Movie Review - "The Tree of Life" (2011) no stars

     Uggghhhh. I don't even know what to say about this movie, so I'm not going to waste much time with it. Don't ask me to give a plot summary, or tell you what it's about...I still don't know. I don't mean that to be sarcastic or anything, it's just simple the truth. I have NO IDEA what this movie is supposed to be about. I have said from the beginning that I'm not a typical movie critic by any means. I understand that for the most part professional critics have a higher degree of movie appreciation than I ever will. I'm just a simple man who likes to watch films and give his thoughts on them. This is one of those films that I think gives people that idea that critics are "elitist" in a way. The Tree of Life has 201 positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with an 84% approval rating...It was booed and criticized heavily in my audience of "normal" moviegoers. There were a few people in the theater who liked it and it caused a lot of conversation afterwards. The defenders threw out words like "beautiful" and "artistic" and "thought-provoking". Everyone else just rolled their eyes, me included.

     I'm not going to argue, director Terrence Malick has a way of capturing beautiful shots. I can see that. But when I can't understand what any of it means, what's the point? I don't mind thinking in movies, I like to be challenged. But you gotta throw a bone out there every once in a while and give me something to hook into. This did none of that. I found it very boring and pretentious to no end. I nodded off a couple of times, only for a minute or two, I wish it had been longer and saved me from sitting through this. I was worried about this coming in as I bashed the other piece of work of Malick's that I have seen, The Thin Red Line. There had been few movies that I passionately hated as much as that one, for many of the same reasons that I hated The Tree of Life. If I want to see beautiful art, I'll go to an art museum. I want to see a movie, with a story, and for those out there who got a story out of this...well congratulations, you are smarter than me. I didn't get it all and advise you to stay far away. There are better options out there.