Happy Monday + O'Melveny Trail + "Knight Of Cups" (oy)

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I hope you had a nice day and that all projects are going well. I had a great hike today, one of the best I've had since last Summer. I had a little extra time, so I went to O'Melveny Park and went way far up the trail, 1.75 miles in! That's the farthest I've ever gone on that trail (super steep in places), and I was way up high on the mountainside. That trail ultimately leads to Mission Point, and I was probably 3/4ths of the way there! The quicker way is to take the DeCampos Trail that begins on a residential street down the road from the park. From there, you can get to the Point in 40 minutes. But it was a blast to go so far down an unexplored part of the O'Melveny Trail, especially on a gorgeous 90 degree day. So now I am getting back into hiking shape. I will go to the top of The Point by my birthday next month.

Tonight's movie was "Knight Of Cups" (2015) by Terrence Malick. You may have seen my brief quip on Facebook regarding my thoughts on the film. To be honest, I only sat through it all the way because it was directed by Terrence Malick, who back in the late 70s I would have said was one of the greatest directors ever, because of "Badlands" and "Days Of Heaven". After "Days", he didn't make a movie for 20 years. Who the heck does that? But he did, and then he finally came back with "The Thin Red Line", which was a philosophical WW2 movie, a bit flawed but still great.

But then, things began to get a bit sketchy. He took seven more years to make "The New World", about Captain John Smith's expedition to America and his meeting Pocahontas, and that one was pretty bad, though not terrible. Then in 2011, he made "The Tree Of Life", which I didn't like the first time I saw it, and then the second time I thought it was a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, that will not happen with "Knight Of Cups", or it's predecessor "To The Wonder". You can't just throw endless vignettes of scenery, buildings, and people walking around looking mesmerised and call it a movie. And, at some point, you have to have a scene that lasts longer than seven seconds, and you have absolutely got to have a stationary camera sequence at least once in your film. The way the camera swoops and sways in Malick's post "Thin Red" films, you will need some Dramamine to avoid getting seasick.

I wanted to like "Knight Of Cups". It looks beautiful, for one thing (no one ever said Malick is not great at putting incredible pictures onscreen), and it's got great actors : Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Wes Bentley, Natalie Portman and Brian Dennehey.

But they have nothing to do, because there is no story. I don't mean that the story is thin, or not filled out.

I mean that there Is No Story. Period.

If this film were by another director, it would have been one of the worst films ever made.

The only saving grace was it's message at the end, which was however so obvious that one did not need to spend two hours of one's life getting seasick whist absorbing an ultimately meaningless story filled with blowsy philosophical musings.

So I'm sorry to report that, in the last 20 years, Terry Malick has made one tremendous film, but also two pretty bad ones and one awful one.

But, in my book, if you've made even one tremendous film, you are a Great Director, and he is still that.

I just hope he snaps out of whatever is causing him to make these "montage movies", where it looks like he pasted a bunch of short snippets together of his camera swinging around, and called it a movie.

I think I need a lobotomy now. Would you please get Dr. Ben Carson on the phone for me?  :)

That's all for tonight, SB. I will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)