Genres

Visitors Review

Emmanuel_Goldstein30 2012-05-26 03:05:45

Not perfect, but who cares?

I saw a screening of it in Portland last Thursday and was blown away.It's definitely not perfect and has its flaws, unfortunately. It hadthe potential to be one of the greatest films of all time, and evenwith its flaws I still feel that it is one of my personal favoritefilms I've seen in my life. There are spurts in the film when itsabsolutely mesmerizing, a really unique film experience that is unlikeanything you've ever seen. I wish the ending had been stronger, witheverything that led up to it I was hoping to have a ShawshankRedemption type ending, but it never came. There were a few otherthings scattered throughout the film that need not have been there orwere a bit cliché. So all in all it wasn't perfect, but in the end andafter a few days since seeing it I realized that I didn't care aboutthe small problems, and that it's without doubt one of the best filmsI've ever seen. With its scope and scale, a project this inspired isnearly impossible to be entirely perfect with all the little details.The vision of it is unrivaled. The cinematography and score areheavenly, and the acting is beyond superb. When you think of the filmas a whole, the story, the vision, you can't help but appreciate whatyou've just witnessed and the people that were involved to dream upsuch a beautiful piece of art, including F. Scott Fitzgerald. So seethe film, let it flow, and enjoy the ride.

dcfemella 2012-05-25 13:47:07

Growing Younger Never Was Interpreted Better

I have always loved "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald; both thebook and the movie. When I heard about this movie in the summer, and Ifound out it was based off F. Scott Fiztgerald's book about a man whois getting younger instead older, I jumped at the chance to see it. Itwas a plus that Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, and JuliaOrmond were in it. Today I headed to the theater with Heather to see ifthis movie was able to do Fitzgerald justice. It did. After the 30 minutes of commercials and previews, the movie finallystarted. It was very creative of Paramount to have the Paramount iconcreated full of buttons. I already knew that I was going to love themovie, even though that really had nothing to do with it. The acting was superb. From the beginning of the movie, I had tears inmy eyes and laughter coming out of my mouth. Pitt did an amazing job asthe curious Benjamin Button. At every moment of his age, I believedhim. He played the old man with a child's innocence with such precisionthat I had to remind myself that it wasn't based off a true story. A big and happy surprise was the acting of Taraji Henson, who playedButton's adoptive mother. I know that after this movie, she is going tohave movie offers left and right. Pitt and Henson had such a wonderfulchemistry that I felt the mother/child love from each of them. Ofcourse, Blanchett and Swinton were just as amazing. The symbolism in the movie was well thought out. I haven't read thebook, so I'm not sure if it was in there already. The hummingbirdflying around in unexpected times signified the freedom andbewilderment that surrounded Button and Daisy. The people Benjamin metall molded him into the person he was. It was great how he recognizedthat. It was great how past events were shown using an old-fashioned camera.It kind of took the same method in "Forrest Gump." I thought that itgave visual breaks in the long movie. What made it more interesting ishow they used different formats of old cameras to represent the past.The movie made me cry. It reminded me of my true love and I, and how hewas the only person who ever loved me on first sight. Button's andDaisy's love was beautiful and wonderful, and I wish that I could havethis with him. It wasn't all about true love. It had a wonderfulmessage about living your life and never thinking you are too old to dosomething. However, the love story helped.Definitely a movie that I am going to get on DVD when it comes out.

2012-05-24 17:21:10

If you have a partner, this thought-provoking movie will make you appreciate growing old together.

What if in the course of an 80 year life span, you meet the love of your life while you're aging forward and they're aging backward? What if you first meet when you're 10 and they're 70, then you're in your early 20s and they're in their mid 50s? What if you meet in the middle in your 40s? And then you're in your 60s and they're in their 20s? What if you have a child together? How do you both prepare for and handle the future, knowing you will grow old, and they will become a teenager, adolescent, child, toddler and infant? This is a well-acted modern adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story concept, spanning World War I to 2005 (Hurricane Katrina.) I didn't realize Brad Pitt could act, but he did an amazing job of playing an old person to a teenager. Ditto for Cate Blanchett and other actors, who also did a wonderful job across the ages from young to old. The acting and makeup made this believable. Ditto for the cinematography, depicting far flung locations and different time periods. It's an original movie plot that makes you think. FWIW, this movie made me cry more than any movie I've ever watched.

rafajs77 2012-05-24 05:31:22

Overrated

This movie was good, but I don't know that it deserved the slew ofOscar nominations it received. It certainly wasn't good because of BradPitt, he has one of the least expressive faces in show business and itis difficult to actually believe he is feeling any of the emotions thescript calls for. Another liability of this film is its length, most ofwhich is spent showing the title character bouncing around apparentlytrying to find himself, which makes sense, given his circumstances, butit is a very superficial treatment. Finally, his aging process is notactually linear (neither forwards nor backwards), so an alreadyimplausible premise becomes even more difficult to buy into. I'm glad Isaw it, but it is not the spectacular film people would have youbelieve.

