Moviecrazed

Star Turns--What You Should Know About The Current And Upcoming Projects Of Your Favorite Players

By Guy Flatley

ADAM SANDLER

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY

Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Dan Aykroyd, Nick Turturro, Richard Chamberlain (Directed by Dennis Dugan; Written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor; Universal)

There was a time when the biggest fear of guys who were gay was that their secret might be detected and they would be dragged out of the closet. But times have changed, at least in Philadelphia, where, in order to collect domestic partner benefits, a couple of hetero firefighters who work side by side during the day pretend that at night they sleep side by side. This could be a winner, since it was written--or, at least, rewritten--by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, who were responsible for the wonderful “Sideways.” And, if we’re really lucky, Adam Sandler will ascend to the level of his inspired seriocomic performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love.” Now Playing

SUSAN SARANDON

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

The fact that greedy Gordon Gekko—played here again by Michael Douglas--is finally out from behind bars doesn’t mean he’s a reformed man. Nor do his new pals, played by Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin, walk a straight and narrow line in their rabid quest for big bucks. Ditto for Gekko’s former colleague Bud Fox, acted once more by Charlie Sheen. Any similarity between the scheming depicted here and the recent real-life theft and deceit practiced on Wall Street is strictly intentional on the part of director Oliver Stone, the man responsible for the 1989 original. Click here for a Critics Roundup on "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Now Playing

SOLITARY MAN

Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, David Costabile (Directed by David Levien and Brian Koppelman; Written by Brian Koppelman; Anchor Bay Films)

Some men cheat on their wives. Some men cheat on their wives by attempting to rekindle a relationship with their ex-wives. Some men even cross a dangerous line with the nubile daughters of their latest wives. And, forgetting women for a second, it’s true that some men are at their most untrustworthy in the cold-blooded pursuit of big bucks.

Rarely does all of the above apply to one solitary man. But, happily, Ben Kalman, the mendacious car salesman and dedicated womanizer superbly played by Michael Douglas in this wickedly dark comedy, is a notable exception. And he deserves a round of applause from all serious moviegoers. Now Playing

PEACOCK

Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas, Bill Pullman, Jaimi Paige, Virginia Newcomb, Paul Cram (Directed by Michael Lander; Written by Michael Lander and Ryan Roy; Mandate Pictures)

Nothing much ever happened in the tiny town of Peacock, Nebraska--unless you count the day a train ran into the back yard of a humble bank clerk mamed John Skillpa (Cillian Murphy). That was the same day folks became aware that John had a housemate, a woman they took to be his wife. Peacockians being Peacockians, no one made much of the fact that John and his spouse never appeared in the same place at the same time. Finally, somebody took notice--a perky single mom (played by "Juno's" Ellen Page) began to suspect that something strange, maybe even sick, was going on in John's house.

How could this well-intentioned snoop bring John's story to a happy ending? Persuade John to put his wife up for adoption? Or, discovering that the guy had been getting off on slipping into something silky and masquerading as his own wife, should she try convincing him that she herself would make the best of all possible Mrs. Skillpas?

Or maybe she should simply get the hell out of Peacock. Opening date to be announced

PETER SARSGAARD

KNIGHT AND DAY

Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano, Maggie Grace, Marc Blucas, Viola Davis, Olivier Martinez (Directed by James Mangold; Written by Patrick O’Neill; Twentieth Century-Fox)

The last time Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz hooked up on screen Tom was a love-her-and-leave-her narcissist who dumped Cameron the second sizzly Penelope Cruz cruised his way. Understandably, this sexual dismissal sent Cameron into a prolonged pout, which is why she offered her straying stud a ride home late one evening after he’d kissed Penelope goodnight. Scarcely giving the cad a chance to fasten his seat belt, his embittered ex pressed her foot to the pedal and headed for the nearest bridge, where she swiftly executed a four-wheel suicide-and-murder dive into the water below. For Cameron, it worked; for Tom, the results were ghastly disfigurement and a hellish new way of life.

