I am at least one month behind the crowd…
The reason why I wasn’t rushing to the theatres to watch this one when it came out (on Christmas day we watched “Marley and Me”) was because I am not a fan of Pitt. Nope. I am not. Shoot me.
The reason why I finally watched it today was because “Taken” was sold out and we had 40 minutes before the start of this one. So, we figured since we decided to spend a night at the movies, may as well stick to the decision.

Anyhow… I am no critic, I am just a movie lover.

Here are my 2 late cents:

Too long. I wanted to walk away about 3 times.

It was funny as my date left for the washroom right before the marine battle scene and came back when it was over and the brave tugboat ran over the submarine.
On the way home I told him that he missed the most action-packed scene and he wouldn’t believe me! That was funny… 5 minutes of staying awake…

Nice fairy tale for adults. I like the movies (even not so great movies) that make you realize you are really in a fairy land.

About the racism… Actually I was very surprised, that in portraying the vivid racist times this movie was so gentle to the skin difference. In fact, it showed Queenie more as a woman in charge, than a black servant.

Overall… wait till it comes to DVD… Because this way you can really spend 2.5 hours watching it, being able to go to the washroom at any time, grab some munchies, or unashamedly fall asleep on the couch.

2 little stars for letting me see the “tugboat” war.

Cheers to you Jeff Spicoli

Firstly about the coincidences, mainly because if you paid attention you would see Benjamin’s father had been watching him for years. There are a few scenes in which you can see his black car either sitting outside the house, with him inside, watching Benjamin or just driving by. They are very subtle about it, which explains why you would have missed it. I’m fairly certain they were implying that his father followed him to the whorehouse.

As for the old women who happens to be dying with Hurricane Katrina raging on outside - don’t you think that there were many, many very sick, very old people in the hospitals at the time of Katrina? Wouldn’t you think they’d tell their loved ones some very important truths? That isn’t a coincidence at all.

Maybe the NASA thing could be considered a coincidence but in my opinion, if I knew something monumental such as that was taking place I’d position myself in a great spot to see it too. Just because the directors weren’t overly obvious with the “how and why” these characters were treated to these events it doesn’t mean that they hadn’t thought about it. I think they expected their audience to be clever enough to piece things together.

Never mind the fact that it is supposed to be a story of love, it is one even more so of ageism. The point I took away from this movie was that no matter your age on the outside, you can still do whatever you aspire to do. Whether it be working on a boat at 14 years old or traveling Thailand at 80. The love story was almost secondary to that message, in my opinion.

You let yourself be too distracted by the “CGI” to see the true beauty of the film itself.

I think the majority of people who post comments should have to look up Ad hominem attacks and how to avoid them. In other words, if you have something to say about the movie, say it about the movie and not about the reviewer. Like this:

I disagreed with your review. The reasons were pretty simple. I thought it was beautiful where you thought it was manufactured. I thought the sentimentality was realistic and moving where you thought it was forced. And I was not in the least distracted by the CGI. The comparisons to Forest Gump were funny, but only nominal at best. Yes, some of the characters shared similarities, but after reading this review and listening to you on FilmCouch, I thought they were overblown in their negativity.

I feel that your review was overly critical of the emotional material from beginning to end. From listening to your previous critiques on FilmCouch, it seems that you are hard on what might be considered as emotional manipulation. For instance, you did not like the prologue of the film, where the clock-maker creates the backwards timepiece. In fact, you mocked him both in your review and on the podcast. This was very hard for me to hear. That part of the film was not manipulative. I feel that there is a very big difference between presenting something that is generally considered sad and manipulation. Loss and death are powerful forces, and the emotions they conjure are powerful as well. Just because they are prevalent doesn’t mean that mentioning them automatically makes the film passe.

I feel that your adverse reaction to the prologue negatively skewed your perception of the rest of the movie.

Karina, you have absolutely no romance in your heart. This is not a true story, it is fantasy and anyone who criticizes this is a dead head… no sense, no feeling.

The story, visual affects and make up are absolutely amazing and I absolutely loved this film!!!!!

“Ever directed anything Karina or do you just like shooting down others that create art?” — Niles, find something in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button that backs up your admiration of it, rather than attacking the critic. You said: “Benjamin Button is a brilliant piece of cinema and a landmark for the industry” — landmark for the industry; are you talking about the special effects? I agree actually, the special effects are unbelievable. However, i think it stopped halfway. For example, the emotional punch may have been better if Brad pitt’s face was digitally added to the baby’s, toddler’s, teenager’s (piano’s scene). or maybe not. perhaps it was just too expensive. perhaps it would have been silly.

SPOILER ALERT:

There was a scene, right after benjamin and daisy, as 7 year olds, were sharing their secrets under the table/tent, and benjamin was crying after being scolded (unfairly due to his problem). we weren’t allowed to see an close up of him, because it probably would have ruined that scene (digital tears..i don’t know. a face crying would probably a lot more complicated and would have “showed” the special effects, thereby ruining the moment). instead, he buried his face in Queenie.

