the coffee isn't even bitter

Just saw Darjeeling Limited, finally. I love Wes Anderson films, so why do I wait so long to see them? I've never seen one on opening weekend, and I waited so long to see Rushmore that it was ruined for me by all the hype. On the other hand, I waited years to see Life Aquatic, and I think it might have been sweetened for me by all the mixed reviews. Anyway, I liked this one as much as Royal Tenenbaums and maybe as much as Life Aquatic.

One thing that I found a little strange, though, was the iPod evolution happening silently before my eyes. I noticed the iPod right off because the first time Jack used it there were those pretty glowing red touch-button thingys from back around the 2nd or 3rd generation, yet when he touched the buttons there were audible clicks. Ooh, bad foley work! I thought. But the next time he used it, which happened in the very same scene, it had a click wheel and no red touch-button thingys. Suddenly the clicks made sense, but the issue now was continuity. Oh well, not a big deal, I'm sure things are crazy on Wes Anderson sets and these things happen. There's even an entry about it in the continuity goofs section on imdb.

But! At the end of the film, the last iPod he used was clearly a video iPod. Which makes me wonder if it was on purpose, because a) the use of a pre-click wheel iPod seems like a pretty specific choice; 2) the first iPod change happens within a single scene, and the very first one in the film, at that; and III) as the film progresses, so does the iPod, that is we don't see a 4th gen and then a 2nd gen and then a 5th, but the iPods occur in order of their evolution. Also, it seems like something Wes Anderson might do just because he feels like it.

Now if you were thinking while reading this that I'm a huge geek, well, no one could blame you, and I assure you that I got more out of the film than that. In fact, I'd like to see it again soon, and it sort of made me want to watch Life Aquatic and Bottle Rocket again, and if you haven't seen it I think you should.

But seriously, what's with the iPods, Wes?

P.S. (Post Song): Nada Surf - The Film Did Not Go Round