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ladyoflorien) wrote2004-01-23 11:10 pm
ladyoflorien) wrote2004-01-23 11:10 pm
Big Fish! Biiiiiiiiiig Fiiiisssh! BIG FISH!!!!
Oh my lord, I cried again. AGAIN. And it's only been 4 days since I saw it the first time. Wow, I just can't even wrap my brain around how absolutely incredible this movie is.
I readily admit that I'm a little Tim Burton biased. Okay, a lot biased. But putting that aside, I really can't think of any movie I've seen in recent time that has moved me as much as this one. You want the technical details? Okay, the acting was AMAZING (A-MAZ-ING, OH, MY, LORD), the CASTING was INCREDIBLE (OH, MY, LORD), the direction was impeccable, per usual (OH, MY, LORD), cinematography just... I can't even begin to illustrate (OH, MY, GOOD, GIDDY, AUNT), MUSIC, OH GOOD LORD THE MUSIC WAS SO PERFECT (OH, MY, LORD!!!), and the plot? Beautiful. Touching. Sweeping. Honestly, if you want to look at it from a purely technical viewpoint, Tim Burton just made the perfect movie. There was not one single thing I thought should have been different, or anything that I'd even tolerate being different. Extremely well-rounded, immaculate piece of work. In-cred-i-ble. Period.
You want more fleshy details? Okay, these are just a few of my thoughts. I love, love, LOVE how Tim interlaces such strong, real, human themes into such incredibly artistic works of fiction. His movies have the outward shell of a fantastical, ethereal fantasy world, but all you have to do is strain your eyes a little more and you're immersed in the everyday themes that drive all of our lives. Love. Acceptance. Imagination. Passion. Being "normal." Feeling different. Being more. Everyone knows how much Edward Scissorhands touched my heart, how it shaped and molded me as a person existing in this reality, but this movie, this "Big Fish," stood on its own and challenged the brilliant underlining themes of humanity and living as free and true as you can to such a huge degree. The story was brilliant. I've never seen a movie that could have me in tears for so long and for so many different reasons. I was sad, then I was happy, then sad and happy again, and it was all done in such a way that it was all equally touching, equally heart-wrenching. People were SOBBING OUTRIGHT again! Until last Monday, when I went to see this movie for the first time, with all the tear-jerkers I've seen in theaters in the past, I had never heard someone sob outright in a theater before. Ever! And Monday there was a woman just beside herself with hysterics, and again tonight at least half a dozen people choked up and crying. And the amazing thing about that is this movie ISN'T EVEN A TEAR-JERKER. But it makes you feel so profoundly, it reminds you that inside your heart is beating and the coldness of air is flowing in your lungs and out again. It makes you positively jubilant with joy, and then it brings you back down again and wrenches your heart with the universal themes of loss and pain. It's as intricately detailed as Edward Scissorhands was and more, and I get the feeling that I'd have to see it a hundred times more before I even felt the full impact of what Tim Burton was trying to get across. That's the way with most of his work, it's all beautiful, it's all real. I love how he puts so much of himself and so much of his heart into his stories, because you know that what you're watching is real in the sense that the movies ARE Tim. I think that's beautiful, when someone can put so much of himself into something and show other people "See? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I mean. That's who I am." I guess in a way it gives me hope.
I was blown away by how incredible the casting was. The girl they got to play young Sandra Bloom looked SO MUCH like Jessica Lange (senior Sandra Bloom) that I actually leaned over to Allia when I saw it for the first time and asked her if that WAS Jessica Lange just made up to look younger. Of course after a while you can tell that they were DEFINITELY different actresses, but man all mighty did they cast her right. And Edward as a boy looked VERY much like Ewan McGregor. I was extremely impressed with how this movie was cast. As well as the acting, but of course Tim usually has a good sense of talent, after all he did discover Johnny Depp. But everyone did a phenomenal job.
Ewan McGregor! Okay, I admit that I never jumped on the Ewan bandwagon. I never understood what the big novelty over him was. But after seeing this movie I have a whole new view on Ewan McGregor. It's kind of funny, until Monday the only movies I'd seen with him in it were Star Wars 1 and 2. Then I saw Big Fish and the VERY NEXT NIGHT I saw Down With Love (expect a review later). The guy is actually a really good actor, and I love his Southern accent he likes to use so much. Ha! There were several times during Big Fish where I stopped to think about what a good job he was doing. He's one of those actors that make expressions during the course of a movie that stick in your mind. All I can think about is his smile after fighting with Bon Price and the face he made after he broke Jenny's door. Heee! I loved his portrayal of Edward Bloom. I thought he did a fantastic job.
