***Official THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[MatS]

wow this has quickly moved to a pass for me

Roeper and Ebert will have an early review on their show tonight

and I was suprised to see the following is listed as his next project, can't say I'm too excited about it
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2006)animated

 

[Nick Sievers]

But anyone who didn't like TRT (or felt it was a step in the wrong direction) should keep their expectations low.

Well now my expectations for this are even higher. I loved TRT. From the trailer alone I didn't expect this to be 'mainstream' fare.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I loved TRT.

Me too. One's reaction to Tenenbaums is a good indicator of whether this film will appeal -- although it's worth noting that the New York Times chief critic, A.O. Scott, didn't care for TRT but really liked Life Aquatic.

M.

 

[Richard Kim]

I loved Tenenbaums but I thought The Life Aquatic is the weakest of Wes Anderson's films. It was entertaining to be sure, but an uneven effort if you ask me. If you're a fan of Anderson's films, the film's definitely worth a watch, but it's an aquired taste.

 

[MatS]

Two thumbs down. I expected that from Roeper but was somewhat surprised at Ebert.

Roeper did give a thumbs up to TRT but did say he did not enjoy it as much as BR or Rushmore

Too bad if the negative reviews are true and Wes joins the Coen Bros as one of the few filmakers I looked forward to seeing projects by that I can no longer count on.

 

[teapot2001]

Two thumbs down. I expected that from Roeper but was somewhat surprised at Ebert

Ebert didn't like Bottle Rocket and Rushmore.

Does Wes need Owen to add more substance to the script?

~T

 

[Nick Sievers]

So it sounds like Ebert actually preferred the other Bill Murray film that came out this year.

 

[Brandon Conway]

and I was suprised to see the following is listed as his next project, can't say I'm too excited about it

Good to see him branching out some. The Dahl book is quite good.

 

[BridgetJZ]

I'm not a big fan of these guys -- I find them erratic and really inconsistent.

A lot of film critics didn't like TRT or Rushmore -- so, I think it's all a matter of personal opinion. Some people really can't understand Anderson's style.

 

[Michael Reuben]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

M.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Well I can see how the film could not work for some critics. It is darker than his other stuff, and to me Team Zissou reminded me more of the group of theives of Bottle Rocket. On the whole I was most reminded of BR by the film's tone and dryness.

And yet it also is so much more quirky with its cartoon fantasy creatures that it is unlike the very basically shot BR as well.


I couldn't believe how dark it went with a pirate really being killed, with Goldblum being shot like that, even Owen dying. I also think Murray plays perhaps the most unlikeable good guy in any of Anderson's films (and maybe his own). That's not to say I didn't enjoy watching him, just that he's not very nice (which is part of the humor).


The film is loaded with good Anderson belly-laughs, at least for me. I don't understand how any Anderson fan wouldn't enjoy it, even if it isn't their favorite. It's dialog also is very rewatch/reference friendly.

 

[teapot2001]

I don't think the problem is that the movie is darker than the others. I think the problem is that it is a mess.

Anderson and his writing partner need to start focusing on less characters, because the characters in his movies have become increasingly distant from the audience. The death of Ned just wasn't deserving and effective (and it was probably one of the worst handled death scenes I've seen). They try to cram too much into the script, which gives the result of uneven pacing. "The Royal Tenenbaums" did a pretty good job of blending comedy and drama, but in this movie it was a failure.

It was fun listening to Bowie songs in Portueguese, but all the songs really added nothing to the scenes. The use of "Life on Mars" was terribly contrived.

For an Anderson fan, there are things that will make this movie worthwhile. It is his best looking movie and there are plenty of laughs (my favorite being the action scenes).

~T

 

[Ray H]

Anyone else think that killer whale stole the scene where the Cate Blanchett character is interviewing Steve?

 

[teapot2001]

Yes, the killer whale was great!

~T

 

[Moe Maishlish]

I saw this film while vacationing in Miami Beach this past week.

HATED IT!!!

What a mess.

I'll confess to not really being a "Wes Anderson Fan". In fact, I didn't like Rushmore at all, and haven't seen TRT or BR yet. But I am a firm believer that a film should stand on it's own, regardless of a the previous "style" of the director/writer/producer, which is why I gave it a chance.

