Big Fish (2003)

Movie quotes:
"She likes music."
- Amos (Danny DeVito), with his obscure yet cherished once-a-month fact supplied to Young Edward Bloom (about the girl he loves)

"It was that night I discovered that most things you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely and lacking in social niceties."
- Young Edward Bloom

"I was 18. He was 28. Turns out that was a big difference."
- Jenny (Helena Bonham Carter)

Senior Ed Bloom (Albert Finney): You are in for a surprise.
Will Bloom (Billy Crudup): Am I?
Senior Ed Bloom: Havin' a kid changes everything. There's burping, the midnight feeding, and the changing.
Will Bloom: You do any of that?
Senior Ed Bloom: No. But I hear it's terrible.

At a glance:
Big Fish is Tim Burton's sweet fantasy about a storyteller who charms everyone he meets – except for his own son

Our review (with spoilers):
Edward Bloom (played by Ewan McGregor as a young man, and Albert Finney as an older man) is a born storyteller. He can’t tell it like it is; each story has gobs of wild fantasy weaved in. There’s always an element of truth, but it’s difficult to ascertain. That’s why the people around him love him – except for his son Will (Billy Crudup), who feels like he has never really known who his father is. The situation was exacerbated by Edward’s job as a traveling salesman. Will rejects Edward’s wild tales as useless nonsense, until, late in his father’s life, a medical tragedy forces him to explore further. What he discovers is that his dad was actually a special man who touched many lives in his travels.

The bulk of the movie follows young Edward as he relives his stories. We meet spiders and giants, werewolves and circus freaks, mythical perfect towns, and a monstrous metaphorical fish. It’s all told through director Tim Burton’s unique skewed perspective.

It’s a strange, unique, and beautiful film, accessible to all (including children), yet it addresses difficult, emotional, ‘adult’ subjects like true love and death. Analytical people may be confused or frustrated by not knowing where ‘truth’ stop and fantasy begins, but if you can go along for the ride, Big Fish delivers a whopper of emotion and a powerful redemption story.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Plays to Burton's strengths as an auteur of fantasy colliding with reality."
- Christopher Smith (Bangor Daily News [Maine])

"Burton has crafted a sweet yet bizarre film seeming at times like 'The Twilight Zone' in Oz."
- Steve Crum (Kansas City Kansan)

The Station Agent (2003)

Movie quotes:
Olivia (Patricia Clarkson): How about you? What made you pick Newfoundland?
Finbar (Peter Dinklage): I wanted to live near Joe.

Joe (Bobby Cannavale): Hey listen, if you guys do something later, can I join you?
Finbar: We're not gonna do something.
Joe: No, I know, but if you do, can I join you?
Finbar: We're not gonna do something later.
Joe: Okay, but, if you do?
Finbar: Okay.
Joe: Cool.

Finbar: You said you weren't going to talk to me if I sat here, Joe.
Joe: I haven't said anything in like twenty minutes.
[Finbar checks his pocket watch]
Finbar: Nine.
Joe: You timed me?
Finbar: Mm-hmm.
Joe: That's cold, bro.

Finbar: I'm retired, actually.
Emily (Michelle Williams): Aren't you a little young to be retired?
Finbar: No, dwarves retire early. Common fact.
Emily: Yeah, lazy dwarves.

At a glance:
Thomas McCarthy wrote and directed this gentle, slow-moving and thought-provoking slice of life about a train-loving man (who also happens to be a dwarf) who retires to an inherited station depot in the wilds of New Jersey

Our review:
Thomas McCarthy was, once upon a time, just a lowly television actor. In 2003, he turned his attention to writing and directing, and we are all the better for it. The Station Agent tells the tale of Finbar (Peter Dinklage), a train afficionado who lives in Hoboken and works in a small model train shop. When the shop owner dies, he is left with the inheritance of an old train depot in an out-of-the-way area of New Jersey. A lonely loner, this suits Finbar perfectly, until his life intersects with a couple of characters (Olivia, played by Patricia Clarkson; and Joe, played by Bobby Cannavale) who also inhabit this area. Gradually, his life and outlook changes.

McCarthy has made two films now (this one in good, but 2007’s The Visitor is even better), and each film reflects his love of trains – they figure somewhat in both stories. Both films also show that McCarthy is in no hurry to tell his story or to tell a conventional narrative; we are on a journey, and it is always very much in doubt where we are going to end up. That is so refreshing in these days of cliched plots and happy endings. It’s an actor’s movie, too (perhaps ex-actors do make better directors because of this), and the three leads shine, as does the always organic Michelle Williams in a slightly smaller role than the big three. Dinklage, a friend of McCarthy’s, is a standout, however, delivering a quiet, slowly evolving performance that has its burst-out moments as well.Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"...watching these friends interact is what the movie is about, not what they look like, not what they do, not what they talk about, but how they feel toward one another."
- John J. Puccio (DVDTown.com)

"It's The Station Agent's meditation on the smaller things in life that make it such a big deal."
- Damon Wise (Empire Magazine)

"The brilliance of Peter Dinklage’s performance as the ironclad loner is that he doesn’t much care."
- James Christopher (Times [UK])

X2 (2003)

Professor X (Patrick Stewart): [voiceover] Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute.

