The Life Aquatic
Wes Anderson - Writer/Director
Bill Murray - Steve Zissou
Owen Wilson - Ned Plimpton
Cate Blanchett - Jane Winslett-Richardson
Angelica Huston - Eleanor Zissou
Willem Defoe - Klaus Daimler
Jeff Goldblum - Alistair Hennessey
Michael Gambon - Oseary Drakoulias
I didn't hate this movie, it just fell far short of my expectations for both Anderson and Murray. Perhaps I judge it more harshly because of these peoples' involvement. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson made both a great comedy and a decent drama. The Life Aquatic aimed for both of these and went right down the middle, missing both targets. But anyways I don't feel like a normal review so here's a couple of little lists I made.
Good Things:
- Bill Murray
- Wes Anderson
- Pirates
- A scene where Bill Murray singlehandedly fights off invading pirate crew like he were in a John Woo film.
- Old, run down ship crewed by weirdos and misfits
- Jeff Goldblum gets shot
- The trailer was pretty funny
- Willem Defoe turns in a quality, funny performance.
- Each member of the sea exploration crew gets a red hat, a speedo and a gun. Pretty cool.
- Clever design for the boat. For cinematography purposes, the boat was basically cut in half so the camera could pan or the whole thing and see into each room like looking at an ant farm. Very cool.
- The various crews, props and sets are fun in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.
- Bill Murray's character is kind of an asshole.
Bad Things:
- Owen Wilson using a southern accent. Never again please.
- Jeff Goldblum
- Goldblum is shot but refuses to die.
- Scenes that were not shown in the trailer were not very good.
- Not terribly entertaining.
- Many of the film's quirks seem telegraphed, some of the dialogue struck me as "Look at me! I'm being quirky and weird and funny!" Anderson's other films I've seen really were quirky and funny but also had dramatic moments mixed in. Not here. Drama was too heavy handed, humor not humorous enough.
- No Steve Buscemi
- The characters were not endearing in any way to me. Except maybe for Klaus.
- Bill Murray's character is kind of an asshole.
Given the talented director and cast, it should've been a whole lot better.
The Life Aquatic earns 2 wombats out of 4.
Bill Murray - Steve Zissou
Owen Wilson - Ned Plimpton
Cate Blanchett - Jane Winslett-Richardson
Angelica Huston - Eleanor Zissou
Willem Defoe - Klaus Daimler
Jeff Goldblum - Alistair Hennessey
Michael Gambon - Oseary Drakoulias
Murray and Wilson eye each other up in The Life Aquatic
I didn't hate this movie, it just fell far short of my expectations for both Anderson and Murray. Perhaps I judge it more harshly because of these peoples' involvement. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson made both a great comedy and a decent drama. The Life Aquatic aimed for both of these and went right down the middle, missing both targets. But anyways I don't feel like a normal review so here's a couple of little lists I made.
Good Things:
- Bill Murray
- Wes Anderson
- Pirates
- A scene where Bill Murray singlehandedly fights off invading pirate crew like he were in a John Woo film.
- Old, run down ship crewed by weirdos and misfits
- Jeff Goldblum gets shot
- The trailer was pretty funny
- Willem Defoe turns in a quality, funny performance.
- Each member of the sea exploration crew gets a red hat, a speedo and a gun. Pretty cool.
- Clever design for the boat. For cinematography purposes, the boat was basically cut in half so the camera could pan or the whole thing and see into each room like looking at an ant farm. Very cool.
- The various crews, props and sets are fun in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.
- Bill Murray's character is kind of an asshole.
Bad Things:
- Owen Wilson using a southern accent. Never again please.
- Jeff Goldblum
- Goldblum is shot but refuses to die.
- Scenes that were not shown in the trailer were not very good.
- Not terribly entertaining.
- Many of the film's quirks seem telegraphed, some of the dialogue struck me as "Look at me! I'm being quirky and weird and funny!" Anderson's other films I've seen really were quirky and funny but also had dramatic moments mixed in. Not here. Drama was too heavy handed, humor not humorous enough.
- No Steve Buscemi
- The characters were not endearing in any way to me. Except maybe for Klaus.
- Bill Murray's character is kind of an asshole.
Given the talented director and cast, it should've been a whole lot better.
The Life Aquatic earns 2 wombats out of 4.
posted by Mr_Nuts at 7:55 AM
5 Comments:
I actually thought it was a decent effort but I stole it instead of paying for it, so that should say something. I'm not familiar with the director's work but "Zissou" made me curious, mostly because everyone was saying that he's done better. Defoe stole the show.
Also I am in lust with Seu Jorge. Have you seen "City of God"?
I haven't seen it, but I've been told that I should. I highly reccomend The Royal Tenenbaums to you if you enjoyed the sort of humor in Life Aquatic. What's City of God about?
mr x wanted me to go down to detroit with him to see city of god. i dont know anything about it other then that collins said it was a "mr x movie." which usually means its a foreign version of a bryan movie.
Umm...yes!
It's a foreign flick set in the ghettoes of Brazil taking quite an unflinching look at slum life, from the POV of one of the residents. One of the best movies to have been released in quite some time, IMO. Not everyone's cup of tea though.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD0xfHBuPTB8c291cmNlaWQ9bW96aWxsYS1zZWFyY2h8cT1jaXR5IG9mIGdvZHxodG1sPTF8bm09MQ__;fc=1;ft=20
my tastes in movies are as chaotic as my personality. one day i'll love something, the next its a pile of shit. i'm sure i'll see it eventually as bryan will eventually buy on clearance at blockbuster or not best buy. and then he'll say its great couch, you have to watch this movie. and i'll borrow it and more then likely i'll like it. or he'll say its great couch, but you'll hate it. and he'll be right. i can't define my taste in movies but he has a like-magical ability to do so.
i cant beleive im watchin americas funniest videos right now. I thought bob saget was done with this shit. why the hell is he on a marathon on my tv. WTF?!?!
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