will any villains who crossed our path as Max Payne on his quest for justice to find the person responsible for the murder of his wife and daughter. No, instead, we just had to sit back and watch. Would it be enough or would our trigger fingers twitch from lack of X-box controls?

Bullets still fly of course and so, in the same vein of Sin City and Death Sentence, director John Moore (The Omen, Behind Enemy Lines) opted for a gritty hyper-real gun-metal color scheme that emphasized the darkness of the character's bloody quest as well as a preference for-- in the vein of classic noir-- filming mostly at night when the bogeyman come out to play, so to speak.

Cinematographer John Sela, production designer Daniel T. Dorrance and Moore revealed in Payne's press notes their initial wish to film the entire movie in black and white (which obviously would be a studio nightmare and unpopular choice for ticket buyers) so instead they "pushed the palette as far they could, with hard light, long shadows, and very graphic compositions."

Noting that they never used lights with color, favoring instead the most monochromatic look possible as Sela acknowledges, the filmmakers state that although the game itself is highly cinematic and largely noir inspired, they hesitated to use too much CGI.

As Detective Max Payne (a terrific Mark Wahlberg) goes on his Charles Bronson like mission through the underworld for three years trying to obtain any shred of evidence remaining on the unsolved murders of his wife and daughter--now relegated to working in the cold case room at the police station-- he begins to realize there are some fantastical elements at play.

Soon he becomes acquainted with a group of Russians including Quantum of Solace's Bond girl Olga Kurylenko (whose exquisite beauty in this film recalls a young Sophia Loren) and her sister played by Mila Kunis (who intriguingly was finally able to use her native Russian language). Moreover, in doing so, Payne also discovers that somehow embroiled into the complicated mystery that led to the murders is a pharmaceutical-engineered street drug, a group of characters all with a mysterious winged tattoo and murders that are believed to have been carried out by otherworldly creatures.

And intriguingly, as Payne's production notes share, puppetry was used for "creature wings" whenever possible in lieu of digital effects which would've probably been the obvious choice for a "video game movie." Additionally, given the film's prerequisite shoot-outs that required "bullet-time extreme slow-motion process" utilizing the "special motion camera system called Phantom," which Moore explains is "basically a digital hard drive that can shoot up to a thousand frames a second," Moore notes that he took great steps to ensure the look of Payne wouldn't seem too derivative or overly-familiar for those acquainted with something a bit similar in the films by The Wachowski Brothers as well as John Woo.

The results of the Phantom camera are impressive indeed but honestly, I found that it seemed more about showing off-- particularly in one concluding finale-- than about adding to the story and felt that overall, the visual look of the film is so superior (especially in its eye-popping Blu-ray quality) that I was more blown away by the film noir mood and visual look of the piece than the expensive gun trickery of slowing down one crucial bullet so that it takes forever to land.

Instead, noir lovers will get lost in the spectacular sweep of the production design and cinematography of the extended night sequences which Moore notes incorporated the Gaelic saying "cobhoh an dolra which means that nature is understanding your mood, that nature has a sympathy for you... what a better way to reflect Max Payne's mood than to have everything dark or shadowy until finally, at the end, the sun breaks into his life. The winter is his ally; this is a guy who hides in shadows, darkness envelopes him everywhere."

And in stark contrast to the darkness is the gorgeous usage of snow which producer Julie Yorn described as being brought out "to create a kind of epic, operatic feeling, in the way it interacts with Max and defines some of his actions." The result is beyond compare and all the more impressive when we're shown a flashback to the day Payne's life was changed forever by the crime which is filmed in nostalgic yellow and gold tones as he smiles (for the only time in the enter film) entering his house without realizing what awaits him.

In this and in all the rest, the film itself is eye-candy, succeeding on a purely visual level even when logically and intellectually sometimes it borders on the overly simplistic and or ridiculous at times, as the mystery is easily solved by the typical viewer less than twenty minutes in.

While it does seem timely and I admired a few of the plot twists including the pharmaceutical and military threads woven throughout and it's always great to see supporting stars like Donal Logue and Beau Bridges in something (even when their roles are minimal overall), structurally it's weak at best but elevated to sheer amazement when transferred to Fox Blu-ray.

Fox-- as they did with Transporter 2-- seem to be able to improve even the most mediocre films as though they were epics based on the excellent grasp they have of their technology. While the 2-disc Blu-ray edition offers viewers the chance to watch it in either its original PG-13 form or an unrated extended cut, also featuring audio commentary by the director, production designer and visual effects supervisor, it also boasts fans the opportunity to take advantage of the digital download feature which refreshingly is both Mac and PC compatible.

This probably comes at the great appreciation of the director who reveals in a mostly ho-hum and somewhat odd two-part making-of-featurette his fear that no one cares about extras or DVDs anymore since sales are down and people "just pirate 'em all."

