Rating: 
Summary: A Film For Fathers and Sons
Review: At the beginning of this film, I must confess that I was skeptical as to whether or not I really wanted to invest much time into it. It seemed to meander, providing a fantastic, satyrical "Burtonesque" view of a world of askewed reality. It seemed to meander some...the premise, a boy and his father, fallen out from one another due to the son's embarrassment at his father incredible stories, are reunited when the son learns that the father is dying of cancer.The balance of the movie is told in vignette flashbacks, jumping from the present day narrative to the many incredible stories of Edward Bloom, the "Big Fish" of the story, whose tales stretch credibility to its limits. The film, which is so definitely Tim Burton, is also more. Although I was slow to pick up on it at first, I came to realize that the film was, in fact, a reflection on the complex relationships between fathers and sons. It touches on the believable infallability we all have for our fathers as children, and the "fall from grace" of our fathers when we discover they are as human as we are. Though the story provides plenty of whimsy, and at times, plays more like an episode of "Amazing stories" than anything else, at its core is a powerful story about relationships. This is a bit of a departure from the standard Burton fare, whose narrative stories are generally pure fantasy, without a thread of realism to them...such examples include "Beetlejuice", "Sleepy Hollow", "Batman", "Edward Scissorhands" and even "A Nightmare Before Christmas". This story is more human than any of those, focusing not on the fantastic, but using the fantastic stories of a father whose life was incredible without the tall tales to explore the psyche of a man who never knew how to fail. In the end, this film is a great tribute to fathers and sons everywhere, and is a film worth sharing. With the approach of Father's Day, this might make for a nice gift to share with Dad, and more, it is an entertaining romp through the fascinating world of Edward Bloom, Burton's newest slightly-askew-but-ever-so-human hero. -Scott Kolecki
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry - I didn't like it
Review: I had hopes that I could watch this movie with my 7 yr old son.
When I saw Tim Burton directed it, I had my doubts. My hopes for a feel-good movie were quickly dashed. Tim Burton continues to be a director I will avoid, yet this was probabibly his lightest work.
The plot was simple and transparent. 10 minutes into the movie, the ending was obvious. None of the characters were very overly likable.
I tell my son better stories than those in the movie. I would qualify this movie as a "'B-' rated theme movie of the 80's" if I could. The "Brat Pack" made better ones. It was better than Highlander II, Mortal Combat, Street Fighter, and The Avengers. They got a "0" star rating. It would be a good movie to watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon if there the best thing on TV was an old Tarzan movie.
On second though, I'd watch the old Tarzan movie. Secondhand Lions was far superior and I should have watched it for the 15 time instead of watching this movie. Sorry, but this is my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: uneven though ultimately moving
Review: "Big Fish" is the latest bit of calculated whimsy from famed director Tim Burton. With a screenplay by John August based on the Daniel Wallace novel, Burton tells the tale of Edward Bloom, a man whose whole life has been one "big fish story" after another. Now old and facing death, Bloom needs to come up with a rousing finale to cap off his largely fictionalized life. Bloom's son, William, a realist and pragmatist, bitterly resents the "lies" his father has been feeding him ever since he was a boy, and yearns, in these last moments together, to hear the "true" story of the old man's life. But, in his investigation into the veracity of all the tall tales he's been told, William discovers that there may be more truth to these myths and legends than he has ever allowed himself to believe. He also realizes that, in debunking all the whoppers, he will be depriving his father of the one real trait that defines him as a person and that distinguishes him from everybody else. The title of the film actually functions on two symbolic levels simultaneously. On the one hand, it reflects the fictionalized nature of Bloom's life and the grandiose egotism of his character. On the other, Bloom is, himself, the "big fish" in a small pond, as he leaves his mark on the world around him. "Big Fish" is actually most effective in the scenes set in the present, as father and son come to terms with the quality that each dislikes most about the other. William feels deceived by a father who, despite the fact that he made himself appear to be a larger-than-life heroic figure, was actually just a mediocre, often-absent dad, too busy with his secret "fantasy" life to make time for his own lonely son (the story has strong echoes of "Death of a Salesman" in its underlying vision and theme). Bloom, in a similar way, finds his son lacking in the kind of large-scale imagination that Bloom feels makes life worth living. The film is considerably less successful in the "flashback" scenes tracing Bloom's life from his own birth to his son's early childhood. The scenes are all elaborately staged in the best Tim Burton manner - filled with hauntingly mythical settings, surrealistic events and doses of Magic Realism - but the filmmakers can't overcome the unfortunate fact that these sequences are essentially as uninteresting and irritating as real "fish stories" tend to be. Bloom's "adventures" come across as dime-novel vignettes, which is supposed to be the point, I guess, but it still means that we are squirming with impatience