The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I recently checked on IMDB.com and I'm really intrigued by the storyline: a man who is born in his eighties and then ages backwards. That's some weird ****. :eek: lol I also found it interesting that the film is based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story from 1896 of the same name. I'm going to have to read this short story. :)
Brad Pitt has the title role (:modest: ) and Tilda Swinton (ooh la-la :) ) |
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I think I have the script...I need to check.
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
And just for the record, the Fitzgerald story and the movie are titled The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Eric Roth, the veteran scribe who's previous work includes Munich, The Insider, The Good Shepherd and Forrest Gump, adapted the screenplay.
Also for the record, Fitzgerald published his story in 1922. He was born in 1896, which would have made writing a story that year other than one consisting entirely of drool and poo-poo diapers to be damn near impossible. Unless, you know, he was Benjamin Button. http://www.valdosta.edu/~mssteven/pi...001_author.jpg http://www.lacoctelera.com/myfiles/filmaniac/brady+.jpg |
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Holden Pike (Post 369845)
And just for the record, the Fitzgerald story and the movie are titled The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Eric Roth, the veteran scribe who's previous work includes Munich, The Insider, The Good Shepherd and Forrest Gump, adapted the screenplay.
Also for the record, Fitzgerald published his story in 1922. He was born in 1896, which would have made writing a story that year other than one consisting entirely of drool and poo-poo diapers to be damn near impossible. Unless, you know, he was Benjamin Button. Very clever. :) That makes sense since the short story is from his Jazz Age collection. I was typing way too fast. :D Thanks for the correction. |
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I read the short story yesterday and it's sad. I perceive the story to promote midlife/middle age: during the bookends of a person's life, they're either too young or too old, but midlife offers a balance. A middle aged (in most cases) is much more mature than their younger years, but they still have a lot to learn. There's a whole bunch of other stuff that I read into, but I won't go into on here. lol :)
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Holden Pike (Post 369845)
He was born in 1896, which would have made writing a story that year other than one consisting entirely of drool and poo-poo diapers...
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Very odd trailer. Looks interesting, but I have to say, the audience I first saw it with had no idea how to react, so they didn't react at all. Doesn't strike me as the easiest film to promote, though.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I Really Want To See This, Maybe We Can Get Another Ending That Will Blow You Way Like Se7en And Fight Club.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Read the short story there. Really intrigued by it. Think it will be a very compelling story. Doubt that there will be a surprising ending to it though.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Starring Brad Pitt.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I enjoy Brad Pitt alot and I appreciate his work. Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton aren't that bad either. I like them all and love their films and this one looks extremely interesting. I saw the trailer for this at the movies once, and didn't think much of it. Now that I think of it, this looks awesome.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Brad Pitt is cool.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I have no doubt that the XXX rated version will be called The Curious Case of Benjamin BUTT. Unfortunately, it probably won't star Brad Pitt.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I'm pretty excited about this...
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
That new trailer is awesome, I love that scene where everything is rewound. The cast is perfect (Swinton, Pitt AND Blanchett??) and I have faith that David Fincher will do wonders for this movie.
It does have kind of a sad note to it, I haven't read the short story yet. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
i have been looking forward to this film more than any other this year. i will be seeing it on Christmas day with the boyfriend, and i hope it doesn't disappoint.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Anybody notice the backwards writing on the posters?
"When we live, time goes backwards. But life must go forward." |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
^^^
thats the quote from the short story. the film quotes it a little differnt though. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
anyone that hasn't read the short story it is based on, i heartily recommend that you do. it's amazing, and depressing.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
yes. but it is loosely based isn't it?
