Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Butlercide
Aug 6, 2001

Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe...

from imdb:
"With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son."


I saw it at the Grove last night and I thought it was very good. A lot of people may not dig Wes Anderson's style, but for what it's worth I found it entertaining. However if you hate the poo poo out of Wes Anderson and hope he chokes to death on a ball of gay, you're probably not going to like it.

RATING: 4.5

PROS: Funny, great dialogue and music. Billy Murray :)
CONS: May not be for everyone.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362270/

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Wraith
May 22, 2001

ARISE
ARISE, ROBOTS OF THEODEN
I saw this at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
It was an enjoyable film, and recognizably a Wes Anderson movie in its cinematography and production design.
However, it lacked a number of the elements that made his previous films great.
It lacks strong character development, which could also be said of The Royal Tenenbaums, but it lacked the charming supporting characters that were RT's saving grace (Ari and Uzi, Pagoda, et al). Subplots are introduced, or hinted at, but not followed up on or even mentioned again. Characters have quirks that go unexplained, and it visibly weakens the film.
The Life Aquatic also suffers from pacing problems. At some points it drags terribly, and at others the calm is broken by extremely out-of-place action sequences.
Granted, the film is meant as an absurdist romp, but it gets out of hand.
All in all, it is an entertaining movie, certainly worth a look, but serious fans of Wes Anderson (such as myself) may find some problems with it.

Coretti
Oct 30, 2003
On Planet Shining
Also saw this at Lincoln Center today. So surprised there's literally one screen in Manhattan playing the film, from what I could find.

I just didn't make an emotional connection with this like I did Rushmore or RT. There were likable, fleshed out characters in those films, but here:
-Steve Zissou was funny and all, but he just didn't seem grounded in anything - it was very hard to get a handle on his character, and even after finishing the movie, I'm not sure if I understand what drives him or makes him tick in any way.
-Owen Wilson's character merely annoyed me. For someone who's supposed to be so upset about how his potential father ignored him, he didn't seem to ever get that point across.
-You remember how in RT, Anjelica Houston and Gene Hackman had that spark, so you could see why they were interested in each other once? I got none of that here between Houston and Murray.

I also think they were trying to play too many things for laughs - the representative from the bond company, the "crazy eyes" during what's supposed to be the emotional motivation for the rest of the movie, Cate Blanchett being a "bull dyke", Jeff Goldblum being gay? to the point where it just felt like they were trying to hard to play it for laughs.

(Most inexplicable moment of the screening: A fair amount of audience laughter in the scene where Jeff Goldblum beats the three-legged dog. What the gently caress, people?)

All of this said, the movie saved itself in the last 15 minutes. The helicopter crashing scene, with the very subtle shots of the camera going under water...man. And the eventual breakdown of Steve at the end (again, slightly tainted by a big push for laughs with the "everyone has a hand on his shoulder" thing.)

So while I'm not going to sit here and say it was a poor movie, I was disappointed as someone who's followed most of Anderson's work. 3 out of 5.

Bathing Poodle
Nov 28, 2003

by Fistgrrl
It was completely the opposite for me. I'm also a huge fan of Wes Anderson's movies, and I absolutely loved this one. The humor was nowhere as subtle as Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore, and for some reason I liked that. I don't have much else to say. It's a Wes Anderson film, but the humor stands out more than in his previous ones. Some examples are:

"You forgot your dog, you IDIOTS", while Cody limps around the deck on his three legs

Steve using godmode and infinite ammo

the interns, especially the one that stayed on the Belafonte

The "everyone touch steve's shoulder" scene

5.5/5

Tiresias
Feb 28, 2002

All that lives lives forever.
I saw this last night at a sneak preview for college students in Orlando.

I will say that I greatly enjoyed this movie, but "The Royal Tenenbaums" is still my favorite. The story was fun and funny, but the whole film felt really geared to only the diehard Wes Anderson fans (nothing against them, I'm one of them). I have described the film to other people as such: "Wes Anderson indulging in his own Wes Anderson-ness."

