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ZODIAC Refusing to wear out its welcome even at 160 minutes, Zodiac is a satisfying hybrid of a police procedural (think L.A. Confidential), a journalism yarn (think All the President's Men) and a serial killer flick (think The Silence of the Lambs). That it doesn't come close to breathing the rarefied air of the three aforementioned classics isn't necessarily meant as a put-down, but it's clear that David Fincher's new movie doesn't provide the same level of either visceral thrills or sublime plotting as its predecessors. Instead, Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) and scripter James Vanderbilt prefer to keep most emotions in check, putting their heads down and dutifully relating the real-life story of how a notorious murderer managed to elude the authorities for decades. Working from a book by Robert Graysmith, the film casts Jake Gyllenhaal as Graysmith, a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist who becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the series of grisly slayings plaguing the Bay Area. Yet Graysmith isn't alone in his fanatical devotion to the case: The mystery also haunts the dreams of Chronicle reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), and as the years march on, the trio's pursuit of justice (or is it merely ego gratification?) begins to take its toll on health, marriage and career. Methodical in its storytelling yet purposely ambiguous in its intentions, Zodiac is a welcome change from the witless murder-mysteries that usually clog our multiplexes. ***

OPENS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4:

ARE WE DONE YET?: Ice Cube, Nia Long.

FIREHOUSE DOG: Bruce Greenwood, Josh Hutcherson.

OPENS THURSDAY, APRIL 5:

THE REAPING: Hilary Swank, AnnaSophia Robb.

OPENS FRIDAY, APRIL 6:

GRINDHOUSE: Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan.

THE HOAX: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina.