A to Z Challenge 2020 - Films That Begin With “Z”

The final day!

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Édgar Ramírez, James Gandolfini
Brief Thoughts: With the exception of Birdman, The Hurt Locker is the last work of real art to have won Best Picture at the Oscars. It put a big spotlight on Jeremy Renner, but also on director Kathryn Bigelow. Her next movie was about the mission that took out Osama bin Laden (an ending that didn’t exist when the movie originally went into production). But it ended up being better known as a de facto justification for torture in interrogation techniques. The cast is impeccable, led by Jessica Chastain, in what was her biggest shot at seizing the spotlight, but I think the film’s controversial nature ended up sabotaging that. Still, she remains one of the most effortlessly commanding screen presences today, in a package that seems to defy such distinction. That’s the power of acting, folks, and there are few who can be considered her peers.

The Zero Theorem (2014)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Lucas Hedges, Matt Damon
Brief Thoughts: Terry Gilliam has a reputation for making weird movies, but on the whole his output is not as weird as you’d think. But Zero Theorem is pretty weird. Take Brazil but then chain Christoph Waltz securely to his work station, in a futuristic setting, with futuristic clothing, and...It’s sometimes difficult even for me not to find the results weird, as I love both Gilliam and Waltz, so it should be a great combination, right? Except Waltz is at his best when he’s allowed to command a scene, and basically this whole movie is everything conspiring to prevent him from doing so, which means the results are about confounding expectations, and Waltz being forced to be upstaged by everyone else. Very refreshing, actually! Matt Damon shows up uncredited. He’s had such an interesting career. Increasingly, he just kind of turned up anywhere he wanted to, like here. Also: Lucas Hedges, which is kind of hilarious, because he’s kind of Young Matt Damon. Later, he even finally gave us the Good Will Hunting follow-up we still haven’t actually gotten, Manchester by the Sea (which I still haven’t seen), which costars Affleck. (Casey Affleck, actually. A near-reunion at every turn!) The thing Gilliam has done most consistently is come up with the most interesting casts imaginable. That’s why, for instance, Robert De Niro did the uncredited honors in Brazil. That’s reason alone to enjoy this one.

Zoolander (2001)
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell
Brief Thoughts: The cult comedy of all cult comedies, perhaps, so completely absurd you can’t help but stare, a tale of male models that’s basically Austin Powers if everyone was dumb enough to continue insisting on one million dollars. Ben Stiller may have hit big with There’s Something About Mary but without Zoolander his popular career would have been a lot shorter. Still haven’t seen the sequel, alas. Blue Steel!