The music was GREAT, of COURSE! DANNY ELFMAN IS SO MY BOYFRIEND! OMG! Though, I am rather surprised at this soundtrack. He usually doesn't mix a lot of vocal songs, let alone classics, with his instrumental pieces. But this soundtrack was well balanced. I think I'm probably going to buy it. Heeee! Not just because DannyElfmanissomyboyfriend and I think his music is pure genius, but I LOVE the other songs on the soundtrack too. *nods* It's a very happy soundtrack. Very very good music. I thought it complimented the themes of the movie EXTREMELY well, whereas they had the fantasaical Danny Elfman compositions during the more unreal, story-themed scenes, and the more bubble-gum old fashioned rock and roll for the more reality-based scenes.
I was also surprised by how toned down this movie was from some of Tim's older works. The fantasy aspect wasn't as blatant and announced as it usually is in movies like Batman and Edward Scissorhands, yet still it's being heralded as a "modern day Wizard of Oz." Having never seen the Wizard of Oz I can't really comment one way or the other on that, but it seemed to me that it was a good deal more subtle than his usual fare. Maybe it was done on purpose to draw in a bigger crowd of people that stick to realism and don't have such a thing for hidden messages and foreshadowing and underlying themes etc as I do. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a movie with layers, I really do. Simple movies that tell one story get boring after a while, but with movies such as ones done by Tim Burton you can hardly get tired of them because you're always rediscovering something. And I just love how he always inserts a true, beautiful, touching theme into something that on first glance might appear to be fantasy nonsense. People are watching this movie and discovering Tim Burton for the first time, and that makes me INCREDIBLY happy because most of the people I know came after Edward Scissorhands and missed out on that experience, or they were too young to really grasp it and it "scared them." So it feels good having a movie I can talk about now that people readily recognize and understand. It makes me feel a little less abnormal and a little more justified for claiming Tim Burton as my favorite all-time director for years. The man really is brilliant. I don't know how someone like him functions in this reality. But I guess that's why his movies sort of don't. I think he's standing on the threshold of something very different, something not many people have the privilege of experiencing.
What else? Ah yes, Crazy Eyes is in this movie! Steve Buscemi! I LOVE Steve Buscemi! He played the poet, Norther Winslow! That was so awesome. I was so happy. AND DANNY DEVITO!!! HIS CHARACTER WAS SO AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL! EEEEEE I LOVE DANNY DEVITO!!!! HE WAS THE BEST!!! Though, that one scene? Yeah, that one? Could have lived my whole life without seeing that. BUT STILL! DANNNYYYYYYY!!!!!! He is so incredible. A true testament to a director's talent and personality is when the same actors come back again and again to work with him. Loooove.
It seems like there was so much I wanted to say, and now that it comes to it I can't seem to remember (granted I have already said quite a bit :D). All in all this is the best movie I've seen in years. That includes all three LOTR films, and you know how I love them. This one blows them all on their asses. It's incredible. So touching, so thought provoking, so moving and real. It really touches your heart, and I think that's a true testament to a great movie. I've never cried because I was SO HAPPY before, but this one made me do it. From the moment Will came home from Spectre to the end of the movie I was in a constant state of tears. That's about what? 20 minutes? Half hour? But it really was so moving. The character development just had you hooked, it was fantastic. And the great thing is though you walked away after having cried for so long you didn't feel sad at all. You felt... happy. And that is an INCREDIBLE credit to the movie's potency.
I think what I love most about Tim's movies is the characters never get older. They never die. They sort of live on, as a testament to the story in itself living on for future generations. It never dies, never ages, never tarnishes or wilts. It lives on, it continues to grow, and it never loses its potency, even after the slow decline of years. It's a universal theme that will never die. It's a hope that was made to live forever in the hearts of people that are willing to believe. Tim is holding out his hand, looking in your eyes, and asking you to believe.
I believe. I always have, and that will never change.
So there you have it in so many words. If Tim Burton doesn't win something for this movie I will cry relentlessly. It was so very touching, and I honestly think it's the best movie I've seen in years upon years. He better damn well win something, that's all I have to say.