Jackson Booth-Millard 2012-05-24 08:56:41

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

From Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated director David Fincher(Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room), I only heard of this film when theOscars were coming up, and it did sound quite an original idea.Basically elderly Daisy Williams/Fuller is on her deathbed in hospital,and her daughter Caroline (First Knight's Julia Ormond) reads aloud thediary of a man named Benjamin. In a series of flashbacks, we seeBenjamin born (with his mother dying in the process), and abandoned bybiological father Thomas (Jason Flemyng). He was born in most bizarrecircumstances, throughout his life growing up, he is ageing backwards.So as a baby he was born in his 80's, and as he grows, he looks olderthan he actually is. He was raised by seniors home carer Queenie (Oscarnominated Taraji P. Henson) who found him, and living their he alsomeets the girl who will later become his love, Daisy of course. Now afully grown man, still looking older than his real age, Benjamin(Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Brad Pitt) goes to work on atugboat, has an affair with older, married Elizabeth Abbott (TildaSwinton), goes through the Pearl Harbor attack, and eventually returnshome to meet his revealed father. He is also reunited with a grownDaisy (Cate Blanchett), their love blossoms, they move in together, andof course as Daisy looks older, Benjamin looks younger. It is whenDaisy has a baby that he feels it is not fair to have a man like him asa father, so he leaves. He only returns to see Daisy married to anotherman, and his daughter Caroline grown up, and eventually he returns tothe senior home to be cared for by Queenie, and Daisy, as we see himshrinking to child size, suffering dementia, until dying looking like ababy, and of course, back in the present, old Daisy dies. Also starringElias Koteas as Monsieur Gateau and Josh Stewart as Pleasant Curtis.This is a very intriguing and at times emotional idea for the lifespanof a character, a real change of style and tone for director Fincher,and with superb CGI and make-up effects giving us this journey it is aunique feeling film experience. It won the Oscars for Best ArtDirection, Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects, and it was nominatedfor Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Musicfor Alexandre Desplat, Best Sound, Best Writing, Screenplay Based onMaterial Previously Produced or Published and Best Motion Picture ofthe Year, it won the BAFTAs for Best Make Up & Hair, Best ProductionDesign and Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated for BestCinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Music, BestAdapted Screenplay and Best Film, and it was nominated the GoldenGlobes for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Original Score and BestScreenplay. Cate Blanchett was number 37, and Brad Pitt number 15 onThe 100 Greatest Movie Stars, Pitt was also number 5 on The 100Greatest Sex Symbols, he number 52 on The 100 Greatest Pop CultureIcons, and he was number 30 The World's Greatest Actors. Very good!

2012-05-24 02:46:00

Benjamin Button Blue Ray Criterion

This review is from: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) A beautiful movie in every way possible that looks and sounds as good as possible, and with many informative behind the scenes extras.

