Is Big Fish (2003) worth renting?

[pokerfan]

[MrCoffee]

1. It is a deeply weird movie...I think a lot depends on your frame of mind when watching.

It felt like one of those movies where my opinion of it would have been completely different if my mood were different.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Yes it is.

Especially for sons and fathers.

My husband didn't have the best relationship with his father (alcoholic) and this movie touched him. There is a part at the end that is supposed to be solemn, but it gave the girls and I a fit of the giggles in the theater. "Sometimes life is a really Big Fish..." We cracked up.

[pokerfan]

8. "Sometimes life is a really Big Fish..."

Sounds kinda dopey. I think I'll pass.

I had a great relationship with my father and though he died suddenly, there weren't really any regrets.

[bigwillq]

27. I feel it's a really good movie

even if you didn't have issues with your father.

I so cried at the end. :cry:

I am a movie crier though. I cried during "50 First Dates" :rofl:

[pokerfan]

29. But....

"Life is a really big fish?" Really? It just sounds so incredibly unpoetic. As opposed to say, this:

Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them.

Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise.

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

I am haunted by waters.

[RetroLounge]

30. Oh, come on.

You cannot compare to MacLean. His writing is amazing...

I am haunted by waters. Indeed.

:hi:

RL

[pokerfan]

33. Why not?

They made a film out that story. And at the end, they didn't have Norman saying, "Life is like fishing." :)

Even "life is like a box of chocolates" is more poetic.

[WannaBeGrumpy]

57. You can't base an entire movie off of a single line...

It is truly a good movie and VERY poetic since you seem to need that! Sometimes simplicity is much better and stronger than a jumble of flowery words and such. This is learned even in grade school. It is a beautiful and touching movie for those who are mature and open enough to appreciate it.
...just sayin'

[TK421]

3. People were in awe of this movie....I just didn't see what the big deal was

I mean it was OK, but not a life-altering experience for me. Many people raved about it...I thought it was a bit boring, myself

[Orrex]

4. I remember almost nothing about this masterpiece

The latest masterpiece in a long string of Burton masterpieces, apparently. Masterful!

[ghostsofgiants]

23. Tim Burton hasn't made a masterpiece since Beetlejuice.

[Orrex]

35. No way! His every bowel movement is a cinematic triumph!

Why, if not for him, the entire art of film would have pulled up stakes in 1989 and run screaming into the forest. Everything good that came after Burton's debut is a direct result of his debut. His influence is sublime and undeniable.

If he isn't a genius, then how do you explain the praise that his trite and shallow Batman film received and continues to receive? His genius is self-evident, and only a supreme fool would deny it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ghostsofgiants]

38. Well it did star Michael keaton, who was also in Beetlejuice...

So the awesomeness of Beetlejuice kinda rubbed off onto it?

[Orrex]

39. Keaton is a fine, fine actor (no sarcasm)

IMO he's grossly underappreciated and has suffered from some really bad roles in his career. Ultimately I found his Batman unconvincing, but his Bruce Wayne was far superior to Kilmer's or (god forbid) Clooney's.

Keaton and Johnny Depp are the best things about Burton's films, but even they can only do so much.

[jobycom]

48. You didn't like Ed Wood?

[Orrex]

59. Indeed I did, but what I liked about Ed Wood can be summed up in five words.

Johnny Depp and Martin Landau.

[PeaceNikki]

5. It's worth BUYING

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. yes

I love this movie, my FAVORITE Tim Burton movie.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. I hated that fucking flick

And I say that as MAJOR Ewan MacGregor fan.

[MrCoffee]

9. You and MrsCoffee should hang out and watch Serpent's Kiss

She watches everything he's in...including the shite.

[bicentennial_baby]

13. I haven't seen that one yet! My favorite of his is

Shallow Grave :D

[Orrex]

10. It wasn't that kind of flick.

:shrug:

[Shakespeare]

11. Yeah, I wasn't impressed, either.

And I like just about everybody in the frakking movie.

[bicentennial_baby]

12. I can't remember why, but it really bothered me...

And seriously...I loooooove Ewan.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Well, some of it was really dorky, especially that end statement

of life being like a really big fish. But it really got MrG. The girls and I spent a good part of it giggling amongst ourselves.

[bicentennial_baby]

17. Very good point.

That may have been my issue :hi:

[Shakespeare]

15. Maybe because it was trying too hard, and simultaneously being a little TOO precious?

That's the feeling I was left with.

