Move over Forrest Gump and make room for Benjamin Button.

[ForeverAutumn]

This is what I kept thinking through The Curious Life of Benjamin Button. I couldn't help thinking about Forrest Gump as I watched this movie. Both Forrest and Benjamin were men who were born different and found true love. Their stories are as much love stories as they are stories about life and lessons learned along the way. Now, having said that, please don't mistake me...Benjamin Button is it's own movie and not a Forrest Gump clone.

This story is about the life of a man born old who gets younger as time goes by. His story unfolds through the reading of his diary. And while his story is not as remarkable as Forrest's, there lies much of it's charm. He leads a relatively ordinary life all things considered.

I don't want to say too much, but this movie held me entranced for almost three hours. I never wanted to check my watch or wondered how much longer. I simply sat there wanting to see what happens next.

The movie is very well filmed and edited. As it spans 60 or so years, we can feel time go by though seeing our surroundings change and people age. There should definately be some awards for make-up in this film.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I think that it will go down in history as a modern classic along with movies like Forrest Gump, Rain Man and The Shawshank Rememption...movies that are great for their story, production and acting.

This is a movie worth seeing.

[Sugar Beats]

I'm glad you liked it! It gives me a good excuse to go see it now. I was waiting for your review once you mentioned you would be seeing it.

The make-up, cinematography, etc. had all been mentioned in other reviews I've read, but I was curious about the acting. I love Cate Blanchett, but wondered re: Brad Pitt, who I am not thrilled with as an actor. I wasn't sure he could pull this kind of role off.

The story line had me intrigued from the get go, as I have never read the book.

I'll be sure to see it this weekend! Thanks again...
I'm ususally pretty picky about what I go see these days & spend $ on! :thumbsup:

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey, Happy New Year SB!

I think that Brad Pitt is highly underrated as an actor. He just needs roles that let him shine. It's hard to show off your talent (IMO) in movies like Oceans 11 or The Mexican. Have you seen 12 Monkeys, Seven or Kalifornia? If not, you should rent them. After seeing Kalifornia you'll never look at Brad Pitt the same way. He's one of the creepiest serial killers ever!

He often gets written off as a pretty boy, but I think that he's a very talented character actor, up there with guys like Johnny Depp and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. But that's just my opinion.

And, yes, he pulls off Benjamin Button very well. I wouldn't be surprised to see this movie win a few Oscars.

[Sugar Beats]

I will go get Seven, I'm trying to recall if I've seen it...

I don't think so. Or maybe only parts of it. I did see Kalifornia a really long time ago. Maybe I'll have to watch that one again too. I know I never saw 12 monkeys... What's that one about anyway?

I really am excited to go see Benjamin Button now.

And btw, thanks for the review on Seven Pounds. I was on the fence re: that one. I think based on what you said I'll just wait for the rental.

[Kevio]

The movie looks gorgeous and the acting is good. The story (based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) is thin, especially for a 3 hour movie; Forrest had a lot going on - Button, not so much. The romantic elements are cranked way up; overdriven. Chicks dig that though.

[thekid]

Well it might be a movie worth taking the wife to and score some points before hunkering into the football bunker for the weekend..... :D

I would not quite put Brad Pitt in the class of Depp (who I think is somewhat quietly building a pretty impressive body of work) but he is underated. Seven and 12 Monkeys were very good performances. I also liked him in Legends of the Fall and the recent Jesse James pic.

[Auricauricle]

Yesterday, the wife and I watched The Curious LIfe of Benjamin Button. Fincer's film is beautifully shot, with great editing that frames the actors as though they were painted onto the screen. The last film to strike me as such was The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Make up and effects were, likewise quite remarkable, and did not present themselves obtrusively, but subtly, startlingly. Pitt's performance is, likewise, unassumingly deft, and he and Blanchette are choreographed and intertwined in an unusual awkwardness that was refreshingly real. As stories go, FA's comparison to Forrest Gump is not off the mark; it is a parable about life. Much like Voltaire's Candide, or Cervantes' Don Quixote, The Curious Life of Benjamin Buttons is a figurative tale; the device, the hook that drives it (the "curiosity" itself), is simply that. I agree also with Kevio, the story is fairly sparse, nearly a Haiku. Three hours was too long; this is a succinct tale and should have been presented as such.