While the multiple Oscar-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button might have been overhyped during award season, it deserved every single technical accolade it received. It's those technical achievements — namely the amazing visuals that made Brad Pitt both an 80-year-old baby and a teenaged grandpa — that make this Blu-ray release really shine.
This wacky tale of a man who ages in reverse — based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story — doesn't seem all that wacky in the hands of accomplished director David Fincher. In fact, the bits about Benjamin Button's fantastical life are the movie's high points, thanks to stellar performances, particularly Taraji P. Henson as Ben's adopted mother. However, "real-life" drama of the impending landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the framing device is laughable. It's in those hospital deathbed sequences that the movie gets way off track and you start checking your watch. Plus, the real meat of the story is so interesting you don't need all that extra doom and gloom (especially since it really doesn't add much to the whole in the end.)
As is true with most of Fincher's releases, the bonus features are where it's at...
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Jason slashed his way to a box office record this weekend, but those cerebral and emotionally rich films vying for Oscars look as limp as one of his victims.
This year's best picture nominees have grossed $273.2 million at the domestic box office, down significantly from the $316.6 million raked in by last year's class, Variety reports.
What's worse, if you remove runaway hit Slumdog Millionaire's $88 million and the $122.5 million brought in by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the remaining films are among the lowest-grossing nominees in years. So far...
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Notch another one for Slumdog Millionaire.
The runaway hit cemented its status as Oscar frontrunner with another key precursor win, this time for helmer Danny Boyle at the Directors Guild of America Awards. Boyle was singled out for outstanding directorial achievement in a feature film, besting David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Gus Van Sant (Milk).
He'll go toe-to-toe with all of them except for Nolan at the Academy Awards again (The Reader's Stephen Daldry is the other Oscar nominee). Boyle's win bodes well for Oscar glory as the DGAs have only mismatched with Oscar winners six times in 60 years. The last time was six years ago when The Pianist's Roman Polanski won the Oscar over the DGAs' choice of Rob Marshall (Chicago).
On the TV side ...
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Kevin James is not just the King of Queens, but the king of the box office as well.
For the second weekend in a row, James' Paul Blart: Mall Cop topped the list, this time earning $21.5 million to bring its cumulative gross to $64.8 million.
The comedy edged Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which debuted to ...
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Actors from each of the five features up for outstanding cast at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards will present a clip package showcasing their work in their respective films.
Milk boys Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch will do the honors for ...
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