Just saw a "Big Fish" - a little disappointed *spoilers*

[Dookus]

I had really high hopes for it. I was expecting a fantastical, magical BIG movie.

In reality it's a small movie - the real story is the intimate relationship between father and son and how they reconcile at the end. It's not a new them, by far (I Never Sang For My Father, Magnolia, etc.) It's a fine framework for a story, but ultimately it's a small, personal movie.

The fantastical part were great, but in reality, not ALL that magical. It's hard to explain what I mean - I was just expecting real fantasy and got tall-tales.

Loved the acting - Finney was amazing, I love Ewan MacGregor in anything, and Jessica Lange, while under-used, was perfect.

I thought the ending was way too sappy. I think I would've liked a same kind of ending, only without making it so obvious that it was the son's story-telling. I would've liked to see the ending happen and let us wonder about it. I guess the upshot is that all the magic and fantasy were explained very clearly - more ambiguity would've made it more interesting.

I didn't dislike it - I just expected a lot more. But that's happening a lot to me at the movies lately. Oddly, Kill Bill is the only movie I've seen that exceeded expectations for me.

[mikewriter]

1. Fish chips

I was disappointed too. It was good--good script, acting, direction but it reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump in a lot of ways and I wasn't a big fan of FG. I thought I would be blown away but I wasn't even moved. Finney should get a best supp. actor nod though.

[soleft]

2. reminded me of Forrest Gump too, and i didn't like FG

The first half hour I almost fell asleep three times, but I may have been overtired from the brutal weather. Once he started pursuing his wife, it started to pick up for me and by the end I was fairly engaged. Found the funeral scene very touching.

[mikewriter]

4. I fell asleep too

it had some good moments and although the end was sappy I liked how we saw all the characters together during the lake and funeral scence. Thought it would be much better.

[the populist]

3. it wasn't a good film

It fell flat. I left the theater feeling sort of cheated (film buffs know the feeling).

The best films of the year are Dogville and Goodbye Lenin. Neither have been released in the US theaters yet so download them.

The best US release films of 2003 are

28 Days Later
Matschstick Men
Shattered Glass
Spider