THE LIFE AQUATIC discussion (No Spoilers)

I can't wait to see this. Combining the director of two of my favourite movies and sharks is a genius idea. Add Bill Murray and I'm definitely drooling for this. The trailer was also awesome.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. All the "cool" ingredients in the trailer are put into the film like someone put notes in a jar and then shook it... total mess.

It's possible Anderson fixed the awful pacing and structure problems, but the inherent story is just balls. Admittedly, I didn't like his other films. But this is a "love it or hate it" type of movie. It's probably his least accesible film and I can't imagine anyone outside of his diehard fans liking it.

Nope. Noah Baumbach had a part in the writing.

Where is all of this bad buzz coming from? Everyone is referring to it but I've heard nothing bad except for Colt45. And let's face it, he doesn't count.

Thanks for admitting that. I can now completely disregard your savage review of what appears to be another superlative film from one of my very favorite directors.

Of which you haven't seen, so it'll be great no matter what anyone says because you're convinced it's nothing but genius. That's okay, not knocking you... actually I was excited about seeing it because I want to like at least ONE Anderson film (actually I dug Rushmore, so I should say LOVE at least one Anderson film), but it's his worst, by far. Murray wasn't kidding.

Murray wasn't kidding about what?

Looks great, I think.

Please note that I said what APPEARS to be a superlative film. As an Anderson fan, everything that I love about his work seems to be in place from what I've seen/read. The cast. The camerawork. The quirky plot and characters. The dialogue. Add in the Costeau elements (I love the ocean and am fascinated by all of the strange wildlife inhabiting it; for me, this subject matter and backdrop is as exciting as Anderson doing a superhero film could be to other people) and it seems like it couldn't be any more up my alley.

Maybe it really does suck. I just haven't read or seen a single thing to give that indication thus far.

Wilson? I like Owen Wilson.

KICKING AND SCREAMING is great. I rented it several times, but it has never made it to DVD so I haven't seen it in years.

Looks good to me, but I'm a sucker for ocean movies and anything crafted by Wes Anderson.

I love the absurd poignancy of Anderson's other films. Each becomes richer with repeated viewings, and all are kind of depressing, yet uplifting at the same time.

Wes Anderson's films are critic-proof for me. Short of people screaming in the streets that this film rips the eyes out of newborn babies, I'll be there.

So wait, Colt45 didn't like Wes Anderson's other films, but now realizes that he loves Rushmore?

I was wondering if and when Anderson was going to switch things up a bit. The guy has a unique style, to say the least, but was I thinking that after three servings maybe things would start seeming just a tiny bit stale. The trailer for this hints at a movie that seems to fit well into Anderson's world, but it also feels just a little bit different. A lot less self-contained, I guess. A lot bigger. If there are problems with the flick, maybe it's from this branching out. Or maybe it's because Wilson didn't cowrite - though I imagine he had some input. Anyway, lots of good stuff in that trailer. Hope the movie lives up.

Look, there's no need to try and comfort yourself by proving I don't like Anderson films. Just because I gave it a nagative review doesn't mean you wont like it. I'm simply giving you the perspective of someone who doesn't worship Anderson's films. Because this is his most idiosyncratic, people are either going to think it's the second coming or walk out of the theater. I didn't walk out because it was a free screening and I had to fill out the comment card at the end. They told us the film was done for the most part, just needed some work on the CGI, etc... as it stands, I hated it, but realize this is coming from someone who doesn't adore his work. He's an okay filmmaker. But this film is just a train wreck to me. Please don't go into raving fanboy mode and think one negative review scuffs the polished gold that is Wes Anderson.

Take comfort in this... if you like Anderson's films then you'll probably think this is his best. If you're indifferent or don't like them, then who knows? Could go either way, but I seriously don't see the mainstream digging this AT ALL. Just waaaaay too offbeat, even moreso than Royal, but like I said, that may be a good thing for Anderson fans.

You'll either be totally with the film or ready to walk out before the first scene is even finished IMO. That's how different it is.

In the other thread you said, "Didn't I call Rushmore quirky and cute? I actually dig the film, just don't think it's anything great."

So what film do you LOVE of his? I'm confused.

I never said I love Rushmore, I said I thought it was okay.

No, no, no... lol, what I meant was that I simply thought Rushmore was okay, so I don't simply want to LIKE an Anderson film (I do), I want to LOVE one. It hasn't happened yet.

You say that like you realize there's something wrong with you for NOT liking Anderson's films more.

Not my intention, but if you wanna read it that way....

