Rating: 
Summary: Burton once again proves himself a genius
Review: Wow! I like to think I know a lot about film and I must say, this man never fails to make a movie that both touches me and, in some ways relates to everything that I feel and have experienced. This film proves, once again, Burton is a genius!
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Summary: A Sweet, But Not Schmaltzy, Father/Son Story
Review: Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) has been estranged from his father, Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), for quite some time. Living in France with his pregnant wife, Will hurries home when his mother (Jessica Lange) tells him that his father is dying and that it is only a matter of time. Will tries to have some serious conversations with his father about who he really is, but all he can get out of him are these tall tales that used to entertain Will when he was a child, but now that he is grown up, he doesn't believe in them anymore. There are stories about a young Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) having the golden touch in his small hometown and winning at everything. Stories of how he lured a giant out of town and fought his way through a swamp to a forgotten Eden of a town. Stories of how he worked for the circus and won the information about the girl he fell in love with at first sight. So many stories, but all of them so fantastical that they simply couldn't be true! But as his father continues to slip away, Will comes to realize that there is some truth in every story and that, given the choice, wouldn't we all prefer the story with a little bit of magic woven in...?Big Fish was an unexpectedly charming drama that was not quite as fantastical as I envisioned given the previews. It is very much a father/son relationship movie and it was sweet to see both the father and the son come to some important realizations in the film. The Blooms are a very loving family and Will's parents were still madly in love when he died, which is so refreshing to see in a film these days. Of course, we see Edward Burton's touch mostly in the flashbacks where Ewan McGregor plays Edward Bloom as he has so many amazing adventures and these sequences really added to the film and made it something special instead of commonplace. If you are looking for a sweet little drama with a touch of something different, then this is a wonderful film with a great cast that will make you laugh and cry - take the whole family!
Rating:
Summary: lovin-it
Review: big fish is a great film and steve buscemi rules he was the best actor in it along with ewan mcgregor. i loved the part where edward(ewan) went to specta and met Northor (steve buscemi) and they ate apple pie and later danced. only steve buscemi could pull that great dance off and rob a bankrupt bank. i give him 10 out of 10. me and my mates loved the poetry which was really great for example the sky so blue. the grass so green i love specta. i recomend this film for everyone and anyone to see it will bring tears to your eyes of laughter and sadness. this is a film well thought out. steve buscemi rules!!!!.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies ever made
Review: This film has something for every type of movie fan. Visually it is amazing. The story is heartwarming and very entertaining. This movie will leave everyone with a smile on their lips and a tear in their eyes. It is a must see movie. This film is soon to be known as one of the classic films.
Rating:
Summary: cant believe only the score was nominated!
Review: Once again the nominations over look a masterpiece and only nominate the score??!! this movie was so excellant. It's about a father(Albert Finney) who throughout his whole life tells these "tall tales" to his son. When his son grows up and is expecting a child of his own he wants his father to tell him the truth about these stories. and his father is amazed that his son doesnt believe they are true. the story is so much more then this but thats all im saying without giving too much away. all the cast was great finney, ewan mcgregor, and jessica lange. this is one movie i would like to see again. It is a tearjerker and i was not the only one with tears in my eyes at the end when i heard people crying around me. not to mention this is one of the few movies i have seen where the theatre applauded when it was over. nothing short of excellant.
Rating:
Summary: The Story of My Life
Review: It's not the stories that make the man, it's the man that makes the stories so it's only natural that an extraordinary man like Edward Bloom has some extraordinary stories. From early in his life it was obvious that he was a big fish in a small pond and throughout his life he constantly proved that he could not only weave a tall tale, but live one as well. Our tale is presented to us as Edward Bloom nears the end of his days and his son William returns home after 3 years of silence between him and his father. As a child Will ate up his father's tales but as an adult journalist only has an appetite for the truth, or at least what he perceives as the truth. He wants to know who his father really is, not the larger than life figure of tales. Will's father has no plans to change his stories so Will seeks out the truth for himself, but what he finds is that even legends have factual beginnings, some quite that way. We're presented these tall tales in a combination of flashbacks and voiceovers with grand performances for the charming Bloom, Albert Finney as the present day, Ewan McGregor as his past. In his tales Edward has met a giant, a witch, a lost poet turned bank robber, a werewolf circus ringleader, Siamese twin lounge singers, and most importantly the woman he is destined to marry. McGregor's natural charm guides us through the stories and he sells us on his tall tales just as he does odd objects to people as a traveling salesman. As the veteran Bloom, Albert Finney is a true presence, making his bed-ridden man more moving than any action star. The supporting cast looks great on paper and even better on screen. Bloom's wife is warmly brought to screen by Jessica Lange in the present and Alison Lohman as the younger (they have an uncanny resemblance). Others include Helena Bonham Carter in a duel role, Steven Buscemi, and Danny Devito. Of course, there is also Billy Crudup as his grown son Will who, because of Edward's masterful charm, we despise at the beginning, but accept readily once he falls under the same spell we have. The power of stories on us doesn't depend on how believable or unbelievable they are, but that they involve people that we treasure and by the end of Tim Burton's Big Fish I was fully in love with Edward Bloom.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional and interesting
Review: You either "get" this movie or you don't... I thought it was REALLY interesting and emotional... Very thought provoking and heavy... I cried my eyes out - father themes always hurt me...