People were laughing in the theater at things that I just didn't consider funny. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why people thought that Ned's burial at sea funeral was joke material (and I mentioned it at the time to a friend of mine). So the characters are wearing little red beanies - to me it's worth a chuckle... once. It's not a gag that can comedically carry an entire movie. I can count on one hand the number of times I chuckled during this film... Someone please explain to me what they found funny about this movie?

I also felt little sympathy, empathy, hate, or any other degree of emotion for a single one of the characters. I didn't find that any of them were compelling in any way, especially a lot of the crew that just sort of stood around and did crewy stuff (which applies to the interns as well).

It just seemed to me like everyone in this film was sleepwalking their way through the entire production... like the entire cast was given a valium before the camera started rolling.

My friend (who like the movie... go figure) actually offered to leave on a few occasions, but I turned him down. As an appreciator of film, I won't walk out on a movie like this just so that I can truely say that I saw the whole thing and didn't like it, as opposed to missing the latter half of the film, when things start to come together. Unfortunately, I found the entire experience to be an utter bore.

Moe.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I liked it (indeed more than The Royal Tennenbaums), but it can't touch Rushmore which was touched by genius.

All the animation is great, the Bowie in Portuguese music is very good, the cast is wonderful (these days Bill Murray can do no wrong). Sometimes Anderson's imagination works wonders, sometimes it's a little silly.

I'm always amused when people expecting standard Hollywood fodder get marketed into seeing something that ain't no fodder and are deeply dismayed. In fact I'm amazed there hasn't been a major backlash against Ocean's Twelve which is a full on art film, if ever I saw one.

But my question is, when did Bill Murray go from being a second tier SNL talent (certainly one not thought to be in the same league as John Belushi), making one dumb comedy after another, to our great, sad, comic genius? Was it Rushmore? Groundhog Day? Has he made a less than wonderful film since? (After looking at the IMDB -- yes he's made plenty of dogs).

Ted

 

[Seth Paxton]

Ocean's Twelve which is a full on art film, if ever I saw one.

I know its a little off topic here, but I totally agree with you on that one. It reminded me of Eisenstien's 2 Ivan the Terrible films. The first one met with Stalin's approval and toed the line so to speak, but then with the 2nd film SE just seemed to say "to hell with you, I'm going free for all". Sodebergh sort of did the same thing.


Thi, I just can't agree that this film isn't dark by compirson to his other films. The way Goldblum is shot at the time appears to be a cold moment of assassination. Later it turns out he is okay, but for that instant of the joke, especially following "I fold" which is a great laugh, it did seem strikingly bleak and contrasting to the light-hearted but poignant nature of Anderson.

Or maybe you are just saying that while its darker, that's not the problem. I could agree that its not the biggest issue I had with the film, though I still strongly enjoyed it. But I do think when you break your tone abruptly like that you make it difficult for the audience to attach to what you are presenting, they don't always understand how you expect them to react...ie, is that funny or somber, should I be laughing.

I'd hate to see him ever resort to spelling out the humor to the audience, but when you play it so dry I think its pretty risky to toss in some extremely serious unpleasant moments as well. The audience would like to understand the ground rules and mood for the film, with perhaps an occassional shock for effect, and that would mean that the shocker moment was the actual, hidden mood/theme of the film which is not the case here (I'm pretty sure).

 

[teapot2001]

Seth, I meant that the movie is dark but that isn't its problem.

~T

 

[EricW]

finally caught this after everyone else. my reactions are mixed; ("different" movies usually do this to me). it's either genius or a mess. time will tell. while i didn't love it, it DEFINITELY has replay value and could very well be something i could grow to love. i love all of Anderson's earlier movies, but comparing BR to Royal Tenenbaums is like Reservoir Dogs to Pulp Fiction; the scope and scale of the latter movies are just so much bigger.

it seems Anderson's just getting progressively 'out there'

is Kumar not in this one?

 

[Matt Stone]

Finally got around to seeing it today. I agree with Seth on all counts. The tone is very similar to Bottle Rocket and the style is much more Royal Tenenbaums. It may be my least favorite Wes Anderson film, but that's not to say I didn't like it. Most of the characters are relatively unlikable (maybe not Wilson's naive country-boy), but I still manage to root for them. I loved Steve's kidnapper killing spree. Actually both shootouts for fun. Definitely not something I'm used to seeing in a Wes Anderson movie, but they seemed to fit the tone of this film. I really liked the fantastic animation as well as the music selection. I don't think I'll move this into my top ten (a first for an Anderson film), but I'll definitely be buying it when it comes out (hopefully from Criterion).