If there is one thing that everyone must do before they die, it is this; attend a midnight showing of a movie. These showings are for the people who are just too excited for the movie that they must see it as soon as possible. Rarely will you ever experience a movie like this. The entire theater is full of people who might as well be of the same mind. They laugh, cheer and jeer at the same time and the same moments. So, when my friend told me he had tickets to the midnight showing of “300,” I was not about to pass up the chance to have that experience.
“300” is not only based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, but also on the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartan warrior has become widely know as the bravest in history. To a Spartan, the best death was a death in battle. There was honor in it and they never gave up and never retreated. It is this battle that has made them the legends they are. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartan soldiers stood up against King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and the Persian army at Thermopylae, a key route into Greece.
One thing that I have heard about this movie is that it is too bloody. Allow me to point out a few things to all those who agree. First, it is a movie based on an ancient battle. They used sharp pointy objects to kill their opponent, which is bound to cause some blood spatter. Secondly, it is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel. Miller uses blood in such a way that it is stylistic and not gory. Movies like “Braveheart” and “Gladiator” had the same amount to blood, maybe even more, but were critically acclaimed. The blood is in no way any more excessive then in any other film to come before it.
The bloody battles aside, the movie is visually stunning. The backgrounds were all done digitally to match the graphic novel as closely as possible. Just as with “Sin City,” the graphic novel was used as a storyboard. Shots appear in the movie just as Frank Miller drew them.
One of the most amazing visual effects was used during some of the battle scenes. They set up three cameras together. One set for close up, one for a medium shot and one for the long shot. They were able to cut within a single movement from the close up of the character to the long shot of the character and the surroundings. It really was an amazing technique that added something new to the same old battle scene.
Performance-wise, the standout would have to be Lena Headey who plays Queen Gorgo. She plays the perfect Spartan woman. They are just as tough and just as stubborn as the men. She is not easily pushed around and will do whatever it takes to help her husband. She pleads with the council to send reinforcements to help Leonidas fight off the Persian invasion. She is torn between what is best for her people and what she wants. She knows that Leonidas is going off to his death, but she keeps herself together because she knows this is what is best for Sparta.
There is a larger story lingering behind all the visual effects, battle scenes and bloodshed. It goes beyond the simple story of these 300 Spartans who stood up to an army of a million; it is the ideals of the society they fought to defend. The movie is historically accurate: this battle happened, and the Spartans were a very military oriented people. There are some liberties taken to make it more mythological and dramatic, but on the whole, the movie sticks to the truth. The beginning of the movie tells the audience all about how a Spartan boy is taught from a very young age that to fight and die for Sparta is the greatest sacrifice one can make. Before she sends her husband off to war, Queen Gorgo tells Leonidas, “Come back with your shield, or on it.” This line sums up the Spartan culture presented in “300.” Honor was everything and there was nothing else worth living for. To die in battle meant you would be remembered forever and this was the greatest honor a Spartan could receive. 
It is these ideals that drove the 300 to fight and keep fighting until their last breath. Their sacrifice saved the rest of Greece from being taken over by the Persian army. They gave the rest of Greece the time they needed to rally their troops and prepare to take on the Persians. To this day they are used as an example of true courage, and that’s exactly how the Spartans would have wanted it.
9 out of 10
Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
Runtime: 117 min
If you have ever taken a once a week class, then you know how slow those three hours go by even if the class is interesting. Every now and then something interesting will peek your interest, but there are large chunks of time you feel like whacking your head repeatedly against your desk. Take that feeling and add in a dark theater, huge screen and surround sound and you will have my “Zodiac” experience.
“Zodiac” is based on the book of the same name written by Robert Greysmith about the killings in the San Francisco area in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. After a July 4th killing, papers in and around San Francisco received notes and coded messages from a man claiming to be the killer. The papers were told to run the coded message or he will go on a killing spree. Greysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle and the Crime Reporter, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) become obsessed with cracking the case and finding the killer’s identity.
A warning for those who want to go see this movie; you will feel every single of the 156 minuets of this movie. It is very long and not a lot happens. The first 20 minuets are when the only actual killing happens. Then there is a long time of letter getting, false accusations, and a ton to theorizing. Then it picks up toward the end and you finally get to go home and tell you family that you were not kidnapped, you just went to a movie and it is safe to call off the search party.
