You know when watching a Tim Burton film, it's going to be different, strange, and slightly odd. But I have not yet found myself not enjoying one of his movies. And this film, Big Fish, very well might be my favorite. If you have never seen this movie, I would highly recommend it, but do have some tissues nearby. It is a beautiful story, of a father and son's estranged relationship, and a son finally seeing who his father really is. The son goes through life struggling with the tall tales his dad always shares. He just wants to know the truth, he tells his father, he wants the facts. To which his father replies that he's been giving him the facts all his life. The son starts to see that while his father's stories may not be 100 percent accurate, there's more truth to them then he realized. And in the end, the son learns to be what his father needs, at the most important moment.
This is a story of a man's life, who is finding himself at the end of his life. It's about death. But the wonderful thing is, it doesn't paint death as a fearful and frightening thing. It shows it as another adventure. When I first saw this movie, it made me cry, and that was before I experienced the loss of my sister, who died almost two years ago from cancer at the age of 22. Watching it now, it hits me even more, just thinking about how important it is to celebrate one's life, during and after, no matter what age. My sister did that. She lived her life, as short as it was, to the fullest, and continues to be an inspiration to me and to many others. And she believed, as I do, that the adventure doesn't end when we die.
Big Fish reminds us to value and love those closest to us, to treasure the stories, the memories. To pass them on and to remember. As the son says near the end, by the passing on of his father's stories, his father becomes immortal. No matter what spiritual or religious beliefs you may have, I believe this story has a beautiful message that can teach us all how to love, and to be more than we think we can be, at the moments when it is needed most.
-Bethany
As quoted by Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Daily News on the cover of the DVD case...."Big Fish Is Tim Burton's Masterpiece." This film truly is a masterpiece of film, and most certainly the best film that Tim Burton has directed which is saying quite a lot, as I really enjoy most of his films. Big Fish evokes just about every known human emotion in two hours and five minutes. We laugh with Edward Bloom as he works for the circus, we hold our breaths as he parachutes into the Korean War, we smile seeing the way he wins over his bride, and we cry as we bear witness to one mans attempt to be remembered.
Big Fish is a beautiful collection of stories, myths, legends, half truths, and enchantment all rolled into the tale of the life of one man, Edward Bloom. The stories that he tells about his life are what makes this movie so much fun. I had an Great Uncle who very much reminded me of Blooms character. Several generations of nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren enjoyed being tucked in by my Great Uncle Vincent and going to bed with one of his stories which always started with "well sir....." (fill in story from here!) I don't know where he got the inspiration for all of his stories, but I will always remember them very fondly.
In Big Fish however, Bloom's son although once enthralled by his father's tall tales, finds himself now upstaged, embarrassed, and angered by his father's frequent storytelling tangents. What his son has to learn in the course of the film, is that these stories are not solely for entertainment, nor is it even important that the story is true or untrue. What is important is that the stories that Bloom tells are beautiful, and memorable. As Bloom faces his last days, an entire lifetime of storytelling is all that he has to keep him alive forever, and in the end, it falls to his son to carry on that legacy. I could write probably for pages about what parts of the movie is allegory, how to interpret that allegory, and how to see the stories Bloom tells as windows into our own lives. But to tell the truth, while such a conversation might be interesting, I think it stifles what Bloom would want us to take away from the story of Big Fish.....the pleasure and memory of a good story.
-David
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
"Behind Enemy Lines"
I have to say that when I was younger, I really enjoyed this film, but as my tastes and my definition of a good movie has changed, I don't hold this film in as high a regard as I used to. To be quite frank...I see alot of things in this movie that remind me of exactly the type of war movie that 'Tropic Thunder' is making fun of. The score, the script, and especially alot of the action shots are just plain cheesy, and/or completely unrealistic. It is a nice idea for a story, and it is easy to root for Owen Wilson's character as a downed fighter pilot, but other than that there is little good I can say about this film. At the same time however I can't necessarily can it either because it is at least somewhat entertaining.
Perhaps the thing I appreciate most about 'Behind Enemy Lines' is that it is the only feature film that I know of that deals with the war in Bosnia, and the accompanying genocide that took place in that country during the 90's. I do appreciate the fact that here is a film that touches on that piece of world history that even today is still being played out with continued spats of violence, and a fragile truce between the warring factions in that slice of eastern Europe. At the very least, while not a great film, it can help us to remember some of the horrific events that took place in the Bosnian war, and hopefully help us to remember the cost of such events....so that we may do our part to prevent them from happening throughout the world.............Sudan.
-David
I think I've only seen this movie once before. It's good to be reminded that we were involved in the Serbia/Bosnian conflict, it's a conflict you don't hear much about. This movie takes place during that time featuring Owen Wilson in a non-comedic role. He does a decent job, though his talent is probably best used in more comical roles.
This certainly is not the best war movie we have, in fact it borders on cheesiness at times and brought to mind Tropic Thunder. What makes it cheesy? Well, some of the music they used seemed too modern and upbeat and just didn't fit what was happening on screen. And I didn't really like the slow-mo effects they used. Basically it seemed like they tried to make a war movie with "hip" or "modern" effects like you would see in the Matrix. I just don't think it fit very well. But even so, the basic story is good, and again, it's important to be aware of the types of conflicts and wars we've been involved in, to learn from and hopefully prevent further wars in the future.