The photography was interesting, but seemed like a huge departure for Wes Anderson, since he's previously gone on rants about using handheld or even steadicam, and "Life Aquatic" is almost entirely handheld.

Rated: 4.5/5

jc dracula
Nov 7, 2001
only real complaint is that i wish anderson would lay off the soundtrack once in a while. a scene with a sigur ros song in the background plays more like a sigur ros song with a scene in the background.

this is one rollicking good time adventure and this is wes anderson's best movie to date santa will mark this one down on his "nice" list this holiday season ho ho ho ho ho :yuletide:

KappaTI
Mar 19, 2002
Saw this in Ann Arbor last Friday. The soundtrack sorta needs to be tuned down sometimes, as it was ear piercing, and the dialogue seemed sorta staticy sometimes. I figure these are just parts of the early mix, but it was still sorta grating and I hope it gets fixed.

Otherwise, it was an excellent movie. Really love Wes Anderson's style of deadpan dialogue, but I'm not sure if others would, so it's probably not for everyone.

Personally, though, 5/5.

Alain Delon
Oct 28, 2004

how strange it is to be anything at all
let me first say that i am a HUGE wes anderson fan.

i have the academy screener and after watching it twice i truly think this has become my favourite wes film. if you enjoy the "wesworld" idea (how royal tenenbaums seems to take place in a different world) you will absoultely love TLA.

5/5

Grigori Rasputin
Aug 21, 2000
WE DON'T NEED ROME TELLING US WHAT TO DO
Short:
If you enjoyed Wes Anderson's other movies, you'll most likely dig this one, too.

Long:

I thought this movie was great, and had a lot of great humor that left me laughing - whether it was overt and out of place (like Hennessy beating the dog Cody) to the subtle (Zissou leaving Cody on the island after calling the pirates failures for leaving it behind on the boat), to the hillariously consistant (Zissou smokes a joint in nearly every scene).

I especially loved the action scenes and the fact that people died in this movie. It's good to see Anderson embracing violence! I also thought the soundtrack was great, minus the Sigur Ros song - it was completely out of place with the rest of the soundtrack, and seemed like it was put in the movie to stress that "hay guys this is a memorable song for a memorable scene!!! GOTCHA WOO HOO!!" My only other gripe was the animation, which was kind of lovely - yet it didn't really inhibit my enjoyment of the film. The dolphin scouts were kickass, though.

I think Wes Anderson has already made his best movie (Rushmore), but that doesn't mean he's incapable of making great movies in the future.

4.5/5 - May upgrade to a 5/5 after a second viewing.

Buttes McDuff
Dec 4, 2004

Scottish Buttesman
Finally got around to seeing the movie at Lincoln Center today and I had a few things to say:
I thought for any Wes Anderson fan, the film is going to be deeply satisfying. I think where it may lack in character developement the film made up for in character 'likability'. I think this was one of the first Anderson films that I really enjoyed watching with regard to how the characters interacted with one another. It did lack some of its dry humour, but it was funny nevertheless.
I also thought that the underwater scenes were ironically well done. I dont think it would have been as interesting if we had simply been shown real life sea creatures. The strange underwater creaters and sets complemented the characters in my opinion.
Overall: I think its a film that anyone can really enjoy. I felt with RT, it took a more informed Anderson movie goer to really appreciate the sublte humour, but in this film it added moments that everyone could relate to.

4.5/5

DukeRustfield
Aug 6, 2004
I'm a big Bill Murray fan and I liked Rushmore and was at least happy with Royals. This movie just didn't have much sparkle IMHO.

There's a golden rule of filmmaking (okay, I made it up) and it states you can never change your reality level. Everything in the movie was pretty believable except the space creature fish and underwater stuff. It's harder to relate to characters when you're wondering what planet they are on.

That's another thing, the Rushmore and even Royal characters were people we could understand. Kind of close to us normal folks. I've never personally met (or heard of) a washed-up deep sea documentarian.

Too many talking heads. Bill Murray's character quite often just spouted his deepest emotional truths while puffing away. People don't do that.

Budd Cort (the kid from Harold and Maude) was the Bond Stooge. William Dafoe was about the only really good performance, I thought.