The year was 2001, and the movie, as connoisseurs of cinematic kitsch well know, was “Vanilla Sky.” But that was then, and this is what we have now: a brand new, sunnier, if not funnier, flick called “Knight and Day.” On this occasion, Tom and Cameron play a cuddly, secretive couple who take to the road and to the air, from Kansas to Massachusetts to Austria to Spain, in a frantic attempt to dodge various no-nonsense assassins and to live zanily ever after. (Let’s hope Tom is at the wheel this time.) Now Playing

LIEV SCHREIBER

SALT

Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher, Olek Krupa (Directed by Phillip Noyce; Written by Kurt Wimmer; Columbia Pictures)

Picture Tom Cruise as a loyally red-white-and-blue CIA officer who is suddenly forced to dash and smash, hide and seek, furtively around the globe on the next-to-impossible mission of clearing himself of charges that he is in fact a dirty-rotten Russian spy. Now picture Angelina Jolie in that same role. That’s right—Tom changed his mind at the last minute about participating in this project, so director Phillip Noyce and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer simply performed a sex change, undoubtedly increasing the action thriller’s potential box-office take. For, as moviegoers have demonstrated on numerous occasions, they love nothing more than watching Angelina truly kick butt. Now Playing

AMANDA SEYFRIED

CHLOE

Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot, R. H. Thompson, Nina Dobrev (Directed by Atom Egoyan; Written by Erin Cressida Wilson; Sony Pictures Classics)

Do civilized, wealthy, discreetly carnal Canadians ever lose their cool and swerve recklessly into the sexual fast lane? They do if they’re like the hot trio of Toronto residents focused upon in this steamy little scenario directed by Atom Egoyan (“Exotica,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Where the Truth Lies”) and written by Erin Cressida Wilson (“Secretary,” “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus”).

Catherine, played by Julianne Moore, is a popular gynecologist who gets it into her head that hubby David (Liam Neeson), a music professor, is teaching his adoring female students a lot more than mere melody. That’s why she hires a prostitute named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to have sex (actually quite a bit of sex) with David and to then report back with the bare facts.

What Catherine doesn’t bargain for is that she will be so turned on by the graphic details that are eventually relayed by the lewdly graphic Chloe. As for professor David, who knows what’s ever going on in his head? Probably nothing to do with Brahms, Beethoven or Bach.

In the end, all three participants in this risky game will surely be forced to face the music. Now Playing

DEAR JOHN

Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas (Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; Written by Jamie Linden; Screen Gems)

Based on a spiritual tearjerker by Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author whose other never-say-dry weepies include “The Notebook” and “A Walk to Remember,” this more-or-less timely drama succeeded in toppling “Avatar” from the box-office perch it had occupied for seven weeks. So what did “Dear John” have that other openings of the week--most notably John Travolta’s noisy, violent and lavishly unloved “From Paris With Love”--did not have?

Heart, miles and miles of heart, for one thing. And a sudsy scenario that charts the ups and downs of the relationship between a rugged yet sensitive soldier and the angelic yet hot college cutie he meets while on furlough. Predictably, they fall instantly, passionately in love and begin to make plans for an idyllic future. The smitten lad will complete his tour of duty, give a farewell salute to Uncle Sam, and walk his girl down the aisle.

Reality, alas, short-circuits the couple on the morning of 9/11/01. That’s the day when our conflicted hero must make a choice—to re-up and march off to Afghanistan, or play it safe and settle down in the burbs with his pacifist wife. Want to know if this Hollywood slice of life ends in war or peace? Then you should join the box-office stampede—assuming there still is one--and find out. Now Playing

CHARLIE SHEEN

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Charlie Sheen, Banessa Ferlito, Donald Trump (Directed by Oliver Stone; Written by Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff)

The fact that greedy Gordon Gekko—played here again by Michael Douglas--is finally out from behind bars doesn’t mean he’s a reformed man. Nor do his new pals, played by Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin, walk a straight and narrow line in their rabid quest for big bucks. Ditto for Gekko’s former colleague Bud Fox, acted once more by Charlie Sheen. Any similarity between the scheming depicted here and the recent real-life theft and deceit practiced on Wall Street is strictly intentional on the part of director Oliver Stone, the man responsible for the 1989 original. Click here for a Critics Roundup on “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.” Now Playing

MICHAEL SHEEN

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni (Written and directed by Woody Allen)

In the oddball 1996 musical comedy “Everyone Says I Love You,” Woody Allen was a notably uncomfortable American in Paris. Indeed, none of his American fellow-travelers—including Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore and Natalie Portman—seemed to be having much fun in the City of Light. Now, in “Midnight in Paris,” Woody won’t have to worry about looking out of place. That’s because, as usual these days, the writer-director will not be performing in his own film.

And even though his latest comedy-drama already has a title—a rarity for an Allen project yet to go before the camera—we still know very little about the plot, except that it deals with various members of a family who discover some surprising truths about themselves while traveling abroad together.