khun-marcus 2012-05-13 18:58:07

This year's "Forrest Gump," only worse

This schmaltzy, bloated film sounds, on paper, like it was going to besome kind of unique experience in cinema; to my knowledge, an entirefilm that centers around a person aging backwards has never been donebefore. But as the film eventually progresses on (and very slowly mindyou, slower even than "Zodiac;" Fincher is in need of an editor thesedays) we soon realize that that is the ONLY thing that is unique aboutthe film. It's actually a very conventional bildungsroman which haseverything you expect from any coming-of-age story. We seeopportunities missed, opportunities taken, chance encounters, and awhole lot of death and dying. It's always a cheap way to narrate a filmby killing off characters one by one, but sadly, it IS the film'snarrative.And about the unique element of Benjamin aging backwards, the filmdoesn't really capitalize on it to make a bigger statement of life (Infact, for a running time of almost 3 hours, it doesn't make ANYprofound commentary). Benjamin could have aged normally, and itwouldn't have made a difference. In fact, it just becomes downrightbizarre and sometimes even disturbing in some scenes. When you see adecrepit looking Brad Pitt sharing secrets under the bed with a 9 yearold girl, you will not feel comfortable. What might have been morepoignant is if Benjamin had a real disease and knew he was going to dieat a young age, and he still took the chances he took in this film. Sothe gimmick of age-reversal remains what it is: A gimmick. (Though I'dbe curious to see what Fitzgerald had in mind when he wrote his shortstory.) There are also some plot events that simply do not make sense in thenarrative of the film. Why have Benjamin raised by African Americans?It did not make a difference at all whether he was raised by blacks,whites, or Asians – Benjamin is certainly not influenced by the AfricanAmerican community through the course of the film. For a film thatstarts in the 1910s and makes it a point that Benjamin is raised byblacks, it absolutely makes no mention about the hardships of blacks inpre-civil rights America. Another thing is that the film is told inflashback by Benjamin's one true love, who's dying and lying down in ahospital bed. It is not told in the present, but rather, it is told in2004 in New Orleans. Yes, hurricane Katrina strikes eventually. What'sthe point for the filmmakers to include one of America's mostdevastating natural disasters if it has nothing to do with the plot? Ina way, this film made me appreciate the films by people like YasujiroOzu (whose "Tokyo Story" is one of the greatest films about theimpermanence of life) even more, with their spare, poetic style.David Fincher has made some of Hollywood's most suspenseful films inrecent memory and I thought it'd be interesting for him to try a newgenre. But after viewing the results, this is definitely not Fincher'sterritory, and the only reason I can see why this film was made waspurely for Mr. Oscar. It tries to be this year's "Forrest Gump" buteven there it fails – it has not one memorable line from it, andclearly Fincher is trying too hard to be dramatic. Instead, heeventually becomes melodramatic. It's a curious attempt, and at leastit's pretty well shot, not to mention some outstanding aging specialeffects. In the end, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is Fincher'schick flick, and I hope it's his last one.

2012-05-13 04:35:48

V-e-r-y Interesting Biography/Love Story (Fictional)

2008/165 minutes/PG-13 (brief war violence, sexual content, language, smoking)A story about a man born in his 80s and who ages backwards, the movie begins with an old lady dying in a hospital bed. Her daughter is by her side while a major hurricane is approaching. We move to a story about a couple whose son died in the war. The heartbroken father designs a special clock for the railroad station whose hands move backward, in the hopes of turning time back, so all the sons lost in the war can return home. Of course, no one else appreciated the man's noble idea. He disappeared in disgrace.Back to the hospital scene, Mom gives her daughter a book to read, the story of Benjamin Button (played by the talented and handsome Brad Pitt). About 1920, a woman is dying of childbirth. The father is overwrought when he sees his son, not only because of his wife's condition but also because the baby looks like a little old man. He grabs the baby and runs. Unable to throw him in the river, he abandons him on the doorstep of a single woman's home. A doctor examines the baby and declares he is dying of old age diseases and does not have long to live, but the woman takes pity on this poor ugly child and decides to love him for whatever short time he has left.As time continues, Benjamin slowly begins to grow younger and straighter. He meets a young girl (about age 12?) and they become great friends. After all, Benjamin is really a child in an old man's body. The young girl grows up to be Cate Blanchett, "the woman he is destined to love forever" as it says on the DVD case.This is not an action flick, but the story of a very unusual man and the events surrounding his life. In that respect, it is a slow-moving flick but it is a good story with good actors, and very much worth watching. It is also a love story, about a woman's love for a very different child and about a couple who are very much in love. It's also about forgiveness, and about determination. Tired as I was, I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish watching it.

Jizdenky 2012-05-12 07:05:09

'Sometimes We're On a Collision Course, and We Just Don't Know It'