Rating:
Summary: Something New from Tim Burton
Review: BIG FISH seems like a big departure from the genre of films that Tim Burton directs. BIG FISH is refreshing if not just a little strange. However, it does not fail to entertain and it does keep you hooked. It is a great set of slices of one man's life and depending on how much truth you think they contain comes the pay-off.
Rating:
Summary: A great film
Review: I usually see at least one movie per week at the theaters, so it might seem that I would be seeing lots of good, engaging movies. It just seems like a lot of movies lately are lacking in some arena, whether it is story or dialogue or visual elements, and I have to say something like, "It was a good movie, except..." Not the case with this one. Big Fish has an amazing story (always good when you find yourself thinking...wow, I wish I had written this), good dialogue, and, as is usually the case with Tim Burton, amazing visuals. This is the story of Edward Bloom, an elderly man who is dying of cancer. His son, Will, comes to stay with his parents at this time, both to help take care of his father and to get to know him better. See, Edward has always been a weaver of tall tales, and Will is frustrated by the fact that he doesn't know anything real about his father, only the stories that he told. The movie jumps back and forth between the past and the present. The past is told through Edward's stories, and they are absolutely beautiful visually. For example, the first scenes when Edward visits the town of Spectre have a soft focus warmly lit feel that really makes you understand why they say that no one has ever left the town before--it just looks that perfect. The performances in the movie are generally very good, especially that of Albert Finney who has some superbly touching scenes with Jessica Lange. A great film.
Rating: 
Summary: Tim Burton Lite
Review: The one characteristic Tim Burton doesn't lack is creativity. Each one of the contemporary auteur's films has a distinctive visual style. In 'PeeWee's Great Adventure' huge bicycles roamed a wondrously colorful city. In 'Beetlejuice' it was the protagonist, as well as the striped snakes and the world of the dead, that dominated the screen with gushing energy. The original 'Batman''s Gotham City never looked better - The Joker', and the sequel's Catwoman and Mr. Penguin remain much more efficiently realized than the following duds (Robin, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, so on...) 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Ed Wood', 'Mars Attacks', 'Sleepy Hollow', even 'The Planet of the Apes' - all of Tim Burton's films have an underlying creepiness to them, a little something that is both fascinating and disturbing.
'Big Fish' is Tim Burton holding his horses. His readiness for full-throttle visual attacks seems a bit strained. Sentiment runs through the film, as does the sappy soundtrack from the usually-stellar Burton mate Danny Elfman, and cultimates in a stretched out final act, which works in the context of the film's dramatical narration, but might disappoint fans expecting 100% Burton.
The performances are all decent. Albert Finney (who saved 'Erin Brockovich' from utter boredom) plays a dying man who neglects the world's cruel reality and immerses himself into his imaginary world, full of idealized fantasies. Certain elements are added to truth, and when his son (Billy Crudup - 'Jesus' Son')shows up with his wife, he wants to hear the real story of his father's life, without the lies.
Fact is, they are not lies, they are enhanced events. The man reminisces about his young days, the film transporting us to Ewan MacGregor as the young version of the man, on his quest to conquer the world. On the way he (and a giant, don't ask) fights off jumping spiders, flees from a way-too-perfect town, encounters the girl of his dreams, works in a circus, fights in the war....so on and so on.
The running theme through the movie is reaching one's ambition. As it chronicles the old man's life though through his eyes, we as the audience forget the real world and get immersed into his story. Then Burton annoyingly brings us back to the real world and reminds us it's just this man's rant. So okay, the guy can't handle reality, but why should we care enough to be engulfed in his dreams?
Because in his dreams is when Tim Burton unleashes his magic and brings to life the sub-concious fierce freakiness of images, bringing to mind Edward in 'Edward Scissorhands' cutting his face with his metal fingers. The giant, a werewolf, asian siamese singers, a bloody mouth in a sea of yellow tulips...The images are dazzling indeed, but get rudely taken away every once in a while to display the gloominess and monotony of our society.
Albert Finney holds those bits together well. His character barely moves, strapped to his deathbed, but there is a sparkle in his eye, and the internal knowledge that his stories aren't true but kept him going damn fine. Ewan MacGregor is solid, if not resembling the 'older version' at all. Billy Crudup is always reliable, but is underused here in a slightly underwritten part.
Startling images and solid acting prevent 'Big Fish' from slipping into Hollywood schmaltz. It isn't subtle, the messages are hammered into your head, and the ending is stretched out, but it will keep your entertained nevertheless, perhaps with a little twinge of disappointment in the great director.
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