Without Fear

I don’t think many argue that Fincher is a modern master. He’s become a mainstay at the Oscars. It’s strange that he’s been working the game for around 20 years now. Wow, time flies. As always, the list is mine, and probably only mine, feel free to tell me yours with comments or links.

1. Fight Club

2. Se7en

3. Zodiac

4. The Social Network

5. Panic Room

6. The Game

7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

8. Alien3

NA – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Thoughts.

It says something that he doesn’t churn out the movies so quickly. The man has a finger in every pie when he puts something up on the screen. I like that.

I’d say Fincher has 3 classic movies. No more, no less.

Fight Club AND Se7en are both perfect movies. I just prefer Fight Club slightly more though I’ll admit Se7en is just that step better in almost every single way.

Fight Club is one of very few movies that is so clearly better than the book.

Se7en is just one reason why Andrew Kevin Walker needs to write more movies. I wonder what he’s done lately…

Panic Room came with such hype on the script, it sold for so much and got fast tracked, but it really is more of an elevator pitch than a full script. Such a shame because I love Koepp. Love him.

The Game is a solid and good movie. No more, no less.

Look over many of Fincher’s movies, he nearly always has a big sacrifice at the end. I even worked, ages ago, on an essay about Fincher and the Art of the Sacrifice. I never finished it, and probably won’t.

There are some absolutely cracking scenes of acting in The Social Network. Strangely, I’ll think of that movie for its acting and script but not really its direction. It felt like Fincher just got out of the way, really.

It would be interesting to list the best acting performances under Fincher, there’d be plenty of people crowding for the top three spots.

Alien3 might have been a good movie but it just isn’t. Deal with it. You can’t rag on a flick and then when the director blows up as one of your favourites retroactively change your mind because you want to like his ‘old stuff’. Alien3 just doesn’t work, or maybe it’s just so far deep in the shadow of the first two that it’s barely visible. It’s a shame Alien couldn’t put together another classic sequel. Though how many flicks get one great sequel, it should count itself lucky and not push its luck.

Benjamin Button just didn’t grab me. It’s technically sound and Pitt really is good in it but it rang hollow for me. It is what it is and I accept it.

I would pay to see Fight Club remade exactly, with the same crew and script, but with Pitt and Norton swapping roles. That would be glorious.

Zodiac is the JFK of serial killer movies. It’s glorious, rewatchable, and downright brilliant. It’s like the sleeper hit of Fincher’s career because it seems so many ignore it.

I couldn’t get through the book of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not sure that makes me want to catch the flick at all.

This is my list, what’s yours?