Go see it. Now. And if you've already seen it, go again. There is no movie that can compare. It will welcome you inside the world of one man and never let you go. It's brilliant. It's the best movie of the year. Go see it, you will regret it if you don't.
I readily admit that I'm a little Tim Burton biased. Okay, a lot biased. But putting that aside, I really can't think of any movie I've seen in recent time that has moved me as much as this one. You want the technical details? Okay, the acting was AMAZING (A-MAZ-ING, OH, MY, LORD), the CASTING was INCREDIBLE (OH, MY, LORD), the direction was impeccable, per usual (OH, MY, LORD), cinematography just... I can't even begin to illustrate (OH, MY, GOOD, GIDDY, AUNT), MUSIC, OH GOOD LORD THE MUSIC WAS SO PERFECT (OH, MY, LORD!!!), and the plot? Beautiful. Touching. Sweeping. Honestly, if you want to look at it from a purely technical viewpoint, Tim Burton just made the perfect movie. There was not one single thing I thought should have been different, or anything that I'd even tolerate being different. Extremely well-rounded, immaculate piece of work. In-cred-i-ble. Period.
You want more fleshy details? Okay, these are just a few of my thoughts. I love, love, LOVE how Tim interlaces such strong, real, human themes into such incredibly artistic works of fiction. His movies have the outward shell of a fantastical, ethereal fantasy world, but all you have to do is strain your eyes a little more and you're immersed in the everyday themes that drive all of our lives. Love. Acceptance. Imagination. Passion. Being "normal." Feeling different. Being more. Everyone knows how much Edward Scissorhands touched my heart, how it shaped and molded me as a person existing in this reality, but this movie, this "Big Fish," stood on its own and challenged the brilliant underlining themes of humanity and living as free and true as you can to such a huge degree. The story was brilliant. I've never seen a movie that could have me in tears for so long and for so many different reasons. I was sad, then I was happy, then sad and happy again, and it was all done in such a way that it was all equally touching, equally heart-wrenching. People were SOBBING OUTRIGHT again! Until last Monday, when I went to see this movie for the first time, with all the tear-jerkers I've seen in theaters in the past, I had never heard someone sob outright in a theater before. Ever! And Monday there was a woman just beside herself with hysterics, and again tonight at least half a dozen people choked up and crying. And the amazing thing about that is this movie ISN'T EVEN A TEAR-JERKER. But it makes you feel so profoundly, it reminds you that inside your heart is beating and the coldness of air is flowing in your lungs and out again. It makes you positively jubilant with joy, and then it brings you back down again and wrenches your heart with the universal themes of loss and pain. It's as intricately detailed as Edward Scissorhands was and more, and I get the feeling that I'd have to see it a hundred times more before I even felt the full impact of what Tim Burton was trying to get across. That's the way with most of his work, it's all beautiful, it's all real. I love how he puts so much of himself and so much of his heart into his stories, because you know that what you're watching is real in the sense that the movies ARE Tim. I think that's beautiful, when someone can put so much of himself into something and show other people "See? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I mean. That's who I am." I guess in a way it gives me hope.
I was blown away by how incredible the casting was. The girl they got to play young Sandra Bloom looked SO MUCH like Jessica Lange (senior Sandra Bloom) that I actually leaned over to Allia when I saw it for the first time and asked her if that WAS Jessica Lange just made up to look younger. Of course after a while you can tell that they were DEFINITELY different actresses, but man all mighty did they cast her right. And Edward as a boy looked VERY much like Ewan McGregor. I was extremely impressed with how this movie was cast. As well as the acting, but of course Tim usually has a good sense of talent, after all he did discover Johnny Depp. But everyone did a phenomenal job.
Ewan McGregor! Okay, I admit that I never jumped on the Ewan bandwagon. I never understood what the big novelty over him was. But after seeing this movie I have a whole new view on Ewan McGregor. It's kind of funny, until Monday the only movies I'd seen with him in it were Star Wars 1 and 2. Then I saw Big Fish and the VERY NEXT NIGHT I saw Down With Love (expect a review later). The guy is actually a really good actor, and I love his Southern accent he likes to use so much. Ha! There were several times during Big Fish where I stopped to think about what a good job he was doing. He's one of those actors that make expressions during the course of a movie that stick in your mind. All I can think about is his smile after fighting with Bon Price and the face he made after he broke Jenny's door. Heee! I loved his portrayal of Edward Bloom. I thought he did a fantastic job.
