The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Faune A. Chambers
14 Karma Points
Customer Reviews
It's extremely rare these days to watch a movie with exceptional special effects that actually offers a well executed storyline, which is what I discovered about the actual movie. Actors took a strong hold of their respective roles and made you a believer.
The second disc was of special interest to me because I am always curious about the "behind the scenes" extras and "making of" documentaries. This 2 disc edition did not disappoint me.
this movie was beautifuly done. must see several times to get it all. We loved it.
I like this movie very much. It's such a different kind of story about a man aging backwards and the special effects are fabulous. Brad Pitt does a really good job as Benjamin Button and Kate Blanchet is wonderful in her role as well. This movie will (at least it did with me) remind you a little along the line of Forrest Grump. It's funny, sad, and tender.
Caroline is visiting her mother, Daisy, in the hospital while her mom is basically on her deathbed. We are in New Orleans and Katrina is well on its way to making landfall in the next few hours. Daisy tells Caroline to get a book out of the bag she brought to the hospital. This book winds up being the diary of a man named Benjamin Button; a man with an unusual condition of aging backwards. This is the extraordinary story of a man who wasn't expected to live to see his childhood, the people he met and grew to love, the challenging obstacles he had to face, his eventual adulthood, and beyond.
This film grabbed me from the very first frame. For being almost three hours long, it felt about half that long. The film length is not a factor as the events that unfold go by rather quickly.
This was the first film I had ever seen that had made me feel better about myself after the credits rolled. On the way home, I wound up not turning the radio on or anything just so I could reflect on the movie for that much longer and keep this rare, warm, fuzzy feeling for as long as I could.
This is arguably Brad Pitt's best role, at least from the films of his I've seen. Making something like having the mind of a seven year old while having the body of an eighty year old man believable is probably not an easy task, but he pulls it off rather flawlessly. The make-up effects are something to behold, as well. The way these effects are used to show people aging in this film is just remarkable.
I've heard a lot of people compare The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to Forrest Gump. The truth of the matter is that other than both films being told in a narrative style and that characters sit on a bench at some point in both films during the time this story is being told, there really isn't much the two films have in common. I for one prefer Benjamin Button over Forrest Gump, but I'm not taking anything away from either film.
As superb of a film this is, its one downside is its length. That will probably turn a lot of people off. I was a bit weary when I first realized how long it was, but once I was finally in the theater watching the film, it all went by so quickly. My eyes were literally glued to the screen the entire time. The story is sad overall, but it moved me in ways no film has ever done before in the past. It's well worth whatever price you pay for the ticket and it's well worth sitting through the close to three hour duration. I wouldn't tell you it was the best movie of 2008 if I meant otherwise.
Ouch. I never thought I'd be giving a DAVID FINCHER movie a rating under 3 stars. As it turns out... you really never should say "never".
Like I said, I love Fincher. I watched this movie primarily for the fact that he directed it. That, AND the fact that Cate Blanchett is in it. Had Blanchett not been in it, it would have been a zero star rating, if I could give it that!!!
The movie was bad right from the start. First off, the old lady was so over-acted and WAY over exaggerated. I have NEVER heard an old woman talk like that before, and I was there when my Grandmother (on my mom's side) was sick in the hospital. Add the obligatory Hurricane Katrina reference to that and, yep, it was clear this was going to be one VERY bad movie. Should you encounter a start as bad as this, I ask that you eject the disc from the player, drop it in a bucket of ice-cold water, and call the poison control, as you have something very toxic on your hands!
The plot was rubbish for two reasons: One being that it was just a remake of Forrest Gump. Ferchrissake, it was written by the same screen writer! Another being that it was just nonsensical, despite it sounding interesting. For starters, he is a FREAK. He was born an old man. He was adopted. He should have had a rough life but no, he has it all wonderful and what not. There were several parts where I just fell on the ground and flailed around laughing because it was just so hokey and over-the-top.
The BIGGEST problem with the plot was that there was not enough conflict. I mean, come on, this movie is almost three hours long, and whatever conflict there is, it gets resolved in 2 minutes. This got on my nerves. Come on, with the whole "Midnight lover with Tilda Swinton" and "Pursuing Daisy" story, there should be a conflict. Simply put, there isn't. It got on my nerves.
The movie is simply WAY TOO LONG too. Come on, it runs 167 minutes. The same story could have been told in about TWO hours or less! But no, Fincher had to overflow it with so much unnecessary crap (like the Tilda Swinton plot) and 5 minute shots.
Oh the ending was lame too. Come on you drag the plot out for THAT LONG and then suddenly try to end with the *GROOOOAAAANNN* inducing "Some are mothers, some dance, some get struck by lightning" lameness. Way to rush the ending to a very unnecessarily long and slow paced movie. Can someone also tell me why the humming bird was important??? I was just face-palming when it appeared at the end.
By the time the movie was over, I just left the theatre feeling depressed and sick. Come on, too much lame-ness and bleakness, it wasn't even uplifiting-depressing, it was just plain draining and depressing.
