What's your take on "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"?

[Richardo]

"OK. I'll fight it - but I'll let it go. Now what about my dynamite?"

Saw "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" last night. Overall, liked it (the thread of acoustic Portuguese versions of David Bowie songs was excellent) but there were some elements that just didn't fit in (there's a whole sub-plot that seems tacked on).

But Bill Murray turns in another low-key performance that I thought (for the most part) had just the right tone.

Biggest surprise: The actor playing the "Bond Company Stooge" was a blast from the past that I would NEVER have recognized. ;-)

Who else has seen it and what did you think?

[Richardo]

1. OK I'll change subject lines and....

:kick:

[jpgray]

2. Too much smug pretentiousness in the previews

Affected weirdness rides again. And the title is a shitty one. And this should really go in the "bash movies you've never seen". :D

I found The Royal Tennenbaums entertaining and funny at certain moments, but I hated it at the same time. Doubtless I would have the same experience with this one.

[Richardo]

3. I guess it comes down to whether you like Wes Anderson films or not.

I find them hit-and-miss, pretty much like "Life Aquatic" - some real good ideas, and other WTF moments.

[drumwolf]

4. I saw it and I liked it.

I saw this on Christmas night and then saw Lost in Translation a few days later. Before that, I'd never seen any recent Bill Murray movies. I'm surprised at how much he's evolved and matured since I was growing up and watching him in the '80s in Caddyshack and Ghostbusters. BTW, Caddyshack was one of my favorite movies as a kid, although I haven't seen it as an adult.

I remember the old Bill Murray being much more of a goofball comic like most of his fellow SNL alumni (Aykroyd, the Belushis, or later on, Dana Carvey or Will Ferrell). You're right, his persona has definitely become more low-key since then. His character in Lost in Translation is very similar to Steve Zissou, in that both are cranky, cynical and melancholy personalities.

Anyway, I liked Murray in this movie, I liked the trippy visual work, and I liked the soundtrack, especially the acoustic Portuguese renditions of Bowie songs (done by one of the guys from City of God, BTW).

(EDIT: I had a question to others who've seen this film about one particular scene, but it may be a potential semi-spoiler so I removed it, and I might save it for a brand-new thread or post it to IMDB.)

[Wat_Tyler]

5. First half is wonderful - as soon as Search & Destroy starts, not so much.

Still better than 95% of the shit out there, though.

[drumwolf]

6. yeah, i thought that scene was kinda ludicrous. n/t

To anyone who's seen the movie, what was your interpretation of that scene where "Search and Destroy" was playing? (Try to answer this without giving too much away to DU'ers who haven't seen it yet.)

It seemed like the kind of scene you'd see in cheesy second-tier Stallone action flicks. In the context of this movie, it's just bizarre.

[Wat_Tyler]

7. I presume it was intended to be ironic.

But it was pretty awkward and clumsy. It's a definitive Jump The Shark moment - much like the News Team combat in Anchorman (although that almost gets away with it - it is at least funny).

[Richardo]

8. "Jaguar shark?"

"Those were the first two words that popped into my head."

Funniest line in the movie. Guffawed out loud in a theater with about 10 people in it.

[semillama]

9. no, it fits perfectly in the context of the movie (spoilers)

Did you note how purposefully jarring and UNREALISTIC it was? I really liked how Zissou would just run right into the line of fire, and he would never get shot. I thought that was a brilliant "F*-off" to gratuitous violence scenes in most other movies. It's jarring at first because it's so unrealistic, but then Anderson has one pirate die - it brings it back to a point about how violence in reality has horrible consequences, no matter how cartoony it may seem in our media.

Plus, it sets up the rescue scene later on, which I laughed pretty much the whole way through, it was so ridiculous.

Also, this movie needs to be seen for the excellent performance by Willem Dafoe, he was funny as hell. The only character I didn't really think fit well was Goldblum's character (although he also served as a great example of how purposefully cartoony and unrealistic the violence was, during the rescue scene, where he's running across the island with a gunshot wound to the chest, and just stands there during a subsequent shoot out.

I think there's a lot more going on in this movie than what's apparent at first.

[Richardo]

10. I think so, too.

I'm going to have to see it again to see how all the parts fit, and why certain scenes were included.

[Dora]

11. Saw it and liked it

I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Rushmore, but I thought it was head and shoulders above The Royal Tenenbaums.

I thought it had some of Bottle Rocket's nuance which I appreciated. There is a level of outright silliness that's so sincere I have to applaud it.