The not-as-funny-ness of Aquatic struck me too, hayden. I was impressed, though, with how connected I felt to it without constant humorous dialogue bits, because it reminded me that Anderson's films have really great straight dialogue, period.
Hermanos! The devil has built a robot!
Numero Cinco ,'The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco'
Buffista Movies 3: Panned and Scanned
A place to talk about movies--Old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Mr. Broom - Dec 27, 2004 8:53:51 am PST #7397 of 10001
"When I look at people that I would like to feel have been a mentor or an inspiring kind of archetype of what I'd love to see my career eventually be mentioned as a footnote for in the same paragraph, it would be, like, Bowie." ~Trent Reznor
DavidS - Dec 27, 2004 8:58:16 am PST #7398 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I haven't seen it yet, but the local review glommed on to the fact that Owen Wilson didn't co-write on this project, and that it showed up in The Life Aquatic. I can definitely imagine that was a factor. Interviews I've seen with WA make clear how seamless and fruitful the collaboration has been for him.
Dana - Dec 27, 2004 9:04:36 am PST #7399 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
It wasn't as funny as I expected, and more gorier than I'd anticipated.
That's a shame, Alicia. I watched it over the holidays and laughed myself silly.
Hayden - Dec 27, 2004 9:11:29 am PST #7400 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I feel the same way about the dialogue, Mr. Broom. Even when it was a bit arch or stilted, it completely worked for me within the cartoonish and artificial framework of the movie.
And yeah, David, I think the lack of OW as co-writer brought this one down a few notches. The theater where we saw Life Aquatic showed a good chunk of the original 5-minute b&w short for Bottle Rocket, which freakin' rocked. Owen & Luke Wilson were funnier in 5 minutes than the entirety of Life Aquatic.
DavidS - Dec 27, 2004 9:19:38 am PST #7401 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
And yeah, David, I think the lack of OW as co-writer brought this one down a few notches. The theater where we saw Life Aquatic showed a good chunk of the original 5-minute b&w short for Bottle Rocket, which freakin' rocked. Owen & Luke Wilson were funnier in 5 minutes than the entirety of Life Aquatic.
Of course, it's difficult to tell exactly what Owen's contributions have been to the scripts. But listening to his commentary on the Rushmore DVD you got a sense that his and WA's loopiness and ideas about the comic possibilities of social violations were similar. But also that Owen was a bit more humane, affectionate, self-deprecating, and that WA was more schematic, detail oriented, fixated on the production vision.
Jars - Dec 27, 2004 10:33:11 am PST #7402 of 10001
Aw, the kongisking.net chaps have put up a Christmas message - [link]
sumi - Dec 27, 2004 7:09:45 pm PST #7403 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!
My s-i-l told me that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston bought the movie rights to The Time-Traveler's Wife.
DebetEsse - Dec 27, 2004 8:55:48 pm PST #7404 of 10001
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Ooooh. No. I mean, yay for a movie (it's one of those books where halfway through, I started an outline for the movie), but no. Just no.
Alibelle - Dec 28, 2004 1:13:46 am PST #7405 of 10001
Apart from sports, "my secret favorite thing on earth is ketchup. I will put ketchup on anything. But it has to be Heinz." - my husband, Michael Vartan
No you don't want them in it? Or no, you don't want them to have any part of it?
Didn't Brad buy the rights to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and that's how this movie got made? (Honest question. I'm only half recalling a vague conversation about it.)
Kate P. - Dec 28, 2004 5:07:30 am PST #7406 of 10001
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
I definitely would not watch them in it. Not that I have a particular hate-on for either of them, but IMO they are all wrong for a movie adaptation of the book.