Best horror movie I’ve seen in years.

Who knew violins and electric guitars sound so wickedly awesome together?

Any story that takes place in ancient Greece and is narrated by a gospel choir instead of, oh I don’t know, an actual Greek chorus is setting some very low standards for itself.

What’s the matter with this film? It’s not the actors. They all give great performances, from the leads all the way back to the set dressing. It’s not the story itself. The Zodiac murders have remained in the public eye for so long precisely because they are both horrifying and intriguing. It’s not the pace. Though slow, I was fully engaged throughout the entire film.

No, the problem with this movie is it’s the length. There is no reason this film needed to be 2 hours and 40 minutes long. NONE. Though I was very interested in the story, the throbbing that began in my crunched up knees just short of the 2 hour mark kind of detracted from my enjoyment of the rest of the film.

Here’s the thing; even though I thought it was way too long, I did not feel there was anything extraneous in the movie. Every scene, shot, interaction that was included in the final version was necessary in order for the Director to tell the story he wanted to tell. But that’s the rub. The story the Director wanted to tell was too long. I think he could have easily told a story, if not exactly the same, then similar, while not going over the 2 hour mark.

Zodiac follows the original investigation of and journalism related to the initial killings. Once the killings stop and the case goes cold the focus turns to Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes so bent on keeping the murders in the news and finding out who the killer is he decides to write a book on the subject and embarks upon his own investigation. So, really this movies tells two stories; the story of the murders, and the story of the writing of Graysmith’s book. I think Fincher would have done better to focus on telling one of those stories rather than both.

While the story of the murders and police investigations are fascinating, alone they’re not very interesting. There is no tidy ending and no moral to that story. The story of how Graysmith wrote his bestselling book does have a tidy ending and a moral. There is a reason to tell and listen to that story. If Fincher had just focused the Graysmith investigation he could have incorporated all the background information in flashbacks, interviews, and simple conversation. And I’m betting that movie would have clocked in at or under 2 hours.

Overall I enjoyed the movie, I just could have used an intermission. You are probably better off saving the ten bucks you’d spend on a theatre ticket and just waiting until you can get Zodiac from Netflix.

The first time I listened to this album all the way through I was unimpressed. Though the music was interesting, the lyrics struck me as juvenile. I figured I’d listen to the one good song on repeat for a day or two and then never pick the thing up ever again. Instead, everyday of the last week I have woken up wanting to listen to this entire album, not just my favorite song on it. I listen to it on my way to work, on the way home from work, when I go for walks. The songs are really catchy and make for a great soundtrack to everyday activities. If you are a fan of infectious pop or folk rock you will probably enjoy this album.

A completely lack lustre album. All of the songs sound exactly the same, not a single one of them stands out. I listened to the entire thing all the way through only once because I have no desire to watse my time listening to it again. Sheryl seems to have fallen into the same rut as songstress Sarah Mclachlan; she has discovered what works for her commmercially and has stopped exploring and taking risks. Damn shame because we KNOW Sheryl is a truly stunning composer and songwriter. I did not hear any of that woman on this album. Maybe it was engineered by her evil twin.

There are a handful of intelligent essays in this collection, but there are far better compilations availible on the subject.

You know a book is well written when you lose track of time whenever you sit down to read it. I raced through this book in under a week because every time I picked it up I never wanted to put it down. Taking place during World War I, “Charity Girl” is the story of Freida Mintz, a young girl who is incarcerated by the military after testing positive for venereal disease. Shockingly, the story is based on an actual government program that was instituted to protect soldiers from VD. Girls were rounded up and detained for months at a time for the sole crime of having an STD.

The pace of the story is spectacular. It moves slowly but only because Lowenthal breathes such life into individual scenes. He paints a picture with so much detail the reader feels as though she is in the moment with the characters. This wealth of detail extends to the characters themselves who Lowenthal has definitely taken the time to get to know. He knows exactly what they want, what is standing in their way, and how they are going to get it.

A book about the limits of freedom and the freedom inhenrent in limitation, the book concerns itself with themes of duality and paradox. The Madonna/Whore dicotomy is thoroughly scrutinized, as is the nature and use of morality. This is a heavy and at times heartbreaking read, one that is well worth the time and effort.

Clerks II definitely isn’t as good as the first, but it’s still a lot of fun if you’re a fan of Kevin Smith. It contains all of the geek references and kinky sex allusions we’ve come to expect from him, but it also gives the viewer a deeper look at Randal and Dante. It was watching this movie that made me realize Dante really isn’t a very sympathetic character. He is always looking for something better than his life and always ends up hurting someone as a result. I don’t understand why all the chicks seem to dig him so much.

And, if nothing else this movie is worth viewing just for the dance number set to the Jackson 5’s “ABC.”

I am addicted to this site. So many great news articles. I’ve been combing through their archives the last couple of days and printing out articles of interest on education, health, money, science, EVERYTHING! I also love that their writers usually do a good job of citing sources. If they mention a particular study, they tell you where you can go to read it.