The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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That's funny. Just got back from LA and saw a sign for it on every other block..........then saw the ads hyping it.......then thought about seeing it.........then saw your post and was expecting some great review........but, alas........
 
The movie worked for me, not so much because of how the story unfolds (it doesn't take much to guess how it will end) but rather the "growth" of Benjamin's experience in the world and the relationship building between Benjamin and Daisy (Pitt and Blanchett's character respectively). Also It made me wonder a bit about life and how it would be to live it in reverse. While subtle, the CG was pretty neat to watch.

Plus when it comes to movies, I'm a big sucker for period pieces and I really liked the costume design and locations shot for the film.
 
We saw it @ the Alamo yesterday & both walked out with a "meh" feeling. Beautifully shot, Cate Blanchett is stunning, Pitt is surprisingly good in an understated way, but in the end it felt a mile wide and an inch deep. I couldn't help but feel like I was watching Forrest Gump II with better visual effects & less of a story.

It's not a bad film but David Fincher really could have said more by tightening things up. Maybe he decided aimless meanderings @ points in the movie were a metaphor for life in general, but 3 hours to basically repeat the same messages over & over does get a bit tedious. In the end I think he relied on the reverse aging gimmick & beautiful cinematography to try & mask the fact that the characters were a bit cliche` and the story was rather pedestrian.
 
My mom liked it. I didn't ask my dad about it and since he did not mention it on Christmas I guess he didn't care for it.
 
I thought it was amazing and the best movie I've seen in quite some time. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were brilliant and wonderfully charming in their two unique ways. The love story was fantastic, and the insight the concept gave into life, change and the peculiarities of growing old were great. I fell in love with Blanchett.

There was certainly a strangeness in watching an old man grow young. The scenes with him as an "old child" were especially uneasy, but I think they conveyed the oddity of the story well and set up the rest of the film.

Overall, the film was very moving and if you do did not well up at some point, you should seek medical attention immediately to check your pulse.
 
I've been wanting to see this movie but I think twice about any movie when its close to 3 hours. Seeing a 3 hour movie on DVD is one thing, sitting in a theater for that long is something else.
 
I thought I felt someone in my head. It was GhostofTomJoad. I agree with his post all the way down to the Forest Gump feeling. I didn't know the films had the same screenwriter. What I disliked about both movies was the homey truisms about life served up like they come from the mouth of Plato himself.

I didn't feel like leaving the movie, but I won't remember much about it in a few months. It seems like a blown opportunity to explore such an interesting concept.

Note to Rex Kramer: Maybe you should start your own thread about the movie asking for a mere thumbs up or down. Or maybe a hullabaloo or caneck.
 
saw it last night. it's a cross between forrest gump and big fish, and isn't as good as either. pitt is pretty good, blanchett is pretty good, the lady playing pitt's adoptive mother is good, and the story is decent. tilda swinton makes me want to jump into oncoming traffic. the lightning guy was the best part of the movie.

i don't like long movies that lack a "payoff." i felt like this thing went on and on, and then just ended.
 
I thought this movie was pretty great. Agree with the Big Fish/Forrest Gump comparisons, though I, too, would not put it on the same level as those.
 
Maybe it has something to do with age. I'm fifty-three, and thought it was one of the best movies I have ever seen. If not for Heath Ledger, Brad Pitt would get his Oscar.
 
It was long that is for sure. Seemed a lot titanic to me. Long and sappy and pretty obvious where it was heading. But it was well shot and did make me think about getting old and losing my mind. Unfortunately many things do that these days.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I thought Blanchette and Pitt were exceptionally good. I also enjoyed seeing New Orleans portrayed as it was. Completely romaticized, as it should be. The supporting case was also quite good. I was completely entertained for almost 3 hours. I did cry at the end.
 
I really enjoyed it, but it could have been about 30 - 45 mins shorter. My brother seated next to me absolutely hated it. I can see that too.
 
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