Reel Insight Episode 24 - Jake Gyllenhaal

This week we discussed the young career of Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as some TV talk (yes, I'm a dork, Hatter), and movies we've seen lately.  Also, an explanation of my Harry Potter experience now that I've seen it all.

Movies watched for the first time with Jake:

Prince of Persia - I have to say I had no previous knowledge of the source material for this (a video game? maybe?) nor really any concept of what it was about.  Considering that, I really enjoyed it.  It's not good, there's some ridiculous plot holes and it's heavy on action scenes.  Oh, and I don't really think Gemma Arterton can act.  It's sort like why I liked National Treasure - it's pure popcorn entertainment with a bit of a mythological fantasy story thrown in and presumes no foreknowledge of anything.  It's all spoon fed, but still pretty fun.  Ben Kingsley was amazing in Ghandi and in Schindler's List, but should stop playing bad guys - he's just not built for it. 2.5 stars/lambs

 Love and Other Drugs - see my review here.

Zodiac - I stayed away from this movie because I'm generally not a fan of scary movies, particularly serial killers, though I do find them fascinating.  But, with three stars I adore - Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs really changed my opinion of him), Robert Downey, Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, I decided the time had come to check out this David Fincher movie.  And while, I might have cut 20-30 minutes of the story, I really enjoyed the overall experience.  It's not terribly scary as it took place from 1969-1991, and is more menacing rather than thrilling.  It combines the police investigations across many different jurisdictions with the news media because that's a big part of what the Zodiac killer did - sending messages and cryptic codes to the newspapers who then have to discuss events with the police.  Gyllenhaal is fascinated by the story and tries to coordinate all the different accounts of the many murders and witness accounts to solve the mystery, which was never solved.  Great story.  4 of 5 stars/lambs