Sharon Movie: Just Like Heaven

Just Like Heaven (2005)

Director: Mark Waters
Writer: Peter Tolan and Leslie Dixon
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Fantasy

Story

Dr. Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon) is working overtime at her hospital and when she finally leaves for a dinner party; she gets in a car accident. David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) is looking for an apartment and finds Elizabeth’s apartment for rent and moves in. Quickly David finds he is not alone in the apartment because Elizabeth’s ghost appears, but he is the only one who can see her. She will not leave him alone so he finally tries to figure out what happened to her. Together they find that she is still alive and is on life support, but when they find out she could be taken off life support they have to figure out how to get her spirit back into her body.


Everything Else

The story felt fairly original although I am sure you will notice the normal romantic comedy conflict and resolution situations here. The ending however had good enough excitement to make you forget most of the typical romantic comedy standards. Upon first viewing the story also flows quite well although with a second viewing after knowing what happens in the end it seems to lull in the middle.


The directing was clean with plenty of reasonably good camera work and a soundtrack which holds everything together, but the story and acting were what really made the difference. Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon were excellent together and the acting from both was great. Jack Houriskey (Donal Logue) was the friend of David Abbott; Logue did well, but had a rather small part with some humorous lines. Jon Heder even makes it into Just Like Heaven with a similar character to his Napoleon Dynamite. Heder needs to branch out of that role very quickly if he is going to make a name for himself other than Napoleon. He was still funny in Just Like Heaven though.


The Real Deal

I liked Just Like Heaven both times I saw the movie, but the second time was noticeably less exciting. It obviously does not have the replay value that other movies could have, but the romance and humor are still there. I guess it just seemed like there was something missing which makes the movie score lower on my scale than I would like for it to. It is good fun, but nothing too unique. The movie is quite clean in most respects so I could recommend it to just about anyone and obviously it is a Sharon Movie so here is her take on it:

Sharon’s Take

Romantic comedy is probably my favorite genre. I think Mark Ruffalo is the reason I really like this particular movie. In my opinion, he's not "movie star" attractive, but that and his acting make his character seem like an ordinary guy, which in turn made him attractive to me.


The Short Version

Raw Score: 745,394
Sharon Movie? Yes

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Zodiac

What's It About

So what is Zodiac about? Well, it is about a killer who called himself the Zodiac back in the late 60s to early 70s. The story focuses on the people trying to catch him and report about him more than on the Zodiac himself. I wanted to see this movie in the theaters, but I never got a chance to before it left theaters. I am not sure why it went through so fast since it is an excellent movie. Oddly enough, David Fincher made this movie and on the box it says "from the director of SE7EN and Panic Room." That seems kind of weird to me since he also made a little movie by the name of Fight Club and one of my favorites, The Game. I guess he didn't want people to get too excited about Zodiac, or maybe he is trying to get Panic Room some more play since it is obviously the lesser of the two (SE7EN and Panic Room). Who knows, but the real point is that if David Fincher made it, then you should see it. He is a genius, even if Panic Room wasn't.

How'd They Act

The acting in this movie was fantastic. Part of it might have to do with the fact that Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo star in it. Great casting provides great results in this film. Mark Ruffalo is the one that I believe stepped out of his comfort zone a little on this film. He has been in a lot of movies, but most of them seem to be chick flicks. This movie proves that he is truly a good actor. He plays the main inspector involved in the case. His character gets more and more frustrated as the movie goes on as they look for the Zodiac but are not quickly successful. Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job in this movie and proves why he is one of my favorite actors if not my favorite (lets just take Brokeback Mountain out of the picture for a moment). As Robert Graysmith, Gyllenhaal shows how someone that may not have been very much involved in the case could go out of their way to become involved and actually end up writing the book that this film was based off of. Robert Downey Jr. plays his normal quirky character that goes from very well kept successful writer to washed up. He plays the part well, but sometimes I get sick of his acting. I have to hand it to the casting director, this was an interesting mix of stars that pays off big time.

Delivery

David Fincher has a style that is very present in all of his films. He has cutting edge shots that blend seamlessly with movie. He does not disappoint with Zodiac. There were a couple of times in the movie that I actually had to my friend Drake and says, "dude, that was an awesome shot." I am a sucker for the visual presentation of the film, and David Fincher truly keeps me happy in this area. The delivery of lines between the characters works to strengthen the overall presentation. Although the movie was slow a large portion from the beginning to the middle, the acting and directing carry the film. The last hour is where I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next because of the plot. What will happen, will they find the Zodiac?

The Real Deal

I paid nothing to see this film, but would have gladly spent $20. I wanted to see it in the theaters and still wish I had. If you are a fan of David Fincher, then this is a no brainer. If you like crime thrillers then this will be great, but some will think that it is too slow and not enough happens, so be aware of this before seeing it. I expected it to be more action packed or suspenseful, but it is just plain good. That may be why it did not do well in theaters, people just want the explosions and shocks and then they want to go home feeling happy.

The Skinny Version

Should you see it? Without a doubt. 842,678 out of 1,000,000 Stars
Not a Sharon Movie at all!