the dance scene on the beach reminded me of Pierrot le Fou
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 June 2012 17:50 (eleven years ago) link
"FMF" is so good.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 June 2012 18:20 (eleven years ago) link
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WpvgDgqTvdQ/Tyd9QqvWytI/AAAAAAAAAZw/jErSooKJdnI/s1600/wolf:fox+.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 June 2012 18:21 (eleven years ago) link
There's Pierrot stuff all over this one (the scissors scene being another great example).
Caught this last night. This & FMF best 1-2 Anderson punch since his first two. Old people behind me thought Schwartzman was Sacha Baron Cohen. Young women next to me not ready for topless Bill Murray.
― Electro-Shock Rory (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 30 June 2012 18:45 (eleven years ago) link
I liked this but not much more than Rushmore or FMF. The script ran out of ideas in the last ten minutes (i.e. let's gather all the characters in a central location for a final time, for another climax).
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, June 30, 2012 12:37 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
there's some truth in this. the worst offender is life aquatic, where there are like eight climaxes all involving a grouping of nearly the entire cast.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 30 June 2012 21:44 (eleven years ago) link
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, June 30, 2012 12:50 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i'm 99% sure this was 100% intentional.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 30 June 2012 21:45 (eleven years ago) link
and if it wasn't Anderson has to refine his methods.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 June 2012 21:51 (eleven years ago) link
is it just me, or has he gotten a lot worse at achieving seamless tonal shifts? the murray/mcdormand marriage stuff felt kind of jarring in the context of the rest of the movie. especially as compared to tennenbaums, where he was able to glide back and forth between deadpan hilarity and much darker territory without creating any sense of disjointedness.
― buh, Monday, 2 July 2012 00:38 (eleven years ago) link
idk i remember something with an Elliott Smith song that was pretty jarring but it probably was supposed to be
― Fas Ro Duh (Gukbe), Monday, 2 July 2012 00:45 (eleven years ago) link
It was jarring because it was an injection of a contemporary song.
I think it's important not to overlook having Owen Wilson as your writing partner vs. Roman Coppola or Noah Baumbach, both of whom have been hit or miss vs. Wilson. Though again, this and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" were pretty great, which sort of redeems those two vs. Wilson.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 00:46 (eleven years ago) link
i don't think it's been overlooked
― Number None, Monday, 2 July 2012 00:56 (eleven years ago) link
i must have missed all the ideas and jokes FMF was apparently brimming with
― Black_vegeta (Hungry4Ass), Monday, 2 July 2012 01:07 (eleven years ago) link
Huh? That movie is brimming with ideas and jokes!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 01:09 (eleven years ago) link
bad ideas and unfunny jokes
― Black_vegeta (Hungry4Ass), Monday, 2 July 2012 01:13 (eleven years ago) link
this wasn't a bad movie at all
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 2 July 2012 01:33 (eleven years ago) link
fmf sucked
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 2 July 2012 01:34 (eleven years ago) link
I prefer talking foxes to arch adults
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 01:36 (eleven years ago) link
otm
― buh, Monday, 2 July 2012 01:41 (eleven years ago) link
argh started reading thread but SPOILERS but s'ok, only got halfway through one sentence and scrolled down quickly.
i have never ever understood why people don't appreciate the life aquatic for the subtle, layered, bittersweetly ridiculous comic genius that it is. one of murray's best rolls, all time.
― messiahwannabe, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:07 (eleven years ago) link
not to mention willem dafoe
― messiahwannabe, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:08 (eleven years ago) link
because it's just awful
― caek, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:11 (eleven years ago) link
If you like The Life Aquatic at all your opinion cannot be trusted
― Number None, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:16 (eleven years ago) link
another one of bill murray's best rolls, all time:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/golf/www/release/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/gallery_images/murraysandwich_1000.JPG
― Ward Fowler, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:31 (eleven years ago) link
Where does this Life Aquatic film hate come from? I really don't see it as being significantly better or worse than his other films. Maybe it's the weakest link or something, but really, what about it makes it stand out as SO BAD?
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 July 2012 12:37 (eleven years ago) link
this picture sums it up
http://kpnv.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/zissou-rom.jpg
― Number None, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:39 (eleven years ago) link
no you're right, i don't think it was bad in qualitatively different way, it was just him being so much more wes anderson than in any of the others
rushmore > bottle rocket > tenenbaums > darjeeling > moonrise >> aquatic
xp loool
― caek, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:41 (eleven years ago) link
I think the hate springs from Murray's beret and its color.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 12:42 (eleven years ago) link
if find the "he needs owen wilson" back thing plausible, but is any of it based on anything more than "the good movies had owen wilson therefore..." correlation implying causation?