Storm (Halle Berry): [about Nightcrawler's markings] So... What are they?
Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming): They're angelic symbols, passed on to mankind by the archangel Gabriel.
Storm: They're beautiful. How many do you have?
Nightcrawler: One for every sin. So quite a few.

Pyro (Aaron Stanford): So, they say you're the bad guy.
Magneto (Ian McKellen): Is that what they say?
Pyro: That's a dorky looking helmet. What's it for?
Magneto: This "dorky looking helmet" is the only thing that's going to protect me from the REAL bad guys.
[magnetically takes Pyro's lighter and lights it]
Magneto: What's your name?
Pyro: [staring at his lighter in Magneto's hands] John.
Magneto: What's your *real* name, John?
Pyro: [summons lighter's flame to his hand] Pyro.
Magneto: Quite a talent you have there, Pyro.
Pyro: I can only manipulate the fire
[flame disappears into Pyro's hand]
Pyro: I can't create it.
Magneto: You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.

At a glance: The second film in the X-Men series is an improvement over the first, effectively combining a clever script, sharp direction, and an A-grade cast in one of the better comic book adaptations ever made

As a Star Trek fan, I shouldn’t have a hard time suspending my disbelief and entering an alternative universe. Such is required in the extreme when entering into a movie based on a comic book series about mutants. For some reason, I seemed to have a hard time entering this world when I watched the first X-Men movie. That was some time ago, and this time, I made sure I got my head in the right place when I entered: "That’s not the human Hugh Jackman," I reminded myself, "that’s the mutant Logan." "That’s not a silly haircut on Hugh Jackman; that’s a mutant haircut." And so on. I wanted to make sure I got full appreciation of this, the second and most critically acclaimed of the first three X-Men films. And my strategy worked this time. It probably helped that the movie is good; it sucked me into the universe right from the start.

This is not your everyday action movie. Not only was plenty of money spent on sets and locations, but the cast is a roll call of name actors: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romijn Anna Paquin, James Marsden, and Kelly Hu. And when it came to the director, they didn’t skimp there, either, going for the talented Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil). Singer does a great job with the action aspects of the film, but also knows how to direct the dramatic moments. But it’s rare to say this: the plot excels here. Rather than feeling like it is full of contrivances, this is a story where the jet is there not because it allows the filmmakers to include an exciting air battle (although it does), but because it makes sense that the school for mutants would have a jet parked in the back yard.

And onto the story: in brief, an evil human, William Stryker (Brian Cox)  uses his government position and personal vendetta to plot the destruction of all mutants. To defeat Stryker, all the mutants, including the dark side variety Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) must band together. Of course, there are complications. Lots of complications. If the movie has one fault, it is perhaps overlong, and, despite all the great elements, somehow not as emotionally involving as it could have been. But comic book fans will eat it up. Rating: 2.75 of 4

"Stylishly dark and visually thrilling with turbo-charged mutant action, X-Men 2 is a spectacle that delivers on every count."
- Urban Cinefile Critics (Urban Cinefile)

"Thanks to ample action, a stellar cast, amazing effects and a storyline that’s solid without being convoluted, it’s Xcellent entertainment."
- Terri Clark (Apollo Guide)

11.14 (2003)

Buzzy (Hilary Swank): You do what you gotta do, but I'm not going to open up this drawer.
[Duffy (Shawn Hatosy) points his pistol at her]
Duffy: Look at me.
Buzzy: Why, so you could shoot me in the face?
Duffy: C'mon, just look at me.
[Buzzy still refuses]
Duffy: Goddamnit, you're so stubborn!

At 11.14, a young man’s car windshield is shattered by a jumper from an overpass. At 11.14, a group of negligent teen boys in a van hit and kill a young female pedestrian. At 11.14, a father covers for his daughter’s act of murder. To say any more would be to give away the concept of this film. Tense, fast-paced, light, and sometimes funny, it tells its story with a welcome brevity and a compact 86 minute running time. The best scene is in the convenience store, where Buzzy (Hilary Swank, wearing a mean set of braces) and Duffy (Shawn Hatosy) argue about how to do a robbery. It’s marred by a few script contrivances (like Cheri parking her car directly facing and in front of Duffy’s car, which doesn’t seem right, since she should have been thinking of making a quick getaway – but it works out perfectly, since she needs to use his jumper cables without him knowing it). Spirited score by Clint Mansell. Rating: 2.5 of 4 reviewed 5 Nov 2007

"Enjoyable, smartly directed comedy thriller with a clever script and engaging performances from its ensemble cast."
- Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)

"Fast and fairly engaging ... but in the end it feels a bit pointless."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

"It's not terrible filmmaking, but the plot's "cleverness" will hardly knock your boots off."
- Christopher Null (FilmCritic.com)