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
everytime i see a preview for this, i get more excited to see it. i showed the preview to the husband yesterday while online...he is now wanting to see it too!!! this looks like brad pitt's finest work....
i saw the movie posters yday in person and they aren't the usual paper material. they were on fabric--thats what it felt like!! so unusual but eye catching to say the least!!! |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Vertical Gunn (Post 477658)
yes. but it is loosely based isn't it?
|
Re: The Curious Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Holden Pike (Post 369845)
He was born in 1896, which would have made writing a story that year other than one consisting entirely of drool and poo-poo diapers to be damn near impossible.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Vertical Gunn
If this movie bombs, blame the poster. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Both posters are ugly. That's the point, I think.
It was incredibly expensive ($167m); over three hours. There's no chance it'll make a decent return. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by Vertical Gunn (Post 477658)
yes. but it is loosely based isn't it?
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I don't like the posters?
The backward writing is interesting, but the pics of the stars seems rather boring to me. I predict a big hit, with much talk in the media... |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I think that this movie looks like the straight-up balls and it definitely feels like the perfect film for a quaint little family to take in on Christmas Day. Sometimes it almost seems like those wacky distributors and studio suits actually know what they're doing. I'm pretty sure that, especially considering the obvious dearth of big-time Oscar bait type movies, Benjamin Button is the flick that'll finally give David Fincher the orgy of Academy Awards he so very much deserves.
I just saw a really crazy good trailer for it on TV, but I can't find it anywhere online. You MoFo's will just have to take my word for it when I say how great it was. It was great. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Yeah I haven't been able to see the prescreening for this film, yet it does look good. Also I like the idea of the story concept . If it did cost 167 million to make that is a big number to overcome to make a good profit. Hopefully worldwide it will do well at the box office.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Originally Posted by ash_is_the_gal (Post 479201)
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I'm really looking forward to this. It looks great.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Even after Zodiac I'm very doubtful of this movie. The trailer has a very cold absence of emotion. Then again , I'm sure the trailer wasn't directed by David Fincher.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Had a discussion with all my 8th grade (13 year olds) students, and we talked about the December films coming out. They are super charged about this movie! Color me rather shocked.
Maybe it's the title, all the ads, the quirky concept (it sure isn't Brad and Cate-- they don't even know Cate), but they're rather interested. Many want to go see it. The other one with big buzz in this age group is Bedtime Stories. :D |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Yep, I loved it, here's my review of it from my review thread:
Originally Posted by MovieMan8877445 (Post 486251)
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008)
http://www.tribute.ca/tribute_object.../poster_lg.jpg Synopsis The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is new different time travel movie. It starts off with a woman in a hospital dying, with her daughter there with her to keep her company. But then her mom decides to give her a journal to read while there, so then she begins to read the journal of Benjamin Button. The journal starts off with a women dying and a young boy being born, but this boy is different, he looks like an old man in his 80’s. But soon they find out that he really is different, and instead of aging, he’s only getting younger as time goes on. Benjamin Button has a complicated life, living with his adoptive parents in a retirement home, but there he fits right in. Most people there think he really is as old as he looks, but a few know that he is aging backwards. But he must leave as he gets younger, and he takes a journey through life. He always tries to be with his one true love, Daisy, who he first met when she was only a young child. Daisy doesn’t seem to want to be with him in the first part of his life though, she eventually comes around though, but at that point he’s getting much younger, and sooner or later he’s just become as young as he can get. Brad Pitt stars in the lead of this, along with Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, and Jason Flemyng all star along with him in Benjamin Button. Characters/Acting The acting in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button was great, I’m not sure if it could’ve been really any better. Brad Pitt really got into the role of Benjamin Button, his character was the most interesting out of the characters, but that’s already sort of expected seeing as the whole movie is focused around him. You could tell Pitt really prepared for this role, and I’d be surprised at if he at least didn’t get nominated