Oscar Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

First off, I want to say that if you don't agree with this order, that's really just your opinion. And if you haven't seen all the movies, do you REALLY know? Here's a video to explain how I feel when people disagree with my blog:



Anyways, just 5 days away from the Oscars and we're already on 3rd Place! Today I'll be reviewing what I think is the 3rd best movie in the Best Picture category, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Players: Directed by David Fincher, Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Taraji Henson.
Also Nominated For: Best Director (Fincher), Best Actor (Pitt), Best Supporting Actress (Henson), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects. Whew.
Plot: The story of Benjamin Button, a man who ages backwards with bizarre circumstances.

Review: WInston Churchill once said that the Soviets were "an enigma wrapped inside a riddle." That's the way I felt about Benjamin Button. A part of me really, really enjoyed watching this movie, while another part of me thought it was more boring than The English Patient. David Fincher creates a magical world, full of visual beauty and exceptional creativity in showing Brad Pitt as an old man. But while Button is a beautiful, visual wonder, it trudges along like a snail in a marathon. In a vastly overrated performance by Brad Pitt and a "Who the hell are you?" performance from little-known but Oscar nominated Taraji Henson, there is nothing but an ordinary life, but backwards. An old woman telling her story to her daughter (the worst part of the movie) and a man falling in and out of love. An ordinary man in an unordinary body. The premise is one that is so full of possibilities, it makes you wonder how this was the final product. Did Fincher simply spend too much time on how they were going to visually do this movie, rather than figuring out the movie itself? I love David Fincher, who has yet to make a single dud. But in a movie so anticipated (at least in the Oscar community) and with a premise that allows for limitless possibilities, it just seemed like "Big Fish" without the humor. But the reason I have it here 3rd, is because of how wonderful the movie was, visually and technically. Where the story is lacking, the way the story is portrayed makes it at least a little more interesting. I don't think that Button is a Best Picture worthy movie, but worthy of (besides the acting ones) every other Oscar it is nominated for. It would certainly be a travesty if this movie ends up winning Best Picture it would just show how much of a joke the Academy really is. This movie is good. Not bad, not great. It is a twist on a simple love story that is visually wonderful but drags on too long and just doesn't have a great story to justify either the Oscar nomination or the almost 3 hour running time. The best analogy I can think of for this movie is that it's like a very pretty girl who has no personality. You might stick around for a while, but in the end, it's not just you like her. It's because of the looks. Here's hoping that Fincher will stick with crime-type dramas like "Zodiac" and "Seven" from now on, as he knows how to master those. In the meantime, he can take solace in the fact that he made this movie in a down year and was able to score his first Oscar nod. And Brad Pitt: you need to work on those accents, methinks.

Grade: B-

Since we have only 2 movies left, I think I'll skip a day and give you the last two on Thursday and Friday. Til then, adios.