Brilliant film; no. no. no. I was bored to tears, up until the end. in fact, the ending was really the only notable thing about the whole film. It was the only time i actually FELT something for benjamin. The only time his loneliness and peculiar predicament hit home. The only time i empathized with dementia victims and old age in general. why couldn’t the rest of the film have been just as moving. i almost fell asleep, it was unbelievable mediocre. with such a large budget, topnotch cast and crew, i expected something more and was tremendously disappointed. With such an interesting point of view: growing younger while growing wise, there isn’t a single person in the world who doesn’t wish they knew then what they know now…this is the film that should have showed what happens when you DO know then (in youth) what you know now. Life and Death and everything in between should not put me to sleep. Even the basics of storytelling was screwed up. The scene were she gets hit by a car…WHY WAS SHE DANCING IN THE STREET? It would have made more sense if she and her friend were giggling and kidding around or practicing or SOMETHING. They showed her tying her shoelace, and then randomly starting to dance across a street. why would any grown up do this? it is common sense to look both ways. They went for this dancing bit, because it LOOKED really pretty, and to hit the whole “she is a dancer and is now injured, thereby she can no longer follow her dream” part of Daisy’s character development. But come on now, the film should ebb and flow better than this. it should not be so obviously lacking in basic plot development. I can smell the desperation for that oscar, and it is just vulgar. I don’t want to feel used when i am watching a film.

Also, was extremely annoyed that Queenie and her husband (were they married?) were not well developed. They came across as one note. So when they died, you did not miss them. Their death just comes and goes. This is NOT how it happens in real life. In real life, the death of a loved one, especially your mother, DESTROYS YOU. You eventually learn to live with the despair, but it should hit you like a ton of bricks. This films sucks serious ass. Serious strechmarked, hemmoroid riddled, nasy old pasty ass. even benjamin was bleh. Unlike Forest Gump, were you actually cared about his feelings, and his reactions to what was happening around him (even when it was comically ridiculous, it didn’t even matter, because you just liked him so much, and was so proud of him).

These are only some of the things i didn’t like about the film. If you disagree with Karina’s assessment, then point out WHY, WITHOUT lowering yourself to personal attacks, this only takes away your own dignity.Explain yourself, pick a theme or a scene that moved you. Try to make Karina see the film from your point of view.

Considering the manufatured “Oscar” buzz and the obligatory Oprah kiss Brads’ ass schmoozefest this movie was a complete letdown and a waste of some very nice cinematography along with some very expensive CGI.

I don’t know what was more annoying, the endless parade of random characters-which unlike the far superior Gump you just couldn’t give two shits about-or the GQ photo montages- see Brad coming up out of the water,see Brad riding a vintage motorcycle,see Brad modeling classic suits etc. ad nauseating.

Agree wholeheartedly with review.

PURE CRAP

Bringing racism into the picture proves the fact that you don’t know what you’re doing ( I’m not saying that I do) but I know enough to say that this movie does not have racism in it. Do you really believe an actress will play the part of the mother believing that the story will be racist to her and other woman? Of course, have more common sense than that!

I agree with the previous comments that said that Barack will have more important things to do than then focus on something as childish as this. Even he might enjoy this movie. A movie is not made for the purpose of critics picking the worse qualities it carries. It is made for the purpose of entertaining the audience and giving them an enjoyable experience in life through the eyes of another.

I admit that it may seem like it, but I am not saying that your review was completely bad. But at the same time, you have to admit that it was exaggerating, all you seemed to be detailing was every bad part the story contained. Try and focus on the good parts a movie has, maybe then you’ll understand what it is to be a reviewer. You’ll be a good one because you will be able to tell apart the good qualities and bad ones, instead of probably ruining the excitement people had at wanting to watch this movie after reading such a review.

Chao! Wish You Luck

In regards to the character in the story (and contrary to some of the absurd views I just read), I found his adoptive mother to be loving, nurturing, and warm — I also thought his Pigmy friend interesting and engaging, a person who could transcend negative experiences in life to find much more than just the immediate consequential or banal.. Same goes for the tugboat captain. In the end, and to quote the thoughts of the English Channel swimmer, life is what you do with it. The movie constantly visits that theme — missed opportunities, taking chances, starting over..

Ignoring that premise for the sake of racism (let’s face it, every black woman should be able to be an individual person with different views on what it means to love and care for someone instead of being lumped into a stereotypical category that fits NAACP standards — and I’d assume a woman working in a small nursing home to take care of elderly people would probably develop loving maternal traits not necessarily in line with being a sell-out or worse, a whore as one writer compared her to..) would be missing the entire point of the story.

Honestly, if I was to base everything I think simply on appearances, I’d have dismissed the above review just because the person who wrote it has a strange looking face. Sure they picked Brad Pitt, but would it have worked better had it been Danny De Vito? The idea behind the story still remains and has nothing to do with special effects or supposed racism — it’s a fairy tale where things can be magical. As to the Forrest Gump comparisons, the same writer who wrote Button’s screenplay. That being said and even if it weren’t enough, most stories tend to borrow from each other — there are fundamental rules to storytelling, especially when it comes to fairy tales. It’d be like arguing that a talking piggy bank ruined Toy Story because it’s just not realistic, or worse, borrowed from another story with a talking mouse..

I hope others watch and enjoy it as much as I did, especially for its tonal qualities and beautiful sets — the ocean scenes are nicely textured. I assume many won’t be able to see past the obvious (as it appears given the feedback here), but I’m guessing most of those people are like that in life as well and I can’t imagine a movie changing the way they see things. For the rest of us however, it’s a small, beautiful piece of creative work.

Now of course, you are entitled to your opinion, and of course every point you make is valid in the light in which you place this film. However, it is very obvious to that you went into this movie with preconceived notions that you were not going to change, and that is unfortunate for the many people who will stumble upon this review and will decide not to see the film.

Have a nice day, and happy new year!