Review: Benjamin Button will inspire you, a technological marvel and visual triumph.

Story: Spanning from WWI to the 21st century, Eric Roth’s screenplay (based loosely on a 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) tells the unique story of a man named Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). He is born in New Orleans as a very old baby, the equivalent of a man in his 80s, who then ages backward into youth over the better part of a century. The film is told in flashback by a very old, dying woman Daisy (Cate Blanchett), who recounts her tale to her daughter (Julia Ormond) from a hospital bed during Hurricane Katrina. Left on the doorstep of a retirement home one night by his father (Jason Flemyng), Benjamin is brought up by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), who runs the place. While there he meets a young girl, Daisy, who will become a key figure – romantically and otherwise – in his life. Ben does have some grand adventures: He goes to work on a boat, sees sea battles during WWII, finds love with an older married woman (Tilda Swinton) – and gets progressively younger as the decades fly by. It all manages to be alternately haunting, romantic, funny, epic, emotional and incredibly moving and will likely to stay with you a lifetime.

Acting: Brad Pitt manages to deliver a thoughtful and subtle performance through all the special effects makeup and CGI. He does so much just by using his eyes. Cate Blanchett is equally fine as she plays Daisy from a teenager to an old woman and matches Pitt in bringing an entire lifetime skillfully to light. Her aging makeup is completely natural and she’s very moving in the hospital scenes opposite Ormond. Henson is just marvelous as Queenie, a warm and understanding soul. Swinton is elegant and memorable in her few crucial encounters with Ben and plays beautifully off Pitt. Jared Harris (TV’s “The Riches”) as the colorful Captain Mike, who hires Ben on his tug boat, and Flemyng (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), as Ben’s father, are also effective in their brief screen time.

Direction: Interestingly, Benjamin Button has been gestating for decades in the Hollywood firmament but needed time for the proper technology to catch up to it. Director David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club) with his early background at George Lucas’ ILM, proves to be the perfect choice to marry a compelling story with spectacular visual effects achievement. He did not want to do the film unless the technology allowed one actor to play the role throughout the course of the film. Remarkably, they were able to achieve this superimposing Brad Pitt’s face and eyes into all the incarnations of Ben Button. In one sequence, Pitt looks just like he did in Thelma & Louise. It’s an amazing feat. He has seamlessly created a unique universe without ever bringing attention to it, advancing the art of screen storytelling leaps and bounds ahead of everything else that has come before. Benjamin Button is a plaintive and provocative meditation of life, death and what we do while we are here. It’s the stuff of dreams.

Bottom line: Hollywood.com rated this film 4 stars.

Review: This isn’t just about a dog. Marley & Me is a heartwarming tale of a family with dog DRAMA. Be prepared to laugh and cry, equally as hard.

Story: As the snow falls on their wedding night, newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan decide to leave behind the harsh winters of Michigan and head south to begin their new lives in West Palm Beach, Fla. They obtain jobs as journalists at competing local newspapers, buy their first home, and begin to make their way through the challenges of a new marriage, new careers and, possibly, the life-changing decision to start a family. Unsure of his preparedness for raising children, John confesses his fears to his friend and fellow journalist Sebastian, who comes up with the perfect solution: John should get Jenny a puppy. The Grogans adopt the cute, 12-pound yellow Labrador, who in no time at all, grows into a 100-pound steamroller of unbridled energy that turns the Grogan home into a disaster area. He flunks obedience school, chews off dry-wall, takes a bite out of the sofa, overturns garbage cans, steals a Thanksgiving turkey, consumes pillows and flowers, drinks toilet water, and chases the UPS guy. Even a newly-purchased, expensive necklace isn’t safe from Marley’s voracious antics. Amidst the mayhem he generates through the years, Marley sees the Grogans through the ups and downs of family life, through job and home changes, and most of all, through the myriad challenges of a growing family. As John and Jenny come to realize, Marley – “the world’s worst dog” – somehow brings out the best in them.

Acting: This marks a sort of comeback for its stars. For Jennifer Aniston, it’s a way to clear up all her past movie mistakes. Her portrayal of a woman, coping with job, marriage, kids – and dog who barks at the garbage truck, waking up her napping young children at the wrong times – shows just how mature she has gotten as an actress. Owen Wilson, too, has matured and proves he’s good at his craft, playing John with equal measures bemusement and joy at how his life turned out. And the two are genuinely convincing as a married couple, without any of the clichés. Wilson and Aniston have both had to take a hard look at themselves personally, but they seem to have come out stronger on the other side. Also good is “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Eric Dane as John’s journalist buddy Sebastian, an investigative reporter John envies at times.

Direction: As for the 22 or so dogs who played Marley, well, director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) should get a medal, handling all that canine behavior. He manages to manipulate the camera to get the just the right “worst dog in the world” moments with Marley. Or he may have just pointed the camera at the dog and let the dog handler yell, “Go for it!” Either way, the dog tugs at your heartstrings. But audiences should know Marley & Me isn’t just a movie about the life and times of an adorable dog, contrary to how the studio is marketing it. This is about a marriage and family and all the ups and downs that entails – and how a beloved pet can be an integral part. If you plan on bringing young kids, be warned it might not be a life lesson they need to learn just yet.

Bottom line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.