I have great memories from the early to mid-eighties of my dad taking me to our little hometown theater to see anything remotely kid friendly, mostly fantasy or sci-fi films, stuff like Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Flash Gordon and Conan the Destroyer. I have great affection for these sub-par films because of the good memories attached to them. The Ice Pirates was one of those films, and I've revisited it quite a few times over the years, but it had been at least 10 years since I'd seen it. I wasn't sure it would hold up.

What I didn't realize the last time I saw it was how damn funny it is. As a kid I saw it as a fun swashbuckling, space adventure, which it still is, but I didn't get half the jokes till now. It's a great spoof of Star Wars and pirate films, while having its own unique spirit and remaining a fully cohesive film. You genuinely care for these characters as they fight the good fight against the evil conglomerate-Empire that holds the Universe's limited water supply hostage.

There's Jason, the ship's Captain and womanizer, not necessarily in that order; played with great pizazz by Robert Urich. His sidekick and second in command is Roscoe, who's an expert in robotics, they have a great comedic chemistry together. Princess Karina, is your typical damsel in distress, but she's not too annoying. Two of the ship's crew are filled out by some actors who went on to much bigger and better things, Ron Perlman and Anjelica Huston, and the film feels that much better for their involvement. The whole cast is really great, they don't treat the film like a lark, their dedication to their characters makes the film feel better than it is.

The film has quite a few inspired moments; just a few minutes into the film, there's a hilarious scene where robots fight kung fu style. The one that scarred me for life, is where Jason and Roscoe have been captured and are about to get their balls cut off, to be turned into unich-slaves, they float down a conveyor belt, getting their clothes cut off along the way, when a large metal mouth drops down at crotch level and is about to bite off their junk, before their saved at the last second. Even at a very young age it freaked me out, and I remembered it for years. Another classic scene towards the end of the film, happens when the ship goes through a time-warp and everybody starts aging rapidly. By the end, the pirates are all fighting with long gray beards and Jason's grown son comes to save the day.

The Ice Pirates, might be a bit too cheesy for today's average viewer, but those with an appreciation for fine cheese should really enjoy this film. Despite the low budget 80's special effects, the space travel stuff holds up pretty well. The robots are obviously just guys in suits, but they're fun to watch, as they give them a lot of personality. The characters are all pretty memorable, while the story is classic good-guy underdogs vs. all-powerful bad-guy stuff. I think that the young ones would really enjoy the film as well. A very fun, forgotten 80's cult-classic. - Grade: B+ (Seen on 7/6/08)

I absolutely adore Wes Anderson's films. He's right there at the top of my list of favorite directors. I've heard people complain that he doesn't change, but honestly that's one of the things I like about him. I know exactly what I'm going to get when I watch his films.

Amazing photography, with an attention to detail unlike no other, you get the feeling he scrutinizes every inch of the frame; and I appreciate that artistry. Along with that is his set design, it looks real and unreal at the same time, functional, but beautiful. His writing is very unique, every character has their own cadence, it's witty and comical, but doesn't beg for attention the way some writers do. And he always gets the best out of his cast, Luke and Owen Wilson never feel like real characters anywhere but his films. Bill Murray in Rushmore, just might be my all time favorite piece of acting.

So there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to like The Darjeeling Limited. I was a little worried, because I didn't totally love The Life Aquatic, though it's grown on me in subsequent viewings, I thought just maybe Wes had grown a little too full of himself. In Darjeeling he's toned down the style just a little bit, it's obviously still his film, but he allows his actors just a smidgen more freedom. Another big thing, is that much more of the film takes place outdoors, he gets away from the colorful, quirky backgrounds, and lets a little more real life in.

I totally bought, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody as brothers, each of them is great in their own way, the way they function together feels like they've been dealing with each other their whole lives. Their family is broken, but they're still family and they want to make it work. I love Schwartzman's line about "Would they be friends in real life, if they weren't brothers?" It is so true, especially for anybody that's had any kind of family drama. The train is it's own character and I was sad when they had to leave it; but the events that follow forces them to grow together.

Wes mixes comedy and drama perfectly, neither ever feels forced, they evolve naturally from each other. Because sometimes all you can do is laugh, when things get bad. Darjeeling is more immediately likable than The Life Aquatic, but isn't quite on the level with his first three films. I like that it shows some growth in his art, but it keeps with signature style, something I hope he never loses. I can't wait to see what he does next.