hardercore

Should there be?

Raul3

4/5*
I read before watching the movie that the script was from the same guy that did Forrest Gump, so I kept looking for a lot of similarities. And there are some. Benjamin is a lot of times like Forrest. There's the lightning guy that sounds a lot like someone from FG.
So I was kinda bothered by that, but then the last third part of the movie got me. And it got me really hard. It was such a powerful moment. I have to admit I cried like a baby in that part.
I still think they could have made a lot of changes, some scenes seemed shorter, and others too large. But at 2 hours and 40 minutes is a really compact movie, time will fly when you are watching it.

Next for me: Seven Pounds.

iggystar

Can we all agree that Cate Blanchett dancing in silhouette was one of the most beautiful dance scenes ever?

I really loved this movie, time flew by I was so engrossed.

FM

I thought that it was beautiful, and I loved every second of it, other than a few seconds when the view across the harbor was obviously a matte painting. Why couldn't they have tossed a few effects dollars at making the smoke move?

I could have watched it for another 3 hours. I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than Zodiac. Blanchett was luminous, and Pitt was very good. All around, a great film.
Roger Ebert has lost it.

In short, I was mesmerized.

hardercore

That film felt three hours, this did not. I have to say that while suitably atmospheric throughout and containing a first hour that's absolutely gripping, I still don't understand the critical praise for Zodiac.

Raul3

I actually haven't watched Zodiac. I'm suppose to be a Fincher fan, a big Se7en and Figth Club fan, but Zodiac wasn't my kind of movie. I guess I should try it sometime in tue future. And I actually didn't watch TCOBB because of Fincher, I just thought the story sounded interesting.

And I think no one has mentioned this before, and I think I'll see a lot of replies after this, but man Brad Pitt looks so gorgeous, pretty or whatever you call a man that looks good. My wife is not a Pitt fan, he's not his type, I am , but she thought he looked really good in some scenes in this movie. I was thinking the same, there was one scene where I didn't know who to see Cate or Brad, both of them looked really good. And not, I'm not bisexual or something like that (not that there's anything wrong with that...), but the photography work or whatever you want to call it was really good here.

riley_dude

I think you can appreciate a Man's beauty without being Bi-sexual.

Going to see this tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

redrum

just got back from this, another great one that's still not better than Dark Knight

this was a long ass movie and it felt long but i really enjoyed it, beautiful flick

Pitt was good ofcourse, didn't really have to do much

definitely one of the top movies of the year tho

fumanstan

I caught this and agree that it felt long, but was still enjoyable. It was incredibly sweet and touching, and the aging of Cate and Brad Pitt were fantastic. I think I liked Zodiac more, since that's just a subject matter that I enjoy more, but this was definitely one of my favs for the year.

I got a Forrest Gump vibe from this as well, as he goes around the world experiencing all sorts of different adventures.

thegame370

Fantastic film, saw this with the wife and with some friends and we all loved it! A beautiful story, unique and just gripping, the 3hrs or so flew by. Pitt was great and so was Blanchett. As others have said tho, i was feeling the Forrest Gump vibe as well. FG still being superior.

fumanstan

Seems to have a lot of similarities to Gump -

http://magnoliatreezyfilms.blogspot.com/

Sanjuro37

I didn't care for all the distracting hospital scenes (there were about three that were relevant and necessary and the rest should have been cut), but this was one of the best films of the year. Fincher's direction was detached to the point that a lot of areas that Roth might have played up for Forrest Gump type preaching came off as normal. This thing is a shoo-in for technical Oscars and deserves to be a Best Picture nom.

PopcornTreeCt

I noticed this too. I never thought the hurricane was gonna end up being Katrina.

Great movie. I loved every second of it. Better than In Bruges, better than The Dark Knight.

Finisher

Close to greatness.

Pitt is a blank slate which works well with Fincher. Still, film would've worked better with a stronger actor.

Premise is inherently poignant.

And agree with this. I'd like to see a cut of the film without the hospital scenes.

fumanstan

I agree that the hospital scenes could have been left out, at least part of them anyway. I didn't have any emotional attachment to the daughter.

PopcornTreeCt

I thought they were well done. I thought I would end up hating them in the beginning but I thought there was just the right amount of them. The Princess Bride has to be the worst offender of "cutting to the storyteller" in the middle of the story.

I had a tough time holding back tears, it got to me like no other movie has done. I feel like, finally, with 4 days left in the year, I have seen a legitimate masterpiece of 2008.

CloverClover

I think it should have been more cynical, all the characters were perfect, had no flaws except when it suited the movie's themes. Since the movie was trying to give an accurate picture of a life, there were surprisingly few life obstacles Button faced... even Gump had these fairy tale characters but had no problem showing the harsh realities of life constantly surrounding and influencing them.

fumanstan

The difference for me was that I found both Savage and Falk engaging in the Princess Bride. I didn't have that feeling in Button, even during the emotional sequences and reveals of the story.

Mr. Salty

It was revealed pretty early on. The news coverage shown on the TV in the hospital room revealed the name of the storm. I kind of rolled my eyes, wondering why they were trying to tie such a big event into the story.

Patman

Fincher directs long films of late, but his pacing is impeccable, and for a nearly 3-hour long film, I found that the film moved at a very natural clip with Fincher's flawless direction, and I think the key is the interspersing of humor at just the right moments that don't feel cheaply deployed. I think I enjoyed the first third of the film more, but the span of Benjamin Button's life told through the memories of Daisy, his one true love, and his journal made for a interesting look at one's age and its impact on relationships, and wisdom that comes with living life, and being open to embrace change and differences.

While I also thought of Forrest Gump while watching this film, the superficial parallels don't undermine the differences in character growth exhibited in this film vs. Gump's lack of character growth (which becomes his strength).

I really enjoyed how Fincher uses special effects to enhance the storytelling, not just become the story, and he and his crew struck gold again with the various ways they aged/de-aged all the main characters, as well as all the details of the historical backdrop for all the scenes.

Both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette shared very good on-screen chemistry, and deliver performances that bolstered the story, keeping the audiences invested in the various beats of their lives, showcasing the starstruck couple throughout their relationship.

I found the core of the story to be sentimental, but the film never seems overly maudlin or overly sentimental, rather it quietly simmers with hopeful enthusiasm for what life brings, even when circumstances make for interesting developments in Benjamin and Daisy's life due to Benjamin's condition that has him growing younger as he ages. It's worth a visit to the theaters to see this film.

I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.

TwineTime

[rogerebert]But life doesn't work this way![/rogerebert]

PopcornTreeCt

Ebert should know that Monster's Ball is "utterly pointless" just as well.

AndyCleveland

saw this on christmas day with 7 others (family)... everyone, including myself, was either bored or disapointed with the film. as a whole, i just don't think it's that interesting and it often borderlines on annoyingly cheesy. there is some great stuff in it (the last 1 minute is extremely touching) but i don't get all the praise.

for a point of reference, my 2008 best are the dark knight, towelhead, wall-e, and slumdog. i really expected benjamin to be on the list.

Superboy

I thought it was great. Almost the way I wish Forrest Gump was.

FM

The film feels to me like something of a fairytale. I've seen it twice, and I loved it as much the second time; I cried like a baby at the end. I've been crying at a lot of movies, so maybe my happy pills aren't working as well as they should.

I can't wait to see it again. I too noticed the similarities with Gump, but they didn't bother me all that much - I was too caught up with the film for trivialities to matter.