Movies - TV
Every Terrence Malick Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
By GINO ORLANDINI
10. Knight of Cups
Christian Bale portrays an emotionally detached Hollywood screenwriter whose life in Los Angeles is a blur of decadent parties and lovers. The film's visuals nor its cinematography stand out, but it stands as a critique of polyamorous urbanites who may find themselves watching their empty love lives, rather than participating.
9. Song to Song
Rooney Mara plays a struggling songstress who tries to get ahead by dating a sketchy record producer (Michael Fassbender) while harboring feelings for Ryan Gosling's character. The film is partly about the spiritual cost of the modern sexual shuffle, but also a character study; either way, it turns played-out and repetitive fast.
8. To the Wonder
Neil (Ben Affleck) is an environmental engineer who falls out of love with his wife and rekindles a romance with an old flame. His fall from grace coincides with the degradation of nature on Earth, and the commentary about the emptiness of a rootless life resonates, even though critics were fed up with Malick's overly somber schtick at this point.
7. A Hidden Life
After "The Thin Red Line," Malick returned to the Second World War in "A Hidden Life." Based on a true story, August Diehl plays Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian peasant and family man who becomes a conscientious objector after being drafted into the Nazi war machine; the film's only real flaw is its three-hour run time and the excesses it brings.
6. Voyage of Time
"Voyage of Time" is technically an IMAX documentary, but it's made in the same spirit as Malick's other late works, this time exploring the origins of life itself. Over the course of about 40 minutes, Brad Pitt delivers whimsical narration over Paul Atkins' beautiful cinematography and gives us a peek into Malick's spiritually inclined mind.