the movieGOOMBA

Serial killers are usually the creepiest of all the creepies. They have no motives, are mentally deranged, and can attack anyone they like at random. Some unfortunates are even mutilated or tortured. ::shudders:: Lucky for us, serial killers are pretty rare, but that doesn't stop me from keeping all my windows and doors shut, locked in and tight.

Centered around the true life murders of the Zodiac Killer in the late 1960's, Zodiac stars Jack Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, and Robert Downey Jr. Following his murders which take place in different counties up and down the state of California, Zodiac notifies the police about his victims. He's also nice enough to send along letters and blood swatches of his slayings to the badges and the local press.

The film starts out strong with spine-tingling murder scenes and a great portrayal of police and media frenzy, and after some light research, I found each of the facts presented in the movie to be legitimate. To me, that's pretty impressive . . . and yes, this movie was made in Hollywood. Impressed yet? Well, don't get your hopes up too much because somewhere between the 1 hour 20 and 1 hour and 40 minute mark it started to really drag. After that point, Zodiac has stopped murdering people, sadly, taking most of the entertainment value with him, and it becomes an strenuous exercises of following the facts. It wasn't until after the 1 hour and 30 mark that I started to understand why the heck Jack Gyllenhaal was even in the picture. Stated in the film's tag line, "There's more than one way to lose your life to a serial killer," Gyllenhaal's character becomes obsessed with solving the crime even though the case has gone cold for years and despite the fact that he is not anything more than a cartoonist turned amateur detective.

This film stimulated great insight on the notions of obsession. It illustrates the state of initial interest and its gradual (<---a little too gradual) reach to absorbed addiction. What's disconcerting is that Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) was aware of his derogating life, and yet he still needed to know. This is not Titanic! Just let go Graysmith! Let Go!

This movie was too much fact for its own good. The first half consisted of a portrayal of real life events and the last half was all Hollywood. It was too long and un-entertainingly slow, and for a highly impatient person like me, this is a no no. Anyway, I don't recommend the movie, but remember, always lock your doors and windows at night! They're bad people out there . . .

Sidenote: For those of you without plasma TVs like me, here's what those end credits (words at the end of the movie) say: