Curioser and curioser

The best summary, from EW.com, is this: "an extravagantly ambitious movie that's easy to admire but a challenge to love."

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is many things. Slowly paced. Heartwrenching. Inspiring. Depressing. Brilliant. And, perhaps most strangely, shallow.

Yet, it all seems to come together into a fittingly appropriate package. With a single, simple core message: people are the same at the beginning of their lives and at the end. Death is a fact. All you can do is enjoy those moments in between.

I'm not going to give a reading of the movie, or explain how it fits into the Fincher canon. The message is simple enough. Mainstream Sisyphus, I'd argue.

No. Just go see it. It's worth it. Despite its faults, it's better than most anything else out there. And honestly, we can all learn from the message. Focus on enjoying what you can in life. Don't worry about the Heidis and Spencers—who just don't get it. Watch them. Learn from them. But don't live your live based on anything they say or do.

In time, we'll all be in diapers again.

Nerd Alert #498

Joss Whedon in studio disagreement shocker.

More proof that no one should waste their time trying to make DC comics movies!

"I’m gonna come after you like a spider monkey.”

Talladega Nights

Logan probably hates this movie because apparently he killed his adolescent sense of humor dead. In the conservatory. With the candlestick. For those of us with well developed and cosmopolitan senses of humor, however, Ricky Bobby’s rise, fall, and rise again is the stuff of legends.

Stranger Than Fiction

The “other” Will Ferrell movie. Which is to say features Will Ferrell but, strangely, Will Ferrell is not playing “Will Ferrell.” I absolutely hate movies and books about writers who are writing a movie or book. Stranger Than Fiction is kind of like that, except it’s great and I love it.

The difference is that this movie competently shows the actual struggle of writing in an interesting, non-cliché manner. It seamlessly satirizes AND illustrates the types of subtle characterization in good writing, and the meaning and importance of audience expectation. The entire case is impressive and the ending is both satisfying and –– dare I say it –– happy.

The Devil Wears Prada

I know this is going to titillate, but this was easily my favorite movie of 2006. Sure, it’s the same cliché story about a “good” person who gets wrapped up in some shallow or “bad” thing, only to realize it and stop themselves from completely changing. The amazing performances by Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep and the wit of the script separate this movie from its genre siblings. Plus it features Vincent Chase, so it has that cool Entourage connection.