A Vida Marinha com Steve Zissou

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a beautiful film. I'm ashamed to say that the first time I rented it I popped it out of the player after only a couple of minutes. I must have been in the mood for an action flick at the time. I gave the movie a second chance recently and was impressed by this film.

The actors are at the top of their form. Cate Blanchett's character is beautiful, pregnant, fiercely independent, and yet vulnerable. Murray is revealing how broad his range is once again. He shocked me with his talent in the remake of Hamlet, impressed me with Lost in Translation, and now somehow has combined the putz he often plays with an extremely complicated character that few other actors could manage.

The comedy is fantastically funny and is a fresh change from the 'Oh no, I plugged up the toilet' humor that has been so prevalent recently. It's still ludicrous at times and yet the viewer welcomes it and enjoys it.

Overall, I gave it a 9 out of 10. I highly recommend it and wait to see how Bill Murray will impress us in the future.

Billy Mintsopoulos

Listen, it isn't the most artsy film on earth. It doesn't have the richest plot ever. What it has is Bill Murray and Owen Wilson teaming up with Wes Anderson to portray a wonderful story. To like any of those three involved is to like this film. Definitely worth 2 hours out of any life, unless you'll be dying in less than 2 hours. This movie signifies the new way of storytelling for movies to come for years. The days of the old-fashioned drama starring a powerful actor, supported by wonderful character actors is over. To be a good movie anymore, the lead must have the capability to play more than himself in real life (i.e. Bruce Willis is always Bruce Willis). Bill Murray fits the mold perfectly, as he portrays the washed-up sea adventurer. Not to mention the wonderful cast around him, the best performance coming possibly from Willem Dafoe (who is great in every movie he's in).

I find this a hard movie to rate. Maybe a second viewing would make it easier. It's a odd film: one of these low-key black humor films which is a mixture of drama and comedy. What set this apart were a few other shocking scenes of violence, something not normally in this type of movie. For a comedy, albeit a tongue-in-cheek one, that violence doesn't seem to fit, but it makes the film all the more intriguing.

At times I was totally bored with this movie and at other times fascinated. I know one thing: this is a bizarre story! That automatically means it's a good vehicle for Bill Murray, who excels at wacky characters, event he low-key ones as he sometimes plays (i.e. Lost In Translation, The Royal Tenebaums, etc.). Speaker of the latter, this movie was written and directed by Wes Anderson, the same man who did "Tenenbaums." If you saw that, you have an idea of what you might get here, although I thought Royal Tenenbaums was far funnier.

At 118 minutes, this a bit long for what it offers. I'd like to have seen it 15 minutes shorter with a tighter script. But it does offer some good photography in addition to the strange story. This movie, as they say, is not for all tastes.

My favorite Wes Anderson movie. Very funny. It is sweet and Bill Murray along with the rest of the cast (esp. Dafoe) does some of their best work. The soundtrack (David Bowie songs) is really inventive and Willem Dafoe is hysterical as is Jeff Goldblum. I think this movie will be Anderson's biggest financial hit because it stays true to his style but is also understandable by people who don't usually "get" his type of humor. I don't really know what that other guy is talking about when he says that it isn't very funny. I saw it in a 300 person packed theater and everyone laughed the whole way through.

Something for people who are politically minded to watch out for and pay attention to are the scenes involving the pirates who storm Zissou's ship. When the passengers are taken hostage, it is really unsettling, especially given the current situations overseas.

Although one person I was with at the pre-screen hated it, I absolutely loved it. I think it will just be one of those kinds of films (but hey, I also loved "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" which this reminded me of). Pure crazy fantastical stuff and I was completely taken with it.

It's a visually beautiful film with loads of odd little CG touches and subtle visual gags. The cutaway tour of the ship was a classic. Murray gives an amazing, energetic, yet deadpan performance and I also liked the richness of the smaller roles like "Klaus." The soundtrack was quirky and wonderful with unexpectedly hilarious Bowie covers and pounding, rocking tracks in the action scenes.

I think the gorgeous locations, sets and props nearly steal the show--kind of reminded me of "Brazil" in that way and I think it is destined to become a cult film in the same way "Brazil" has.

I can't wait to take some friends of mine and see what they think once it opens--this is one of those movies that's so different and off the wall that it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Although I realize it's getting mixed reviews, I'll stick my neck out and call it a masterpiece.

Being old enough to have grown up with Jacques Cousteau, I felt Anderson really captured the look and feel he was after with the the "movie within the movie" sequences and the yellow typographical stuff was spot-on.

If, like me, you're bored with the usual metroplex fare, this odd, unexpected movie is for you. What a blast! Wheeeeee!