Zodiac

[alexandral]

Another great film from David Fincher! I love love love both "Seven" and "Fight Club" but after my disappointment with "Panic Room" I was a little cautious to watch his new film "Zodiac" about a famous Californian serial killer case .. But ** sigh ** I liked this movie very much and in so many ways..



+ First of all, like all Fincher's films it looks gorgeous (and originally gorgeous). It is filmed in the muted colours of the 60th and 70th with the very interesting palette that favours dark and dirty yellows. As "Zodiac" put me in deciphering mood I am trying to figure out what is the meaning of this yellow, there surely must be some reason for this particular colour to be applied in this particular film..

************ spoilers *******************

+ Second, the film is an intricate mystery. The mystery was not resolved as the real life Zodiac killer was never apprehended but this didn't leave me feeling dissatisfied, rather feeling mystified (in a good way :D).
I know that Arthur Leigh Allen was never charged with the murders even though there is so much circumstantial evidence towards the fact that he was indeed the Zodiac. But! This circumstantial evidence on the other hand is over-balanced by the "hard" evidence because Allen's handwriting, finger prints and finally, partial DNA didn't match that of the Zodiac.. Hmm.. We can disregard the finger prints as they were most likely left by some passer-by as the Zodiac usually wore gloves. We can disregard the handwriting as some fluke of a split personality phenomena.. But DNA? It is hard to believe that Allen was making someone else to lick his envelops in that day and age..
I guess my vote goes to Bob Vaughn with his basement, handwriting and his car.. I wonder if there was a real-life Bob Vaughn?? Or is it a totally fictitious character?

************ end of spoilers ****************

+ It seems that the "Zodiac" case was probably one the biggest disasters in the history of crime investigation. There were unconnected cops working unconnected cases. There weren't real efforts made (at least they weren't shown in the film) to decipher the Zodiac's cryptograms.. Total shambles, disconnected and disorganized..

Something I realized whilst watching the film: Five things YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER DO if you do not want to wind up murdered by a serial killer:
1. Take your beau for a quiet chat on a remote golf course.



2. Or take her to spend some time together on a remote lake, far from the prying eyes of the crowd:



3. Take a taxi driver job. A very VERY dangerous profession!!!!



4. When a guy stops you on an empty road to let you know that something is wrong with your car – DO NOT STOP!!! He is a killer!! This has been happening to me personally recently! Every other guy gives signals to me and tells me that my left brake light is broken!! But I do not listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



5. But nothing can be compared with letting some unknown guy to touch your car!!!!! Even usual garage mechanics should be under suspicion!!

Comments

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I am very glad I did not read your post before I started my long drive! I would have been lying in my motel room convinced there was a serial killer lurking outside to GET ME. :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh! I have forgotten to mention motel rooms. :D But there is some good in everything, I guess.
But you are now in CANADA which is one of the safest countries there is!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'm totally skipping this post, because I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm dying to. Everything I've heard about it has been laudatory, plus I really like Robert Downey Jr.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I hope you will like this! It would be great to know what is your take on "who is the Zodiac in film".. Robert Downey Jr was awesome! All the rest of the actors did a great job too, but if I must choose my favourite in "Zodiac" it will be Robert Downey Jr.. Jake Gyllenhaal was rather a little weird for me which was good considering this fit so well with his role. I often feel this way, there is something strange in him for me, I like this actor to bits but still..

[the-reverand.livejournal.com]

I loved Zodiac. For many reasons!

1. It was not a slasher flick (even though I sometimes love those too), and did not rely on thriller-y moments, though it had them.

2. It was gorgeous, and technically wonderful. The acting was great, the script was great, it did not rush itself, but it did not drag.

3. 70s clothing, shoes, and facial hair. :D

4. Robert Downey Jr.

[the-reverand.livejournal.com]

Oh! And also: 5. San Francisco! 6. Mark Ruffalo and those big wonderful/horrible ties. 7. Dermot Mulroney with graying hair.

