Sunday, March 22, 2020

Movie Review and Critique The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was released in the U.S. in 2008, is a film whose screenplay is loosely adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald having the same name. David Fincher directs the fantasy, drama, and romance movie while Eric Roth and Robin Swicord take charge of the screenplay.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Movie Review and Critique: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The film stirs Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt, apparent adult) as a man who is born with the look and physical maladies of a very old man and to the disappointment of everyone as he ages backwards (Scott, para. 3; Ebert, para. 1). This is the major conflict in the movie. The movie, starting nicely with greatly marinated food for thought and shifting towards an emotional ending that is as light as a feather, tells the story of Benjamin who is born just after the end of the Second World War in 1918 and lives well into the 21st century. Benjamin’s time traveler story, set in New Orleans, is about the individuals and locations he comes across as he moves, the loves he misplaces and discovers, the pleasure of life and the sorrow of decease, and what endures beyond time. The visually and emotionally rich film tells the life of Benjamin through his diary read to an old woman named Daisy (Cate Blanchett, adult) by her daughter, Caroline (Julia Ormond). The â€Å"curious case† in Benjamin’s life is that he is born as tiny shriveled aged elderly man (Sciretta, para. 2). Nonetheless, he lives like any normal man, as he grows younger and younger until he is a fully-grown person. Surprisingly, he dwindles to a young man and ultimately to an infant once again until he passes on in Daisy’s arms (Plowman, para.1). As a wizened geezer at the start of his weird life, Benjamin bumps into Daisy, a brilliant ballet dancer (Fisher, para. 3). Af ter some encounters, the two establish an instant connection, which cannot be said to be either creepy or paedophilic (Lipovetsky, para. 3). And, as they become of comparable physical age, they have a short passionate love affair. However, the contra-flow of time necessitates their separation and Benjamin departs. Eventually, when he shows up at twelve years of age, Daisy takes care of him until his death as an infant. The technical digital trickery that Fincher uses to create the characters in the film is definitely astounding. Fincher’s technical wizardry to increase the ages of the characters and also the way he makes them to look younger, in their teenage years, is extraordinary. Of particular mention is how Daisy is shown as an aged woman in a New Orleans hospital. The film’s director digitally tweaked Cate Blanchett’s skin so as to appear dissonantly smooth throughout the entire face, including the eyes. This is the same technique used for treating the ski ns of burns victims.Advertising Looking for critical writing on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The entire appearances of most of the actors’ skin have a metallic gloss. This makes them to look as though they can ring when tapped. The characters do not look as young people as such. They bear more resemblance to robot-replicants from Planet West world. Thus, this is the major inconsistency evident in the movie. However, worth mentioning, the character with a real-looking appearance is that of Julia Ormond when he reads aloud from Benjamin’s diary. Fincher demonstrated good skills in directing the film. The director winds the clock in such a manner that the wearing ordeal has an indisputable story line, which is pleasant from the beginning until the movie culminates (McCarthy, para. 4). The film’s director added a dimension of delicacy to the movie making as it clearly stands on the shoulders of other films released during that time (Bradshaw, para. 2). Whereas he considers treating his viewers to a small number of grand, special-effect showpieces, the director places more attention in the creation of the actors. Most importantly, as described above, the appearance of his stars: Benjamin and Daisy (as adults). At one hundred and sixty-seven minutes and no, not in reverse time, there is no time wasted; each shot is jaw dropping. Although the movie was adapted from an earlier version of a book, its screenplay is very different since it is only its title, Benjamin’s name and several aspects of the aging process that are maintained in its production. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a well-made movie. The characters who participated in the story did their best. The filmmakers took no chances; they crammed each scene with detail. The century-bridging costumes developed by the production designer have are top-notch in effectively delivering the intended message. The filmmakers concentrated in shooting mainly deep focus images so as to make best use of information in each frame. In addition, it is important to note that the depth of the blacks they accomplish shooting on digital is astonishing. Thus, the film is worth watching especially for those who want to know the importance of the aging process. Works Cited Bradshaw, Peter. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.† Guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Ltd, 6 Feb. 2009. Web. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/06/benjamin-button-brad-pitt-cate-blanchettAdvertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Movie Review and Critique: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ebert, Roger. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.† Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times, 23 Dec. 2008. Web. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081223/REVIEWS/812239995 Fisher, Jon athan. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.† Thefilmbrief.com. The Film Brief, 27 Dec. 2008. Web. http://www.thefilmbrief.com/2008/12/curious-case-of-benjamin-button.html Lipovetsky, Josh. â€Å"Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Essential Themes.† Film  Insight.net. The Film Insight, 3 Jan. 2009. Web. http://filminsight.net/2009/02/20/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-essential-themes/ McCarthy, Todd. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.† Variety.com. Reed Business Information, 2011. Web. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939098/ Plowman, Nick. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.† Fataculture. Film and Television Appreciation Culture, 3 Jan. 2009. Web. http://fataculture.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/review-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/ Sciretta, Peter. â€Å"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Movie Trailer.†Ã‚  Slashfilm.com. 12 June 2008. Web. http://www.slashfilm.com/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-movie-tr ailer/ Scott, Anthony. â€Å"It’s the Age of a Child Who Grows From a Man.† Movies. The New York Times, 25 Dec. 2008. Web. http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/movies/25butt.htmlAdvertising Looking for critical writing on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This critical writing on Movie Review and Critique: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was written and submitted by user Mario Cox to help you with your own studies. 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Friday, March 6, 2020

