Everybody's a critic - 'Big Fish'

Four stars (out of four)

This film will carry you through a lifetime including the birth of a son, a war and the beauty of love. The stories may have seemed fictional when told by the father, but by the end of the story their reality will come to life. When you watch the movie, you will feel the passion of a father who wants happiness for his son and the embarrassment, shame, and finally pride of the son as he realizes the love his father felt for him.

As I looked around after the film, I saw a room full of people who had been hooked by the Big Fish; this movie takes you back to the time when movies swept you away and changed your life. "Big Fish" was a wonderful, entertaining film -- one you should cast yourself into.

- Denise Eaker, consultant

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Three stars (out of four)

In case you have no clue what this movie is about and are thinking about seeing it, "Big Fish" is about a larger-than-life legend named Edward Bloom.

When Bloom has a son, he tells the son thousands of amazing tall tales about his life. When the boy grows up he wishes to know the truth about his father. So, he meets with his father to confront him about the truth. That is where the movie picks up. There is a parallel story. In one we witness the life of Edward Bloom. In the second we see Bloom's son asking his father about the truth. The plot is not a bad one. However, there are times where it seems that unneeded scenes were in the movie. There were some slow moments and that is definitely not a good thing for a movie.

Despite that, the visual effects of the film were phenomenal. It was one of those movies that I liked, but I would not pay the price to see it again.

- Tyler Tankersley, student

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Three and a half stars (out of four)

This movie is so big that a simple 150-word review will never do it justice, so having said that ...

"Big Fish" is a river of fun for someone who loves surprises and doesn't want to know the ending before the movie begins. That is why I rarely read reviews that tell the story. Therefore, I will not ruin it by giving one detail away.

Ewan McGregor's (Edward Bloom) performance is outstanding! You can't help but fall in love with him, or at least with him falling in love. I did have a bit of trouble imagining McGregor's character morphing into Albert Finney although he does look amazingly like the1960s-era Finney.

This movie respects love, marriage, hard work and family relationships with a Burtonesque quirkiness of fantasy which turns an otherwise "been there, seen that" story into a new and fresh experience.

"Big Fish" É tasty fillet with no bones!

- Rhonda Zacharias, consultant