I MAKE TWO SHOCKING REVIEWS!-BENJAMIN BUTTON+VALKYRIE

Curious Case of Benjamin Button-
Step right up, kids, and see the world's first movie aquarium! Watch countless colorful characters float around aimlessly in a glass case!!! 'Cause that's what you get in "Curious Case of Benjamin Button", aka "The One Wear Brad Pitt Ages Backwards." And that's all the plot their is-Benjamin (Pitt, duh), ages backwards while his love Daisy (Cate Blanchett, the most beautiful actress alive today) ages forwards, and the two go off and see the ups and downs of the wide wide world while waiting for the day their biological clocks will meet in the middle. Sounds like a damned good plot, no?? Too bad it ended up in the wrong hands. David Fincher is a brilliant director, don't get me wrong. But the guy who directed "Se7en" and "Fight Club" helming a great romantic epic? Hellz no. Fincher almost seems embarrassed to be making something so heartfelt-he specializes in the cold, bruising, and shocking. So, afraid he might, you know, cause an audience member to shed a tear or something, he sucks the emotion out of his own movie. It always looks phenomenal-the opening, with Benjamin being born amongst a WWI peace-making celebration, is visual lead-in for the ages-and the actors given nicely organic performances-particularly Tilda Swinton as the British spy Button vents his sexual frustrations on. But what's missing is a sense of caring, of love, the love that the film celebrates so in its script, but that is lost in the final product. Oh, and did I mention this juggernaut feels every lazy second of its three-hour run time? This is the latest in a new era of modern film-one where emotion is out-of-vogue, replaced by a beautiful but frigid minimalism. It'll still win the Academy Award for Best Picture-but "Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" will also join the pantheon of the countless victors who didn't really deserve it. C+
Valkyrie-
On the flip side, "Valkyrie" came out of nowhere and blindsided me. It's the true story of a one-eyed wounded Nazi Colonel (Tom Cruise, not even trying for a German accent) who embarked on a blunt-force suicide mission to kill Hitler. In what could be called an anti-Button case, director Bryan Singer lets his film overflow with tension, emotion and white-knuckle, balls-out terror. Although we all know the outcome, enough suspense (never has a suitcase been such a scary object in movie history) is wrung from the ins and outs of the operation itself that one almost forgets what really did occur. A who's who of British thesps-Bernard Hill, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh-pop up in small but smartly calibrated performances, and Bill Nighy (yes, Davy Joneeesssssss!), as a fellow anti-Hitler officer who doesn't see eye-to-eye with Stauffenberg, tears into the role with his typical head-spinning vigor. What's most surprising though is that, in the end, after all the missing limbs, explosives, shouted dialogue, backroom meetings, and detailed blueprints, it's an emotionally truthful spirit of passionate, motivated rebellion that ultimately defines this most surprising thriller. A-

I Make Movie Review :Doubting "Doubt"

So maybe I had my expectations too high. Okay, actually, with Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman sharing the screen, the Second Coming couldn't have met my expectations. What's so disappointing about "Doubt"-what is not a half-bad movie, mind you-is that the two's pairing is not as orgasmic and earth-shakingly as many imagined it would be-and the sad part is, it isn't the thespians fault. As members of the clergy in a power struggle concerning the well being of a 60's Catholic schools first black student, the two actors adapt handsomely crafted Bronx accents and steely stares. When the two clash (as they do on a handful of occasions), you sense that these two actors were excited to tear into the raw meat of such a beefy story. The problem is, director John Patrick Shanley (who directed from his own Broadway play), hasn't provided said meat for said Oscar-winners to munch on. Afraid that his little play won't live up to the big screen, Shanley makes the fatal mistake of slicing the careful structure of the story to ribbons and leaving the talented actors to sink their teeth into what little is left of his initially clever-sounding story idea-a sneaky bit of irony here, a fairly-strong line there. "Doubt" feels rushed, and we the audience never have a spare second to take sides or think about the goings-on. What remains is an unfocused string of well-acted, over-directed, and all too short scenes. Viola Davis, playing the mother of the abused boy, is getting all the Oscar buzz, but I truly am not feeling it. Instead, for moi at least, this film's saving grace is by and far Amy Adams. Playing an innocent young nun dragged into this mess, Adams seems almost eerily immersed in the part. She says more with a glance and a piece of gristle than the other actors manage to do with entire paragraphs of dialogue. When she finally does let loose, it's in front of Streep, and, against all odds, a twinkling of genuine emotion is brought out. In all fairness, this story is not an easy one to tell on film, and Shanley doesn't fail completely-his behind the scenes team is top-notch, and the final scene with Streep and Adams alone in a snow-covered garden is an indication of what could've been had Shanley sat back and allowed his actors to act. As it is, "Doubt" is never boring (even if it the pacing is blink-and-you'll-miss-it-fast) and the subject matter(handled evenly and tastefully I must say) leaves plenty of room for a truly fascinating after-movie debate. Ultimately, perhaps its appropriate that a movie about a guilt-based faith is both rewarding and frustrating in equal doses. B-