Obedience To God Through Daniel Essays - Bible, Book Of Daniel

Obedience To God Through Daniel Essays - Bible, Book Of Daniel Obedience To God Through Daniel There are a lot of different things the Bible can tell us about obedience and disobedience. Many of which have the same outcome. Others have a very different outcome. In the book of Daniel, there are plenty of ways that the Bible can show you that there are some bad things that come out of obedience and some good things that come out of disobedience. Obedience is part of life. obeying God is a big part. But obeying God doesn't always work out the way we want it, or it can work out better then we want. This is shown many times in Daniel. Two of these different ways obedience can have an effect are shown in Daniel. One in verse 1:8-10. This is where Daniel is denied his obedience to the law even though he wants to be obedient. He is given royal food and wine to eat but asks for something different because it goes against God's law. Even though God makes the official sympathetic, he is still denied something different to eat. He received nothing for being obedient. The next part of this shows that the outcomes can be very different. In verses 12-17, Daniel asks to be tested for ten days and to be given nothing but fruits and vegetables, then to have him and his friends compared to the people given the royal foods to eat. After ten days, Daniel and his friends were in better health then the other people. Because of the way Daniel han dled the situation, God gave Daniel superior knowledge and the ability to understand dreams. Daniel had been put down by obedience and then glorified by obedience shortly after. This same type of situation happens again in the next chapter when the king has a dream that he can't have interpreted. In chapter 2 verses 10-13, the king has all the wise men in his kingdom hunted down and killed, because none of them can explain his dream. This included Daniel and his friends. Once again, by the obedience to God and the king, he is being punished. After finding out what was going on, Daniel had a vision from God. He then was taken to the king and explained to him what his dream was about. The king had thanked him for being so good and obedient by making him ruler over Babylon (vs. 24-48). He was once again glorified for being obedient. Obedience can go to a higher level still as shown through Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king had them thrown into a fire for not obeying him by worshiping his statue (vs.20), but because they were obedient to God, they were saved from the blazing fire and came out completely unharmed (vs.25). God saves us by our obedience, but he will also punish you for your disobedience. In chapter 4, the king is admiring his kingdom for all its glory, and claims that it was all his doing. As he is saying this, a voice from heaven told him that because he doesn't worship God, he was getting everything taken away from him until he was going to acknowledge that God was almighty (vs.28-32). The king then went and lived like a wild animal. He lived like this for quite some time before he finally admitted that God reigned supreme over everything (vs. 33-34). He was then, after being obedient to God, fully restored to his sanity and royal rank.. One other point shown is when Daniel was thrown in the lion's den. The administrators and satraps that ruled the kingdom with Daniel got so jealous that he was the most distinguished one of them all, that they tried to have him arrested so he could be killed. They couldn't find any grounds to have him arrested on, so instead they convinced the king to have an edict saying if anybody does not worship him for the next 30 days, they would be thrown in the lion's den. Daniel was not going to be disobedient to God so instead, he disobeyed this edict (6:1-11). The king tried to save him since they were friends, but could do nothing. He was unable to repeal his own