Zodiac

What's interesting to me is how easily Fincher can change gears at the drop of a hat. Fincher does the mundane rather effortlessy, and then when it's needed, the tension gets ratcheted up in spurts, and doesn't overwhelm the pacing of basically a marathon to find the Zodiac killer (with 2 sets of investigations, one being Ruffalo's Toschi and his cop partner Armstrong, and the other being Gyllenhaal's Graysmith. This was one of the fastest moving 2 hour, 40 minutes films I've ever seen. It's mainly plot, plot, plot, with just enough change of pace to keep track of the personal toll the hunt for the Zodiac killer takes on the principal players in this film.

The cast is very good, Brian Cox is so very versatile as he ages like fine wine. Ruffalo, Gyllenhaal, and Downey, Jr. are good (though Downey, Jr. can do the self-medicating/drunk stuff in his sleep), with Anthony Edwards providing a very lowkey supporting performance. I did find it funny when the film jumps ahead 4 years in one stretch, and most of the characters have their hairstyle changed to a more contemporary look, but Edwards' character's hair doesn't (because it's a wig, still, they might have let it grow out a little more, or something).

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.