'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button' is unlike anything of DavidFincher's previous works. It was an entirely different experience fromwatching his previous works like 'Fight Club', 'The Game' and 'Alien3'which had more energy and adrenaline. It is a more 'mature' movie incomparison.Fincher is known for being a very stylistic director but here he uses agentler tone that is rather subtle and quiet. The art direction issimply amazing. Fincher uses a sepia lighting that takes one back intime and adds to the nostalgia (this especially contrasts well with themodern day hospital scenes that use a cold lighting). The makeupdepartment does a splendid job by disguising Pitt and Blanchett andphysically demonstrating the aging of their characters. The camera-workis equally wonderful. Editing is sharp. The gentle soundtrack is lovelyand flows beautifully with the story. Fincher beautifully tells the story about the life of Benjamin Button.The story mainly revolves around Benjamin Button's curious case ofaging backwards but what I liked most about it was his complex lovestory with Daisy followed by Queenie's motherly devotion towards him.The remarkable dialogues are poetic and philosophical. I have always thought of Brad Pitt as an average actor overall. Butthere have been a few movies where he nailed the part and 'The CuriousCase Of Benjamin Button' is one such example. Though many would arguethat Pitt doesn't 'act' much in the movie because he's quiet, who saysthat acting has to be loud or even vocal? If anything, this movie showsPitt growing as an actor and he is very able to successfully downplayroles that demand to be played with subtlety. Cate Blanchett isincredibly beautiful and is phenomenal as the vibrant Daisy. TarajiHenson is lovely and adorable as Benjamin's mother who loves himunconditionally. This actress delivers a spirited performance and she'sa scene stealer. Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond and Tilda Swinton shine intheir roles.'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button' was a unique experience becauseof its treatment of the material. The story itself is derived of anovel concept but it is Fincher's presentation and treatment that makesit one of a kind and hooks the viewer from start to finish. Above all,this is his accomplishment.

lopcar1993 2012-05-11 18:55:59

Posssible the greatest film in a decade!

The curious case of Benjamin Button is a truly amazing dedication tolife and how you should live it. David Fincher's amazing drama tellsthe story of a man named Benjamin Button, Benjamin isn't like otherkids his age. In fact he's like nothing the world has ever seen before,He was a man born old, and as time went by Benjamin started to getyounger and younger while the people around him get older and die. Thecurious case of Benjamin Button is a celebration about the meaning ofliving life to it's fullest. It's an inspiration to all people youngand old that just because your getting older doesn't mean you can'tlive life like there's no tomorrow. I very,very highly recommended thistruly exceptional film.

2012-05-04 01:55:37

FASCINATING, DEPRESSING AT TIMES, BUT INSPIRING!

This review is from: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (The Criterion Collection) (DVD) When I sat down to watch this film I knew very little about it except that the title character ages backwards. As I began watching the film I saw that the running length was two hours and forty six minute and thought to myself.....this had better be good!I was not disappointed at all in this interesting tale spanning the life of a young man with a very unique problem...... or should I say situtaion. The film is well paced and the special FX are nothing short of amazing. I found myself asking how did they do that?! This makes the story all the more believable and this is probably Brad Pitt's finest hour.....he doesn't have many of them!At times I thought of 'Forrest Gump', but it's a totally different film, they just both happen to be about one man's unique life experiences. I don't know how you couldn't like this film? It's got everything you need to make it an enjoyable experience. Great acting, story, FX and it feels as real as a story like this can feel.

2012-05-03 13:35:09

The reversal of age obsession in the OCD youth culture

This review is from: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Blu-ray]Benjamin invites us into the experience of being an outcast in the age of youth oriented worship. In this outer limits like film, Brad Pitt brings to life a character by the name of Benjamin who has so little identity that he floats across the screen innocently recreating that invisible person that every one of us has been made to feel like at some point in our lives. Creatively, Benjamin carves out a unique and fascinating life for himself. From undesirable beginnings to being an uncontrollably desired object of affection Brad Pitt delivers a knock out performance bolstered by his ability to use non-verbal facial expressions and body language to render you helplessly compassionate to his fate. To compliment this cinematic dive into the digital special effects canvas is perhaps today's prima movie star, the Goddess herself, Cate Blanchett. Ms. Blanchett delivers a performance that leads the story line into a realm that only the actors of decades past could create. This motion picture delivers it's message to the viewer in such a way that heart strings are played sensuously like a Spanish guitar. With lighting reminiscent of silent film, Tilda Swinton plays the glow of 2 a.m. encounters of lustful passion as if it were her only sustenance. Yes, we root for Benjamin. We root for love, in a way that could only be conjured by past masters of the screen. For todays younger audience this is a romp into an unknown secretive world of passion. BRAVO!

alyanna-favian 2012-04-27 14:17:01

best film of the year and years to come

this is the best film of 2008 hands down and will be one of the best inyears to come. brilliantly directed. impeccably acted by the wholecasts. wonderfully shot. detailed to perfection art/productiondesign,costume and make-up.with visual effects that will put to shamemost films.amazing musical score that enhances the mood of the film.allyou want in a movie is here - fun, excitement, sadness, happiness andmost of all love. things that we experience in our lives. a once in alifetime epic/fantasy film that every film lover will watch in awe andcherished.truly deserving of all the accolades it received from criticsand film awards.highly recommended and a must have film collection.

