Zodiac (2007)

In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.

Unusually long, but suspenseful investigation not just of a mysterious killer, but also the obsessions it caused to three men involved with the case.

On rewatching: remarkable how subtle and intense the 70s settings are created; and the performances all around are excellent.

Maltin***1/2: "Riveting drama...Focus more on the manhunt than the crimes and shows how this frustrating case consumed the lives of reporters and detectives alike...Superbly made on every level,with meticulous re-creations of the 70s..."

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

The classic Victorian detective downgraded to contemporary cinema blockbuster standards; the sets are quite spectacular, though.

On second view: I still stay with my initial evaluation and must add the movie is quite boring despite all the spectacle.




On renewed viewing: still not thrilled about it, bit it's watchable.

Maltin**: "Murky, noisy, overproduced claptrap ...Annoying in the extreme - and unintelligible at times - the film gets better in the second half as an actual story emerges, but the overuse of Ritchie-branded editing and CGI effects is deadening."