-Bethany
Perhaps the thing I appreciate most about 'Behind Enemy Lines' is that it is the only feature film that I know of that deals with the war in Bosnia, and the accompanying genocide that took place in that country during the 90's. I do appreciate the fact that here is a film that touches on that piece of world history that even today is still being played out with continued spats of violence, and a fragile truce between the warring factions in that slice of eastern Europe. At the very least, while not a great film, it can help us to remember some of the horrific events that took place in the Bosnian war, and hopefully help us to remember the cost of such events....so that we may do our part to prevent them from happening throughout the world.............Sudan.
-David
I think I've only seen this movie once before. It's good to be reminded that we were involved in the Serbia/Bosnian conflict, it's a conflict you don't hear much about. This movie takes place during that time featuring Owen Wilson in a non-comedic role. He does a decent job, though his talent is probably best used in more comical roles.
This certainly is not the best war movie we have, in fact it borders on cheesiness at times and brought to mind Tropic Thunder. What makes it cheesy? Well, some of the music they used seemed too modern and upbeat and just didn't fit what was happening on screen. And I didn't really like the slow-mo effects they used. Basically it seemed like they tried to make a war movie with "hip" or "modern" effects like you would see in the Matrix. I just don't think it fit very well. But even so, the basic story is good, and again, it's important to be aware of the types of conflicts and wars we've been involved in, to learn from and hopefully prevent further wars in the future.
-Bethany
Saturday, November 13, 2010
"Beauty and the Beast"
If I had to choose one Disney princess I would like to be, it would most certainly be Belle. She and I share many similarities; she loves to read books, I love to read books, she sings, I sing, she's a brunette, I'm a brunette...you get the idea. If fact, when I was younger, I can remember arguing with a childhood friend over who was more like Belle, her or me. Oh the memories.
I do love this story. It is a story of a girl who doesn't seem to fit in with those around her. She's different from the others, and feels that there must be more for her than just an ordinary life. I wonder how many of us felt that growing up? How many of us still have that desire within us of wanting to do something extraordinary in our lives? Belle has this desire that I think is within all of us, the desire to be so much more than ordinary. The desire to hold that child like wonder that anything can happen, even something magical!
This story also teaches us to not judge a book by its cover, to borrow the old cliche. Belle learns how to see beyond the Beast's appearance, and see his potential for good, and for love. And she in turn falls in love, breaking the spell. What a beautiful story!
-Bethany
This is one of Disney's best films...simply put. As a kid I always enjoyed this movie for the great story, fantastic music, and wonderful fairy tale that it is. Now as a adult, I can glean even more however. What this film deals with is learning to see beyond the surface, and learning to not fear what you do not know. The beast of course, personifies both the fear of the unknown, and is the embodiment of a man with whom you have to look beyond the surface to truly see who he is. Even then, he himself has to "learn how to love" before we can even see him as anything more than a beast.
There are of course many more light hearted things that I love about this film. Things like Gaston's semi-automatic blunderbuss, and his fantastically chiseled features. Then of course the litany of french maid jokes that I can make whenever Lumiere is making passes at the dusting broom. (How weird is that.) To be honest, I like the characters as objects better than I do after the curse is lifted. Especially the beast...he just seems way more manly and cool as a beast duking it out with Gaston after being shot by an arrow.
Beauty and the Beast is a great film that is luckily still fun to watch, which in my opinion cannot be said about more than a few of the older Disney films. I am looking forward to the rest of Disney spread throughout our movie collection.
-David
I do love this story. It is a story of a girl who doesn't seem to fit in with those around her. She's different from the others, and feels that there must be more for her than just an ordinary life. I wonder how many of us felt that growing up? How many of us still have that desire within us of wanting to do something extraordinary in our lives? Belle has this desire that I think is within all of us, the desire to be so much more than ordinary. The desire to hold that child like wonder that anything can happen, even something magical!
This story also teaches us to not judge a book by its cover, to borrow the old cliche. Belle learns how to see beyond the Beast's appearance, and see his potential for good, and for love. And she in turn falls in love, breaking the spell. What a beautiful story!
-Bethany
This is one of Disney's best films...simply put. As a kid I always enjoyed this movie for the great story, fantastic music, and wonderful fairy tale that it is. Now as a adult, I can glean even more however. What this film deals with is learning to see beyond the surface, and learning to not fear what you do not know. The beast of course, personifies both the fear of the unknown, and is the embodiment of a man with whom you have to look beyond the surface to truly see who he is. Even then, he himself has to "learn how to love" before we can even see him as anything more than a beast.
There are of course many more light hearted things that I love about this film. Things like Gaston's semi-automatic blunderbuss, and his fantastically chiseled features. Then of course the litany of french maid jokes that I can make whenever Lumiere is making passes at the dusting broom. (How weird is that.) To be honest, I like the characters as objects better than I do after the curse is lifted. Especially the beast...he just seems way more manly and cool as a beast duking it out with Gaston after being shot by an arrow.
Beauty and the Beast is a great film that is luckily still fun to watch, which in my opinion cannot be said about more than a few of the older Disney films. I am looking forward to the rest of Disney spread throughout our movie collection.
-David
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