However, Fox tries to prove him wrong by offering cutting edge technology during the film's Blu presentation itself offering players with the capability, the chance to use a picture-in-picture BonusView that screens the film and Behind the Scenes making of images with the director as it runs, along with a bonus Michelle Payne Graphic Novel.

Although one of the real "surprises" comes via the film itself as I must advise you to either sit through or fast forward the end credits in order to catch an extra scene featuring Wahlberg and Kunis that definitely foreshadows the possibility of a sequel... depending most likely of course, on DVD and Blu-ray sales, rentals, and demand performances.

Referenced & Related

The Good Life (2007)

Explore the Trailer & Photo Gallery

Skateboarding champion turned writer/director Steve Berra's feature film debut begins with an ominous blend of voice-over narration and imagery as the troubled young protagonist Jason Prayer (Mark Webber) coolly discusses the impact of bullets as he walks down a wintry Midwestern street, packing a gun in his hand as he makes his way to a gathering crowd. While we aren't sure just what has transpired after a gunshot rings out, the haunting start stays with us, lingering in our minds as the film chronologically moves backwards in time to weeks earlier.

Quickly we become better acquainted with Jason-- an outcast in his Nebraskan football obsessed town-- who seems to be the type of individual who prefers to stay in the shadows or in corners, self-conscious about his outsider status partially as someone just not into the community's pastime and also with an immune disorder that has prevented him from growing any hair. Wearing a wig, hats, or hooded coats in public to prevent stares, he's nonetheless the unlikely and irrational target of the mean-spirited older Chris Klein, an athlete who seems to be permanently stuck in the past recounting his glory days whether or not anyone wants to listen.

After Jason's police officer father dies, he once again sets his mind on escape from his dreary surroundings but out of loyalty to his best friend and second father (Harry Dean Stanton), the dementia ridden, elderly owner and manager of an old movie theatre that specializes in screening films from Hollywood's Golden Age, he holds off. While his family life isn't much better, especially considering his bullying and obnoxious hyper male stereotype brother-in-law Donal Logue (who is essentially playing a second version of Klein's character), a ray of sunlight enters Jason's life when he meets a beautiful young woman who arrives out of the blue to witness Judy Garland's Harvey Girls on the big screen.

Calling herself Frances and discussing a troubled past as a girlhood singing sensation, Zooey Deschanel's Frances inspires, engages and tantalizes Jason, although anyone who has even more than a passing knowledge of Garland's biography realizes that she may not be exactly whom she claims to be. And sure enough, when things begin to spiral out of control in Jason's life, he begins marching towards the path that he took at the beginning of the film.

Yet Berra is intelligent and astute enough to pack a few twists into his movie, which prevents it from falling into the overcrowded realm of independent cinema chronicling the angst of young white males wanting to be anywhere but there in search of something better. However, it's safe to say that Berra hasn't cornered the market of what I prefer to call the "Gus Van Sant Genre" and the bleak and dreary The Good Life is bolstered by some bright spots including Zooey Deschanel belting out "On the Sunny Side of the Street."

And although it features a riveting performance by Mark Webber, the film-- nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival-- isn't exactly one you'd probably find yourself wanting to watch more than once. Not to mention the fact that the endless sea of indies about death, suicidal depression, and coming-of-dysfunctional-age are beginning to wear on viewers' patience, yet this one fares better than most since it seems to come from a more nostalgic and heartfelt place.