The end did pick up, but was a little late. Wes Anderson is one of those directors who they shouldn't give final cut to. He needs an editor and a studio asking him every once in a while, "Um, Wes, is anyone going to be able to relate to this?"

2.5

vampiress
Jul 20, 2004
top story at 6...bloody goth destroying the house of mouse
i quite liked it.
one thing i like about wes anderson flicks is the way he shoots it. the scene where they explore the boat was cool. i never think his characters are "real" so the really odd fish didn't bother me, they added to the charm of the movie. i normally so not like owen wilson, but in this one i could finally watch the movie and not think owen wilson the whole time. his accent was a bit spotty, but i think that was on purpose.

now i spoiled this next bit because some people may not want to read my review of the music before seeing the flick. the music was really spot on. bowie in portugese was fantastic, and hte guy singing was great. i even liked the sigur ros song, granted it is one of my favorites. i loved how the scenes all transitioned with the songs and the singer was a character. that really tied the whole movie together. and some of bowie's themes in songs really lent to the absurdity of the movie and the spacey looking fish. wes always does a good job with music in his films.


like most wes anderson films i walked out with a definite wtf feeling, but i suspect like rushmoore and royal tennanbaums, tomorrow i will start really pondering this movie and growing to love it more.

i agree about the jeff goldblum and dog scene, there were actually quite a few scenes that freaked me out a bit. and quite a few that i was the only one laughing.
in a year fraught with lindsay lohan and lizzy maguire movies, this was a refreshing and entertaining movie.
4/5

penysdevyl
Jan 21, 2003

Because of Winn-Dixie
Now, I loved Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, but really didn't take to Tenenbaums. So, unfortunately, I cannot fully approve Life Aquatic. There were many elements that I really loved. Willem Dafoe's neurotic and jealous German guy was amazing. I really enjoyed Cate Blanchett's performence. The music was great and, awesome black dude singing Bowie in portugese=genius.

But there were quite alot of elements that turned me off. First and foremost, OK, Wes, we get it. You had a rocky relationship with your Dad, who was apparently narccistic and possibly emotionally distant. It just felt kinda forced there. Also, the special effects were pretty bad, and more or less useless. It really seemed like he kinda said to himself "wow, I have a bunch of money to work with...what crazy poo poo can I throw into this movie and get away with it." The shootout scenes with the pirates, while humorous, went on way to long.

It really felt, to me, like he sidestepped some really good meaningful stuff to pander to the indie community with trite kitchy backgrounds and wacky quirks. The most interesting relationship in the entire movie, between Ned and Jane, was almost completely lost.

But again, this movie really made me love Cate Blanchett.


I'm going 3.5 on this. I'd see it again, but probably wouldn't buy the DVD the day it came out.

Supreme Allah
Oct 6, 2004

everybody relax, i'm here
Nap Ghost
I just saw this tonight and i really cant remember ever seeing a better movie in a theatre. ive seen Royal Tenanbaums and Rushmore but THIS one connected w. me on every single level. the father issues, the comedy, its like it was written for me personally. sometimes i got the feeling i was watching a live action version of SeaLab 2021, other times i was just emoting like a girl. really moving, unbelievably funny movie. I loved it from the first scene to the last.

5.0

as far as the jeff goldblum/hitting dog scene, normally i balk at any sort of animal cruelty but for some reason it didnt bother me at all in this movie. for one thing it was off camera and for another i was still laughing at the visual of a couch on the deck of a ship.

sea bass
Oct 24, 2004
I'm a douchebag idiot who thinks it's hilarious to steal from people who have more foresight than I do!
that movie sucked. i have been waiting for this for months, and the entire premise and previews made it look hilarious. i love bill murray, along with willem dafoe, owen wilson, ian goldblum, blah blah, looked like a good cast. i absolutely loved the visual style, with the bright colored, stop motion wildlife and the beautiful and strange environments. the costume design, the weird crew, the shots, everything was really nice. but the writing just fell flat. half the time i watched, waiting for a joke, and everytime they had an opportunity for hilarity, they blew it. really though, there were very many funny jokes, and a lot of funny acting (though i hated owen's character, not funny at all), but it fell flat too often. if the movie had been shortened to about an hour and a half, and many of the unfunny parts removed, it wouldve been great. but there were simply too many boring, unfunny parts, when the writers couldn't capitalize and bang out a good joke.

