Wes Anderson's LIFE AQUATIC Reviewed!!!

By Wind(up)bird on 2004-06-10 17:14:19

Editor's Note: We didn't write this. ?It originally appears on aintitcool.com. ?A warning to readers: ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? SPOILERS BELOW DAMNIT!!

I'm gonna start off by saying BILL MURRAY IS GOD!!! I didn't particularly enjoy Lost in Translation, but i'm telling you He's getting another oscar with this one!! His character Steve Zissou was just amazing! He's a dick, but you can't help but love him for it!! I won't go too deep into the plot because, well, there's just too much to get into, It's funny, exciting, and dramatic, which makes the flow of the film perfect. I never found myself looking at my watch, or wondering how it would end, because you just don't have time to!! There's so much going on, and it just grabs you from the get-go! Anyway let me dive into some of the characters a little bit for you:

Owen Wilson as Ned Plympton: MAGNIFICO!! His best performance yet!! Though, he sports a Southern accent that, at times, seems to come and go, but it's not distracting. He's no Dignan, but he's still damn good!

Willem Dafoe as Klaus Daimler: OH MY SHIT PANTS!! Ok whatever you're thinking, if you like him or not, if you think he's super creepy looking, well your right about one thing, he is goddamn creepy looking, but HOLY SHIT is his character just PERFECT!! He's plays a person that you will absolutley not expect him to play, and goddamn is he good at it...My second favorite performance next to Bill Murray. Funny as hell!! I think it's ok that Kumar Pallana isnt in this one, as long as we have Klaus Daimler to fill the void of clueless foriegn characters that Wes Anderson loves so much.

Cate Blanchett as Jane Winslett-Richardson: GREAT! just GREAT! She plays the Rosemary Cross from Rushmore type character in this one. Both Bill Murray and Owen Wilson's characters have a thing for her. Which adds to some tension later on in the film....But i won't give any of it away...But she becomes a member of the "crew" as a reporter getting the scoop on Bill Murray's going-ons.

Anjelica Huston as Eleanor Zissou: She plays Bill Murray's sister, she's a bit unsupportive of Steve, but you'll see why when you see it. She just keeps getting better, she's like fine wine!!

Jeff Goldblum as Hennessey: Steve Zissou's nemesis!! GODDAMN I LOVE GOLDBLUM!! He's PERFECT!! PERFECT!! ok, seriously though, I won't say another word about his performance, you'll have to see him in action for yourselves!!!

ok and now on to some of the technical aspects of the film:

HENRY SELICK!!! OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN!!! OK the print we saw was a "rough cut" but MAN OH MAN THE EFFECTS WERE SOOO DAMN COOL!! I'm telling you guys, this stuff is great!! It's all stop motion animation, no CGI here, well, maybe there was some CGI...but for the most part ALL of the underwater creatures were stop motion animated puppets!! Very cool looking indeed!! I'm glad he went with stop motion, and not CGI for the creatures!! Three cheers for Henry Selick! HIP HIP HOORAY!!! I think this definately makes up for Monkey Bone......well....i dunno we'll see about that....

Oh and one more thing, they sure as hell used some original music from Mark Mothersbaugh!! And if what i heard was final score, then folks, your in for some damn good stuff!! I can't wait to pick up this soundtrack!!! And I know how strongly some of you feel about Wes Anderson soundtracks!! It's different from his other scores, you'll notice right away, but holy shit its soooo good!! Well i will say this, i didnt hear any Rolling Stones, but my ears did perk up when i heard Radiohead's Everything in it's Right Place, in one of the most AMAZING shots i've EVER seen on film!! Ok, i'll let this one slip: The scene is Steve Zissou's HUGE boat cut in half with a side view of all the rooms, and gadgets it sports! Sort of like when we see all of the clubs Max belongs to in Rushmore, we're treated to a cool montage of all the rooms and special areas of the boat...just stunning work....all of it. And the score, absolutely amazing...shit is that some sort of record for saying "amazing" in a review? whatever.....

Alright so, maybe this isnt the best review you've read, no plot outline, no intelligent babble about character development, or camera angles.....just go see it when it comes out. I assure you, it won't be dissapointing. Oh and my only complaint? I have to wait till December 25th to see it again, which is the official release date, according to someone who was "close" to Wes Anderson.

you can call me, Mistersh0w.

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