for ‘Best Actor’ at this years academy awards. Cate Blanchett was also pretty good in this, I didn’t really seem to like her character as much though, I mean she did a good job at acting in the movie; her character wasn’t the best though. Taraji P. Henson seemed to get into her character as well, like Pitt did for his role as Benjamin Button. Her character seemed to have some really sad moments, which she seemed to have done a good job in. Jason Flemyng really wasn’t in that much of the movie, but I didn’t like his character at first, I’m pretty sure he really wasn’t meant to be that likeable at the beginning though. His character got more likeable towards the end of the movie though, he just seemed to get nicer towards the ending. Jared Harris did a great job IMO; he did the second best performance in the movie after Pitt. His character was the most interesting out of all of them besides Pitt, but he was my favorite character in the whole movie, I was actually surprised at how much screen time he got, I’m glad he got all the screen time he got, he definitely deserved it. Plot The story for Benjamin Button was the best part in the entire movie; it’s the main thing that made this movie so great. This movie had such amazing story telling, that was the main thing this movie had going for it. I think that even if you didn’t like the movie, you can’t deny that this movie had amazing story telling. The main reason that this didn’t quite get a perfect score from me was the length; I think most of everything in there, for the most part, was needed, but there were some scenes that could’ve been cut and released once on DVD or something. The length really isn’t that bad though, because I’ve seen some long movies that are hard to sit through, and this really isn’t as bad as them. Now I’ve never read the short story, but I’m actually amazed that Fincher could turn a short story into a 3 hour long movie, I’m sure I’ve got to read the short story, but I guess there was a way. I didn’t really like the ending as much though; I thought the beginning of Benjamin Button was much better than the ending. http://daemonsmovies.com/images/benjamin_button.jpg My Thoughts On It Overall, I thought it was great, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations that the hype was suggesting. Now I don’t quite agree with people saying that this was David Fincher’s best film, I don’t think it was. It was a little better than Zodiac, but no quite as good as Fight Club or Se7en. Some of the stuff in this movie really reminded me of Forrest Gump, not the whole movie, but there were some scenes that really reminded me of Forrest Gump. This was the second best movie of 2008 for me, as long as I don’t see something in the next week or two that changes that, I don’t think something will, maybe Gran Torino. And when I eventually get around to finishing my top 100, which is actually becoming really soon, that this will make it pretty high on my favorites list. Maybe in my top 30 or maybe somewhere in my top 20. I think it’s going to end up somewhere between 20 and 30 though. But if you’re trying to pick a movie to see in theaters this weekend, or sometime soon, I’d definitely suggest seeing this one, because I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
hope it is as good as finchers other masterpeices, judging from the reviews it is!!!
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I saw this on Christmas and loved it. It's my favorite film of the year.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I thought this was ok. You pretty much get the story from the trailers, so if you're looking for any surprises, you'll be in the wrong theater. The performances and special effects and general art of the film are all gorgeous. It's entertaining. It just seemed to want to be this year's Forrest Gump, and it didn't get there for me in terms of emotional impact.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
i agree with Samsonite, i wasn't wowed by anything and i haven't even seen Forrest Gump (i know...don't kill me) it was a good movie, exactly what i expected but nothing beyond expectations. Things that follow a whole person's life over long periods of time like this seem so broad and impersonal to me. I wasn't incredibly emotionally attached or anything. Also i thought the Katrina thing was a bit much, everytime it cut to the hospital scenes i'd groan
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
amazing movie. really long though, but amazing haha
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
amazing concept, even more amazing makeup techs (shows a viewer how far makeup has came since The Planet of The Apes) i look forward to this being released on dvd hopefully for a special edition extra on the makeup and the effects they used.
i went with a non- film buff and she said she liked the movie but it was too long. i wanted to say how could you have shortened that movie? as for the gump comparisons, maybe pitt would get an oscar for this as should blanchett. |
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
Yes it was long but it was well worth it- I wouldn't want to cut anything out either. I thought it was great with incredible performances by Pitt, Blanchett and Henson.
It's in the running for Best Picture but there are many discussion about it only having a score of 72% on Rottentomatoes- one of the lowest ratings for any best picture nominee. |
I did a search and didn't find any reviews of this film here?
