Alright, here we go
The Tree of Life - 8.5/10:
This was definitely nothing like anything I've seen before, it's truly a work of art. I was very cautious going in, and after pondering it for a while, I think I liked it.
I'm not very adept at seeing the meaning or message of films at first glance, so I'm sure I missed a lot, but here is how I would describe this particular movie if you don't have any experience with malick. I will talk about the flow of the movie and general plot points, so proceed with caution, even though there isn't much to spoil.
I loved the beginning of the movie. From the opening, to seeing mr. and mrs. o'brien mourn, and then the amazingly beautiful shots that soon follow(there's about 10 or 15 minutes of nature/space shots with just about no talking, which I think was showing the creation of the universe and life). KT, I know you said you were unsure about the beginning, but it was by far what I liked most about the film, and what I found most thought provoking. And the emotion of the scenes in the beginning were far more dramatic.
The rest of the film settles down, though too late for some people, who walked out during the "creation" stuff. A good amount of the people who stayed were much worse though, by talking through a lot of it, very annoying. It seemed like the younger audience had a much easier time watching it. And I'm talking high school young, and I was surprised and impressed they seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it was act lol, idk, but the older people were douchetastic.
Anyway, the rest of the film seemed to be meant as memories of a now older sean penn, looking back on his rough childhood, trying to figure out if his father's difficult ways paid off in the end(perhaps near his death?). I didn't seem to think malick tries to push the viewer in either direction, but maybe I'm wrong. These scenes are hard for me to express. The entire movie is amazingly directed, malick and his dp have just shown me the must beautiful movie I've ever seen. I think the beginning scenes were better than the rest of the movie, but maybe I was just getting pulled into the story.
Either way, it's very beautiful, but I'm not sure I loved the stories and dialogue that malick decided to show us. I think he could have given us more, more emotion, more than just the kid's sad looking face. More than just pitt's character is tough. I thought this part of the movie, which was the majority of the film, dragged a little.
That stopped me from loving the movie as much as some. I can appreciate the film as a piece of art but I'm wary of giving it too much credit just for being unique. Again, it's an amazing piece of art, but I think it slightly misses the mark from really being a masterpiece. I will say that I am really looking forward to seeing more malick films now.