through large - indeed very large - stretches of the film. Every time we come back to the present - to real, flesh-and-blood human beings - our interest picks back up. That's why the film, in its latter stages, becomes such a moving and profound experience, as we finally get to see and know the real man who is Edward Bloom, wrinkles, warts and all. Burton has assembled a wonderful cast for the occasion. The marvelous Albert Finney plays the dying Bloom and invests the film with an emotional depth just by his mere presence in the role. Ewan MacGregor does a fine job as the young, idealistic Bloom, while Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman enact the parts of Bloom's wife present and past (MacGregor and Lohman look as if they could truly grow up to be Finney and Lange). Billy Crudup brings a subtle depth to the role of William and the scenes between him and Finney truly touch the heart. Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi and Danny De Vito round out the impressive cast. Maybe it says more about me than it does about the film that I ended up liking the parts that were the LEAST Burton-esque the best. But, then again, this is from someone who thinks that the comparatively earthbound "Ed Wood" is Burton's best film.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting failure
Review: Being a Burton fan, I wanted to like this better, but it never really clicked. There are quite a number of wonderful scenes in "Big Fish," but stringing them together into a whole is a problem. Albert Finney as Edward Bloom is miscast. He doesn't seem to get a grasp on the character (very unusual for Finney), or at least doesn't harmonize him with the earlier version of Bloom - as played (wonderfully) by Ewan McGregor. And without that key element, the movie doesn't have a heart - or least only half a heart. Still, this is an ambitious movie, and two stars seems low, but it's this very ambition that I think sinks the film. It's crowded to the point of not leaving much of an impression. (And it has more "guest" appearances than "The Greatest Story Ever Told." If there's an actor you've missed seeing lately, check out "Big Fish.") The movie runs in a million seemingly picaresque directions at once, ultimately leading me nowhere. I did feel the ending to be very well done, but by that time I'd lost most of my interest. My son's condemnation - every 10 minutes or so, seemed appropriate: "This is boring."
Rating: 
Summary: Extravagantly Whimsical and Sentimental Family Drama.
Review: "Big Fish" has been adapted from the novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace and directed by Tim Burton. This whimsical tale of a strained parent-child relationship is Burton's most personal film to date. It's a story of a son returning to his childhood home, where his father is fatally ill, in hopes of discovering the man behind the myth that his father has always cultivated. "Big Fish" is in many ways a family drama with typical family themes, yet its otherworldly elements lend the film a distinct Burtonesque tone and appearance. Edward Bloom has been a personable man and a great storyteller all his life. His fantastic tales have been loved by all, no matter how much truth or myth they may contain. But ever since his son, Will Bloom (Billy Crudup), was old enough to realize the stories couldn't be entirely true, he has resented his father's unwillingness to say things the way they are. Estranged as adults, Will visits his dying father (Albert Finney) in hopes of learning the truth behind the magnificent tales of Edward's youth and gaining an understanding of the man he has known only through elaborate myths. Although "Big Fish" is telling us the story of Edward and Will's relationship, Edward, true to form, tells us his life's story in fantastic tales. So the film spends most of its time recounting Edward Bloom's life story as he tells it, with young Edward played with great charm by Ewan McGregor. These adventures are a visual feast and don't seem to compete with the film's present-tense father-son drama. The myth and the drama are blended seamlessly, much to Tim Burton's and screenwriter John August's credit. The faults I find with "Big Fish" are that some of its stories would have been more interesting told rather than seen, and the odd conglomeration of stories that constitute Edward's repertoire sometimes give the film an uneven pace. It goes without saying that "Big Fish" is sentimental. It most closely resembles Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" in tone. The DVD: Bonus features include two multi-part featurettes, which can also be viewed during the film by activating a feature called "Fish Tales", a trivia quiz, and an audio commentary by director Tim Burton. When activated, "Fish Tales" displays an icon on your screen during the film's playback that will take you to the relevant featurette. The first featurette, "The Character's Journey" contains three parts, each focusing primarily on one of the film's characters: the young Edward Bloom, circus ringmaster Amos Callaway, and Will Bloom. The film's cast and director Tim Burton discuss the characters in interviews. The second featurette is "The Filmmaker's Path", which has four parts. Tim Burton talks about the film's themes and inspirations. The production designer and effects coordinators discuss their role in expressing those themes. The fourth part, which is entitled "The Author's Journey" and features interviews with author Daniel Wallace and screenwriter John August, may be of interest to those who have read the book. "The Fine Points: A Trivia Quiz" is a game which allows you to view a short documentary about filming the circus scene if you answer the trivia questions. Tim Burton's audio commentary has an unusual format. It's an interview, so there is someone asking Burton specific questions as the subjects come up during the movie. This makes the commentary kind of low-key, but very informative. Burton talks about every aspect of the film, from its themes in relation to his own life to comments about the performances to technical details of filming. Subtitles are available in English and French. Dubbing is available in French. There are two unavoidable previews on the disc.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a fairy tale
