They should have given Brad Pitt, an Oscar a long time ago for 'Legends of the Fall', when as a young actor, he could still give a performance full of raw emotion. However, this attempt for the lost award is nothing more than capitalizing on Pitt's current super c celebrity status, rather than his ability to emote.

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' that has a now hunky Pitt portraying an old man who grows younger with age, is just the kind of clichéd stuff to be popular with the multitude of viewers, who swooned over 'Titanic', including those awarded 'Forrest Gump'.

Getting its idea from F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 novel, the premise of the film is nowhere near the story of the original, but is merely an excuse to produce a film combining elements of fantasy, a sense of the epic, drama, humour, and love. A mess, it is only the excellent make-up and special effects that salvage the film.

Cate Blanchett's acting abilities are wasted in a role more suitable for Lindsay Lohan or Emma Thompson. As for Brad Pitt, his attempt at channeling himself, Val Kilmer and James Dean, fails miserably. If, Pitt wanted an Oscar so bad, he should have stuck with his pretty boy roles, similar to his roles in 'Oceans Eleven', 'Thelma and Louise'. He is best-off trying to win the Oscar with his charm and movie star charisma, rather than trying to act in a role that goes against his type.

What is Hurricane Katrina doing in the film, along with the insulting and highly irritating New Orleans-Creole accented narration, one hears throughout the movie? Was it an attempt at capturing the success of 'Titanic' and 'Forrest Gump' in one shot for the Oscar?

A bizarre story about a man who ages backwards, a baby born as an old, old man, a pleasant, strangely conventional tale about age-crossed lovers with the most amazing computer effects, it the tale of Benjamin (Pitt), who grows younger as he grows older. He, then meets the young Daisy (Blanchett), who grows older. As in all star-crossed love stories, they separate, with tragedy and exhilarations of war for him, while she gets to dance in Europe.

Nothing grabs you about the film, except the amazing computer effects.