Just imagine the epiphanies that chronically depressed clan in “Interiors” might have experienced on a trip to Gay Paree! Opening date to be announced

TRON: LEGACY

Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen, Michael Teigen, Beau Garrett, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain (Directed by Joseph Kosinski; Written by Adam Horowitz, Richard Jefferies and Edward Kitsis; Disney)

You may have thought that Kevin Flynn, the brilliant, exceedingly daring video-game creator played by Jeff Bridges in the 1982 mega-hit “Tron,” had by now retired to a serene, gated community on the Pacific coast. If so, you’d be dead wrong. As we learn in this cinematic update, Flynn, acted once again by the irreplaceable Bridges, went missing a couple of decades ago, much to the sorrow of his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund), who was not much more than a toddler when his dad vanished into thin sci-fi air. So, naturally, the young man’s spirits are lifted considerably when he receives a mysterious electronic signal that could only be coming from Kevin. Alas, in his frantic attempt to hook up with Dad again, Sam is sucked into a nightmarish digital world, the very same villain-packed ground upon which Kevin has been trapped all these years. We firmly believe that father and son will eventually return, shoulder to shoulder, to peaceful turf. But you can bet that their homeward journey will be unsparingly traumatic, especially when gimmicked up with the flashiest, dizziest state-of-the-art 3-D effects. Now Playing

WILL SMITH

SEVEN POUNDS

Will Smith, Woody Harrelson, Rosario Dawson, Madison Pettis, Barry Pepper, Michael Ealy, Steve Tom, Elpidia Carrillo (Directed by Gabriele Muccino; Written by Grant Nieporte; Columbia)

Multi-talented Will Smith targets our tear ducts in this tale of an IRS agent who is so overcome by guilt for the vile deeds of his past that he vows to put some joy in the lives of seven seriously suffering individuals. One is a blind pianist, played by Woody Harrelson; another is a perilously ill yet deeply seductive beauty, played by Rosario Dawson.

You should probably be warned that this improbable story-line is not what "Seven Pounds" is really all about. In any event, you'd be best advised to bring along a hanky. Better make that two. Now Playing

SISSY SPACEK

GET LOW

Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper, Lorie Beth Edgeman (Directed by Aaron Schneider; Written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell; Sony Pictures Classics)

Some people love a parade; others love a carnival or maybe a wedding. And then there’s the rare bird who loves a funeral, such as Felix Bush, the elderly, irascible—some said menacing--loner who emerged from his backwoods Tennessee home one day during the Great Depression with the wacky goal of finding somebody to give him a festive, folksy funeral, replete with music, booze, and cash prizes. All this while Felix was still among the living.

Sound a bit far-fetched? Well, according to the makers of “Get Low,” it’s all true, based on events in the life of an eccentric whose proper name was Felix Breazeale and who did manage to celebrate his own fun-filled send-off from our prosaic planet with mischievous, surprisingly raunchy panache.

Critics who voted thumbs up on this sleeper did so largely because of the solid, in-depth performances by veterans Robert Duvall as the cantankerous but vulnerable Felix, Bill Murray as the crafty, highly unorthodox director of the local funeral parlor, and Sissy Spacek as a sweet yet sassy widow who once made the mistake of letting Felix fly off on his own. Now Playing

KEVIN SPACEY

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, J. K. Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Mader, Glenn Morshower, Waleed Zuaiter, Terry Serpico, Nick Offerman, Billy Lockwood (Directed by Grant Heslov; Written by Peter Straughan; Smoke House Pictures)

Remember when the U.S. government gave the green light to a unit of “psychically gifted” nut-cases who were trained to stare really hard at randomly picked goats until the four-legged conscripts literally dropped dead?

Chances are that you do not remember this gung-ho military gang, officially named the New Earth Army and equipped to whip around the globe staring lethally at lots more than an occasional shipment of goats. One reason you may not remember these programmed patriots is that their heyday was way back in the 80’s, and another is that their bosses in Washington made sure their activities remained top secret. A third reason is that the New Earth Army may be a figment of Jon Ronson’s imagination. But Ronson insists that his 2004 book, “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” is solid, if loony, fact, not fiction.

Whatever the case, director Grant Heslov and star George Clooney—the team that delivered “Good Night, and Good Luck”—and British author Peter Straughan, who adapted Ronson’s book, want us to believe that most of what is depicted here, from Reagan’s White House to the beatings and waterboardings of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, is as true as today’s headlines. Including a bold, perhaps successful scheme to reactivate the New Earth Army and plunge its eccentric warriors into the middle of the American adventure in Iraq.