Overall, this movie is a total plagarism and a very overlong and unorganized mess of a film, and I love Davind Fincher. Let's hope his Dragon Tattoo adaptation turns out good. As for this, AVOID!!!!
The second disc was of special interest to me because I am always curious about the "behind the scenes" extras and "making of" documentaries. This 2 disc edition did not disappoint me.
this movie was beautifuly done. must see several times to get it all. We loved it.
I like this movie very much. It's such a different kind of story about a man aging backwards and the special effects are fabulous. Brad Pitt does a really good job as Benjamin Button and Kate Blanchet is wonderful in her role as well. This movie will (at least it did with me) remind you a little along the line of Forrest Grump. It's funny, sad, and tender.
Caroline is visiting her mother, Daisy, in the hospital while her mom is basically on her deathbed. We are in New Orleans and Katrina is well on its way to making landfall in the next few hours. Daisy tells Caroline to get a book out of the bag she brought to the hospital. This book winds up being the diary of a man named Benjamin Button; a man with an unusual condition of aging backwards. This is the extraordinary story of a man who wasn't expected to live to see his childhood, the people he met and grew to love, the challenging obstacles he had to face, his eventual adulthood, and beyond.
This film grabbed me from the very first frame. For being almost three hours long, it felt about half that long. The film length is not a factor as the events that unfold go by rather quickly.
This was the first film I had ever seen that had made me feel better about myself after the credits rolled. On the way home, I wound up not turning the radio on or anything just so I could reflect on the movie for that much longer and keep this rare, warm, fuzzy feeling for as long as I could.
This is arguably Brad Pitt's best role, at least from the films of his I've seen. Making something like having the mind of a seven year old while having the body of an eighty year old man believable is probably not an easy task, but he pulls it off rather flawlessly. The make-up effects are something to behold, as well. The way these effects are used to show people aging in this film is just remarkable.
I've heard a lot of people compare The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to Forrest Gump. The truth of the matter is that other than both films being told in a narrative style and that characters sit on a bench at some point in both films during the time this story is being told, there really isn't much the two films have in common. I for one prefer Benjamin Button over Forrest Gump, but I'm not taking anything away from either film.
As superb of a film this is, its one downside is its length. That will probably turn a lot of people off. I was a bit weary when I first realized how long it was, but once I was finally in the theater watching the film, it all went by so quickly. My eyes were literally glued to the screen the entire time. The story is sad overall, but it moved me in ways no film has ever done before in the past. It's well worth whatever price you pay for the ticket and it's well worth sitting through the close to three hour duration. I wouldn't tell you it was the best movie of 2008 if I meant otherwise.
Ouch. I never thought I'd be giving a DAVID FINCHER movie a rating under 3 stars. As it turns out... you really never should say "never".
Like I said, I love Fincher. I watched this movie primarily for the fact that he directed it. That, AND the fact that Cate Blanchett is in it. Had Blanchett not been in it, it would have been a zero star rating, if I could give it that!!!
The movie was bad right from the start. First off, the old lady was so over-acted and WAY over exaggerated. I have NEVER heard an old woman talk like that before, and I was there when my Grandmother (on my mom's side) was sick in the hospital. Add the obligatory Hurricane Katrina reference to that and, yep, it was clear this was going to be one VERY bad movie. Should you encounter a start as bad as this, I ask that you eject the disc from the player, drop it in a bucket of ice-cold water, and call the poison control, as you have something very toxic on your hands!
The plot was rubbish for two reasons: One being that it was just a remake of Forrest Gump. Ferchrissake, it was written by the same screen writer! Another being that it was just nonsensical, despite it sounding interesting. For starters, he is a FREAK. He was born an old man. He was adopted. He should have had a rough life but no, he has it all wonderful and what not. There were several parts where I just fell on the ground and flailed around laughing because it was just so hokey and over-the-top.
The BIGGEST problem with the plot was that there was not enough conflict. I mean, come on, this movie is almost three hours long, and whatever conflict there is, it gets resolved in 2 minutes. This got on my nerves. Come on, with the whole "Midnight lover with Tilda Swinton" and "Pursuing Daisy" story, there should be a conflict. Simply put, there isn't. It got on my nerves.
The movie is simply WAY TOO LONG too. Come on, it runs 167 minutes. The same story could have been told in about TWO hours or less! But no, Fincher had to overflow it with so much unnecessary crap (like the Tilda Swinton plot) and 5 minute shots.
Oh the ending was lame too. Come on you drag the plot out for THAT LONG and then suddenly try to end with the *GROOOOAAAANNN* inducing "Some are mothers, some dance, some get struck by lightning" lameness. Way to rush the ending to a very unnecessarily long and slow paced movie. Can someone also tell me why the humming bird was important??? I was just face-palming when it appeared at the end.
By the time the movie was over, I just left the theatre feeling depressed and sick. Come on, too much lame-ness and bleakness, it wasn't even uplifiting-depressing, it was just plain draining and depressing.
Overall, this movie is a total plagarism and a very overlong and unorganized mess of a film, and I love Davind Fincher. Let's hope his Dragon Tattoo adaptation turns out good. As for this, AVOID!!!!