Zodiac

Click Here to Read the More In-Depth Blu-ray Review

Director: David Fincher

Although I loved David Fincher’s Fight Club and Panic Room, I still remember being absolutely repulsed and terrified by the exploitative, disturbing Seven—so much so in fact that it was with great hesitation that I sat down to watch Zodiac—Fincher’s return to the serial killer genre. However, humans are advised to face their fears for a reason and I couldn’t have been more surprised or impressed by Zodiac which, despite a few brutal and gory crimes in the beginning to set the tone of obsession that will follow, quickly becomes what Roger Ebert justifiably called the “All the President’s Men of serial killer movies, with Woodward and Bernstein played by a cop and a cartoonist.” Opening with Paramount and Warner Brothers logos that IMDb reported were nearly identical to the ones used in the 1960’s, we are plunged back in time to a long hot summer where two young lovers are murdered in their local make-out spot in the San Francisco Bay Area. The killer phones the police with cold, yet giddy excitement filled with details of his crime and later decides to send letters and ciphers to local papers including The San Francisco Chronicle. Crime beat reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) begins his series of articles on the man who soon named himself Zodiac and proceeded to break his own pattern with two more murders seen in the first half hour that, although shocking, do not seem quite as exploitative or as painstakingly gruesome as the ones exhibited on a typical CSI or Law and Order spin off series. The sudden succession of crimes in the beginning admirably, as most critics noted, gets the traditional horror out of the way so that for the rest of the case we can get lost in the mystery as Avery along with former Eagle Scout, Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) who later wrote the definitive book on the case begin trying to solve it. Their efforts consist largely of a love of research and bookwork that present a more academic side to the case, which is balanced out by the "just the facts" mentality and efforts of a talented group of police officers, including Anthony Edward’s Inspector William Armstrong and his compulsive animal cracker eating partner, the scene-stealing Mark Ruffalo’s Inspector Dave Toschi who movie buffs may recall was McQueen’s inspiration for Bullitt. The two inspectors try to coordinate their exchange of information with other local cops from nearby cities including Sgt. Jack Mulanax (Elias Koteas), and Capt. Ken Narlow (Donal Logue), among others. Although he’s a bit young for his role as Graysmith, there’s a certain natural boy scout quality about Jake Gyllenhaal that has us instantly on the admittedly nerdy hero’s side in his Clark Kent like quest that dangerously becomes such a preoccupation that he begins to receive anonymous calls at his home and his actions threaten the stability of the family he has with second wife Chloe Sevigny. Philip Baker Hall, Brian Cox, Adam Goldberg, Dermot Mulroney, Clea Duvall, James LeGros, Ione Skye (un-credited but her father Donovan’s "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is featured on the soundtrack) and a chilling turn by John Carroll Lynch as prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen help us get lost in the compelling film with an admirable attention to detail that entrances viewers so much that it isn’t until later that one realizes the amount of visual artistry at work from former music video director David Fincher who’s a subtle stylist and received a much-deserved nomination for the 2007 Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival. Further research into his deliberate choices revealed that he cast numerous actors in the role of the Zodiac so that, for each scene, it reflects the victims’ and witnesses' impression of the perpetrator. It’s these little touches that are so easily lost in the crisp high definition digital cinematography by Harris Savides that calls to mind the same look of the work of Michael Mann. As someone who was very unfamiliar with the case and like some movie fans just recall the name and the facts being used as fodder for Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, it’s hard for me to judge whether or not viewers well-versed in the case will find it all too introspective and contemplative but it worked well for me and is one definite entry on the very short list of my favorite films of 2007; although sadly, I worry that it was released too early in the year to be first and foremost in the minds of Academy voters.

The Tao Of Steve

Director: Jenniphr Goodman


In this infectious blend of pop culture and philosophy, based on director and co-writer Jenniphr Goodman’s friend Duncan North, Donal Logue portrays Dex, an overweight thirty-two year old, highly intelligent underachiever who works with kids part time and spend the rest of his days playing Frisbee golf with his slacker friends, chasing women and perfecting his very own secrets of seduction aptly named The Tao of Steve. Inspired by the “prototypical cool males” like Steve McQueen and Groucho Marx’s belief that if one acts like a woman can’t get into their club, women will do almost anything to become a member—Dex’s three part theory of first eliminating his desire, secondly excelling at something in a female’s presence and then retreating so that they can be the hunters has proven quite successful in securing a revolving door of various women in his New Mexico home where he’s become quite an unlikely, infamous and legendary lothario. However, his confidence and reputation is put to the test when he meets Syd (Greer Goodman, co-writer of the film and the sister of the director), a former college classmate who returns to town on business to create the set-design for the local opera. When the hip and equally sharp Syd seems impervious to his attentions, Dex must reevaluate his entire theory in this cult comedy that was given a good boost not only from finding a fan in late night talk show host David Letterman but also becoming a huge sensation at the Sundance Film Festival where not only was it nominated for the Grand Jury Prize but also won a Special Jury Prize for what they heralded Logue’s “Outstanding Performance” and it is in fact his deserving and fully realized turn here that keeps his otherwise selfish character in the viewer’s hearts.

American Splendor (2003)

Directors: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini

Husband and wife team Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini created one of the very best films of 2003 with this adaptation of the life of “American Splendor” comic book writer and creator Harvey Pekar. Creative and surprising in its storytelling structure, the film alternates between documentary footage of the real Harvey Pekar along with friends and family and the actual fiction film itself. Brilliant, touching and admirable in its simplicity and humanity-- some of the film’s very best moments probably would’ve been left on the cutting room floor if it would’ve been written and produced with strict adherence to the traditional Hollywood three act structure. The people in the film are real—- they breathe and feel and it’s riveting for the viewer. For example, in one of my favorite scenes, Harvey runs into a former college classmate at a local bakery and the two share stories and literature recommendations before venturing home. This subtle, brief encounter highlights the preciousness of life and the seemingly random human connections we find around each corner. I love the segue right into the introduction of Harvey’s wife-to-be Joyce, wonderfully played by Hope Davis who manages to steal most of her scenes away from the always exceptional Paul Giamatti. Destined to gain in popularity on DVD, I believe American Splendor will become a cult-favorite and fans of Ed Wood should take note.