2.5/5

i really wanted to love it :(

PapFinn
Jul 15, 2003

I am Ron Pearlman's illigitimate love child.
I am actually more a fan of The Royal Tennenbaums than I am of Rushmore, but I don't know if that has any significance here.

I thought the movie began a bit slowly, but definately picked up and turned out to be an excellent film.

I didn't connect with the characters as much as I do with RT, but I have seen that film many, many times and this one only once.

I found the scene where everyone put their hands on Steve's shoulders sort of moving, not really humorous in anyway. Also, there was one line I didn't understand where Jane says that in 12 years her son will be 11 1/2 and Steve says something along the lines of, "That was my favorite time."

I didn't quite connect that yet, but I'm sure I will next time, as well as liking the movie more overall.

4.5/5

Bad Lieutenant
Jan 4, 2004

oh my is nothing sacred
I'm not a huge fan of Rushmore or Royal Tenenbaums, but I was excited about seeing this because it looked a lot more interesting than the premises of the other two.

I wasn't disappointed at all; I was completely happy to watch the characters do anything, and I loved the relationships, the comedy, the action scenes, and pretty much everything. Taking Anderson's characters out of the real world and onto a boat (the Belafonte may be the best set I've ever seen) made me like them a lot more, and I was transfixed by whatever was going on the entire way through.

I need to watch it a few more times to get all of it, but for now I'm completely confident giving it a 5.

Mangina Brown
Jun 6, 2004

¡Más rápidamente, minino! ¡Matanza! ¡Matanza!
Bottle Rocket made me pee my pants with glee, I loved Rushmore almost as much, and Royal Tennenbaums is bar none my favorite movie of all time. But this one just didn't sit well with me, it felt forced. The dialog, while still better than 90% of what else is out there, wasn't nearly as good as in RT or Bottle Rocket, and there was just too drat much of it. I still loved it, and I'll still go out and buy the DVD the day it comes out and watch it obsessively, just like I've done with the last three, but I feel letdown.

4/5

BobDoleBobDole
Feb 26, 2004

The future is scary.
Great movie. I didn't know what to expect completely mostly by a lack of seeing previews and reading and things like that. I havent loved every Wes movie, but I really liked this movie. The acting and writing was terrific and the movie flowed very well.

4/5

nozzz4the666
Feb 8, 2004
I left this movie feeling like I did with Royal. I think its going to take another viewing to get the most out of this movie. Bottle Rocket, Royal Tan, and I believe this film, will have better replay value than most films.

3/5

after a second viewing

4/5

madattheinternet
May 8, 2004

PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!
This was the first Wes Anderson film I have seen and I was impressed with the visual style and the camera work. I loved WATCHING the movie but I didn't really enjoy the movie as a whole. I felt kind of weird at the end of the film because it was so different from any other movie that I've ever seen. This movie is more surreal than most films and requires that you suspend disbelief at the door.

As a side note, it might be easier to enjoy the movie for what it is if you see it with your "smart" friends. I watched it with my girlfriend who is a fan of movies like "Princess Diaries" and "Legally Blonde" so I didn't get the benefit of thoughtful discussion after the movie let out. I will watch this again with a different crowd and see what kind of taste the movie leaves in my mouth.

3/5 (Bill Murray was a solid 4, he was a very lovable rear end in a top hat in this film.)

Migertantix
Jul 15, 2003

This was the third Wes Anderson film I have seen (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore) and I simply loved this movie. Bill Murray was excellent. His actions and facial expressions (or lack there of) are priceless.

4.5/5

Liface
Jun 17, 2001

by T. Finn
The best Wes Anderson film by far, and one of the best movies I've ever seen. The dialogue is awesome, characters are great, and it's FUNNY!

My favorite character was Intern #1, I was sticking up for that dude.

