Jake Gyllenhaal - obsessed with finding serial killer, Zodiac

Zodiac — Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox
You know a movie is good when it’s over two hours long and doesn’t seem to drag on. Zodiac is just such a film. Based on true events of a serial killer in the early 1970s (often referenced in various forms), director David Fincher masterfully builds horror and an ever-present tension without going to the “blood/gore” well every five seconds. Instead, he simply lets the camera linger a bit here and there, just long enough to make the audience wonder, “Is something coming here?”
The killings are actually basic, but Fincher creates an air of mystery and otherworldliness that makes it possible to believe the Zodiac is anywhere and everywhere. The who-done-it aspect is also well written, letting the audience figure out, wonder, then re-figure as Gyllenhaal’s character obsesses and clings to a case others have forgotten. Great date flick as there will be much clinging. A- (Mark Beneventi)

Alpha Dog — Starring Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin and Sharon Stone. Based on a true story.
When the high strung and easily agitated Jake Mazursky (Foster) owes small-time thug Johnny Truelove (Hirsch) a little money, things spiral out of control in short order. A move of colossal stupidity — Truelove’s crew kidnaps Mazursky’s younger brother Zack — leads to partying and a tragic ending. Huh?
Alpha Dog suffers largely from weak source material. I’m sure the story is quite entertaining to tell buddies over a cooler full of beer, but spending most of the movie watching kids party is not particularly entertaining. And the inevitable tragic ending? Well, it does little to turn the film around. Justin Timberlake did an admirable job. Too bad it had to be in a mediocre film. C (Joe Allison)

Notes On A Scandal — Starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Andrew Simpson
Hopefully this gem of a movie will stay at the theaters a while longer. (Magnolia, Plano Angelika). If not, purchase or rent the DVD.
The acting performances by Dench and Blanchett are top notch, and both were nominated for Academy Awards (Bench as Best Actress; Blanchett in a Best Supporting role).
Blanchett is a first-time high school teacher struggling to deal with unruly students, and Dench is a long-time veteran, who takes her under her wing. When Dench observes an affair between Blanchett’s character and a 15-year old student, she proceeds to blackmail her — not for money but for a “closer friendship.”
Dench is a female version of Jack Nicholson —able to convey the slightest mood or change in feeling by just a slight movement of an eyebrow or narrowing of an eye. Simply brilliant! The movie is totally engrossing and easily one of 2006’s very best. A (Linda Hollar)

Bridge to Terabithia — Starring Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel and Robert Patrick. Based on the book by Katherine Paterson
Jesse Aarons (Hutcherson) is an awkward kid who’s unpopular at school. He’s also poor and has an overactive imagination. Talk about your all around walking target. When new girl Leslie (Robb) moves next door and stomps all of the boys at a race, it becomes quickly obvious that her star is hung a little off-kilter as well. They become natural friends and imagine themselves into a big ol’ magical world called Terabithia. Everything they do at their little wooden tree house-cum-fortress parallels their normal lives, no matter how silly or serious.
Then the hammer falls, and when the tragedy DOES strike it’s solid and heavy. Take note: it’s a kids’ movie, and it’s EXTREMELY realistic. (Don’t buy into those stupid, overwrought commercials that show every ounce of special effects the movie offers). Bridge to Terabithia is every bit as captivating as it is sad. A+ (Joe Allison)

Norbit — Starring Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Terry Crews, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Eddie Griffin
Norbit (Murphy) is a scrawny little guy that gets kicked around his whole life. Enter stereotypical, loud-mouthed, overbearing and overweight Rasputia (Murphy in a fat suit) to save him from all that. The saving is relative, though, because once they’re grown up and married, she’s the one doing all the kicking around. When Norbit’s childhood love Kate (Newton) returns to town, his heart does a few back flips, and he’s ready to kick Rasputia to the curb. Or get kicked. Whatever. Norbit is pretty typical fare, but typical in a tired way. Sort of one part Shallow Hal and three parts Barbershop, Norbit takes the loud-mouthed, fat black girl stereotype and beats the joke into the ground. Yawn. C (Joe Allison)