DVD Reviews

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Director: David Fincher
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Rating: PG13

Even if you're not caught up in the romantic and philosophic waves of the story, this is a technological wonder. But unlike action films, which try to overwhelm you with dazzling special effects, this one opens your eyes with small wonder. The filmmaker, though, is more interested in the story: one about a man who ages backward. Brad Pitt plays Button, who was born like a man in his '70s to a wealthy New Orleans family in 1918. Horrified, his father leaves him on a doorstep, where a caretaker of a nursing home takes him in. As he grows younger, he watches patients age and die, giving him a perspective on life and death. One day he meets Daisy (eventually Blanchett), the granddaughter of a woman at the home, who becomes his lady love. A film rises or falls on the story it tells, and this is a pretty good story.

Hotel for dogs
Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Emma Roberts, Jake T Austin, Kevin Dillon
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Genre: Family
Rating: G
This is the kind of film you would have appreciated when you were in elementary school. But considering those years, for me, are long gone, watching this canine fairytale proved a little too taxing. But let this be no indication of any shortcomings on the part of the filmmaker. It's an imaginative story about two orphaned kids and their adventure with their furry friends.

Andi (Roberts, Julia's niece) and her younger brother Bruce (Austin) have a dull life with their fussy foster parents (Kudrow and Dillon). Their only hope lies in their family pet dog Friday, who they have secretly kept with them through the years. But one fateful day a police chase leads them to an abandoned building of stray dogs. This prompts the kids, with help from their friends, to convert the building into a hotel for stray dogs. Bruce's innovative gadgets lend a fun touch to their hotel, but the establishment won't last long if Animal Control has its way. Will Andi and Bruce be able to save their new family?

Watch to find out, but only if you have kids at home or you truly love dogs!

He Was a Quiet Man
Cast: Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert, William H. Macy
Director: Frank A Cappello
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: 15
Bob Maconal (Christian Slater) works in a large firm called Advanced Dynamic Devices. All day long he sits in his cubicle interacting with his colleagues only when absolutely necessary. After work he heads for home where he has intriguing conversations, with his goldfish.

As the movie begins, we get to know his frame of mind. We listen to his thoughts: "It was easier in the past to be a man. A man knew what it was to be a man. You stood up for things that were wrong. You had the right to do so." Sounds profound, but then as he begins to plan to shoot five of his co-workers, it becomes clear that Bob's mind is unhinged. One day he decides it's time for the shooting, but a bullet slips from his hand and he bends to retrieve it.

Just then another stressed-out fellow worker pulls out a gun and accomplishes what Bob had set out to do. Among the wounded is Vanessa Parks (Elisha Cuthbert), and as the gunman tries to fire another shot to put her out of her misery, Bob kills him. But, as it turns out, this leads to even more pain.