The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Review

The beauty of Benjamin Button is not the costumes, set design, or even the source material. The great thing about this film is the idea that love in all forms can transcend space and time. Based on a rather obscure short story of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story of Benjamin Button is one steeped in science fiction in that he was born and old man and doomed to die an infant in the arms of his beloved.

I suppose that this is at its essence a message movie. Age is a number, dying is nothing to fear and aging, above all, is only bad it is not accepted as simply a period of graceful decline. Something so simple works for the watchers of Oprah because no doubt they are, or soon will be feeling the bitter sting of age.

But Benjamin Button proves that there is something lyrical about all human life and that if it is looked at simply as a journey of discovery, a series of moments full of limitless possibility, then even the darkest times will be bitter sweet. Certainly, a notion that lies at the heart of all of Fitzgerald's work.

Set in New Orleans, the movie spans an incredibly long period of time (from WWI to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina) but surprisingly doesn't feel like a history lesson. Even with the inclusion of WW2 is lacks the preach-iness that clouds films with this much bulk. The film's stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett can be thanked for that I think.

Written by Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) and Directed by David Fincher (Zodiac), Benjamin Button does not disappointed on either front. Not to mention the beautiful set direction and makeup that ages both stars seemlessly.

Australia: A Review

I like Baz Lurhman's work. He has a very hyper-active sense of style and when put in the right context he can wondrous things on film. Both his Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge were little dioramas of extravagance but they were contained to a very specific timeline and story. Very little wiggle room for story excess.

Australia on the other hand...it just tried too hard. Lurhman has often said that this film was going to be his masterpiece, a love letter to his home country like nothing else ever made. The problem was that he tried to encapsulate too much of this beloved Oz to really do it any justice.

The basic plot centers on the story of an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who comes to the island to sell off a cattle ranch that her husband has dallied on for far too long. She arrives only to find her husband murdered and 1500 head of cattle needing to be "drove" to the town of Darwin. Enter "The Drover," a nameless cowboy played by Hugh Jackman who is all the independent ruggedness you'd want in a handsome male lead. Amidst all this is epic yar spinning about the Australian cattle industry and the country's connection with English motherland, the tale of "The Stolen Generations," mixed aboriginal children who were stolen from there families to live on a mission to be assimilated as servants to white aristocrats as part of a government plan to deal with the indigineous people. All this is wrapped around allusions of The Wizard of OZ, English colonialism and class and gender roles. No to mention the bombing of the island by the Japanese.

Either stories would have been fine on their own. Both are well rounded, full of drama, emotion, and suspense. Unfortunately, Lurhmann instead decided to smash the two together and create a rather bloated film with a runtime of just under 4 hours.

Surprisingly, the problem is not that its 4 hours long. The time passes quickly but what passes is just kind of mediocre and bland. You're never given enough time to get invested. You're just watched all this drama pass before your eyes without given any time to reflect.

The movies not awful but tis not very good either. If anything, spend that time with a rental on your own couch.

And the cheer continues....

Revel in the joy as the cast of "Scrubs" provides the voices for "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Happy (C)hanukkah!

Last night marked the first of Hanukkah and to help my Jewish friends celebrate the season, I give you Jon Stewart--Hollywood's favorite Jew.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Best Hanukkah Moments

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

So...What Has Everyone Else Been Doing?

First semester of graduate school finished? Check
Ignore the blog for like 2 months? Check
Come back with a vengeance? Well I'm working on that.

Four hours after sending off my last paper of the semester I can finally troll the net for good and I think I found a winner. The AV Club's Annual Worst Band Names List: 2008 Edition

Now I always thought that Toad The Wet Sprocket was pretty bad (even though they got the name from a Monty Python sketch) but this year I know I couldn't have been more wrong.

A sample for your perusing:
-Magically Delicious Smoking Skunk Monkey
-Shitty Shitty Band Band
-Jesus Causes Cancer
-Farticus
-Ogre Smash Death Boom
And the list goes on and on....

And they keep telling me that courts can't bring social change.

Via Reuters:

Mattel wins permanent injunction vs MGA in Bratz case

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered MGA Entertainment Inc to stop selling its popular Bratz dolls and banned it from using the Bratz name, finding that "hundreds" of Bratz products infringe on copyrights owned by rival toymaker Mattel Inc (MAT.N).

District Judge Stephen Larson also ordered MGA to recall all Bratz dolls from retailers and to destroy "specialized plates, molds and matrices" used to make the dolls, according to a permanent injunction issued late on Wednesday, but stayed until at least early next year."

What does this mean? Pending an appeal with the California 9th Circuit, this may mean the end of the bug-eyed, alien hootchie doll.


Judge Steven Larson--a grateful nation thanks you.

Grammy Noms!!

First, let me just say that yes, it has been a while, and yes, I'm sure there are readers whom I have lost as a result and others who may have decided to randomly click on this sad, sorry website to discover that shockingly, digital cobwebs hadn't been built in the corners.

My apologizes. But if you would please direct your eyes to the right of the page you'll notice that I did disclose something very important--I am a student. I have finals. You'll just have to deal.

...

Now that that's over, its time again for the grandest project in irrelevance--The Grammys! Whose excited?! Oh that's right, no one. And why doesn't anybody care? Because The Jonas Brothers are worthy of a best new artist nomination. Just soak that in for a second.............

But I always do like when a few of my favorite artists get a little recognition by the mainstream. And so a list of my faves:

Album of the Year:
In Rainbows - Radiohead
--I've never been a huge fan of Radiohead but I like that the Grammy nominated committee is branching out a little. At least they're trying.

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals:
Violet Hill - Coldplay
--I dig the new Coldplay album but sitting through an entire album always makes me sleepy-even this one. But I really liked this track and was happy that something other than song used for the Apple commercial got some play.

Best Rock Song/Best Alternative Album:
I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie
on Narrow Stairs
--This song as an intro that is 4 minutes and 34 seconds long and its one of the catchiest pop tunes they've ever written. Moreover, the album is chock full of some great songwriting with only one crappy track. My favorites--Cath, Bixby Canyon Bridge, Pity and Fear, and No Sunlight.

What the F*@&!

-Boys II Men is still recording (?!?!) and was nominated for more than one Grammy

-There is still a heavy metal category (which is different from Hard Rock)

-Did I mention The Jonas Brothers...

-Kid Rock, Paul McCartney, Ne-Yo and James Taylor all appear as nominees in the same category (Best Male Pop Vocal