Not sure which movie you're thinking about, but it's not Kicking and Screaming. Stolz is in a supporting role as a philosophical bartender who's been going to college for about a decade. He keeps his junk safely tucked away for the whole movie. It's primarily about a few recent, overeducated college graduates who aren't quite ready to move on. I love it, but I can see why some might not. Intelligent and quirky dialogue can come off as "pretentious" to some people. Baumbach should be a great match for Anderson, as they have a lot in common in the dry wit department.

The way I see it, Anderson's been steadily getting better. He did one good movie, then a very, very good movie, then one that I think is turning into one of my favorites of all time. I've wanted to see Life Aquatic since I heard about it, and, even if the trailer had sucked, I'd be going. As it turns out, the trailer's very encouraging.

You're right about never saying you love Rushmore, I'm crazy. I can't read. Just get this monitor away from me.

Anderson's a genius. This movie is looking great. Nuff said.

Since when does what "the mainstream" likes mean anything? Have they EVER liked an Anderson flick? The mainstream have made Adam Sandler a multi-millionaire. The mainstream can go fuck itself.

Trailer looks like great fun. Looking forward to this one, hope it delivers.

Agreed. I appreciate Colt's perspective, but I hope the mainstream never discovers Wes Anderson. He's our little secret.

Looks great from what I saw, aside from the shitty mediaplayer streaming it looked like it had the usual Anderson touches. Murray and Anderson = comedy gold. Murray's going to deadpan his way through this whole movie and he'll be fucking hysterical.

Can anyone help me out in identifying any of the songs in the trailer? I love Anderson's eclectic soundtrack choices and I'd appreciate any info on the ones we've heard so far.

Also, Bill Murray's cap looks like a condom.

Looking forward to this flick, even if I think Anderson is overrated. He makes nice little funny films, it's the Hollywood mediocrity around him that highlights him.

But this story and Bill Murray together do sound like it could be an entertaining film, especially if he drops the soap-ish elements from his previous two films and makes something a bit less melodramatic. Then we could have a gem on our hands.

The last song is "Starman" by David Bowie, off of the Ziggy Stardust album. I don't know the other ones, but I think somebody mentioned that one was a Devo song.

Song one: Devo - Gut Feeling
Song two: New Order - Ceremony
Song three: David Bowie - Queen Bitch...?
Song four: Seu Jorge - Starman
Song five: David Bowie - Starman

Thanks, both of you!

I had no idea Knockout Ned was in this movie until I saw the trailer. I think this is definitely the best cast Anderson has assembled thus far, eclipsing even Tenenbaums.

The one-sheet: http://www.impawards.com/2004/life_a...ve_zissou.html

Very cool one-sheet. I love that shot in the trailer, and it works perfectly for the poster seeing as how it pays lip service to both the main players and the premise of the film.

The Poster: I love it. The Royal Tenenbaums poster somehow made a static group photo interesting and this does the same with what is essentially a head-on shot. Provided I like the movie, I 'd gladly hang this in my apartment.

I keep wondering why there's not more discussion going on in this thread, but then I realize that we're not getting this film until DECEMBER.

This is just as bad as waiting for the next LOTR flick.

Hey! Any idea when we can expect the soundtrack for this?

I never checked out the trailer but I saw it with shaun of the Dead and it looked excellent, I never got into Wes' first films such as Rushmore, I lost disc 1 of RT so haven't watched it in a while, [Ben Stillers character in that was just so sad to watch in it] Life Aquatic seems to be a very wild ride, love the bit with the rabbit ears and the fact he states the scientific purpose as revenge, that and using a bunch of handguns on a shark is something you'd expect from a Monty Python skit.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchs..._life_aquatic/

Probably a few weeks before or after the film's release.

Well, yeah, I was just wondering if anybody had a solid date yet.

It comes out christmas Day so Assue it's the tuesday before that, or two weeks before that.

Sorry i can't give you good information, that's as far as I can get i tried Hollywood Records seeing how they did the Tenebaum one but they list nothing on it

I tried though Zero

Thanks. It's not a big deal anyway, but I'm looking forward to it, if it's anywhere near as good as the soundtracks for all their other movies.

Yes, you are probably right about that.

After seeing the trailer I was curious to know how much CGI they use for the underwater creatures. You mentioned it was unfinished from what you saw, but how much was in the screening you saw?

I like all of the Anderson films I've seen so far, and the trailer looks great.

I'm not a huge Bill Murray fan but I don't think that will take away from my experience too much, I'll be checking this out in December.

I read somewhere that it's not CGI, but instead Anderson wanted to use stop motion animation.

Correct. Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) is in charge of the visual effects in the film.

Yea, I looked at it again and my apologies to Mr. Selick for assuming it was CGI.

new footage on yahoo movies:

http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/featu...evezissou.html

good stuff. i especially like the dafoe bits.