“Tell us a story from before we can remember.”

How can you improve upon one of the greatest films of all-time? Terrence Malick’s “Extended Version” of The Tree of Life–188 minutes long, and now available on The Criterion Collection–is less a radical reinvention and more a gratifying expansion, giving a deeper imprint to various threads of the original, ultimately sculpting a more affecting, fleshed-out picture of a story that remains boundlessly evocative in its ambition.

Read my full feature on The Film Stage.

"I'm going to be honest with you. I don't fuck with no fairies."
"Fairy lives don't matter today!"
"Dude, you can't go through elf town!"

Will Smith says all of these lines with an earnest conviction in Bright, then there's still 1 hour and 45 minutes left.

First 78 minutes of The Red Turtle: this is a very nice movie
Last 2 minutes: I am emotionally wrecked and have a new perspective on life