The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

[cine]

I wish it was called Weekend at Zissou's: Beyond the Sea.

[Pubrick]

i wish it was called Die Hard

[RegularKarate]

I wish I was called Die Hard

[cine]

I'm just so tired of all this wishing. I think I'm going to go die hard.

[Slick Shoes]

That's fine. But I'm gonna Die Harder.

[©brad]

this joke just went

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

Yeahp, it's been awhile since I've been watching these trailers, and I'm definitely seeing this for one reason.
Willem Dafoe.
I've always been familiar with him since ShitFest--er, Speed 2, and really liked him in Boondock Saints.
But every time I watch a trailer his parts stick in my head.

oh, and

[insert line about Die Hard, possibly/poorly linking it to Speed 2]

[RegularKarate]

Yes!  I was waiting for someone to say they wanted to see Life Aquatic because of Boondock Saints!

[cine]

Beautiful!


Who cares about the movie anymore... let's lock this up.

[Pozer]

remember that movie Lock Up with Sly Stallone...?

[MacGuffin]

[insert line about Die Hard, possibly/poorly linking it to Speed 2]

Isn't it obvious? Speed 2 is Die Hard on a boat, just like Speed was Die Hard on a bus.

remember that movie Lock Up with Sly Stallone...?

Yes. It was no Die Hard.

[samsong]

hmmm...

Sadly, I have to say that The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Anderson's worst film.  Fortunately it's still one of the year's best (don't know if that's because the film's that good or this year is that lame), and if I can come up with a more cliche lead-in than that, I should win a prize. Gonna process it for a while before writing more but I will say that this is Wes's biggest departure in terms of style, content... everything, and I'm still trying to decide whether that's good or bad.  It felt a little forced and half-baked compared to the effortlessness of his other films.   Still a very funny movie that's strangely poignant by its end.  Full review to come.

About the screening, though... Wes didn't show, nor did Anjelica Houston or Jeff Goldblum who were scheduled to come in his stead.  Along with that comes a very nice encounter with the kind of people I hate the most.  I got in line to buy some tickets for a Mark Ruffalo-in-person (screening You Can Count On Me and We Don't Live Here Anymore w/ a Q&A in between films) and a guy behind me asked me what I was in line for.  I told him, then asked if he was trying to get tickets to tonight's screening and he said that he already had tickets, but was depressed because Wes Anderson wasn't going to be there.  So was I but he was geniunely (and unreasonably) angry.

me: well, at least you get to see the film, right?
guy: i can see this at the amc when it comes out, i came to see wes.
me: yea, that sucks but we get to see the film, yea?
guy: no, you see, wes anderson's my favorite director. you don't understand, it's like meeting the president for some people, get it?

Maybe I'm overreacting but I hate assholes who like to try and exude their film buff status, who think it's fashionable to make themselves out to be a more devout than anyone else (which I think a few of you might think of me... for the record, I don't treat people like shit for not wanting to "meet" a director at a Q&A as much as I do.  I'd like to think I'm pretty nice).  Poseurs fucking suck.

[Slick Shoes]

There was a mixed reaction to the film among those in attendance last night. Not everybody clapped at the end when the credits started to roll.

It is, however, one of the year's best. I don't know where it fits among his other films just yet. I'll have to see it a couple more times before I decide.

Wes Anderson trademarks abound. Once again, it is all about the details.  Willem Dafoe was simply amazing. Bud Cort was really good too.

Wes pursues a certain stylistic flourish we first saw him use in The Royal Tenenbaums. Here it is used to great effect in one of the best, most touching scenes in the film.

[Slick Shoes]

I wanted to add a few things because I've been thinking about it all day trying to pinpoint exactly how I feel about this film overall. Also, in my previous post, my enthusiam didn't quite come across, and I really want to express how much I loved this fucking movie. I think the main difference between The Life Aquatic and his previous three films is that this one is more plot-oriented. Accordingly, we don't get to spend a whole lot of time getting to know some of the other characters. As the title implies, though, the movie is really about Steve Zissou, who is brilliantly played by Bill Murray. There are so many great moments in this movie that I don't want to wreck, but I will say that there is something comparable in terms of impact and emotion to that scene in TRT where Chas tells Royal that it's been a rough year. I think it could be one of the best scenes Wes has ever directed. Certainly it's one of my favorites. This film, like Rushmore and TRT, is swarming with ideas - in the form of props, costume, music, setting, character, etc. Some of these things fall flat. They just don't seem to gel with the rest of the film. I believe this is what samsong might have been referring to when he said it felt "forced" and "half-baked." No matter. For me these were relatively minor quibbles in an otherwise beautiful movie.

[tpfkabi]

http://p210.ezboard.com/fyankeeracers33503frm16.showMessage?topicID=218.topic

according to Amazon.com, the soundtrack is coming December 14.

here's the track listing:

Track List:

1. Rebel Rebel - Seu Jorge
2. Starman - Seu Jorge
3. Rock N' Roll Suicide - Seu Jorge
4. Five Years - Seu Jorge
5. Queen Bitch - David Bowie
6. Life On Mars - David Bowie
7. Inner Space Music - Sven Libaek
8. Loquasto - Mark Mothersbaugh
9. Ping Island - Mark Mothersbaugh
10. Ping Demo - Mark Mothersbaugh
11. Ned Theme - Mark Mothersbaugh
12. Pirate Attack - Mark Mothersbaugh
13. Let Me Tell You About My Boat - Mark Mothersbaugh
14. Search And Destroy - Iggy & The Stooges
15. Way I Feel Inside, The - The Zombies
16. Here's To You - Joan Baez
17. La Nina De Puerta Oscura - Paco De Lucia
18. Gut Feeling - Devo
19. 30 Century Man - Scott Walker

that's interesting that he's using that Zombies song. it's pretty much acapella with just a little a little bit of organ and very short