THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008)

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"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a mesmerizing tale of life and death."

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has been getting some serious Oscar buzz. I hope and think when the nominations for the Oscars come out that this film will be up for a few awards. It is one of the best movies of the year thanks to it's amazing story, acting and special effects.

The film begins with a baby being born. The mother dies after child birth and she leaves the baby for the father to take care of. When the father goes to pick up the baby he is shocked by the baby's appearance. He runs away with the baby and leaves it on someones doorstep. The place he leaves it is a retirement home run by a young couple. She brings the baby down to her room and has the doctor look at the him. He tells her that the baby is an old man on the way to the grave. But that's not the case. He actually starts to get younger instead of getting older. He grows up in this retirement home. He meets a few people like a grandmother and her granddaughter. They go on adventures together.

One time when Benjamin is down by the river, he sees that there is a job opening on a boat. He takes the job offer and he is off to sea. They make a few stops when there are out at sea and he meets a couple other people. He has a good time but wants to reconnect with the people he grew up with. When he gets back he meets up with the granddaughter, who is much older now, again and they start to fall in love. They have hardships and struggles in their relationship. The rest of the film shows the rest of Benjamin's life and the end of their relationship.

It's based of the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is adapted to perfection and it has a well written script. It is a war story, an age story and overall a love story. When I first saw what the running time was I thought it might be boring but it held my attention throughout. There is a lot going on but you will be interested to see what comes next and how the outcome of the story will be.

The acting is magnificent. Brad Pitt is terrific as Benjamin Button. It must be hard to do all the different stages of one's life all in one film. Cate Blanchett is great as usual. She makes the challenges her character goes through believable. I think that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett should be up for Oscar nominations. Tilda Swinton is effective in a small but pivotal role.

The director is David Fincher. He is at his best here. He must of had a lot of creative control and I am glad he did. He keeps your interest throughout the film. He should at least be up for an Oscar nomination.

The visuals are stunning. The makeup used to make Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett look old is great. The war scenes look very real. I am glad they allowed them to make such a costly film. It had a budget of 150 million and the special effects make it worth it. It may even recoup its budget since it made 40 million over the Christmas weekend.

So if you see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" then you will be seeing one of the best movies of the year.