Why It's Awesome: Over the span of more than four decades, The Tree of Life was only director Terrence Malick's sixth turn up to bat, and is without question his magnum opus. Juxtaposing phantasmagorical imagery of the creation of the Earth and dinosaurs with the musings of Jack (Sean Penn) as he looks back on his life in 1950s Texas, the movie promptly earned comparisons to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey upon release, what with its epic, ambitious scope and beautiful visuals. The narrative may take a back seat to the sheer experience some of the time, but it's a beautiful movie to bathe in. Why You Can Only Watch It Once: Still, it's also a 140-minute art-film experiment, and as such, it's also a little frustrating to watch as well. The thematics aren't especially complex, and as a result there's not a whole lot of subtext to glean from a second viewing: it's pretty clear what Malick is trying to say the first time. For many, a second watch might simply mean using the Blu-ray as a screensaver when you're busy doing other things. It's beautiful to look at and nicely acted, but there's not much calling us back for another go.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