Cate Blanchett is the hottest pregnant woman I've ever seen.

The ending was excellent, hell, even the ending credits were excellent.

All I need to know is, what's the song playing during the musical montage right before Steve has to perform CPR on Ned?

nm, found it it's "Devo - Gut Feeling"

5/5

Liface fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Dec 28, 2004

holy tortilla
Dec 8, 2002

i loved rushmore (possibly my favorite movie of all time) but if it weren't for anderson's eye for beautifully framed shots, bill murray's occasionally smile cracking wit, and knockout ned playing acoustic bowie covers this movie would've been a complete bomb in my opinion. the story really didn't do it for me, it seemed aimless and random. halfway through the movie i forgot what it was about. it was nice to look at...

2/5 warm hearted and stylish but the story just couldn't hold it all together

Moses
Nov 19, 2003

You sound like you're in a cult...
Great film if you have the patience and concentration to appreciate it. The first third is a little too slow though - once they reach the Belafonte the film picks up.

I worry that the budget was just too high for a film of this type. This is a small-budget quasi-experimental film made with a large mainstream budget....it could blow up in his face, to the detriment of his career.

Strangely, it feels very much like a play written by Max Fischer.

Evil Con Carne
Nov 30, 2004
Joo go back to burger king where you came from


i was surprised there was an action scene.it made me like the movie even more.

xan!
Aug 17, 2004

by elpintogrande
Unfortunately I saw this with my stupid friends, and they thought it sucked. I've never seen a Wes Anderson film before but I enjoyed the humor-without-a-punchline.

4.5

----------------
This thread brought to you by a tremendous dickhead!

shaitan
Mar 8, 2004
g.d.m.f.s.o.b.
I've seen all of Wes Anderson's past movies and i have to say this was the most interesting of them all. Rushmore was pretty funny, and I enjoyed Bottle Rocket, but to be all honest couldn't get into Royal Tennabaums (just didn't find the jokes all that funny)

With that said, I thought that this was pretty drat funny (Seu Jorge's covers of bowie had me laughing throughout.) The camera work in it was really interesting too (there was a long shot of the ship they used that I thought was amazing, very much like that jap dance club scene in Kill Bill, one long camera shot and everything working in unison.) And... no CGI, all the animals, the engine of the boat were all stop-motion, which IMO I think is 10x better than some kid who sits behind a computer with a mouse "creating" everything, just a different talent that I appreciate more I guess.

For the actors, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson put on a great job as usual, Owen Wilson is quickly turning into my favorite new comic. William Dafoe put on a great performance as expected, although I wasn't expecting much humor from him, but hey I can be suprised ("Not if I don't see you first!")

All in All, I put this one as one of my (not very many) favorite's of 2k4.

4.5

osoiman
Aug 6, 2002

Unfunny film filled with stilted, stunted, deadpan acting and punctuated with a soundtrack full of gay VW commercial music. Didn't even laugh once.

1.5

Aggro
Apr 24, 2003

STRONG as an OX and TWICE as SMART
I really enjoyed this movie, and I'm not even a fan of Wes Anderson. I'm certainly going to have to find more by this man, because I really enjoyed the humor. I wasn't expecting any full-on shootouts in this movie, which was a pleasant surprise, and I absolutely loved Bill Murray's character.

"They left their loving dog on the ship!?

Great movie; will see again. 4.5/5

trash
Aug 6, 2001
Argumentum ad nauseam is the incorrect belief that an assertion is more likely to be true the more often it is heard.
Going against the grain, I could never connect with most of the characters in RT. I thought it all fit a lot better in its original context in Salinger's novels. Hackman was great, but a lot of the other players ruined it for me and the whole suicide bit did next to nothing for me. I'm nowhere near the fan of Bill Murray's schtick as most people, but I totally dug this movie. Maybe it was the guy in the row behind me who kept going, "What the gently caress this is so weird"... maybe it was the fact that every Life Aquatic reel headed to my part of the Kansas City area got lost in transit thanks to snow... I don't know. I loved the hell out of this thing. We'll see if it lasts -- I know RT hasn't aside from a few great scenes, and I really haven't seen Rushmore enough to figure it out one way or another (other than that I love the parking lot model airplane scene).

