The Girl who Played with Fire [2009]

A girl who has the misfortune of having a father to be the mastermind of a giant Swedish criminal syndicate was haunted by her grim past. Being accused of a crime and enlisted as the most wanted criminal in the country, how can she prove her innocence while trying to face the death claws of his own father?

*photo courtesy of IMDb
*IMDb link

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [2009]

An antisocial girl with an extraordinary gift of a photographic memory helped a journalist to solve the mystery of the missing young girl, caught in the middle of the sophisticated web of the Vanger family. How can she keep her secrets hidden while risking to show her talents and probably save the life of the journalist?

This Swedish movie opens your eyes to the reality that misfortunes and evil doings of people abound everywhere, even to those you least expect to be.

*photo courtesy of IMDb
*IMDb link

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments. "

Director: David Fincher
Writer: Eric Roth (screenplay and screen story)
Release Date: 8 January 2009 (Philippines)
Genre: Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance
Awards: Nominated for 13 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 50 nominations
Cast:
Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button
Cate Blanchett as Daisy
Taraji P. Henson as Queenie
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Tizzy
Jared Harris as Captain Mike, etc.

Plot:
This is the life story of Benjamin Button, who had a very rare disease called Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome which makes his body appear too old and deteriorating despite his young age. He was born wrinkled and with arthritis...died like a newly-born baby. You'll be wondering if such a disease actually existed. What would you feel if you were aging backwards, seeing other people suffer the demise of aging while you appear younger each year?

Trivia:
*From a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

*The second Hollywood feature film, after Denzel Washington's Deja Vu (2006), to film in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
*Brad Pitt stated it took 5 hours each day to complete the make-up required for the role.

*The look that David Fincher, visual-effects supervisor Eric Barba and special makeup-effects artist Greg Cannom devised for Benjamin as a child resemble the later stages of progeria, a condition technically named Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, a rare disease that makes its young sufferers appear aged. Those who didn't attend medical school may be most familiar with it from the Ralph Macchio TV movie _The Three Wishes of Billy Grier (1984) (TV)_. And Robin Williams had a fictional version of progeria in Jack (1996).

*The name of Benjamin's sailboat is Button Up.

Memorable Quotes:
Benjamin Button: Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some are born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people...dance.

Benjamin Button: It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.

Mrs. Maple: Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?

Captain Mike: You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.
Queenie: You never know what's comin' for ya.

Benjamin Button: Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.

Mr. Daws: Blinded in one eye; can't hardly hear. I get twitches and shakes out of nowhere; always losing my line of thought. But you know what? God keeps reminding me I'm lucky to be alive.

Benjamin Button: Momma? Momma? Some days, I feel different than the day before. Queenie: Everyone feels different about themselves one way or another, but we all goin' the same way.

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

*more at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/
*photo by http://www.axport.com/movies/2008-Hollywood-Movies/images/2008movies_BenjaminButton.jpg