Life Aquatic

jpbankesmercer

jpbankesmercer

Director Mod
I know Wes Anderson has this slow heartfelt comedy style but i like it.
Especially when Bill Murray took the boat/ island by force.
Anyone else?
 
It was intriguing - I don't know if I actually liked it, because I'm not sure I "got it" on the first viewing. I'll be checking it out again though - I was laughing consistently throughout.
 
I enjoyed it though it was slow at times. Loved the kind of mock documentary style in a Cousteau like parody. If you grew up on Jacque Cousteau's diving specials, you get this flick.
 
Wes Anderson continues to amaze me. I loved this film and find it to be his greatest accomplishment to date. In me eyes, with each successive film, he seems to be getting better and better.

I am really excited to see what he's got up his sleeve next time. Perhaps...a Triceratops?
 
Anderson is one of my top 5 favorite living directors, but I have to say this was a bit of a disappointment. Owen Wilson's character was an interesting turn for him, though I can't escape the feeling that it was a dramatic waste of his talent. Murray was brilliant as usual, as was Jeff Goldblum.

I think the real issue with this movie was that the pacing never felt quite sure of itself. At several points this was dying to just be lighthearted and hilarious in the tradition of Wes' older work, but it almost seems like he kept pulling back at these moments, trying to restrain himself for the sake of the more "mature" plot threads.

What this left is a movie straggling between two conceptual movements that never quite synched; whereas The Royal Tennenbaums felt brilliantly self-assured in its vision, this came off as almost cluttered and unecessarily broad in scope. That may be attributable to Noah Baumbach's involvement as co-writer (I have yet to see any of his older films but I've gotten the impression that he's a bit of a hack), or possibly just transitional growing pains on Anderson's part.

Regardless, this was still a brilliantly imaginative, wholly unique film that's well worth watching for that fact alone, and also relatively well-executed in the grand scheme of things. I think it's just further testament to the unparalleled talent of Wes that one of his weakest films is still one of the most enjoyable and absorbing of the year.
 
Thartley, you are always welcome but you gotta watch it!
I did think the Tennenbaums was slicker, I laughed out-load more. I love Anderson for getting thease type of films made...do you think they speak more to an older audience, not to cast any doubts around the room?
 
Thanks, I just bumped it up on my queue above Happenstance for the number one position. If they speak more to an older audience, then I will have a direct hotline number. I'll let you know. :)
 
Loved it. But i think it was because Bill Murray. The guy is a genius. I agree the story was very lighthearted but funny. I want that theme song! Murray's dance to it had me blinded with laughter.
 
Wes Anderson is one of my favorites too.

I really liked the life aquatic though not as much as Rushmore.

Every time I see Rushmore I love it more and more (easily in my top ten all time).

Chris
 
It's my new favorite movie -- my brother gave me the DVD and saw it for the 2nd time last night.

I caught a lot of things that I missed the first time around -- Murray is one pot smoking mo' fo'. There's one scene where he is doublin' up the rolling paper to make it extra wide.

Of course the soundtrack rocked! Brazilian musician Seu Jorge singing Bowie in Portuguese -- wow. I'm gonna get the sound track. BTW, Jorge has a new CD coming out.

Wes Anderson is my new fav. director -- I thought Bottle Rocket was his weakest (I believe it was his first ?).
 
Like a couple of others have said, I was a little disappointed. That's only because my expectations for Anderson are so high. By no means did I dislike it, just not up to par with Bottle Rocket or Tenebaums for my tastes. I thought Willem Dafoe was hilarious at times and I absolutely loved the shots showing a cross-sections of the ship - brilliant set.

Also, some of the CG sealife (fish and seahorse) didn't work for me at all. A little distracting for no good reason.

But Wes Anderson rocks nonetheless.
 
dustino said:
Also, some of the CG sealife (fish and seahorse) didn't work for me at all. A little distracting for no good reason.
Click to expand...

are you sure it was CG? could it have possibly been stop motion? :undecided
 
It's grown on me with repeated viewings.

Statmaster 4000:
This is the fourth thread in Film Discussion about Life Aquatic.
 
i agree with the poster that said the pacing was off. This movie truly was not sure of itself. And I think that's represented in the ridiculous running time. Might be wrong but I think it was over 2 hours (felt like 9). The problem for me is that I just didn't care about his friend who died. Who was this guy? I have no idea. So there was no real meaning to his 'revenge' on the shark, at least in my eyes.

i will say that the soundtrack was freaking AWESOME. And I liked the storming of the beach scene. Anderson's great at this **** (reminded me of Bottle Rocket a little). Owen Wilson, I'm afraid, is a one-note actor, and he continues to play emotions and dialogue in that understated style to the point where you just want to SHAKE HIM and say WAKE THE **** UP! And I'm afraid that Anderson continues to repeat himself. There's a difference between staying true to your style and growing as a filmmaker. If i see one more straight-on staged shot of all the actors staring at the camera for no reason at all I'm going to kill Ben Stiller (don't know why him, just needed someone). Challenge yourself man. Try something different.

Rushmore is and always will be in my top 5.
 
ST_ said:
are you sure it was CG? could it have possibly been stop motion? :undecided
Click to expand...

They were stop-motion.

The unusual sea creatures that appear throughout the film were created by stop-motion wizard Henry Selick, best known for directing Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.
Click to expand...
 
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