The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 3:49 pm

I bet that there are some staunch Wes Anderson haters in this crowd. And I bet that those people will hate this movie. And I bet even the folks who love Wes won't be able to agree. I dunno, I caught it last night and there's definitely something different about this one. Be it the somewhat cheesey use of computer animation and claymation, or the way he plays with our perception of what's fake in the film... that's never a good idea for a big-budget project. Bill Murray was excellent, though. As was Willem Dafoe.

Let's discuss.

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 5:13 pm

I just watched Tenenbaums again two days ago. Also, Rushmore was breifly my favorite movie. Still haven't seen Bottle Rocket.

However, I will see this, and from the reviews I think I will be disapointed. I'm very afriad Wes Anderson might have become the Lucas of melancholy dramedy, making a few great movies and then hidding himself in his own little world (populated by Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Anjelica Huston), ignoring any and all critisism.

Meh, I'll still see it.

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 12:30 am

I was terrified I'd be disappointed, thinking that Wes couldn't possibly follow Tennenbaums, but he did the right thing in basically going in a completely different direction. I thought the movie was absolutely hillarious, but somehow beautiful at the same time, and yet in a completely new adventure flick motif. I thought the use of the David Bowie music and the rest of the soundtrack was fabulous, and Bill Murray also proved once again that he's the greatest kind of actor: a comedian that can make you cry. Also, Jeff fuckin Goldblum.

nicegeoff · Post by **nicegeoff** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:09 pm

I thought it was the best movie of 2004, though I haven't seen Fat Albert yet...

Wes Anderson is 4 for 4...now in a much farther lead ahead of his twin brother, Paul Thomas.

jute gyte · Post by **jute gyte** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 4:35 pm

i haven't seen any other wes anderson films, so i don't know how it compares, but i really enjoyed this movie. it's definitely the best film about oceanography documentary filmmakers that i've ever seen.

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:36 am

Saw it; loved it. The movie was surprisingly fun and silly for a Wes Anderson film. Bill Murray is excellent. The various Wilsons are, as usual, nothing special. Angelica Huston seems to be channelling Morticia Addams throughout (although that makes sense).

My only complaint is the goofy looking fisheses. I understand that Wes was going for some weird kind of style; too bad it looked stupid. [A]

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 11:42 am

I also thought the fish looked stupid, but I loved that because it just added to the incredibly fake motif Wes was using to push far more realistic themes.

Adam! · Post by **Adam!** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:47 pm

WeaselSlayer wrote:I also thought the fish looked stupid, but I loved that because it just added to the incredibly fake motif Wes was using to push far more realistic themes.

I enjoyed the use of claymation because it's campy and it fits well. However I'm not down with the low-budget 3D animation, because it just looks like low-budget 3D animation. I would have prefered that all the life aquatic in The Life Aquatic was claymation.

tonetripper · Post by **tonetripper** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:57 pm

I personally don't think it really mattered that much in the grand scheme of things. The plot and character development were pretty much over the top most of the time anyway which didn't allow me as a viewer to get too many pre-conceived notions as to the animation and claymation usages. I was more involved with the movie making process which was excellent. I thought the use of the ship in the larger sense of bringing theatre to the movie making world was excellent. Sheer brilliance. Some of those oners where they move around the ship were very cool and must have been difficult to co-ordinate.

I especially loved the incorporation of the sound mixer at various points in the movie. Pretty sure it was the location mixer that had a cameo at various points in the film. Great acting, direction, set-design and whoa costume design. That was definitely the bomb in my world. Those suits are stuff that make great hallowe'en costumes.

A +

Denyer · Post by **Denyer** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:40 am

I don't really care about Wes Anderson, but this was awesome. Best of 2004.

Poor June · Post by **Poor June** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:40 am

i just watched both the trailors... and it looks like it'll be great... do any of y'all know when it'll come out on video... (i haven't seen anything on this before this thread)

Post by jb » Fri Jan 07, 2005 11:32 pm

Calfborg · Post by **Calfborg** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 2:30 am

I just bought the soundtrack. The original pieces by Mark Mothersbaugh are terrific. The songs by Sven Libaek are also good. The Seu Jorge (the guy in the crew with the guitar) songs work much better in the movie than they do for regular listening. Overall, not too bad.

prayformojo · Post by **prayformojo** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 9:52 pm

jb wrote:A+

Absolutely! My #2 movie of the year, and quite possibly my favorite Wes film... though that's a tough call.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 1:50 am

i gave it an A. i don't think it was quite as good as the royal tenenbaums or rushmore (i have yet to see bottlerocket), but i thoroughly enjoyed this. i pretty much love everything bill murray is in and this was no exception. i think that the score/soundtrack in the movie was a little weaker than wes andersons previous films (that i've seen), but the david bowie french guy was still a nice touch.

the cartoon animals were beautiful in that artificial kind of way. they gave the movie a somewhat quixotic feel that would've been missing if they had just used real fish. and i absolutely loved the way that they had the cross section of the boat. that was splendid. so that's why i gave it an A. yup.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:22 pm

That's a David Bowie Brazillian (singing Portuguese) guy to you...which worked half the time. Some beautiful versions of old classics. Spiders from Mars was great! And whatever that last one was kept everyone there throughout the credits.

I liked the fakeness and wish it were faker. Loved Bill Murray. Someone said since Wes has a huge budget he's making expensive amateur movies now, and I'd agree. The best kind. I met him a couple years ago at a friend's wedding and he's pretty low key cool.

the Jazz · Post by **the Jazz** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:48 pm

Holy crap. Best. Movie. Ever.

The Anchors · Post by **The Anchors** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:42 pm

One word to describe the movie: kickass.

Post by jb » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:59 pm

who gave this a B. i will kill you.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:57 pm

i'll bring the weapons, jb. they must die.

Tex Beaumont · Post by **Tex Beaumont** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 3:17 am

great movie.. Willem Dafoe's charachter really cracked me up

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 6:25 am

wha? did ya'll actually see this movie? I mean, are we givin' it A's because we like the guy's past work and don't want to dissapoint ourselves?

This movie sucked. It sucked badly. It was truly boring. I couldn't even finish watching it.

This is the Bill Murray movie right? If I'm mistaken..please disregard.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

How was the Life Aquatic?

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

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