It could have been a lot shorter. There was a lot of information spread out over a very long time span. All of it was important information, but it did not seem to lead to a big revelation for a very long time. The actual case of the Zodiac killer took place over the course of more then 20 years. There were periods of 4-5 years where the Zodiac was not heard from. Much of the movie deals with the letters that the paper received from the Zodiac and the cops narrowing down the possible suspects. The big breaks in the case are few and far between. Not a ton of action, no shoot-outs and no chase scenes to break up the monotony of all the characters talking.
The excessive time length aside, this is a good movie. It is, at its core, a 2-hour character drama. All involved in the case, cops or reporters, are affected by the Zodiac; Avery turns to drugs and alcohol when he is targeted in a letter by the Zodiac, Greysmith’s marriage suffers when he becomes obsessed with finding out who Zodiac is, William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards), on of the cops assigned the case gets transferred because he cannot deal with the case. They become victims of the Zodiac. They may not lose their lives, but in some cases they lose their livelihoods.
The most interesting relationship of the movie goes to Avery and Greysmith. Though Avery likes and trusts Greysmith, he doesn’t let that get in the way getting him with a quick one-liner. Greysmith is, for lack of a better term, wound tight. He has no friends outside of work and spends a lot of time working on puzzles. Avery on the other hand is a “fly by the seat of your pants” type. He is not afraid to step on the toes of the cops and there are a few funny clashes between him and the cops on the case. Greysmith has a more methodical approach. He works on the clues he has and bases his questions and actions on what he finds. It is this relationship that saves you from wish the Zodiac would burst into the theater and kill you, the sarcasm, because that would be less time-consuming.
The only weak point in “Zodiac” is the runtime. It could have been cut down in some places and nothing would have been lost, but it is the performances that keep the move from being a waste of time. If you have some time to kill, go see it. Just make sure it is an early time, because you may end up spending the majority of your afternoon in a dark movie theater.
7 out of 10
Rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images.
Runtime: 158 min
Everyone’s favorite bumbling cops have made their way to the big screen. “Reno 911! Miami” is the movie based on the popular Comedy Central series “Reno 911!” which follows the members of the Reno Police Department. The officers are in Miami for a national police convention when the convention center is attacked with an unknown biological agent. Luckily, or unluckily depending on whose point of view you take, the cops from Reno were on the outside at the time. Being the only cops anywhere close, Lt. Jim Dangle (Tom Lennon) and his crew are called upon by the Homeland Security to protect Miami, find out who planned the attack and find the antidote before the cops on the inside are dead.
This movie is basically a longer version of the show with a lot more cursing and a few explosions. Fans of the show will love this movie. It brings the deadpan comedy that has made the show popular and transitions it to an uncensored R-rated version. Even one of the more memorable residents of Reno, the lying, drug addicted, male prostitute Terry (Nick Swardson) makes an appearance in Miami. He is integrated into the movie without the non-fans feeling left out because they do not know who this man is. While the cops are talking to him, they provide just enough background to let everyone know this character’ s history. The movie moves along a lot like the show; a main story mixed in with a montage of the cops answering their various calls; a beached whale on a topless beach, a crocodile in a pool, Terry getting called in for lewd conduct and many more simple situations made complicated by their incompetence. Though much of the movie is devoted to these smaller outings, it all comes back to the bigger story line of helping the trapped cops. 
Adapting a television show to a movie is a tricky thing. There is a need to attract more then just the fans of the show. The movie starts out in Reno and we get to see just how the cops handle the situations that they face. Once they get to Miami, both new and old viewers know what is in store for the rest of the movie. 
There are a few surprising cameos that pop-up through out the movie; actors you would never expect to take part in such a lowbrow comedy. The biggest and most surprising of these is Danny DeVito. He is the caliber of actor who would you not expect to stoop to be in a movie with such a unknown cast. His appearance may be brief, but it is memorable none-the-less.
“Reno 911! Miami” is only 84 minutes long. It is the perfect runtime for this movie. In a world where movies go on for an average of over two hours, this movie knows exactly when to call it quits. They keep the story simple, the comedy raw and end it within a reasonable time without over doing it.
If you are a fan of this show, go see it. It is just as funny as any episode of “Reno 911!” without those annoying bleeps to get in the way. All your favorite characters are there and give you just what you have come to expect form “Reno’s Finest.” For those unfamiliar with the show, this is a good introduction to the unusual methods of the Reno police force.
7 out of 10
MPAA: R
Runtime: 84min
