The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Faune A. ChambersDirector: David Fincher
Studio: Paramount
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Running Time: 166 minutes
DVD Release: May 5th 2009
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DVD Review
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 165 minutes Rating: Pg13
User Reviews
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition) -Depressing Ending - Rating: 3/5
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition) was a three or four star film which my wife talked me into seeing. The premise of a man growing younger made no sense to me before seeing the movie, and made little sense after. Of course, I liked Brad Pit and Cate Blanchett as well as the other performers, but the story just depressed and confused me.
Benjamin is born and is pronounced by the doctor to have little time to live as he has an assortment of diseases which resemble those of advanced age. He then grows up having all sorts of interesting adventures and romances but after a full life when it is time for him to die he starts to get smaller (note, up until now he has been growing larger but younger... and now he is growing smaller and younger) becoming first a forgetful child, then becomes a small child who forgets how to speak, how to walk and then an infant. In the final scene when being held in the arms of his one time lover (who has become his caretaker), looks into his lovers face as a beautiful infant remembering who she (and he) are, and goes to sleep, and ultimately dies. This sequence made no sense and I found it to be really upsetting.
If this film suggested some new idea, besides death being only for old people in aged and broken down bodies, I might have felt the news was worth the depressing message. I didn't need this film to tell me that in an ideal world children in brand new bodies should never die. I feel if a film must depress it should make you feel that you have learned something new or profoundly true about the human condition. I must have missed the idea of the film.
Booorrrriiiiinnnngggg - Rating: 2/5
First off, the short story was much better. This movie-rendering got bogged down in the uninteresting and unemotional love story between Button and what's her name. Made no sense and dragged horribly. (Wife went to bed in the middle of it and I fell asleep twice). Almost comical rendering all in all, and barely, just barely two stars. And what did the hurricane have to do with anything??????? Hollywood blows it again.
Interesting... 3.5 stars - Rating: 4/5
Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button, a man born old who ages backwards as the years pass, so that when he dies, he's an infant. Cate Blanchett is his love interest but there didn't seem to be much chemistry between the two. I also didn't like her character - she seemed too self-absorbed. I guess I thought this would be along the lines of Forest Gump, showing historical events that coincided with Button's life, and it does this only in a minor way. Pitt does a good job with the role and his narrative adds dimension. Tilda Swinton is fabulous and carries this movie. The ending is, of course, a sad one, so beware.
Benjamin Button - Rating: 4/5
This is a pretty good movie about Benjamin Button who is played by Brad Pitt. Benjamin Button is born old and continues to grow younger as the years passes. Benjamin Button goes through numerous of adventures in his life and continues to age younger.
Pointless bore - Rating: 1/5
I wanted to like this movie. In fact I expected to like it. I was sorely disappointed.
Halfway through this film it became evident that the main point the filmmakers were trying to make was that they could pull off the technical feat of reverse-aging Brad Pitt. Frankly, I thought the CGI looked rather fake. Whenever the little-old-young Pitt talked, he looked like a claymation creature. Maybe that's why he spends most of the film looking mildly bewildered, doing and saying pretty much nothing. But let's allow for a moment that the filmmakers succeeded in this reverse-aging feat. What else does this movie have going for it?
Honestly I can't think of anything. The plot is nonexistent, the characters are phony and Pitt's character isn't really even particularly likeable. It's like _Forrest Gump_ if Forrest weren't particularly endearing and he never really did anything interesting. It's like _Beaches_ (ugh) except the characterization is too weak for words. Women fall for the old-young Pitt for no apparent reason at all. He really has no personality to speak of, except, gee whiz, he's aging in reverse. His lines are insipid and pointless. The movie utterly fails to justify why Cate Blanchett is infatuated with him, and their delayed love story creates the only real arc the story has. Then the arc takes a random turn [[spoiler alert]] when he abandons his love and their baby daughter, so the baby doesn't have to see him in his reverse aging process. Cate can't understand it and neither can we. Later we learn he writes letters to his daughter saying he "wishes he could have" been there for her first steps, her first day at kindergarten, etc., and we viewers are supposed to somehow feel empathy about this. Instead we feel contempt. What an idiot. He goes and looks at pyramids and crap, knowing his days are numbered, when all the while he could be raising his daughter -- which he claims is what he really "wishes" he could do. Ridiculous!
OK, I'm ranting. But I gotta tell you, I put off seeing this movie because I knew it had been over-hyped at the Oscars and I didn't want my expectations to be too high. But really it was just a waste of two hours. Benjamin Button is a great big bore!!!