― caek, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:42 (eleven years ago) link
for me its based on - new wes isnt funny, owen's funny, therefore need owen.
― just sayin, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:44 (eleven years ago) link
this article does some speculating
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2005/07/the_o_factor.html
― Number None, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:46 (eleven years ago) link
i have found anderson's slippage into tics + mannerisms to be beautiful and even writerly. there's a certain hallowedness + stillness + meditation to moonrise whose genesis imo occurs in life aquatic (hated darjeeling) and i've found his distance from naturalism (which he's obv always found uncomfortable) to be more + more interesting. i suspect this accounts for the massive distance between the films i love by anderson (primarily these later ones) and the ones other ppl like. thought it wasn't a coincidence that the penultimate scenes of moonrise occur at a church, the two lightning strikes from heaven, etc. more stately than realistic.
maybe unrelated that credit card commercial was a big mistake since it kinda exposed how apolitical some of his homage artifice was (he can even pan the camera for Mastercard!), and cheapened some of the tricks.
― Mordy, Monday, 2 July 2012 12:54 (eleven years ago) link
See the tics and mannerisms are just part of the WA package for me. I remember seeing the trailer for Rushmore and thinking "Holy crap they are playing the live "A Quick One" from the 1968 Rock n Roll Circus and look at how weird and symmetrical everything is! This is going to rule!"
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 July 2012 15:22 (eleven years ago) link
I like to think that he's just doing his thing and this recognizable quality is what the ad producers snagged him for, so a) this is the cost of doing business in hollywood/tvland, and b) he's making mad cash so he can make weirder less "likeable" movies. I am an optimist obv!
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 15:29 (eleven years ago) link
He also did that commercial before making one movie in India and another entirely with stop motion.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 July 2012 15:38 (eleven years ago) link
Yes, proof!
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 15:54 (eleven years ago) link
I thought the whole point of those credit card ads was playing up all the director's quirks (M. Night, I'm looking at you).
― Electro-Shock Rory (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 2 July 2012 19:28 (eleven years ago) link
saw this over the weekend! thought is was great. only complaint is that keitel was underused!
― tylerw, Monday, 2 July 2012 19:32 (eleven years ago) link
Anderson's learned much from Woody's penchant for star non-turns.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 20:53 (eleven years ago) link
Frankly, I'm not sure how one even uses Keitel these days.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 July 2012 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
after seeing his photo in the khaki scout magazine in the beginning, i thought it would be interesting if anderson just used his picture, and keitel wasn't even in the movie.
― tylerw, Monday, 2 July 2012 21:02 (eleven years ago) link
i had no idea harvey keitel was in this. im suddenly interested!
― Black_vegeta (Hungry4Ass), Monday, 2 July 2012 21:10 (eleven years ago) link
he is underused!
― tylerw, Monday, 2 July 2012 21:12 (eleven years ago) link
but he's good. made me realize it had been forever since i'd sen harv in anything.
he's been underused for the last 12 years. the 90s were so kind to harvey, what happened!
― Black_vegeta (Hungry4Ass), Monday, 2 July 2012 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
The film's biggest disappointment is not using Keitel, McDormand, Balaban, etc as nothing more than visual cues.
― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 July 2012 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
*as anything
i dunno, i thought balaban was perfect. and mcdormand was great in that bathtub scene.
― tylerw, Monday, 2 July 2012 21:14 (eleven years ago) link
supposedly there's a photo of Owen Wilson (as Miss Cross' dead husband) in Rushmore somewhere. Never spotted it though
― Number None, Monday, 2 July 2012 21:15 (eleven years ago) link
The film's biggest disappointment is not using Keitel, McDormand, Balaban, etc as nothing more than visual cues. - this is a problem w/ wes anderson and actors in general, he knows how to use them as dolls but as human beings (post rushmore at least and maybe even then) forget it. when actors have actually made characters more than cartoon figures - bruce willis in this, mcdormand for the bathtub scene, and the big one gene hackman in tenenbaums - it's felt like an accident or, as we know in hackman's case, an actor deliberately ignoring what his director wants. i basically enjoyed this and think wes anderson should maybe focus on making actual kids flicks, children tend to come off as full of shit cartoon characters anyway. will add that watching this a few hours after finally reading that 'can a 9 year old be a psychopatch?' times piece was something, i kept thinking 'these kids are gonna get swept out to sea and we're supposed to think it's sad or tragic but all i'm going to think is 'thank god'.' still enjoyed it though - find myself way way way more willing to tolerate wes anderson (or woody allen) frothy mediocrities if they come out at a time of year where my other option is something like ted.
― balls, Monday, 2 July 2012 22:32 (eleven years ago) link
there is something family guy-esque about moonrise kingdom...
― Philip Nunez, Monday, 2 July 2012 22:39 (eleven years ago) link