Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

He started touring over in Austria, so I feel like I’m hearing him announced on MTV every other day... and honestly, I can't help but crack up whenever this part comes on:

Steve Zissou: Can you hear the Jack Whales singing?
Ned Plimpton: [Tanker goes off] Beautiful. I wonder what they're saying.
Steve Zissou: Well actually that's a Sludge Tanker over there...
[Several whales sing]
Steve Zissou: There you go!

I’ve always found Anderson’s sense of humor to be right up my alley; I had such a blast watching Rushmore and Tenenbaums, though I’m still carefully savoring every bit of Life Aquatic.

Richard Hernandez13 said:but I still find myself carefully re-watching Life Aquatic.

don't do that, otherwise the movie might actually end up being bad...

I guess movies are kind of like hookups

everything just needs to happen spontaneously 👍

slyrider16 said:I need to get my hands on that synth soundtrack ASAP.

Are you talking about that scene where Steve shows off an underwater Walkman to some reporter and ends up dancing a little?
Because that’s exactly what I’ve got on repeat right now. 😁

I found the whole movie hilarious. It felt like a total regression back to childhood—just bright, colorful, and pure fun. Like a buddy movie set in Wonderland.

kinda agree with quietdriver3. who even cares? 😁
honestly, I wish some random idiot wouldn't force me to research movies before watching them. i'd love to just show up blind without knowing anything... not even who directed or wrote it. that's how you get a real experience. 🙂

anyway, Life Aquatic is way different from Rushmore or the Tenenbaums if you ask me. those two actually had something to say... Aquatic is basically just one giant joke. the movie is crazier, more over-the-top, more caricatured (is that even a word? 😁). but it's good.

rajka said:You mean like when Steve shows some reporter an underwater Walkman and ends up dancing a little bit too?
Just listening to it now. 😁

I thought the movie was hilarious. Like, total childhood regression. Bright, colorful, and just good vibes. A buddy movie set in Wonderland.

Finally got it! 😁 Just typing here while nodding my head to the beat. oh yeah. gotta record this on a Walkman for my jogs, feels like perfect high-energy music for that... 🙂

slyrider16 said:so, I guess Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou feels pretty different from Rushmore or the Tenenbaums, at least to me. those other two movies seemed to have this deeper message the director was trying to get across... whereas aquatic feels more like just one big, giant prank. the movie is definitely crazier, maybe a bit over the top and exaggerated (is that even a word? 😁), but it's still good.

if I were to agree with you right now, I suppose 👍

I'd also mention that those iconic scenes paired with the soundtrack are really something you shouldn't miss

especially on the big screen 👍

quietdriver3 said:When it comes to movies, you’ve gotta approach it just like you would a wild night of passion.

Everything really needs to feel spontaneous, you know? 👍

Are you seriously trying to tell me you don't move a muscle when you're in bed? 😁

By the way, there's also this thread about Mr. Anderson.

Honestly, Anderson is kind of like the Pixies. Every new flick he puts out feels just a tiny bit weaker than the one before it, but since his debut was so incredibly good, everything following it still holds up pretty well. Though, I gotta say, this latest one is getting dangerously close to being the first Anderson movie that’s just... okay. It’s just average. There’s way too much "style" and not enough actual substance, plus that classic Anderson move where he treats the plot and characters with this ironic detachment that, in my opinion, went way too far this time around. In a lot of ways, Anderson is actually similar to Tarantino—about 40% of the movie is just great casting, and another 50% is built out of these highly constructed, reconstructed, and deconstructed pop culture references. Even Zissou himself isn't really a fully fleshed-out "character" (just like how the Tenenbaums weren't quite there, or Max in Rushmore), he’s more like a prototype inspired by Jacques Cousteau, an old-school filmmaker making movies about "life under the sea," mixed with the brilliant idea of having Bill Murray play him while wearing a Speedo in basically every other shot. Throw in some acoustic covers of Bowie's tracks in Portuguese (specifically his best stuff from Hunky Dory, Ziggy, and Aladdin), Dafoe playing some German engineer who's older than most dogs, Wilson looking blue as Murray's "unknown" son (who apparently flies for Air Kentucky... seriously?!!??!!?!), Jeff Goldblum as the high-tech nemesis, and a real-life scale model of the ship (which shows up for maybe 30 seconds but probably ate up 50% of the budget... a total classic Anderson set piece)... and you've got yourself some "weird shit," aka just another Anderson movie. He’s a bit like Altman, too... he takes his own flaws and turns them into strengths. For example, he doesn't really know how to direct action or physical comedy, but if you layer Search and Destroy by The Stooges over some loosely edited action, you end up with at least a solid comedy. Which is actually what this movie is. I went in feeling pretty skeptical, but the time flew by once I was actually in the theater.

And what about the other 10%?

Is there actually any talent involved here?

Douglas Robinson12 said:Anderson is basically the Pixies. Every new movie feels a tiny bit weaker than the last one—but since his debut was so incredibly good, even the stuff following it still holds up pretty well...

off topic:

But man, they absolutely kill it live. Saw them last year...
The energy is just unreal. A total spectacle. 🙂

Richard Hernandez13 said:So what about the other 10%?

