Holiday Movie Previews

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton
Directed By: David Fincher
Theatrical Release: Dec 25, 2008 Wide

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, director David Fincher (Zodiac) turns his visionary eye to the extraordinary tale of one man, born elderly in 1918, who ages backwards through the 21st century. Based loosely on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Button was adapted by Eric Roth, who’s got six Oscar-nominated films under his belt, and scored by award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (Lust, Caution). The cast Fincher assembled ain’t too shabby either; Brad Pitt stars in a central performance that screams for Oscar recognition, reuniting with Babel co-star Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton, who appeared with but never shared a scene with Pitt in this year’s Burn After Reading. Tasked with backwards-aging Pitt from the ages of 80 to the teen years, Fincher employed a trailblazing camera system that digitized his actor’s face mid-performance; Button is also Fincher’s first-ever PG-13 film.

Seven Pounds (2008)
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper
Directed By: Gabriele Muccino

Theatrical Release: Dec 19, 2008 Wide

Nothing in life is a sure thing -- except for Will Smith. In Seven Pounds, the box-office king plays a suicidal IRS agent who decides to make amends for his misdeeds. Operating under the identity of his brother, he sets out on a journey to help seven strangers, but his task runs into complications when he falls in love with one of them, a woman suffering from a heart condition played by Rosario Dawson. Helmed by The Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino, Seven Pounds also stars Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, and Barry Pepper. It may not be the lightest of entertainments, but who doesn’t love a good redemptive tale?

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