What a curiously empty film this was. My son bought it for me for Mother's Day since he had seen it and thought I would love it. I would have loved a film like this -- epic in tone covering a long period of time; the mixing of fantasy and reality (my favorite kind of book), but I was blown away at how bad I thought this film was. In nearly every way except the look of it. First of all, there is no payoff whatsoever about the clock's passage of time backward and that connection to Button's life. The clock's story was the most interesting of all -- the idea that we can go backward and all of life's miseries and tragedies haven't happened yet. We all want to go back in time at some point... but how is Button's aging backward even remotely tied in with this theme? At the end of the film, I felt nothing. Nothing. I didn't care that he died nor did I even care about his daughter or Blanchett's character in the hospital. It's like they were trying to create this great tragedy here. When we journey through a person's life we're supposed to come out wiser in the end, attached emotionally, and fulfilled at having experienced it all. I felt none of that. Not sure what others here thought of this film. I also think this is one of those cases where a film has a certain "pedigree" and gets awards nominations it doesn't deserve. Thank goodness, nobody won (or did it win a technical award? if it did, that was the best part). |
I thought the film was a shiny, hollow object. Technically impressive, but it made almost no real impact whatsoever.
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
I thought it was an amazing idea for a film but I felt that there was alot taken from another award winning film that doesn't make it so original. I felt like I was watching Forrest Gump a bit. Was entertaining none the less though :)
|
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
I have a subscription to Netflix, and I received two movies in the mail. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and 3:10 to Yuma. I didn't get a chance to watch, 3:10 to Yuma, and I already knew it was a western, but I did watch "Benjamin". What a great movie, with a interesting twist and fate, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette. Brad play's a man who at birth, was born with some kind of aging desease. He looks like he's about 75-80 years old when he's born, except the crazy thing is, he gets younger as he gets older:eek:, if that makes any sense. Anyway, go rent it.....it's a great movie.:)
|
Re: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
I agree with Roger Ebert on this one.
""The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise. It tells the story of a man who is old when he is born and an infant when he dies. All those around him, everyone he knows and loves, grow older in the usual way, and he passes them on the way down. As I watched the film, I became consumed by a conviction that this was simply wrong." |
Re: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Cool - care to explain WHY it's just "wrong"?
Also - a thread already exists for this movie - merging posts to existing thread. |
I watched the movie and I found a lot of it to be very interesting, but I feel that they try to make Benjamin's problem out to be a lot worse than it is.
WARNING: "SPOILERS" spoilers below
So when he is young he looks old and he gets to hook up with a good share of older woman, and when he is old he looks young and he gets to hook up with a good share of young women. Either way he's pretty much James Bond, whether an old Bond or a young Bond, and it seems like this isn't really a curse at all.
And then he chooses to leave his wife and kid, because he has a kid in his early 40s and chooses to leave them because he is worried that in about 20 years or so, that his brain will start to deteriorate and he won't be a good father. Lots of guys have kids in their early 40s even though there is a chance that in 20 plus years, their brains will start deteriorating. They don't leave their families on the chance that will happen later. So I feel that they really made this issue out to be bigger than it actually is to build a movie around. Perhaps the story would have been better if he and his main love interest had spent the whole movie together, but he goes away for a long time, twice, and they don't actually get together till they are both middle aged. He is just pretty much an old James Bond before, that, and I found that the WWII battle subplot, didn't add anything to the rest of the story really and was just put their for random historical flair. But I do think that the final 10 minutes about, are heartbreaking in it's own way, and I do give it credit for ending on that note. But maybe I am wrong or am missing something? |
Originally Posted by ironpony (Post 2179402)
But maybe I am wrong or am missing something?
|
Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher!)
It's easily the weakest Fincher film for me (I haven't seen Mank, though), but it's still pretty good. You can feel that Fincher was aiming for a bit of Oscar-baity melodrama, but it still has some good/great performances, great direction, and a haunting last act.
|
All times are GMT -3. The time now is 12:28 PM. |
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright, ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
User Alert System provided by
Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © Movie Forums