[bicentennial_baby]

18. Indeed

I'm such a critic. :P

[El Fuego]

20. That was the point, but I can't explain why because it would be a major SPOILER!

I LOVE that movie.

[leftofthedial]

16. yes it is

[AlCzervik]

19. yes it is.

i needed the box of kleenex i'm not prone to tears, i also watched it on a plane so the weeping was just a tad embarrassing.

[DS1]

21. aww that's so swee .... oh wait, it's me again

[AlCzervik]

22. pffft.

if you didn't mock me i would have been a little disappointed.

[redqueen]

24. Yes.

I loved it.

[bigwillq]

25. Yes. I loved it.

:)

[logosoco]

26. yes

This movie made me cry...which made my kids (teenagers) laugh.

[Carnea]

28. If you miss your dad or your stoned then yes... nt

[hedgehog]

31. I couldn't believe it was a Tim Burton movie. There is a lot of magical realism

in it, so if you don't like that style you'll hate it. I loved it and so did my kids. (teenagers)

[OzarkDem]

32. Yes, really liked it

[Dangerously Amused]

34. It's good.

It stays with you; one of those rare films that the more I think about it, the more I like it. And I already liked it when I walked out of the theatre.

[tigereye]

36. it's lovely, imaginative and moving, so I would say yes

[Connonym]

37. A great movie

I loved it and I agree with others that this is a keeper not a renter

[nytemare]

40. This is one of my favorite films.

Quirky, heartwarming, and good-spirited. I love Tim Burton, this is a bit of a departure for him, a bit, but I think it is his best film.

[harmonicon]

41. hell yeah

It's really pretty good, and I say that as a person who hates most hollywood movies. I would say that it's not as good as Edward Scissor hands, but is closer to that in spirit than any other Tim Burton films have been. Visually it's very beautiful, and it's also very sentimental, but never in a cheesy sort of way.... in a strange a lovely sort of way, which makes it effective.

[Elidor]

42. Charming and suffused with an inner life all its own

Better than most Hollywood fare these days.

[stranger_with_candy]

43. I liked it

But i know a few people who thought otherwise.

[Flaxbee]

44. I love Albert Finney, but this movie irritated the sh*t out of me

Depends on the kind of movie you like ---

[pokerfan]

45. What I have learned from this thread

No one is ambivalent about this film.

[jobycom]

49. Why would someone post "I'm ambivalent about" any film?

Someone who was ambivalent would just go post in the Reverse Cowgirl thread instead.

[pokerfan]

50. I was using ambivalent rather broadly

Everyone seems to really, really love this film or reallym really hate it.

[jobycom]

46. It's on my short list of favorites. Tim Burton's most "normal" film without being remotely normal.

Has more straightforward emotion than most Burton films, and a more common narrative structure (whatever that means). It's about a father who tells outrageous stories and a bitter son who slowly realizes that there is a truth of sorts in what his father says. I love the underlying theme. It's somewhat about a son coming to grips with his father (like a million films) and works on that level, but it's also about knowability and literality, and identity.

Exceptional. Don't let the folk who didn't get it turn you away from it.

[devilgrrl]

47. I liked it.

:shrug:

[alphafemale]

51. I loved it. I think it has one of the best movie endings ever.

Damn near perfect.

[JCMach1]

52. Worth a watch...

[ScreamingMeemie]

53. This is on right now on USA.

So... Change the channel Right F*cking Now!!!!

[WannaBeGrumpy]

54. I loved it...

one of my faves!

[leeroysphitz]

55. Only if you are a man who has or is a dad. n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

56. aww...why not! give it a go.

seems like I remember it being metaphorical...

[PassingFair]

58. It's on USA Network right NOW!

And yes, it's worth watching...

(and I am NOT a Tim Burton fan...)

[ScreamingMeemie]

60. Look up...

...beat you... hehehehehehehe. ;)

[Shell Beau]

61. OMG yeah!!! It is great! I loved it!

Tall tales!! Great!

[EnviroBat]

62. Especially on Fathers Day...

Tear-jerker too...

[Patiod]

63. Do you like the TV show "Pushing Daisies"?

If not, no
If so, yes.

I didn't like Big Fish at all the first time I saw it, but the second time I saw it I loved it. DK why my opinion changed. (I love "Pushing Daisies")

[pokerfan]

64. Haven't watched Pushing Daisies

Though I've heard good things about it. Just never ran across it.

[Symarip]

65. If your dad is a complete space cadet full of hyperboles

Then yes. Mine is. It hit home.