To complete Teproc's month, what a fun ride, thank you so much for a glimpse into a very impressive list!
ZODIAC (2007) - I have enjoyed all of David Fincher's films and this sort of noir/serial murder mystery is very interesting, but the overall film was a bit long and shrouded in as much mystery as the reality itself. An ensemble cast driven by solid performance from Jake Gyllenhaal (whom I actually not a huge fan of generally) very much made it an intriguing watch. My knowledge of serial killers is limited, but this one is frightening considering he was never caught. Though I would imagine with today's forensics and the ubiquitous cameras the odds of catching him are a bit greater. Still compared to the 2002 version of NIGHTSTALKER which was like a Swedish heavy metal mess (though with some really cool shots and ideas of being inside the killer's mind), this was an interesting look at the interplay of the media and police in piecing together complicated puzzles. Gyllenhaal plays a sort of autistic savant (I'm not a huge fan of the idea that all autists are geniuses, rather they are simply people not superhuman or abnormal humans), but I believe this to be the author of this particular story who knows himself well enough to accurately portray the character, haha. The weird friendship he shares with Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo's characters are interesting to keep the story rolling along as we hope that they figure out from the clues who the Zodiac killer really is. The strange turns the case takes are as weird as the time lapses that range from a few days or weeks to many years, it was hard to keep up with where we were in relation to the killings. The movie never tries to be a horror (unlike the aforementioned NIGHTSTALKER), though the opening sequence is pretty frightening, and I do like how the cop scenes are mostly in the station or at night, I don't think we see Anthony Edwards character once in the daylight. Fincher use of lighting and music are well done and sets up suspense, but I was not as enthralled as I was with other films like GONE GIRL or SEVEN. Also, I think I prefer a David Lynch MULHOLLAND DRIVE or a LA CONFIDENTIAL noir to this, but still not a bad film overall.
BARTON FINK (1991) - I'm a huge Coen bros. fan and this was such a fun to watch, as I was not quite sure if this was shaping up to be a comedy or a tragedy. In the vein of most of their films we get allusions to the bible, Homer, Goethe, and so many others that I'm not well enough read to even come close to recognizing. Barton's disdain for Hollywood is as surface deep Jack Lipnick's actual appreciation of Barton's work. Barton is an aspiring artist yearning for a new kind of theater as soon as he can become a part of the old theater, pretending not to enjoy the critical success he has obtained on Broadway. Barton's tormented artist finds refuge in an amazing hotel, its our Coen Bros version of the Grand Budapest (I could almost see Anton Shugur nursing a broken arm in one of the rooms) and connects, sort of at least on an impersonal level, with a working man Charlie Meadows played by John Goodman. If only Barton would listen to a story of Charlie's he might overcome his writer's block! I thought of Faust as we got near the enigmatic end, but I am not sure if Barton actually sold his soul as much as he has reached the innermost circle of writing Hell (an ode to Dante's 9th Circle of Hell where the traitors reside in a lake of ice). The cast is a lot of fun and there are the usual awkward comedic moments and a total pot shot at noir-era cops that reminded me of something out of Hawks version of SCARFACE, just a lot more silly. John Mahoney is a golden spot as an alcoholic writer who recognizes the absurdity of his profession, while also being not as genuine (or perhaps not even the actual author) as he appears to be. A lot of fun and mystery (one I'd like to revisit), I enjoyed this one quite a bit, thanks for sharing, a very fun month!