Chick 2 says:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is very curious indeed.  What was once a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald perhaps should have stayed a short story, or at least been a shorter version of a movie.  Born with an unknown ailment (perhaps brought on by a clock that ticks backwards) that causes him to age backwards, Button (played by Brad Pitt) begins his life as an infant eighty-year old man not expected to live.  He is adopted by the kind hearted Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) and soon exceeds his life expectancy and lives on to discover that he is actually getting younger.  He meets Daisy (Cate Blanchett) and both are mutually enamored with each other.  Eventually Benjamin heads out to explore life and see what is out there for him, but the two are destined to be together, at least for a time.  It is an unusual storyline that did not necessarily appeal to me, however, the general theme of the film is one that continually grabs my attention – it doesn’t matter whether you’re getting older or younger, life is for living.  His adopted mother taught him not to question the life you are given, but to live it. Overall the plot itself makes the movie too weird for me to love, but there are kind-hearted characters along the way who accept him for who he is, and I believe that Henson is well-deserving of any nomination that comes her way.  There are some well-done effects that keep Blanchett and Pitt in their roles regardless of their supposed age, but a few are more obvious than others.

IF you’ve already seen all the other big movies that opened on Christmas Day or are just drawn by the talents of Blanchett, director David Fincher, or Pitt, THEN GO.

Chick 1 says:

As I said in my Holiday Movies post, director David Fincher’s telling of a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a boy born old who grows younger through the years, stars Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett.  With 4 heavy hitters to draw me in, I went with high expectations.

What I Liked: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett do a fine job but honestly, the most compelling performances and characters come from the supporting cast, especially Taraji P. Henson as Benjamin’s adopted mother, Jared Harris as a tug boat captain, and various members of the old folks home where Benjamin grows up.  The character of Benjamin Button is a sympathic one.  His condition is so unusual and he seems quite content with his lot in life.  As you might expect, the story explores the cycle of life, both its despair and hope, its randomness and intricate pattern.  Here the script doesn’t try to tie everything in a neat package and, although in some movies I appreciate the nice neat package, in this one the vagueness was appropriate.

What I Didn’t Like: First of all, the movie was too long.  I immediately cared about the characters I’d be watching but first half of the story really dragged on.  While there was plenty of ground to be plowed in this unusual character, I found myself really bored & disengaged at times.  As I said above, Pitt & Blanchett do fine jobs but I didn’t really connect with their characters, especially Blanchett’s.  The movie is framed in a modern setting, which seemed detached from the main story, despite being closely related to it.

Bottom Line: Epic in parts but too long and not engaging.  Still worth a look on the big screen, maybe a matinee.