Ace of Cups (2015) - Terrence Malick

I guess I'd say Malick really boils down to two amazing movies for me: Badlands and Days of Heaven. Everything else he's done feels just okay, so I'm probably not expecting too much from his new film.

This isn't even really a movie. It’s more like Tree of Life—just a visual meditation made up of gorgeous shots and music. There isn't much of a plot or anything particularly heavy going on; it's just him piling on one philosophical thought after another. 😁

When I first sat down to watch The Tree of Life back when it first came out, I honestly found it pretty tedious and a bit of a struggle to get through :kolikojošdokraja:. However, I decided to give it another shot last year, and I ended up being absolutely floored by it. There were certain scenes that actually gave me chills because they felt so incredibly close to perfection, and ever since then, I've genuinely considered it one of the finest films of this decade. It’s really the only movie where a second viewing left me with such a completely different impression. I suppose we'll see how it goes with this one, but I definitely plan on watching the whole thing.

@silvergardener6/">@@silvergardener6
I wish you luck. You're going to need 😁

Good grief, what can I even say after that? I need to go watch something else immediately just to get my brain back to some semblance of normalcy.
Terrence Malick is classic Terrence Malick. The cinematography is stunning, the production design is gorgeous, and the soundscape is phenomenal. But honestly, it often feels like it's drifting away from its own core. He might think he’s staying on track, but for me, it feels a bit disconnected. 😁

I think this is one of those movies you really have to see in a theater. After trying to process this masterpiece on my laptop screen, I realized it’s meant to hit you visually and auditorily—it needs to punch you right in the face to truly make you feel it.

I approached the viewing with the expectation that I might somehow overlook certain elements, yet the film simply swept me away. It struck a chord. This is merely a personal observation, but that sense of profound emptiness and the aimless drifting through existence are things I recognize and deeply respect. To my mind, there is even a touch of *La Grande Bellezza* woven into its fabric.

If there were actually a coherent plot to go along with all that philosophical rambling, the movie might have been tolerable. Honestly, I barely made it through, and the only reason I didn't walk out was because the score and the cinematography were decent.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Good grief, man... what am I even supposed to say after watching that? I feel like I need to go watch something totally mindless right now just to get my brain back to some kind of baseline state.
Terrence Malick is being Terrence Malick, which means the camerawork is gorgeous, the production design is stunning, and the soundscape is just phenomenal, but honestly, half the time it feels completely disconnected from everything else... he probably thinks it's all part of the vision, but to me, it just feels totally disjointed... 😁

I’m wondering if this is one of those movies you actually need to see on a big screen in a theater; after chewing through this whole thing on my laptop, I really think you need that massive visual and audio punch to the face to actually feel it...

I rarely ever find myself rewatching a movie, but I've actually sat down with Tree of Life five times over the last three years. I had pretty much completely forgotten about it, though... I'm going to give it another spin tonight and then let you guys know how it hits me...🙂

It’s basically a case of style over substance, honestly. It feels like he’s trying way too hard to be "deep" and "artistic," just like his previous stuff, but even Emmanuel Lubezki can't save this one for me. Everything feels so predictable, and the actual plot? A total mess...

I’ve always had a bit of a bone to pick with how he mashes dramatic scenes together. He tends to drown out any meaningful dialogue with those pseudo-philosophical monologues from the lead character delivered via voiceover. I actually found it somewhat engaging in his older films, but here? It’s just exhausting. It’s essentially a repeat of The Wonder.

Looking at the reviews, it seems like Song to Song isn't much better, which is a bummer because I still haven't seen it. On the other hand, I haven't seen a single bad review for Hidden Life, so I'll probably save that one for when I need something to wash away this string of disappointments. 🙂

EDIT: Just finished watching Song to song. I didn't want to start a whole new thread since there's not much to say... but yeah, it feels like a variation on a theme. Like there's this unofficial trilogy going on (The Wonder, Knight of Cups, and Song to Song) where they just swap out the actors and the setting, but somehow each one gets progressively worse...