Oh, I also dislike the Cousteau thing in Rushmore... but this still worked. I don't get it, but I know it was great.

I agree with the Sigur Ros thing; that was dumb and one of the big reasons I went for 4.5 instead of 5. Compare it to the use of the Faces' song at the end of Rushmore... poor choice and it distracts from the image. It's pretty much as close as you could get to throwing a cheesy melodrama string swell into a wes anderson picture.

Jesus Rocket
Apr 25, 2003
I liked this movie. I'm a big Anderson fan, although I don't think I've ever seen Rushmore in one sitting. The Life Aquatic was very different from his other movies. As was stated before, the comedy in this movie is not nearly as subtle as his other works. Anderson's style is still there and still very much enjoyable.

My main problem is that this movie dragged on. I know it as only a little over 2 hours, but it felt closer to 3. Maybe it was because I expected them to set out and 30 minutes later there would be some huge great shark battle. I think they could have cut some things out, even though it's hard to think to things they could of cut. I still thought that this was a great movie and was very funny. This includes that singing/guitar playing black guy, which was not liked by the other people I saw the movie with. My favotie part was the "Does this look fake?" moment and Steve pulls a gun out of nowhere.

Overall, I thought this movie was different from Anderson's other movies, but was recognizable and was still very funny. 4.5/5

Jesus Rocket fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Dec 29, 2004

Sir Victory
Apr 26, 2003
I'm surprised it's been panned on Rotten Tomatoes, but whatever. I thought the characters, every one of them, were very lovable, which is entirely new for a Wes Anderson movie. The action scenes were cool, Bill Murray did his role well, the visuals were great, and I laughed pretty much the whole time. It had sincerely sad moments as well.

I thought this movie would be Wes Anderson's "hit", because it seemed to build on things from the Royal Tenenbaums and added a lot more direct humor and zaniness, but apparently I'm wrong about that.

I give this movie a 5/5, it's a great movie.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
After two viewings --

Most of what I wanted to say was already covered in both negative and positive aspects. Furthermore, I very much enjoyed the idea of panning through the ship like a stage. Oddly enough (or maybe not), the saddest moment for me wasn't when Ned died but when Steve says goodbye to the dog they left on the island.

I though the movie had an OK mix of everything I was expecting. It was, perhaps, 15 or 20 minutes too long. The editing and direction started off spot on what I expected, but I couldn't help but think that as it went on the scenes got less thought out and the editing suffered a little.

The whole Sigur Ros end sort of put the surreal aspect of the movie in an envelope and mailed it home. By that time I had felt that the movie had taken on a bit of a surreal nature so this fit pretty well. I won't say I disliked it, and in fact it may have made the ending just that much more enjoyable.

I really wanted to come in here and sing its praises but I don't think I can. Its a solid movie if you like Wes' work, but as far as that goes I think his other work surpasses this one.

Now I'm not trying to fap over Wes' work or anything, but I'm going to give it a 4.0 based on the fact that I feel his average work is still better than 90% of the "good" work that is floating out of Hollywood. In context of his own movies, I would give it a 3 or 3.5, but in context of Hollywood I am giving it a 4.

some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Dec 29, 2004

Tai-Pan
Feb 10, 2001
I enjoyed Rushmore and Tennenbaums quite a bit more.
I loved the visual style and I thought a lot of the characters had huge potential but the whole film failed to click the way his other work did.
2.5 but it probably deserves a 3 but my hopes were to high.

ProfessorFratboy
Sep 28, 2004
Being a fan of Wes Anderson's previous work certainly gave me some semblance of what i was about to see, so in that respect LA delivers what you want. After the first watch, I find myself reflecting mostly on the same themes that endear all Anderson's movies to me: the unrelenting hope, the acceptance of essentrics/essentricities and of course the musical score. I will say that it seemed that most of the comedy was scripted, either this or the ad libs were so seemless that I tended not to notice.
I'm goin' 4.5.

