Rate The Last Movie You Saw

So you haven't seen the awesome ending?

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I haven't, but I can live with that.

The dark horse in Malick's filmography imo. I still think the mixed reception was just runoff from The Tree of Life being a divisive hit.

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Operation Avalanche (2016) -
The Dirties (2013) -
Mean Creek (2004) -

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

Tit for Tit (1935)
I find this one of the funniest Laurel and Hardy shorts.
8.5/10

I've been meaning to revisit this. I disliked it the first time around, came close to hating it in retrospect.

I felt like Malick had taken all the wrong lessons from Tree of Life and settled for the bare minimum of that film. It felt shallow but maybe I need a new perspective on it.

I found out the story was close to autobiographical. Like 70% or something. I think this may have been what made it so inaccessible for me.

@Saunch Poetry is often hard to digest at first, I can't think of anyone else who pulls off poetry on screen like that, it's quite breathtaking. Did it feel a bit intangible?

[quote=Redwell;1704385]I wonder how much casting Ben Affleck had to do with it. People still love to diss him...

Oops. Messed up the quotes there @Redwell

A Serious Man (2009) -

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little boy blue (1997) 6/10

Just about. Which isn't to say ToL isn't as impressionistic as To the Wonder but it's much more inclusive. It also lacks a certain elegance in thematic connectivity.

To the Wonder expresses something very specific and I don't think I'm tuned to it.

I'm hesitant to watch Knight of Cups for this reason. New Terry rubs me the way he previously did to others I suggested his work to - pretentious.

I really didn't get To The Wonder at all. It put me off exploring more of his catalogue. I really liked Tree of Life though, so I should watch a few more.

8/10

I still haven't managed to finish The Tree of Life so maybe the films appeal to different crowds. I hated how Malick, a person who had portrayed his spirituality by transcending the environments in which his films took place within, opted for the easy route and just through in some pretty footage that was completely separate from his narrative. In To The Wonder, he makes the midwest his Biblical retreat and shows a supermarket like it's heaven and Ben Affleck being followed by the shoeless sick community like he's Jesus of Nazareth.

Unstoppable (2010) 9/10

Boobs in Arms (1940) 9/10 Stooges Magic!

We Are Still Here

I felt this had a lot of potential and a good creepy atmosphere but it was poorly executed and descended into the ridiculous, a missed opportunity.

^ That's why I turned it off

If that's how simple you see Tree of Life then yes you need to revisit it. But maybe you should read about it a little first to get a different perspective? Not that it will change your opinion for sure but maybe it could help.

Thing you mention is far from separate from the narrative. Linearly, yes, thematically, no. The cinematic medium is more than just a linear storyline and Tree of Life is about life in so many shapes and sizes. Also having the scientific against the religious was a nice contrast.

Tree of Life might be the most ambitious movie ever made. I probably need to revisit To the Wonder, but it felt so shallow and simple next to Tree of Life because it didn't have the same thematic weight or scale to compensate or accompany Malick's style. Tree of Life was like a spiritual dream going into the other side, To the Wonder felt like being stuck in limbo.

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