OK, I'll Fight It, But I'll Let It Live
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
Happy birthday to little Grace Dowell, who's a whole 1 year old today. Went to Tolono this afternoon to eat some cake and ice cream with the Dowells. Chris and Sara are in town until Monday, and I always love when they're around. My trip to their wedding in Los Angeles last summer was the best vacation I've had in a long time.

Just got back from seeing THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU with Grady and Stiner. I think I'll be thinking about this one for awhile. Yes, I did like it, but, no, I'm not sure I can recommend it to anyone. I've only seen one other Wes Anderson film, RUSHMORE, which I didn't like very much. THE LIFE AQUATIC is better, although it took me 20 minutes or so before I was able to settle into its groove. It's a very eccentric, whimsical film, brilliantly anchored by Bill Murray as Zissou, an undersea explorer broadly based on the late Jacques Cousteau. Murray's performance is essential, since Anderson's vision falls so squarely into a fantasy world that's still too close to ours for comfort's sake, we need Murray to keep our head in the game. He's in nearly every scene, and is funny, touching, energetic...I think he's better here than in his Oscar-nominated turn in LOST IN TRANSLATION. Willem Dafoe is also extremely good in this film, as is Jeff Goldblum. Mark Mothersbaugh's score is wonderfully witty, and the production design, which cribs from Jerry Lewis, of all people, is a childlike display of bright colors and dollhouse construction. Throw in Filipino pirates, a three-legged dog, a resort hotel destroyed by a monsoon, an underground sea laboratory, Jeff Goldblum in a '70s Dr. Pepper T-shirt, stop motion animation by Henry Selick (THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) and a mythical "jaguar shark" that chomps on Seymour Cassel, and you have 2004's oddest studio film.

I'm not sure yet whether THE LIFE AQUATIC will make my Top Ten of 2004 list yet; I still have to ponder it a bit. My initial feeling is that it's too inconsistent to push anything off my preliminary list, but we'll see. It'll definitely go down as an honorable mention, to say the least. Look for my Top Ten Films and DVDs lists to hit this space soon.

Feeling a little bit better today, thank you. I watched more episodes of SECRET AGENT this afternoon, and delighted in seeing British character actor Howard Marion-Crawford pop up as the heavy in back-to-back episodes, but as different characters. You'd likely not see that in today's continuity-heavy TV series, but, back then, producers hired the best actors for their guest roles, whether they had already done the show or not. I think LAW & ORDER is the only current series that regularly recycles actors in various guest parts.

So where are all the really good prints of LONE WOLF MCQUADE? Watching my MGM DVD the other night, I noticed instances of grain, particularly in Barbara Carrera's brown hair. Hoping the problem wasn't my new cheapass Cyberhome, I tested the disc on my computer, and the grain was still there. I also happened to catch the film on cable this afternoon, and, yep, still there in the TV print. DVD File gave MCQUADE's video quality a rave review, but I don't know what disc they were looking at, 'cause it certainly wasn't mine.

Speaking of Chuck Norris, I kicked off 2005 with some prime Chuck: DELTA FORCE 2: THE COLOMBIAN CONNECTION. One of Cannon's last features, DELTA FORCE 2 is an effective B-level shoot-'em-up with big explosions, a decent body count, a wide range of acting styles (from Norris' somnabulism to Billy Drago's slimy Method style to John Ryan's scenery-gumming) and plenty of kicking. Chuck was no longer box-office gold by this point in his career though, and would be on prime-time television just a couple of years later as Walker, Texas Ranger.

On the DVD recorder front, I'm leaning towards a Toshiba. An Internet acquaintance of mine recently picked one up, so recently that he's still going through the manual learning how to use the damn thing. I'll check back with him in a couple of days, and if he's satisfied with it, I might lean in that direction. It has all the features I'm looking for, and I really like the price. Anyone else with recommendations?