2012-04-26 17:11:21

LIVING LIFE TO THE HILT!

This review is from: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Two-Disc Special Edition) (The Criterion Collection) (DVD) Great, Great Movie!I'm on faculty teaching Graduate & Undergraduate Psychology;to keep my lecture interesting I often add movies related to the course. The course was, 'Developmental Psychology: Across The life Span', how perfect was this movie... I have watched it at least 25 times since 2009 prior to purchasing the DVD at a steal,$2.99 (2 disc set), thanks Amazon.CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

pooley 2012-04-26 06:37:43

Benjamin Button is BLAH!

First, this movie was one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. It is nearly three hours long and unfortunately (for me and several hundred other people who suffered through it at the movie theatre with me) that three hours is something we will never get back. I just don't know how you can take a pretty interesting concept and make it so totally uninteresting. It really is mind boggling. Brad Pitt absolutely showed no emotion whatsoever. I didn't feel sorry for him or happy for him because he could barely show any emotion himself. I could have cared less about Ben Button as a person, he was sooo boring. I mean why did he love Daisy so much (Cate Blanchett)? Nobody really knows because his performance was just so lifeless and zombish. blah. Cate Blanchett's character was hard to like, she was icy and you wondered why Ben was so attracted to her in the first place. Next, the story was just plain boring. Nothing ever happened. It was just mainly Ben sitting around having conversations with people. I'm completely disappointed in this movie and will pull my hair out if it wins any awards, except for maybe makeup or something. Save your money and get it on DVD so you can at least get a couple hours of shut eye.

msvaidya 2012-04-25 10:13:40

Overdrawn boring tale dragged down by vanity of the players

One of the few times I wanted to get up and walk out of a movie. Thecore concept is amazing - what if we aged backwards physically? butonce we get past that, everything else falls apart. Just wanting tocreate another Forest Gump does not make it so.The narrative is so burdened by the vanity of the principal characterthat it looses its charm. Women audiences may swoon over Brad Pittriding a bike but that has nothing to do with the story - his characterwould have done that in his youth even if he was aging like the rest ofus.The director seems to be so overtaken by images (Lousiana setting sun)that he looses control of moving the story along.I will be scratching my head over the critical acclaim for this one fora long time!

TheWee 2012-04-23 17:58:41

Good but could have been great

I like many of you had tremendous high hopes going into this film, andnow after seeing it can honestly say it was good, but not great. Pitt,Blanchett and many others give excellent performances in the film, thefilm is beautifully shot however it never gets you to shed that allimportant tear. I stilled loved the film, and I think it's a frontrunner for best pic, but I can't help but wonder what could have beenwith a few minor tweaks. My take away is that life is composed of manysubtle things that ultimately shape how we end up, and this moviedelivers that. The theatre was packed, go out and see this with someoneyou care about it will definitely give you something to discuss.

2012-04-22 23:49:58

yup

This review is from: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I love this movie a lot. i probale scene it a thousand time already. Everything about this movie a great

2012-04-21 07:30:00

A gem

This review is from: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) In the vein of F. Scott Fitzgerald this is a study of life under unusual circumstances. Like in his other novels Fitzgerald has put people into extraordinary situations. The director and tech teams have delivered this unique story to the screen in spectacular fashion....without losing the humanity of the original story. After the first couple of scenes you stop trying to spot the special make-up and effects and just enjoy the waves of emotion evoked by the players. Highly recommended.

bigtimelover2001 2012-04-20 23:44:25

Different

I found the movie very different and that's the only way I can describeit (I mean it in a good sense). The idea was fresh and new, not basedon the usual movie plots. The movie was admittedly long but kept me hooked on until the end, justcurious to find out what Ben Buttons would look like when he reachesthe last stage of his life. I have to admit again, it was peculiar tosee him as a baby in the end, trying to imagine him being 80+ years oldbut then again, I guess they couldn't have finished it anywaydifferently unless they made Ben Button's final stage of life amystery. There was a moral in the film and it did make you realize howwe take things for granted, like the people we love or the littlemoments in life for which we should be grateful for.Overall, I would recommend this movie to all ages. It's worth watching!