Clooney is top-billed as Lyn Cassady, a mysterious, mercurial member of the New Earth War who, early in 2003, surfaces in Kuwait, where he claims to be a trashcan salesman on his way to Iraq. Ewan McGregor plays Bob Wilton, a clueless reporter looking for a story who doesn’t realize he’s found one when he hooks up with Cassady; Jeff Bridges is Bill Django, an eternal, laid-back hippie who somehow summoned the energy to create the New Earth War, with more than a little help from LSD; and Kevin Spacey is Larry Hooper, a recent, wise-ass recruit to NEA who may be capable of treason.

And you thought the Inglourious Basterds were a wild bunch! Now Playing

BEN STILLER

LITTLE FOCKERS

Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Jessica Alba, Harvey Keitel, Laura Dern, Raven-Symone (Directed by Paul Weitz; Written by John Hamburg and Victoria Strouse; Universal Pictures)

They’re baaaack! We’re talking about the unstoppable Fockers--horny, long-in-the-tooth Bernie and his sex-therapist spouse Roz (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand) and their incurably nerdy son (Ben Stiller). We’re also talking about the Byrnes clan, former CIA operative Bernie and his long-suffering wife (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) and their flaky daughter (Teri Polo), who has married the nerd of the Focker family and more or less glued her clan to his clan.

You may or may not be stunned to learn that the stickiest glue holding the families together is a precious, notably photogenic set of twins named Henry and Samantha. And if this installment of the lucrative franchise works out as expected, we may soon behold the blessed event of little Focker triplets! Now Playing

THE HARDY MEN

Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller (Directed by Shawn Levy; Fox)

Boys will be boys. And then, if they pull themselves together and stop the kid stuff, they will be men. That is precisely what happens to cut-ups Tom and Ben in this comic updating of the “Hardy Boys” mystery series.

What’s the hook? It seems the lads have a spat and vow never to co-sleuth again. But then something shocking happens and they are forced to pool their brains and brawn on a truly big, life-or-death criminal case.

Could that be “The Hardy Men 2” we see on the horizon? Opening date to be announced

SHARON STONE

STOMPANATO

Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone (Directed by Francois Girard; Written by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples; Stonelock Pictures)

Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato were sweethearts--until the day in 1958 when the screen queen's daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed the hot-tempered gangland figure before he could make an exit from her mom's Beverly Hills bedroom. (For those with short memories, the verdict was justifiable homicide).

Stone seems a smart choice for Turner, but Banderas had better get to work on his American accent--starting yesterday. No word yet on who will tackle the challenging role of 14-year-old Cheryl, but if Dakota Fanning is on the list, let us hope she is toward the bottom. Opening date to be announced

MERYL STREEP

THE IRON LADY

Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant, Roger Allam, Olivia Colman, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd (Directed by Phyllida Lloyd; Written by Abi Morgan; 20th Century Fox)

Meryl Streep was delicious as mega-chef Julia Child in Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia.” Ditto for Streep as a cheated-upon wife in “Heartburn,” Mike Nichols’ comedy-drama mirroring Nora Ephron’s betrayal by philandering husband Carl Bernstein. The actress who is unfailingly persuasive in any role—in any language—was also laudable as real-life heroines Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen in Sydney Pollack’s “Out of Africa,” murdered whistleblower Karen Silkwood in Mike Nichols’ “Silkwood,” and flashily conflicted Suzanne Vale, in Nichols’ “Postcards From the Edge,” based on flashily conflicted Carrie Fisher’s arguably autobiographical tale. And, of course, we all loved Meryl as the triumphantly autocratic queen of fashion who bore more than a passing resemblance to Anna Wintour in David Frankel’s “The Devil Wears Prada.”

So why shouldn’t the family of Margaret Thatcher, the one and—thus far--only female British prime minister, be tickled to see the 85-year-old Prime Minister Thatcher—now Baroness Thatcher--played by the magical, 61-year-old Meryl in “Iron Lady,” the warts-and-all biopic now being lensed under the direction of Phyllida Lloyd, who previously escorted Streep through the song-and-dance minefield known as “Mamma Mia!”?

Well, according to press reports, the clan finds the film’s script, by Abi Morgan, appalling because they feel it depicts the legendarily forceful, uncompromising Thatcher chatting with the ghost of her husband, Sir Denis Thatcher, about some of the most controversial decisions she made during her lengthy career. (Dead and alive, the P.M.’s loyal mate is being played by the they-don’t-come-any-better Jim Broadbent.) In London, an incensed family friend confided to the Telegraph that the Thatchers feel strongly about this potential blockbuster, “but will not speak publicly for fear of giving it more publicity.”

In which case, New Jersey’s own Meryl Streep will have the last British-accented word on the subject. Opening date to be announced

BARBRA STREISAND

GYPSY

The year was 1968, and a brash girl from Brooklyn with the power to wring laughter and tears from an audience was making her screen debut as real-life singer-comedienne Fanny Brice, a role she had created on Broadway. No one was surprised months later when Barbra Streisand took home an Oscar for her terrific performance in "Funny Girl."