Also, also, thank you for the safety tips! I have often wondered how I might better my chances of not being brutally murdered by a serial killer. Now I know!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Do you mean like this : :D



And like that: :D



I could not choose the one tie that I like the most. May be the bow-tie!!! And his haircut was fabulous too!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Absolutely!

It was amazing to see that a 137 minutes film without any action (in a big sense) and without any special effects can be so engrossing. I also loved how close (from what I have read later) the film was to the RL story behind it..

4. Wasn't he wonderful??? He has the most amazing voice!!!!

[trailer-spot.livejournal.com]

I never really doubted it but it's still good to hear that you liked the movie. :)

Strangely enough, I don't really care who the Zodiac killer was. It happened more than 30 years ago and they weren't able to find him. I've totally accepted that the movie isn't about the result but about the search itself. If there would've been a solution it would've been a different, more "average" film.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I always get caught in big unsolved mysteries. :D Was it someone we "knew"? Or someone totally unconnected? I often wish we could find the answers to all the mysteries.. I was also thinking about the cryptograms - someone as illiterate as the Zodiac could have not created anything that nobody can solve, right?

I liked this movie very very much and thank you for the rec - it went under my radar somehow..

[trailer-spot.livejournal.com]

I don't remember, did they say that in the movie that the cryptograms aren't solved? Or did you read this somewhere else?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I think the cryptograms' destiny not that clear in the film but I am 70 percent sure there was something mentioned as well. Initially I read about them in wiki (which again could not be correct but usually is) : The Zodiac coined his name in a series of taunting letters he sent to the press until 1974. His letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers), three of which have yet to be solved. (in here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer)

And the last 18 letters of the first cryptogram weren't solved (this was in the film):

“ I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR MY AFTERLIFE EBEORIETEMETHHPITI

Interesting considering that he is so illiterate. But this could be a) because he was writing like that on purpose, to slow the deciphering process or b) being illiterate doesn't always mean that someone can't think out of the box or c)The last three cryptograms don't really mean anything..

[trailer-spot.livejournal.com]

I see. The reason why I'm slightly surprised is that apparently the investigation has been going on until recently (like the DNA analysis) so I would've thought that using today's technology and computing power it should be able to crack the code. And I also would assume that this is just the kind of mystery many internet geeks like to spend hours/days/weeks/months trying to find the solution. Especially now since the movie made the story popular again. You know how we they are. ;)

One consequence of the illiteracy could also be that he applied code keys inconsistently which would probably make the deciphering almost impossible.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I would've thought that using today's technology and computing power it should be able to crack the code. And I also would assume that this is just the kind of mystery many internet geeks like to spend hours/days/weeks/months trying to find the solution. Especially now since the movie made the story popular again. You know how we they are. ;)

This is exactly what I thought! And because of the reasons you have mentioned I think either some of the cyphers were complete guga or his illiteracy made the deciphering impossible. But surely there must be some geeks trying their powers in deciphering his letters right now.. I am very tempted myself.. :D

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

haha nobody could disagree with yout NOT TO DO list :D I thought the same things when I watched the movie! I watched it a long ago, and I really appreciated its intricate mistery, and the fact that it tells a true story; but since I love finding solutions and keys, I am pretty disappointed about not knowing more :( and I looked for any kind of information about the existence of Bob Vaughn but I couldn't find anything *sigh*
Btw, the actors were great, I couldn't choose between Gyllenhaal, Ruffalo and Downey Jr., they're awesome in this movie. Seriously.
You might like this song from Zodiac OST:
Three Dog Night - Easy To Be Hard (http://www.mediafire.com/?8jtjb3girgd)
(I uploaded it for you, I hope you like it!)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you liked the movie (But I am not surprised - you and your political mind!!!). I also didn't find anything on Bob Vaughn, I guess he is a fictional character.. But this seems to be one of the mysteries that will never be resolved which is a shame because I am positive that if the police got themselves organised a little better they would have had a better chance to solve it.. After all - Arthur Leigh Allen died two days before the police could charge him..

And thank you so so much for the song - this film had a most excellent soundtrack!!