Reporter: What would be the scientific purpose of killing it? Steve: Revenge.

Recently I had the pleasure of watching The Life Aquatic, starring Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin in the first Spider-Man movie), Owen Wilson, and others. This was an...odd movie. I was a bit surprised because I was expecting a laugh-out-loud knee-slapping other-hyphenated-descriptions sort of movie. And it almost was, kind of.
The story revolves around a guy who has spent his life going around the world, exploring the sea (and other wilderness type areas apparently) and making documentaries. He is very much patterned after Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Um, he is also played by Bill Murray. When the film starts, he screens one of his films where his partner and best friend of many many years gets eaten by a shark. So now he has to try and mount a mission to find the shark and get his revenge. Problem is, he is broke, his team is starting to come apart and his life is basically sucking. Plus, his son shows up, the son that he had never met (played by Owen Wilson, if you must know mister nosy-pants!).
The movie has it's moments of very funny, as well as it's moments of very maudlin. I have to say that I was extremely entertained for the most part. There are parts that are a bit slow and almost painful to watch, especially in the first half of the movie. It picks up after a while.
Willem Dafoe's character (played by Willem Dafoe) is extremely funny as the slightly neurotic German guy who doesn't trust Owen Wilson and who is totally committed to the Zissou foundation (which is the name of the foundation that is founded by Bill Murray's character (Steve Zissou), the foundation that they are all a part of - it seems to be a foundation that funds scientific missions and that sort of thing...). The best part was when they were searching for some kidnappers who had taken their bank stooge (making sure they weren't overspending their budget) and Willem Dafoe complains that when they split in to two different teams Steve didn't pick him to be on the 'A' squad, so Steve comforts him by telling him that he leads the 'B' squad. And then a couple minutes later when they're engaged in a gun-fight with the kidnappers, Bill Murray tells Willem Dafoe to cover their retreat, making him the 'A' Squad leader, and Willem nearly cries cuz he's so happy. I just about died at that part. Actually, thinking about it, I think he was the best character.
The sea creatures that they come across are also very interesting. Most of them are completely fabricated (they seem to like making creatures with sparkly stuff on them, like jewels shining in the light) but very colourful. I also thought it was neat that the creatures weren't computer animated either. They were stop motion (think Wallace and Grommit...in fact, think of them often...they're funny), which produced a very pleasing effect. At least in my mind.
Also, the unpaid interns who were very much abused throughout the movie are really funny. Everyone on the team gets their own gun, but the interns (there are five) have to share one. When the kidnappers show up on board, the only person hurt is one of the interns who gets a machete in the shoulder, and shows up later with a huge bandage over his wound, ready to keep going. When the other interns (plus one or two other people) mutiny and leave the crew, the stabbed intern is the only one who stayed.
Jeff Goldblum shows up as Steve Zissou's biggest rival, a man who does much the same job, but has infinitely more money, so everything he has is very new. Also, he's a prick. Steve breaks in to his science station and steals scientific equipment that actually works, and then lies about it later, and then reluctantly rescues Goldblum from the kidnappers a bit later. It's pretty funny.
Also, Willem Dafoe's character spends much of his time in shorts.
Plus, there's a character, a Brazilian Portugese lad who spends the entire movie playing on his guitar and singing David Bowie songs that have been translated into Brazilian Portugese. That's it. It's pretty sweet.
All in all, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a good movie. A bit crude at times, but since when has that ever stopped me. So a guy walks in to a bar and sees a tiny pianist playing in the corner....