o Mission Impossible II: So dumb from the get-go that we never got past the opening sequence. I tried to consider whether it was because I know that Tom Cruise is such a dipshit, but I was able to enjoy his performances in other movies, like The Last Samurai, so that wasn't it. This was just a bad movie.
o 24: Another instance of "We want to know what all those TV-watchers are crowing about, so let's give it a try." I thought it stunk—Kiefer Sutherland did nothing for me, and I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the plot threads. Andy was likewise underwhelmed but is willing to give the next batch of episodes a try before he commits this one to the wastebin. Not me.
o The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: OK, I don't know what to say about this. If you, like me, appreciate Bill Murray's one-step-off brand of humor—and would love to see the likes of Anjelica Houston, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe following suit—then you will probably enjoy this. As I often do, let me quote Roger Ebert, who hits the nail on the head here:
My rational mind informs me that this movie doesn't work. Yet I hear a subversive whisper: Since it does so many other things, does it have to work, too? Can't it just exist? ... I can't recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it.
I don't always agree with Roger Ebert, but when I do, I really do. A month or two ago I read a terrific tribute to him somewhere, but I can't locate it now. Anyone, anyone?
I love a quirky film and have tried to watch "The Life Aquatic..." twice. For some reason, I have not been able to make it through the first half. I'll try it again.
Posted by: steve | July 31, 2007 at 01:46 PM
It is a really strange movie, and I can't put my finger on exactly what it is about it that worked and didn't work for me.
Posted by: Karen | July 31, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Like Steve just said...I like quirky and I really wanted to like The Life Aquatic but after a couple of passes, I started getting a bit ticked off by it. I think what happened was that it was a mess of a movie so they decided to market it as a cool cultish movie for the off-beat implying that if you didn't like it, something was uncool about you. You know, the emporer's new clothes strategy.
Posted by: Karan | July 31, 2007 at 07:56 PM
Ebert nailed it -- there's something about the movie that just doesn't work, but there's so much to enjoy while you're watching it not work that, in the end, you don't really mind.
Posted by: TwoBusy | August 01, 2007 at 09:15 AM
I know that Sheila O'Malley of The Sheila Variations (link on my blog) really likes Ebert. Perhaps she wrote a tribute to him, but I don't think I've seen one recently.
Posted by: Janeen | August 01, 2007 at 10:17 AM