In this, the longest episode in I Do Movies Badly history, the conversation between Jim and guest Andrew DeSelm emulates the tone of its subject in its meandering, grandiose, and occasionally poignant (purely by accident, of course) nature. If you’re into navel-gazing, superfluous tangents about Gus Van Sant, and two men bloviating on what obviously the definitive spirit of a Terrence Malick film is, then you’ll love this introductory episode on the reclusive auteur and the discussion of Andrew’s three recommendations: Badlands (1973), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The Tree of Life (2011).
The Thin Red Line was the first Malick film I ever saw, and it’s still the only one I’ve seen twice. I disliked it as a kid, but much later after I’d seen some of his other films I enjoyed more, I decided to revisit it. Turned out my opinion hadn’t changed at all, as merely recognizing more actors didn’t make for a better movie.
The Thin Red Line was the first Malick film I ever saw, and it’s still the only one I’ve seen twice. I disliked it as a kid, but much later after I’d seen some of his other films I enjoyed more, I decided to revisit it. Turned out my opinion hadn’t changed at all, as merely recognizing more actors didn’t make for a better movie.