The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

"What would be the scientific purpose of killing it?" "Revenge." Better than I remember -- the beginning especially offered some delightful moments, some by (surprise) Jeff Goldblum ("Is that a new merit badge?" "As a matter of fact, it is. I just became a knight in Portugal." (Trust me, it's funny when he says it.)) -- but sadly, it doesn't live up to its "Moby Dick" aspirations. Overall, it shows a definite downward trend from Anderson's earlier, better work, "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" and, to a lesser extent, "Bottle Rocket."

Also interesting was that Noah Baumbach co-wrote it with Anderson. Noah of "The Squid and the Whale." When Zissou looks into the camera at the end and says, "This is an adventure," and then lifts the kid on his shoulders as David Bowie's "Queen Bitch" plays, it recalls the finer moments of "The Squid" and even "Rushmore." But, unlike in those movies, "The Life Aquatic" doesn't earn the wistful nostalgia Anderson wants us to feel.