Pure talent?

I mean, yeah... you've got that raw knack for mise-en-scène, framing, and just having that mental vision where you can actually see how everything is going to play out once you finally sit down at the editing bay. Honestly, if we're talking about the absolute legends behind the camera, that percentage isn't even 10%—it's way higher than that.

Douglas Robinson12 said:Anderson is kind of like the Pixies. Every new movie he puts out feels just a tiny bit weaker than the last one—but since his debut was so incredibly good, even his subsequent stuff still holds up quite well. To be honest, though, this latest one is getting dangerously close to being his first truly mediocre effort. There’s just too much "style" and not enough "substance," paired with that trademark Anderson approach of being "ironically detached" from the plot and characters, which really overstayed its welcome this time around. In many ways, Anderson is similar to Tarantino—about 40% of the movie is just the stellar casting, and another 50% is built out of these meticulously constructed, reconstructed, and deconstructed pop culture references. Even Zissou himself isn't exactly a "real" character (much like how the Tenenbaums or Max from Rushmore weren't really fleshed out individuals)—he's more of a prototype, a sort of Jacques Cousteau type, an old-school filmmaker obsessed with "life under the sea," blended with the brilliant idea of having Bill Murray play him while wearing a Speedo in almost every other shot. Throw in some acoustic covers of Bowie's songs in Portuguese (specifically his best tracks from Hunky Dory, Ziggy, and Aladdin), Dafoe playing a German engineer who's been around longer than a bloodhound, Wilson playing Murray's "unknown" son (who apparently flies for Air Kentucky... right?!), Jeff Goldblum as the high-tech nemesis, and a real-life model of a ship that's only on screen for thirty seconds but likely ate up 50% of the budget—a classic Andersonian set piece—and you've got yourself a "weird shit" experience, aka just another Anderson film. He’s a bit like Altman, too... he has this knack for turning his own flaws into strengths. For instance, he doesn't really know how to direct action or physical comedy, but if you layer Search and Destroy by The Stooges over some loosely edited action, you end up with at least a solid comedy. Which, in all fairness, is exactly what this movie is. I went in skeptical, but the time actually flew by once I was in my seat.

🙂

To movie is basically "the law" to you. Awesome. For me, though, it’s neither a masterpiece nor a total disaster. Can I actually try to explain that without just rambling on in a bunch of overly long, messy sentences? I honestly didn't realize this forum was exclusively reserved for people with >. By the way, I’ve gone ahead and softened things up by quoting my whole post, but honestly, there really wasn't a need for it.

Watched it yesterday.
Absolute genius.
The soundtrack is incredible—I seriously need it.
That part where he says he'll be 11 and a half in 12 years... man.
G E N I U S.

I caught The Royal Tenenbaums yesterday.

Just wanted to start a thread about it.

Maybe someone else wants to jump in with some thoughts or point out some cool Easter eggs?

Here’s my first take: the soundtrack for this movie is absolutely killer.👍

I caught Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou a couple of days ago...

My take?---->>>>EXCELLENT. I’d recommend it to anyone...

Bill Murray.......that effortless, cool approach he has to acting is just superb...
Cate Blanchett's performance was incredible (especially that sauna scene)
Owen Wilson....(that yank accent)
And those students..........the way S. Zissou uses them as free labor.......pure genius...
The topless crew members...
Those red beanies...........

A MUST-WATCH

Well, my worst fears have officially been realized.

Honestly, the movie was just a total letdown. I walked away feeling like the whole thing was cobbled together—and I mean really haphazardly assembled—from a bunch of half-baked ideas. It felt as though the director himself was trying to figure out what the story was actually about while the cameras were rolling. Nothing could save it; not the art direction, not those cute little nods to red caps, Adidas sneakers, and Speedo trunks, nor the ensemble cast where nobody seemed to know how to play their part. You had some actors leaning into caricatures, others trying to act as little as possible, and then there’s Murray just leaning into his usual deadpan routine.
The entire project feels like one uninspired concept: "Hey, let's remake the Tenenbaums, but this time set them at the beach!" ... and that's basically all there is to it.

The only bright spots were Bowie's songs in Portuguese and the incredibly sexy, curvaceous Cate Blanchett. 😍

Man, there are just so many different takes on this. Personally, I think Anderson is great simply because he doesn't bother with conventional reality. It’s honestly such a blast watching his stuff, and I had a particularly good time with Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

I haven't scrolled through every single comment here, so I'm not sure if anyone else brought up the fight scene where they're running from those pirates. But honestly, that whole scrap
is so ridiculously cliché that it actually becomes fantastic.

🙏

ironcanyon7 said:I haven't caught every single thread—so I'm not sure if anyone has touched on the fight scene where they're fleeing the pirates. Regardless, that whole sequence
is so incredibly cliché that it becomes brilliant.

🙏

And don't even get me started on the other one—when they land on the pirate island.

My personal favorite remains the bit with Goldblum, Murray, and that three-legged dog on Goldblum's boat—specifically when he hits the dog with a newspaper. 😁