Did you people see the same film I saw?

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Boring, boring, boring movie. There was one scene where I cracked up laughing: "No, it's called a W2 form. WW2 was a war!" Altogether, this was a very slow melodrama. It plays out simple and intricate as well. That is, you can make this as complex as you want, or as simple as you want. The romance and body chemistry between Zero and his love work extremely well. It's too bad nothing else here does. It's a mystery that you don't care gets solved or not, you just want the film to end. Strong efforts from Pullman support the film, as does the love scenes, but not enough to justify why this was a major motion picture. Bombed at the box office, so unfortunately, it was nothing major. There were a few confusing moments, and I have to admit I was lost, but its nothing I can say here without spoiling the premise of the film. ( Hopes that none of the other reviews have, either. This is one of those movies where the less you know, the more you will be surprised.) The WOW factor is used once. No more. That is, you've seen this once, and that's more then enough. Not bad, but not good. Six out of 10 stars! Shine on, Bill !

Continuing my look back on three Buried Treasures from the late 1990s, let's review 1998. That was the year of Steven Spielberg's WWII drama, "Saving Private Ryan. Why it lost the Best Picture Oscar to the lightweight British comedy "Shakespeare In Love" remains one of the greatest mysteries in Oscar history. While "Saving Private Ryan" was the motion picture that year, 1998 was also the year of Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful," John Travolta's star turn (a spot-on Bill Clinton impersonation) in Mike Nichol's "Primary Colors," and director Terrence Malick's triumphant return with "The Thin Blue Line." But there was also a little-seen gem called "Zero Effect." Directed by Jake Kasdan (son of director Lawrence), "Zero Effect" tells the story of Daryl Zero (Bill Pullman), supposedly the world's "most private detective." In fact, Zero is so private he won't even meet with his clients. Instead, he sends his assistant Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) to meet with them, so that he can, in turn, investigate his clients without their knowing who he is. Seems so logical, I wonder why private eyes don't do this in real life. Zero also has a passion for jumping on his bed playing hard rock air guitar.Now I know what you're thinking. Jumping on bed, assistant played by Ben Stiller, strange method of investigation. This has gotta be an offbeat comedy, right? Well, not really. I found the personality quirks (such as jumping on his bed) to be annoying, Stiller plays his role straight, and the very undercover method of investigation works like a charm (at least on screen, if not in real life). No, "Zero Effect" actually happens to be one of the most interesting mysteries I've ever seen on screen.The plot concerns millionaire businessman Gregory Stark (Ryan O'Neal) who hires Zero to find out who is blackmailing him for his money. The blackmailer turns out to be Gloria Sullivan (Kim Dickens), a young EMT who, logically, should have no personal or social connection to Stark. But Zero refuses to turn her in until he understands why on earth she's blackmailing a local businessman. In the process of the investigation (and remember, nobody knows who Daryl Zero is), he begins to fall for her romantically. As the plot continues to unfold, we learn of a shocking backstory involving the millionaire and the EMT. Meanwhile, the romantic entanglement (secondary though it may be to the story) is genuine and heartfelt. Could Gloria be the one to finally "tame" the great Daryl Zero? Yes, "Zero Effect" is a bit offbeat, but again the screenplay is alluring, the script is tight (like something David Mamet might have written, albeit without his trademark stilted dialogue), and the acting is first rate – particularly Kim Dickens as Gloria, the EMT. This was her first major starring role, and she continues to be the best character actress nobody has ever heard of. Need proof? Watch her as the police detective in last year's "Gone Girl," or as Mrs. Boswell in 2009's "The Blind Side." Dickens continues to fly under the proverbial radar while nailing all her roles, no matter how small.Was "Zero Effect" a masterpiece? No, but it certainly deserved better than it got. While critics generally loved it, "Zero Effect" garnered slim box office. Go back and look for this one. You'll be glad you did. "Zero Effect" is my Buried Treasure for this month.

Witty, well written and well done. One of Ben Stiller's best (Mystery Men) performances, and I think Bill Pullman's best to date. Kim Dickens though, she really stole the show as far as I'm concerned. A really moving performance, strong, yet fragile, beguilingly mysterious. The narrative is interesting and amusing, not too studious or too slapstick. Cinematographically nicely done, well shot and apparently accurate geographically, seemed to capture the Northwestern feeling. The elephant in the room, that no one mentions, is that both main characters seem to be suffering from Asberger's Syndrome (or something similar), which can cause savant like abilities to process data, or observations. How else could they deduce what they did. So to me this is an Autistic Love Story.

This starts off pretty good, gets a little better and then fades in the second half and keeps fading.The twists and revelations in the final minute come too late to save the film. Once the suspense the romance ends, it just doesn't work the rest of the way.All of the characters, except by the one played by Ben Stiller, are either crooked or have no life or no conscience so it was tough for me to like a film that has so many unappealing leads.Bill Pullman's narration was pretty good but there was little else for me to recommend this film.