The Life Aquatic

[av-man]

Watched this DVD (at least part of it) last night. Usually movies impress me with their audio but this one had the best video Ive seen in quite a while. It was almost HD in looks because the colors were so vivid. The movie was not very good but I'll probably add it to my Demo selections.

 

[Tom Andry]

OT: Sort-of

The movie was not very good but I'll probably add it to my Demo selections.

Haven't seen the movie (yet, in Netflix cue) but on the broad subject of Demo movies - I think there is a fine line.

[begin rant]I had a friend over the other night and the first movie he saw in my (admittedly small) collection was Titan AE. Now, I thought that movie was a total dog. Complete waste of time. But I heard the sub hits were good and I saw it on sale at Target for <$5 so I impulse bought it. Now, my friend sees it and immediately dismisses my taste in movies. I try to explain why and for how much I bought it but to no avail. Anyone that would own that POS can't possibility know anything about movies, or so my friend says. And to a certain extent, I agree with him. I mean, it's not like Titan AE is the ONLY movie out there with great LFE material, there has got to be some with great LFE and a good plot, acting, etc. I've seen a number of lists on this (and other) website listing great sounding movies and many (if not most) of them include movies that I literally would not want to sit through again no matter how good they sound. Surely, we can come up with titles that are both good movies AND good sounding. [/end rant]

 

[Rob Babcock]

I really liked Titan AE, and not just as a demo. But I like animation.

 

[nav]

Off on a tangent: the animation in Appleseed impressed me very much. Animation is easier to make "perfect" than real life, but still ... The movie itself was just okay, but I'm going to buy a copy just for the video. I couldn't really enjoy the sound as much because I was watching it in the middle of the night and I live in an apartment .

 

[MDS]

I liked Titan AE as well.

Anyone that would own that POS can't possibility know anything about movies, or so my friend says.

I'm sorry but that is about the dumbest thing anyone could say. So let's say you like heavy metal and your friend doesn't and when he hears you playing Iron Maiden, he says 'Anyone that would listen to that crap doesn't know anything about music'. Lots of people like Iron Maiden and lots of people like Titan AE, does that 'prove' anything about those peoples knowledge of music or movies? Of course not. It's personal likes and dislikes, that's it.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Yeah, and Titan AE got pretty good reviews. Perhaps your friend is the one who doesn't know anything about movies!

 

[kay]

Hey, for the first time I find people that liked Titan AE also! I loved Titan AE! Most of my buddies hated it for some reason. No idea why, I thought it was a cool movie

I watched The Life Aquatic at the cinema - awesome film! Would love to own it once released here.

 

[SilverMK3]

"We'll call it 'Bob'," lol.

I find that most animated movies seem to have a lot of great LFE and surround effects. Probably because the audio engineers have to create the environments from scratch.

nav:
Appleseed had incredible animation. Very good sound on the Japanese Dolby 5.1 soundtrack too (though I couldn't understand any of the dialog, lol). I haven't seen the new dubbed version yet.

Anyway, back to the main topic. The Life Aquatic was a decent movie. Very eccentric, but entertaining nonetheless!

 

[RMK!]

Life Aquatic

Don't get me wrong, I like quirky but this is a snore. I put it in the Royal Tannenbaums (sp?) film category. Too clever for a simpleton like me.

 

[JiveMiguel]

Don't get me wrong, I like quirky but this is a snore. I put it in the Royal Tannenbaums (sp?) film category. Too clever for a simpleton like me.

They are both directed and written be Wes Anderson. He also did rushmore and bottle rocket. I have all of these movies in my DVD collection. I love them all for their own reasons, but will admit that they take a certain mood to be appreciated.

 

[Takeereasy]

This movie "The Life Aquatic" has one of the best speeches ever. Panel Question: You say you want to hunt and kill the shark. What is the scientific purpose of that? Answer: Revenge. Panel statement: We'll fund your expedition but you have to promise not to kill the shark: Bill Murray: O.K., I'll find the shark and fight it, but I'll let it live. Now can I have my dynamite? All of that is paraphrased of course.

This movie was really in the vein of Rushmore. By the way Rushmore has one of my favourite one liners as well. The student is out to dinner with his teacher (who's he's in love with), Bill Murray, and his teachers date. The teacher's date works in an emergency room and shows up in scrubs to dinner at a fancy resteraunt. The student makes a comment like, "thanks for dressing up" to which the date replies, "these are my O.R. scrubs. The student looks at him and says "Oh, Are they?" Guess you had to see it to think it was funny. Even then an aquired taste I guess.

 

[stratacuse]

I wouldn't say Wes Anserson movies are an acquired taste, you either get them or you don't.

