The Game (1997)

On paper the story (and plotting) of The Game seem interesting, but at two+ hours it's a case of too much for too long - it needed some major tightening up. And for about 80% of the running time Michael Douglas didn't hold my attention. He stars as an investment banker (read: wanker) who signs up to participate in a life-changing 'game' that he knows almost nothing about, and in order to keep the mystery of that situation I feel obliged to say nothing more about it. It's a decision that seems out of character for him, to begin with, and while things remedy somewhat as they go on the random/not random happenings and his response to them left me bored and sleepy. The film gambles on the notion that a twisty pay-off will make up for a protracted middle; its popularity suggests that for many folks it does, but it didn't for me.

2½ deeper understandings out of 5

HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT [2015]

A Letter to Elia director Kent Jones pieces together this audio/visual companion piece to what is probably the most essential book for film-lovers everywhere, Hitchcock/Truffaut.
Director François Truffaut interviewed Alfred Hitchcock over a period of 8 days on the subject of his impact on cinema and then published it as a book in 1966.  This film explores some of the more interesting bits of conversation and the influence it had on many of the modern visually-driven directors of today.  Jones manages to turn the subject matter into something tantalizing to the well-educated film connoisseur as well as clearly giving informative insight into the craft for those who are new to film as a finely tuned art.  Pair this one with De Palma and you have a wonderful evening of master suspense film-makers talking about what they do best.

4 lite entertainers or masterful storytellers out of 5

SE7EN [1995]

Director David Fincher's moody psycho-thriller, Se7en, is still one of the only worthy rivals to The Silence of the Lambs as one of the most disturbingly traumatizing of it's kind.
In a rainy unnamed city, two detectives, one on the brink of retirement and one brand new to the decaying city, investigate a series of grisly murders, all inspired by the seven deadly sins.
With it's simple premise, it easily could have been yet another gritty crime film but it rises above that with Fincher's ability to build the tension & atmosphere with dreary neo-noir photography and two fantastic performances from it's two leads.  It hypnotizes the viewer with a thick air of unsettling horror that starts with the Nine Inch Nails-scored main titles sequences and doesn't let up until the jaw-dropping finale that will haunt you for long after it's done.

4 soothing, relaxing, vibrating homes out of 5

FIGHT CLUB [1999]

Director David Fincher's abrasive adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club is like giving a monkey a loaded gun to viewer's how have no idea what the film is actually trying to say.
On the surface it's about a white-collar office worker, tired of what he's becoming, who creates an underground fight club with the help of a brutally honest social misfit.  Below that, you have a cynical social commentary on everything that's wrong with the adults of today, which appeals to most anger-fueled twenty-somethings.  Peel that away and it's picking apart those who live by those cynical ideals and proving that no matter how much knowledge you bestow, you're still an idiot if you don't know how to use it.  Like the fighting blinds the character's from what's going on around them, the sneering facade of the narrator's commentary blinds the viewer with what is actually going on.  With a bit of keen observance and careful deconstruction you'll find it works on numerous entertaining levels.

4 chemical burns out of 5

SIDE BY SIDE [2012]

Side By Side is probably one of the most fascinating documentaries for die-hard film junkies and most definitely one of the dullest for the casual popcorn muncher.
Actor dude Keanu Reeves interviews a slew of modern directors, editors & cinematographers about the pros & cons of digital and celluloid film.  Reeves makes for a wonderful interviewer, asking all the right questions with an impressive knowledge of the subject, aided by a quiet charm and wit about him.  The film itself never picks sides (it's not shot on film by the way) and with all the arguments made from each side I found myself rooting for both by the end.  Either way, as it so firmly exclaims, as long as the heart of the film is in the right place, it shouldn't matter how it's made.

3½ M.I.A. Tarantinos out of 5

GONE GIRL [2014]

With Gone Girl, director David Fincher once again proves he is at his absolute best with moody mystery/thrillers that finds comfort simmering sucker-punch plot twists in the shadows.
Adapted by Gillian Flynch from her own novel, Ben Affleck plays the husband of a missing wife, who may or may not be innocent, amidst the media mayhem that surrounds the case.  It's the type of paranoid Hitchcock-esque film that constantly questions you just how much do you actually know the one you love, which makes for an awkward walk home with your date.  Wonderfully shot, written, tensely paced and flawlessly acted all makes for a crowd-pleaser that will please even the most dedicated fans of it's source material.

4 sociopaths? out of 5

Panic Room (2002)

I had difficulty understanding why a single parent would need such a big house. It soon became clear: it was to enable David Fincher to swish and swoop his camera in some spectacular ways. The movement is the real star of the film, but I'm also a fan of Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker, so those three together kept me entertained despite the relatively thin plot about a domestic burglary being stretched to breaking point.

3 stylish credits out of 5

Alien³ (1992 / 2003)

It's as bleak as a British winter and it'll piss off many fans of Aliens (1986), but I doubt pleasing Cameron's crowd was ever on the agenda of the creative team. If you've seen the Theatrical Cut, then you'll know how messy and lifeless it was. Fincher declined an invitation to do a Dir. Cut himself, so instead we got an Assembly Cut (by editor David Crowther?) that takes a xenomorph sized shit all over the studio's preferred version.

The bad CGI and hasty rewrites are still evident, but the forced camaraderie, the crushing despair and the multiple malignancies are more tightly woven into the narrative structure. Ultimately, if you're a fan of the series and haven't seen the 2003 version, then you really ought to.

1992 Cut: 2½ wall-runs out of 5 | 2003 Cut: 3½ parental instincts out of 5

ZODIAC [2007]

Director David Fincher tones down the abrasive shocks of his usual crime thrillers and opts for a more quietly thoughtful mood in 2007's unsolved crime-drama Zodiac.

Based on the story of the San Franciso serial killer known only as "Zodiac" in the '60's & 70's, the film fascinates with an age so close to ours yet the technology and ways of approaching such a case is vastly different today.  

With it's long scenes of heavy dialogue, precise attention to detail, flat yet strangely gorgeous photography (particularly the dizzying establishing shots) and slow-burning offering of the puzzle pieces, the film will most likely scare away Fincher fans of Se7en and Fight Club who will be expecting their fanboy needs met with violence, a loud soundtrack and cynical dialogue all of which is thankfully absent.  

4 animal crackers out of 5

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

It’s clear from the beginning of Benjamin Button that you’re in for an emotional experience, but it never quite reaches the lofty peaks it promises, except in the frame narrative which made me shed a manly tear. I wasn't seeking more schmaltz, but more affecting relationships, deserving of the quality cast, aided by a less reserved Despalt score would have been very welcome.
The most astonishing thing of all was that it was directed by David Fincher. I didn't think him capable of such a reflective and delicate piece.

3½ hummingbirds out of 5

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO [2011]

Why make a film that's all ready got an amazingly perfect adaptation made only 2 years before?
Director David Fincher does his own thing with Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and if not for the strongly written characters, it'd be almost unrecognizable compared to the Swedish film version. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara do a fine job in their roles (in fact they were perfectly cast) but being a dedicated fan to the original film I feel they can't compare to Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace.
It's more faithful to the novel than the Swedish film and goes into greater detail but makes some slight changes here and there that might anger the dedicated fan.
If you hadn't seen the Swedish version than this would be an excellent introduction...if you have, than it might pale in comparison.

4 Orinoco Flows out of 5