Review: Somehow, everything Edward Bloom did took on mythic proportions - at least, for him. His hard-headed and down-to-earth son would have none of it. Bloom's son drew a sharp line between fact and fable, and between him and his father. Most of the film is Edward's version, filled with prophecy, a modern-day Brigadoon, giants, circuses, and above all the untamed river spirit. The film also takes place during Edward's last days, with his son desperately trying to reconcile himself to the father's apparent inability to tell the truth. Bloom's wife is a wonderful character, and should have gotten a lot more attention. She was completely dedicated to Bloom, tolerated his tall tales and even loved him for them. Just by being there, she seems to catalyze the rapprochement between father and son. (That's not a spoiler - you saw it coming, right?) In the end, the son joins in Bloom's world beyond reality, while Bloom is still alive to welcome him there. The son also finds out that there was a lot more literal truth in Bloom's stories than he could ever have believed. Even more, at least one fantastical story was literally true and never told. Father and son are reunited, son's world is expanded beyond the mundane, and the hankies are passed. If there were such thing as a modern-day fairy tale, it would look like this. The gentle action and family feeling make this mostly a chick flick. To tell the truth, I wanted to give this movie three stars. I am told that the chick-flick side of it is worth five, though, and I know not to argue: four stars over all.
Rating:
Summary: PSYCHEDELIC LIFE MAGAZINE
Review: Tim Burton has mastered the collective acid trip stereotyped 50's suburban landscape - the hair, just a little too big, the shirts, just a little to white...the homogeneous nightmare. The steady diet of his parent's stash of Life Magazines must have had a profound affect on him, because he loves the look. Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood come to mind. Big Fish is full of interesting images and at first they fascinate you and make you wonder where it's all going to end up. Too bad it goes nowhere - Burton's landscape is just eye candy and I challenge anyone to tell me just what he was trying to say. Here's his message as far as I could tell: Be yourself - parents are funny - parents (dad) is a liar, but that's okay...who knows. Not that every movie needs a point, but there has to be some substance, and Big Fish doesn't.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Made & Acted
Review: Big Fish is a wonderous masterpiece featuring a story tailor made for the imagination of Tim Burton. If ever a director and storyline were destined to be matched, I have to believe this was the case. Big Fish is larger than life and features a tremendous performance by Ewan McGregor who just continues to raise his stock with every film. McGregor stars as a young Edward Bloom out to experience life to its fullest. Always an adventurer, the critical point in this film is the discovery at an early age of how he is to die. This discovery is made by staring deep into a witch's glass eye (one of the many tales woven through this film). Big Fish does beg the question then, that if you know how you are to die, does fear of living life leave you liberated? Albert Finney stars as the older Edward Bloom as he prepares for death and Billy Crudup is cast as his son William who goes on a discovery of the truth to exactly who is father is before it's too late. Burton does a tremendous job of weaving in details that keep the viewer see-sawing back and forth as to the truth of Edwards tales all the way to the end. Big Fish is a visual experience to be enjoyed. The only disappointment has nothing to do with the video at all but the DVD had few extras that I craved after the movie left me begging for more.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly beautiful
Review: "Big Fish" has to be one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It is well acted, looks beautiful, and is very heartwarming. The cast in the movie is just perfect. Everyone in the body embodies their roles and there are all perfect for the part. They all convey the right sincertity so that the story is believable. Also, the movie is stunningly and artistically beautiful. It is full of vibrant colours that make the move a treat to watch. There are many scenes in the movie that are so beautiful that it nearly reduced me to tears. The scenes in Spector and at the circus are exceptionally impressive. The best scene in the whole film is when time stops in the circus tent. Everything except for Ewan McGregor is perfectly frozen makign for an artistic treat of a scene. Finally, the movie just makes you feel good. It is about the true meaning of love and subscribes to the idea that people really do have a solemate. Edward Bloom is a great character and it is fun trying to figure out what parts of his story are real and what parts are not. Although the end of the movie is a little bizarre, it still leaves you feeling good because finally, everything fits.
Rating:
Summary: Big Fish was a heart felt film
Review: There has been far and few movies that moved me like this. Outstanding performances! Just wonderful. One of the best films I have ever seen. You must see this one.
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