Just perfect...

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Shaken after surviving a massive earthquake, a Hollywood screenwriter reflects on his life and faded memories blur with the present in this ambitious anti-narrative project from Terrence Malick. The film is littered with beautiful shots from unusual camera angles and lenses and mobile camera-work that follows the protagonist around and there is a lot to like in Malick's attempts to paint his thought processes on screen. Solid as Christian Bale is in the lead though, he does not have a particularly well developed character, which makes it hard to get emotionally invested in his meanderings. Brian Dennehy provides a very strong performance as his grief-stricken father and there are hints of past tragedy in their family and possibly a failed marriage, but these all ultimately remain hints with Dennehy and Wes Bentley (as Bale's brother) receiving very limited screen time. That said, some of Bale's alone moments are his best and in the film's strongest scene, his apartment is robbed by intruders who scoff at how little cash he has, his lack of credit cards and very few valuables at home; this scene more than any other marks him realising just how empty his life is. More scenes like this may have rendered 'Knights of Cups' a quiet masterpiece. As it is, it is undeniably interesting as something offbeat and very, very different, but it is hardly the most satisfying film out there.

(Flash Review)Malick is one director who makes art from film and one of my current favorites. Much like a semi-abstract piece of modern art, his films are organic in many ways and open to the viewer's interpretation. The stories are told more through visuals than dialog. And for me they are shot in such a compelling way that they stick with me even if I'm confused. Like modern art, it may take repeat viewings or reflection after the credits roll to 'get it'. Knight of Cups is filled with bold imagery and edits, jarring at times but they all give a sense of atmosphere. This film 'appears' to be about a man who has lost his brother and like his father is trying to cope with the tragedy. He is also a Hollywood writer and is in the glamorous scene. He is searching for a new direction for his life and to be able to feel emotion again; probably muted from the loss of his brother. The film editing is filled with a collage of glamorous imagery contrasted with calm nature atmospheric shots and what dialog there is is mainly told through narration. Not for everyone but the viewer needs to interpret the fantastic imagery to make something of the plot.

I have never disliked a movie so much. I had to stop it three times and come back to it later; my adult son guilted me into finishing it and I didn't feel like I could rightfully come onto this forum to review it had i not. I had my television volume on 100 and still had problems hearing some of the dialogue; the quietness was deafening!!! The "wonderful cinematography"....it stopped being wonderful once I realized that that's what the entire movie was a going to be. I love artsy scenes! Something big happens in a film and there's windblown hair, mouths moving with no sound coming out, screenshots of lovers rolling around playfully in bed, up close shots of smiling mouths....nothing big happened in this movie!!! Why was Antonio Banderas or Brian Dennehy even in this movie? What was the point?? Why bring up the brother who I think killed himself, or the other brother, or Nancy, or.....yeah, exactly.

It's hard to make out a plot in this movie, nevertheless I enjoyed it. The camera work or photography is excellent.. I also appreciated the music, especially the Grieg, since I am a Classical Violinist !I do like the moods and feelings that come across, no doubt each person will interpret these a little differently. It's not an accessible movie to watch, and not a traditional film but still I like it, perhaps not as much as The Tree of Life... since that was slightly more traditional and slightly more defined... this is even more other-world like and one would do well to watch some of his other films first, in preparation.Enough ramble.. just count me in as a fan. For sure.