The music was GREAT, of COURSE! DANNY ELFMAN IS SO MY BOYFRIEND! OMG! Though, I am rather surprised at this soundtrack. He usually doesn't mix a lot of vocal songs, let alone classics, with his instrumental pieces. But this soundtrack was well balanced. I think I'm probably going to buy it. Heeee! Not just because DannyElfmanissomyboyfriend and I think his music is pure genius, but I LOVE the other songs on the soundtrack too. *nods* It's a very happy soundtrack. Very very good music. I thought it complimented the themes of the movie EXTREMELY well, whereas they had the fantasaical Danny Elfman compositions during the more unreal, story-themed scenes, and the more bubble-gum old fashioned rock and roll for the more reality-based scenes.
I was also surprised by how toned down this movie was from some of Tim's older works. The fantasy aspect wasn't as blatant and announced as it usually is in movies like Batman and Edward Scissorhands, yet still it's being heralded as a "modern day Wizard of Oz." Having never seen the Wizard of Oz I can't really comment one way or the other on that, but it seemed to me that it was a good deal more subtle than his usual fare. Maybe it was done on purpose to draw in a bigger crowd of people that stick to realism and don't have such a thing for hidden messages and foreshadowing and underlying themes etc as I do. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a movie with layers, I really do. Simple movies that tell one story get boring after a while, but with movies such as ones done by Tim Burton you can hardly get tired of them because you're always rediscovering something. And I just love how he always inserts a true, beautiful, touching theme into something that on first glance might appear to be fantasy nonsense. People are watching this movie and discovering Tim Burton for the first time, and that makes me INCREDIBLY happy because most of the people I know came after Edward Scissorhands and missed out on that experience, or they were too young to really grasp it and it "scared them." So it feels good having a movie I can talk about now that people readily recognize and understand. It makes me feel a little less abnormal and a little more justified for claiming Tim Burton as my favorite all-time director for years. The man really is brilliant. I don't know how someone like him functions in this reality. But I guess that's why his movies sort of don't. I think he's standing on the threshold of something very different, something not many people have the privilege of experiencing.
What else? Ah yes, Crazy Eyes is in this movie! Steve Buscemi! I LOVE Steve Buscemi! He played the poet, Norther Winslow! That was so awesome. I was so happy. AND DANNY DEVITO!!! HIS CHARACTER WAS SO AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL! EEEEEE I LOVE DANNY DEVITO!!!! HE WAS THE BEST!!! Though, that one scene? Yeah, that one? Could have lived my whole life without seeing that. BUT STILL! DANNNYYYYYYY!!!!!! He is so incredible. A true testament to a director's talent and personality is when the same actors come back again and again to work with him. Loooove.
It seems like there was so much I wanted to say, and now that it comes to it I can't seem to remember (granted I have already said quite a bit :D). All in all this is the best movie I've seen in years. That includes all three LOTR films, and you know how I love them. This one blows them all on their asses. It's incredible. So touching, so thought provoking, so moving and real. It really touches your heart, and I think that's a true testament to a great movie. I've never cried because I was SO HAPPY before, but this one made me do it. From the moment Will came home from Spectre to the end of the movie I was in a constant state of tears. That's about what? 20 minutes? Half hour? But it really was so moving. The character development just had you hooked, it was fantastic. And the great thing is though you walked away after having cried for so long you didn't feel sad at all. You felt... happy. And that is an INCREDIBLE credit to the movie's potency.
I think what I love most about Tim's movies is the characters never get older. They never die. They sort of live on, as a testament to the story in itself living on for future generations. It never dies, never ages, never tarnishes or wilts. It lives on, it continues to grow, and it never loses its potency, even after the slow decline of years. It's a universal theme that will never die. It's a hope that was made to live forever in the hearts of people that are willing to believe. Tim is holding out his hand, looking in your eyes, and asking you to believe.
I believe. I always have, and that will never change.
So there you have it in so many words. If Tim Burton doesn't win something for this movie I will cry relentlessly. It was so very touching, and I honestly think it's the best movie I've seen in years upon years. He better damn well win something, that's all I have to say.
Go see it. Now. And if you've already seen it, go again. There is no movie that can compare. It will welcome you inside the world of one man and never let you go. It's brilliant. It's the best movie of the year. Go see it, you will regret it if you don't.
no subject
Over all, I agree with you, it is one of the best movies I've ever seen.