Like Old Times...

So, tonight, I started getting myself caught up on Entourage because I found a way to see the episodes of the last season after where I left off over the summer. It was refreshing, to say the least. It felt like hanging out with old friends for the first time in a while. It felt right.

Sure the show can be...crude. But I still love it. It cracks me up. Especially Ari. Jeremy Piven is incredible as Vincent Chase's super agent. The people behind this show have truly crafted some greatly entertaining characters that are just a joy to watch.

Also today, I watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou for the second time. That is definitely something I have been meaning to do for a while, but I just never got around to it until now. After seeing Wes Anderson's other films (this one was my first) it made the whole thing so much better. I love his cinematography and music. I don't really think that I would listen to most of the music in my day to day life, but his movies blend it perfectly with the story.

The movie really captured me this time around. And I had an interesting thought while watching it. Steve Zissou (played by Anderson regular Bill Murray) is like an older version of his friend-turned-rival-turned-partner Max in Rushmore. The way Steve talks to people in this film just reminded me so much of the young boy who was trying to impress everyone.

My friend Aaron and I talked about Wes Anderson's movies a while back, and he really hit the nail on the head with his explanation of them. "He puts extraordinary people into ordinary situations." Life Aquatic seems to really be his only film where this is not true. Instead of having some person who should have renown do normal things, he has this (once) world renowned oceanographer going on one of his missions. The only normal thing that he seems to go through is trying to bond with someone who could be his son. The movie really mixes Anderson's brand of quirky humor with an adventure to find a Jaguar Shark which may or may not exist.

What really sold it for me was the ending, though. There is a scene where Steve, and almost every other important character from the movie, is down in his mini sub to see what they have been searching for, and Sigur Ros begins playing, and it really creates a beautiful moment. It ties the whole movie together. You truly see where these characters have gone. Then as the film winds down, Anderson does a poignant curtain call of his characters, all going back to Zissou's boat for what can only be more ocean adventures.

The movie is really great and worth checking out. I would recomend seeing his movies
in order, though if you have not seen them. (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited) Wes Anderson paints a story in a way truly his own. Until next time.


You can't stop the signal...