And if things turn out the way they should, no one will be surprised when Streisand hugs an Oscar for her next blockbuster musical—an adaptation of the incomparable “Gypsy.”

I’m talking, of course, about the 1959 stage masterpiece by Arthur Laurents, with sublime music by Jule Styne and unforgettable lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. As all the world knows, Ethel Merman was the first powerhouse performer to play Momma Rose, the ballsy, bellowing, intensely frustrated mother of the initially reluctant stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. And the role of Momma Rose is sufficiently complex and wrenching to have inspired riveting interpretations from a wide range of actresses, including Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone.

For a while, the movie--to be produced for Universal Pictures by Joel Silver, who is now in final negotiations with Streisand—was an iffy proposition. Shortly before Laurents’ death on May 5, Stephen Sondheim reportedly urged the 93-year-old author to cancel plans for the production, perhaps fearing that it would turn out as execrable as the 1962 film of “Gypsy” starring Rosalind Russell. But Laurents, who helped Streisand conquer Broadway by casting her in “I Can Get It For You Wholesale” and later wrote a wonderful role for her to play in “The Way We Were,” was evidently keen to reteam with his discovery. And it now appears that Sondheim may be experiencing mixed emotions, since producer Silver told New York Times reporter Patrick Healy that “Stephen Sondheim remains a part of the film development discussions.”

Which is a good thing, since the brilliant composer will undoubtedly come up with super suggestions for a screenwriter and director, as well as actors to play Herbie (Momma Rose's beau) and Louise (the timid kid who became the bold, grown-up Gypsy). Could that be Dustin Hoffman we hear testing his pipes on the tricky music and lyrics of “Together, Wherever We Go”? And who knew that Hailee Steinfeld could purr a sultry “Let Me Entertain You”? As for “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Some People” and “Rose’s Turn”—we KNEW Streisand would belt them clear out of the cineplex and into the stratosphere. But please, Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Silver, do not allow Rob Marshall, the directorial bulldozer of “Chicago” and “Nine,” to come anywhere near “Gypsy.” Opening date to be announced

If you'd like to know how I fared during my New York Times interview with Barbra Streisand, click here.

DONALD SUTHERLAND

FIERCE PEOPLE

Diane Lane, Anton Yelchin, Donald Sutherland, Chris Evans, Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Shyer(Directed by Griffin Dunne; Written by Dirk Wittenborn; Lions Gate)

Nobody has it tougher than teenagers these days. Take Finn (Anton Yelchin), a basically decent New York City kid, for example. His father is off in the jungle doing his anthropological thing, and his mother (Diane Lane), a nifty masseuse, is a druggie. When Finn is caught trying to score some coke for mom, the two scurry to a sumptuous country estate where the strung-out masseuse becomes a full-time, hands-on employee of raunchy but obscenely wealthy Mr. Osbourne (Donald Sutherland).

So far, so good. But then Finn discovers that the fine country-club set is not so fine after all. Perhaps mom will turn into a twelve-stepper and shape everyone up. Now Playing

HILARY SWANK

AMELIA

Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Virginia Madsen, Christopher Eccleston, Cherry Jones, Joe Anderson, Aaron Abrams, Mia Wasikowska (Directed by Mira Nair; Written by Ronald Bass; Fox Searchlight)

Did you know that Amelia Earhart, who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and eventually went missing over the Pacific in 1937, had a torrid affair with Gene Vidal, the father of writer Gore Vidal? And that was while the ace aviatrix was said to be blissfully married to publisher George Putnam! But as director Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding”) will undoubtedly make clear to us, this pioneer feminist was never one to let stuffy rules get in her way. In a bit of inspired casting, Hilary Swank is Amelia; Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor are her husband and her lover, respectively; and Virginia Madsen is her husband’s first wife. Now Playing

TILDA SWINTON

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Elias Koteas, Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond (Directed by David Fincher; Written by Eric Roth; Paramount/Warner Bros.)

Brad Pitt will soon turn 50. But don’t feel depressed; just a bit later, the golden boy will be 49, and on the next birthday, he’ll be 48. You get the idea: in the Eric Roth screenplay, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the hero ages backward, and when he arrives at the ripe young age of 30, he meets the love of his life, a pip played by Cate Blanchett, who memorably played opposite Pitt in “Babel.” David Fincher, who had Brad sweating and swatting on all cylinders in “Fight Club,” will be at the helm. Now Playing