One of Fincher's masterworks--though I like others better. He's definitely one of the only people alive who could have succeeded with this very intriguing story. There are moments--when Benjamin's coming into his own, both with Tilda Swinton's character and with Cate Blanchett's--that are amongst the finest and most invigorating I have ever seen in cinema. I'm curious how I'll find it when I rewatch it in a few years. I have the impression that as I come to terms with age and gather more wisdom in my own skin, this story will only grow in my heart and appreciation--for both the highs and the lows. That is a spectacular magic trick for a movie to do--and Fincher's downright full of them.
This movie is in my top 10 movie list in life. It is a cinema achievement that may never be outdone by 'anyone'. Considering that this masterpiece was shot digitally in 2007, it is miles above any CG effort since. For those of you that haven't seen it: "SEE IT". Besides a great story (with one flaw), this film makes illusion and simulation become reality. The one flaw: I have great respect for David Fincher, and I am going to go out on a limb and say that he must have been aware of this discrepancy, but went ahead with the story-line as written anyway. ( I hope that's the case). Benjamin Button was born "old", and regressed backwards to die an infant. The flaw in the story-line (and it's a big one), is that as he regresses to youth, he begins to have dementia (Alzheimer's symptoms), along with all of the arthritic pains and problems an old man gets as he ages. At the end, before he dies he loses his memory completely. Logically, since he was born an old man, those illnesses should have evolved from birth, and improved as he regressed in age. Strangely in the film, he is born with severe arthritis, and can't even walk until he is 7. Why then would he again experience these same symptoms as a child on the way to his death bed (or crib)? He should be in perfect health as a child, and regress to a "fetus", and then disappear. Other than that major flaw, this movie is a 10. Unfortunately because of the illogical way he dies, I had to give it a 9 out of 10 stars. One other issue with the plot: If we were to take this movie scenario and try to place it in the real world, Benjamin would have to have been born a "full sized", old man, and then after 70 or 80 years, he would have begun to shrink. Since the idea of a woman giving birth to a full sized man is physically impossible, our Benjamin had to be born old and "tiny". This of course is another contradiction in the plot, since Benjamin is small "twice in his life". We can't dwell on this flaw at all, because if we did we would never get passed it. To enjoy this movie, we must put all the facts and logistics of this scenario aside, and when we do, this movie takes us on a journey unlike any other ever filmed.
In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.
Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts. Adventure and danger await when bloody writing on a wall announces: The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. To save Hogwarts will require all of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s magical abilities and courage.
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.
Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.
Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.