Ajaarg
Jul 25, 2000
If I did want a woman (they are literally disgusting) i could always rape them. they are weak and feeble.
I can't say I understand the reaction of people who say things like "it didn't click," "it dragged on too long" or "I didn't have an emotional connection on any of the characters" especially from people who liked The Royal Tenenbaums.

Really, I've never understood people who claim to try and "get a handle" on characters within a movie, like they're real people and can be summed up in 2 hours. TLA works because nobody is compressed into a film archetype that's neatly resolved by the end.

It's one of Bill Murray's best and definitely Anderson's. Don't know what to say to people voting it 1.5 or 2.

suddenlyissoon
Feb 17, 2002

Don't be sad that I am gone.
I really wanted to like this movie more than i did. I felt that the chemistry between many of the characters was lacking (especially compared to Royal Tennenbaums) and the story just wasnt as enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, i liked the story a lot but it wasnt as good. The ending was the best part for me. There were some misplaced laughs at the end when they put their hands on Steve and Sigur Ros played. I, on the other hand, cried during the scene. I enjoyed the movie a lot and i'll buy it when it comes out.

4.5/5

IRQ
Sep 9, 2001

SUCK A DICK, DUMBSHITS!

No offense to those raving about this pile - or maybe just a little - but this movie was yet another mainstream but not mainstream movie for indie jerks and people who like to pretend that a movie is great, even though it's awful, to rave about just to feel superior to others. I ought to have expected as much from Wes Anderson, but the previews made it seem like it had a different style to it.

The dialogue had its amusing moments, but they were few and far between, split up by a plot outrun by continental drift, and a bunch of songs that would probably feel more at home on some indie hipster's iPod or a nintendo cartrage circa 1989. Deadpan can be funny, Chris Walken does it well, so does Bill Murray, kind of, but nobody else really does(at least not in this movie), and Murray can only do so much; like all the previous Wes Anderson movies, it was beyond his ability to save this clunky thing.

The pacing was horrible, just absolutly horrible; the first third of the movie or so was just boring and pointless. The nemesis was, well, why the hell was he the nemesis? It was never really fully explained, which wasn't exactly unique in this film; things not having any explanation seemed to be a running theme, but I suppose something had to be hurridly written in to move the glacial plot along.

The "action" scenes seemed completely out of place, poorly done, and pirates with mp5s and uzis was very, very stupid. The money spent on these scenes could have gone to CG that didn't look like outtakes from Finding Nemo. But I could have overlooked that, had the plot not been so godawful slow and boring, not to mention non-sensical.

1.5/5, since it actually did have some funny moments, or at least more than the rest of of Wes Anderson's movies.

IRQ fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Dec 30, 2004

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

gey muckle mowser
Aug 5, 2003

Do you know anything about...
witches?



Buglord
I enjoyed this movie a lot, and thought it was one of the better films I've seen this year. I liked how the computer animation didn't look real, and how the set went back and forth from a real looking boat to the big (and obviously fake) cross-section. People are saying it was about a mid-life crisis, but I thought it was more generally about coming to terms with reality and growing up Zissou acknowledging his son, for example I didn't really think the movie was like Lost in Translation at all, as that film was based in reality and this one is not meant to be realistic (at least that's what I got out of it).

The acting was good all around, although Paltrow's accent got sort of annoying. Some people complained about the pacing, but I didn't notice. I enjoyed it the whole way through. I'm giving it a 4.5/5 for being an excellent movie. Not the year's best, but I liked it enough that I will buy the DVD.

quote:

afdmb41 came out of the closet to say:
There were some misplaced laughs at the end when they put their hands on Steve and Sigur Ros played. I, on the other hand, cried during the scene.
People laughed at this when I saw it too, and I didn't understand why. I thought it was touching.

quote:

IRQ came out of the closet to say:

The nemesis was, well, why the hell was he the nemesis? It was never really fully explained,
I thought it was very clear - besides being Steve's wife's ex-husband, he was also the exact opposite of Steve as a scientist, that is, cold and high-tech as opposed to Zissou's more reckless and adventurous spirit.

  • Post
  • Reply