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- 2011
- PG
- Fox 2000 Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
- 2011
- PG
- Fox 2000 Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
SummaryBased on Mark Obmascik's 1998 book "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession," the film is about three men who try to outdo each other in a bird-watching competition to spot the rarest birds in North America. The rivalry is an allegory for the challenges each faces in his own life. (20th Century Fox)
Directed By: David Frankel
Written By: Howard Franklin, Mark Obmascik
- 2011
- PG
- Fox 2000 Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
- 2011
- PG
- Fox 2000 Pictures
- 1 h 40 m
The Big Year
53
6.3
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SummaryBased on Mark Obmascik's 1998 book "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession," the film is about three men who try to outdo each other in a bird-watching competition to spot the rarest birds in North America. The rivalry is an allegory for the challenges each faces in his own life. (20th Century Fox)
Directed By: David Frankel
Written By: Howard Franklin, Mark Obmascik
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or AverageBased on 29 Critic Reviews
53
45% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
48% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or AverageBased on 29 Critic Reviews
53
45% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
48% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Frankel's movie is as refreshing as a walk in the woods and surprising as a chance encounter with the best that nature can offer.
The Big Year is better when it is examining the obsession of the birders, and Martin, Black and Wilson are enjoyable in toned-down mode.
User Score
Generally FavorableBased on 59 User Ratings
6.3
56% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
29% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
15% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
User Score
Generally FavorableBased on 59 User Ratings
6.3
56% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
29% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
15% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
So this movie is FANTASTIC! But it is not for anyone. People who love traveling to places like Ushuaia or Tasmania, true trekkers. People who love and appreciate nature. And people who appreciate the gist of the movie, which deals with the conflicts of handling dreams, that torturing feeling that you have to accomplish something beyond the ordinary, and the need to stay realistic while dealing with these dreams and feelings. That's a marvelous theme for a movie and the big year is simply an elegant, successful approach to represent it. Not every one will appreciate this movie because it is not a movie meant for every one. But is a very good movie if you have the spirits for it.
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This movie is soooooo underrated!!! One of the best movie surprises I've bumped into in I don't even know how long. I picked up the 5$ special at Walmart thinking oh gee some slapstick comedy to kick it on a Friday evening. I was sooooo surprised. This is brilliant. It's beyond brilliant. I'll bet half of the reviewers didn't even "get" what they were doing with this movie, because they don't particularly "get" into nature. --Take another look; there's more than just nature going on if you watch carefully! Delicate satirical reference and parallels just out of reach of the obvious and beautifully executed. The bargain basement DVD comes with a great "extended cut". I just regret there isn't some "behind the scenes" takes on it as well.The scenery is gorgeous, the clever expose unveils soooo much more than the simple plot. Now that the movie is showing up in the Wal-Mart bins, this movie deserves resurrection. As another reviewer noted, there's no blood and guts, steamy sex, guns, money heists, violence, or language. What's left? I'll tell you: something genuinely new and creative. Give this movie another look! Its one of the most intelligent works out of Hollywood in a long long time. The acting could not be better by three of the best of the best at the top of their own game! Of course these guys slipped in some double tongue humor for the quick minded. Pay attention! Many stars and all thumbs up on this one!
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Inspired by Mark Obmascik's book, the tale focuses on universal themes of pursuing a dream and tapping into an adventurous spirit.
This one could have flown over the cuckoo's nest, or smacked into a glass pane, but instead lands in the middle of the road where quirky and popular meet.
The result is an offence-free, mild entertainment in which everyone from cast to scriptwriter seems to be winging it.
Director David Frankel's picture delivers sweet and (more rarely) amusing moments, but this odd duck never completely gets off the ground.
Why does The Big Year's trailer intentionally hide what the film is really about? Here's why: Because bird-watching - or birding, as practitioners prefer to call it - makes for a stupefyingly boring movie.
i gave it 9 out of 10 purely based on it's merits to entertain, the problem for most people have with this movies is there are no explosions, dramatic action scenes or any of the other typical Hollywood tripe, it does exactly what it says on the tin and no way throughout the movie did i find my self thinking this is boring i want to turn it off.some people really need to get a grip on life and quit thinking every movie has to have sex and violence in it cause that is not a true portrait of reality, we cant all be hypocritical and say someone has no life cause they have an interest in birds, the same could be said for all manor of things such as cars, trucks, planes, ships, wildlife, people, space ect, if the film does not interest/appeal to you don't watch it, it's not like you are being forced to or have no option.for those who rated it 0 out of 10 you really must live a very shallow life, again you do have the option to not watch it though it would also help if you read about the film first, there is a reason why i wont watch mamma mia as i don't like musical's but i won't deliberately find the film on metacritic to submit a 0 out of 10 review and slag it off cause it does not interest me, i wish others would take heed of this and no submit an immature review similar to what *corc79* has.
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Martin's a great actor, sure wish I could have seen it. But kept thinking about how many times I would have gone bankrupt (about 500 - 600) and how many jobs I would have lost (about 1200-1500) during just ONE year.
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One thing 'The Big Year' is, is not humorous. Nor is it particularly clever or thoughtful. What exactly is this movie about then? Despite it's unoriginality the story itself is fresh. There haven't been too many films made about birdwatching let alone 'comedic' ones. The frequently changing setting matters not as the locations are simply stunning and makes some of David Attenborough's documentaries seem dull in comparison. You won't churn out any laughter with TBY but as long as you realise it's simply a quaint, little feature then you simply *might* enjoy it.
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I an truly amazed that this pantload of a movie got a single score above a zero. The only way that's possible is if those reviewers happen to be one of these weird "birding" nerds. To be perfectly honest, we felt completely ripped off by the false advertising of this piece of crap. In the previews, in every single interview with the cast, there wasn't one mention of a bird or "birding" in any **** was made to look like something similar to The Bucket List, with the cast doing a bunch of crazy things over a year. NOT WATCHING FREAKING BIRDS! Maybe not the worst movie ever, but surely in the top 10, and definitely the most dissapointing I have ever seen. I can't for the life of me figure out why any of those guys would ever even consider doing this movie. Anyone who rated this above a zero has been eating way too many **** sandwiches...
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Production Company Fox 2000 Pictures, Red Hour Films, Deuce Three Productions, Sunswept Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Media
Release DateOct 14, 2011
Duration1 h 40 m
RatingPG
Genres
Website http://www.thebigyearmovie.com/