I just don't get Wes Anderson

I'll say this for Hollywood Video, they are really into movies. They want their employees thinking about movies all the time--during the interviews, orientation, etc. they kept making us think about movies--not just the new releases, but older films, genre films, and so on. The first Team Meeting I attended we got things rolling by having to name the last movie.

The answers were the typical...Merchant-Ivory flicks, Old Yeller-ish things and so on. I remember struggling to come up with something as it was coming up to my turn. Thankfully, I caught a cover over my manager's shoulders. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou--just so much wasted talent and opportunity." Not only did I successfully answer the question without the stammering and "uh"s that the other guys made us suffer through before they admitted that Debra Winger die of cancer made them get weepy, but I also shot myself to the head of the Film Geek pack.

In all honesty, I don't really think I shed a tear over The Life Aquatic, but it would've been deserved. Rushmore was great. The Royal Tenenbaums was one of the best films I saw in 2001. But I just totally didn't get The Life Aquatic...I thought Wilson was fine, Blanchett was good (she's genetically incapable of being anything other than good...see Stewart's comments from the Oscars), as were sever other performances. But the whole thing just left me disappointed and annoyed.

That was then, just a fluke, I was sure. So, last night I grabbed The Darjeeling Limited. It, also, contained some good performances. And, to same something positive...I wasn't annoyed, or even that disappointed. In fact, I'm not sure I had any reaction at all. Wilson was good, Brody was good, Schwartzman was good. But, eh. Who cares? Certainly not me. Didn't enjoy it, didn't hate it. Just...nothing. Is it me? Is it Anderson? I don't like watching films and having no discernible reaction.