From all the set reports I heard, Bill Murray was miserable and cranky and not hiding it at all

Ah.... Even the best professional relationships must pass the honeymoon period.

Every interview, review, bit-o-gossip about Bill Murray these days seems to say Murray = cranktastic.

Maybe he should take up stained glass crafting or something. If you hate the gig, don't do the gig. Even for mortgage payments Bill! Stripes lovers like me would still buy your stained glass! Don't destroy the legacy!!

eta: all this to say...I haven't seen Aquatic either.

I went to see The Life Aquatic etc. on Christmas. I liked it quite a bit, even though it's Wes Anderson's least coherent movie. Word of warning: my wife, who was expecting a comedy, was very disappointed with it. It's not a very funny movie; most of the funniest parts are in the commercials. It would be more accurate to describe it as a sad and surreal movie with a few funny parts

I think I'm in the minority here because I thought it was hilarious. I'm biased because I love Wes Anderson films quite a bit, but I thought this was much funnier than The Royal Tenenbaums and probably as funny as Rushmore. How about the line "Don't point that gun at him - he's an unpaid intern." ? However, it was also definitely the most depressing Anderson movie so far with almost nothing going right for Zissou, the pirates, and OW's death.

I don't understand the mixed reviews it's getting, though. I think it's much more mature than Wes Anderson's previous films and Murray's performance is wonderful. Steve Zissou is a lot like Royal Tenenbaum and Max Fischer, but at the same time, I think he's the first Wes Anderson character to be a grandiose jerk, but also be completely aware that he is a grandiose jerk from the first frame to the last. He's so human. What I liked most about the movie was the defeat that's a permanent feature of Bill Murray's face. He can barely motivate himself, let alone his crew, but they still keep going. His art keeps getting more problamatic and even mediocre, but he (and his crew) can't give it up. I really loved this movie.

ETA: I meant the mixed reviews in the press, not by the buffistas.

Well, I'm editing this again, idiotically, to say that I guess I can see why it's not getting the usual Wes Anderson wunderkind response by the critics - it does meander a lot and seems to bob around aimlessly sometimes, but I think that's part of its charm. Not to everyone's taste, though, obviously.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Not a movie, but still -- Profit on DVD! Next summer!

I thought Before Sunset was just okay, largely because I found Ethan Hawke's character fairly annoying. (I think intentionally so, but it's still not a great trait in a two-person movie.) Julie Delpy deserves the praise, but the whole package didn't affect me half as much as Before Sunrise does.

And Jessica, I will second that EEEEEEE!.

Jessica, even without having seen a single episode, that gets a monstrous SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Maybe there's hope for the animated TICK? Or ACTION?

t /living in a fantasy world

No, that's not closing, is it?

In Praise of Dogville: [link]

Finally got to see Shaun of the Dead.

It's fairly gross and gory, in a "Doom" or "Mortal Kombat" video-game sort of way, but I guess that's only to be expected in a zombie movie.

Mostly it's just funny. I haven't laughed that long or that hard in quite some time.

I finally saw the Lemony Snicket movie.

My goodness, that was pretty. I would like a large art book dedicated to the art, set designs, costumes, and end credits please. Especially since that means I wouldn't have to sit through the actual movie again.

I *hated* Jim Carrey in this, and I'm mostly 'eh, whatever' about him. I also was cross about the changes to the books, the trumped-up happy(ish) ending, and the pacing of the movie seemed a bit off to me (and a lot off to Pete). The kids, however, were fabulous.

My problem with vonTrier is that I saw a documentary on the Making of The Idiots, and he was such an odious egomaniac that seemed to enjoy the hardship he inflicted on his actors that I haven't been able to bring myself to see another one of his films.

I know that there are probably a lot of directors who are even bigger odious egomaniacs (I'm looking at you James Cameron), but I have a real problem with people who treat other people like shit in the name of creating art when they are really just stroking their own massive egos.

It also doesn't help that I know where his films are going before I walk in the theatre.