"The Life Aquatic" is typical WA. Take a rather clinical or somber situation and insert the oddest yet interesting characters and follow them through, not just the exciting parts of the storyline, but also the rather mundane as well.

After a while you become more interested in the little interaction stories and character studies, flaws and all. Then we get to watch them go through some rather campy, (and trippy) action adventures (At least in the case of The Life Aquatic). It's really silly stuff.

BTW, Titan AE is an AWESOME movie! Great animation and a pretty cool story line. It didn't do well at the BO, and it lost money big time. But another animated movie that was poorly recieved and is comparable in entertainment quality was The Iron Giant.

 

[Audiosouse]

Bottle Rocket

What's Bottle Rocket like? I've enjoyed all WA's films. This is going to sound snooty, but the majority of plebeian's will never enjoy nor understand a film like The Life Aquatic, Lost in Translation or Rushmoore (Bill Murry rules!).

An enlightened individual is able to develop an appreciation for art in all its forms, though it may not reflet one's taste. A good film is not subjective (much like audio) because it can be quantified by it's cinematography, dialogue, story and character development (which WA's films have in spades).

Tons of great flicks falter at the box office like the previously mentioned Iron Giant (one of the best animated films ever) and Titan A.E.. I mean, most people have never even heard of Equilibrium! So don't worry if your buddy thinks Titan's a POS, get really drunk, dumb yourself down and spin Van Helsing for him.

 

[MDS]

A good film is not subjective (much like audio) because it can be quantified by it's cinematography, dialogue, story and character development (which WA's films have in spades).

IMO, 'quantitative' aspects of a film are only relevant to those interested in the 'art of movie-making'. I am not as interested in movies as I am in music and there are plenty of films that others have raved about for its great cinematography, story, and character development that I personally think are downright boring.

I just watched Kill Bill, Volume 1 for the first time. Many have raved about it - I thought it was boring and the fight scenes were way too long and unbelievable. The 'cinematography' was lost on me because it wasn't entertaining. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

I thought Iron Giant was a great movie. I have no idea if it meets the standards of great cinematography but it was entertaining and a pleasure to watch (to me).

 

[Takeereasy]

Stratacuse, everything in life is an aquired taste, including these movies. When I was young I watched the smurfs. When I was in highschool I watched Cheech and Chong (I still laugh at the "It's mostly Maui Wowie" routine in the car). Now I enjoy more cerebral films as well. How is that possible? I aquired a taste for them. Don't get me wrong, not everyone is going to get these films, but they are well made and the dialogue and acting are fantastic. So I have to disagree with you but in a good way. Don't think that because I point to the funny scenes in a movie that that is the only part I can understand, it's just that I love the wry humor in all of these movies. It just really speaks to me. I would have to say that my favourite of WA's movies is Rushmore. I talked about the OR speach because it was so damn good, and had me laughing out loud at home. That never happens, at least not very often. I was totally engrossed in that film. I just happen to be the kind of guy that can enjoy a challenging film for hours and then slip on Jay & Silent Bob strike back, turn my brain off, and enjoy the stupid. It's all good, and it's all an aquired taste.

Audiosouce is right. Bill Murray is the coolest SOB on the face of the planet. He is a fantastic actor, and one of the funniest people alive. Who wouldn't want to party with that guy? I do disagree with you wholeheartedly about films not being subjective, no matter how well made. If well respected movie critics can disagree over the merits of a movie then why can't everyday people? Everyone knows movie critics are smarter than you or I, what with there BA's or masters in Philosophy, or Film School Diplomas (I hear they come with a paper hat and a fries scooper now). I won't pretend to know all of the subtlties of film making, but I have no trouble grasping plots or undercurrents or themes or symbolism, or morals. It's true somtimes parts of a movie will go unappreciated by much of the general public, but that's true of an episode of the Simpsons.

 

[sts9fan]

"The student makes a comment like, "thanks for dressing up" to which the date replies, "these are my O.R. scrubs. The student looks at him and says "Oh, Are they?" Guess you had to see it to think it was funny. Even then an aquired taste I guess"

The first line from Max is " I like you nurse's uniform guy" Which is by far one of my favorite lines.

I love WA films and bottle rocket is wonderful. Owen Wilson puts on an amazing preformance in it. One of the funniest characters ever.

"How does an asshole like Bob get such a great kitchen?"

 

[Takeereasy]

Thanx STS, that's right. That is just one funny scene. Come on, when he said "Oh, are they?" didn't you laugh?

 

[Spiffyfast]

I have to say I really liked Life Aquatic, most of my friends hated it though. Personally I think they just didn't get some of the humor in the movie, but to each their own.