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2 Bored 2 Beautiful: Don and Will Face Off About The Tree of Life in Cinephile Hissy Fit Episode 9

Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight/Plan B

Will Johnson coming to you from the slightly less pandemicky month of May where Cinephile Hissy Fit co-host Don Shanahan and I decide to break away from current trends and dig into a film that really tests our friendship: The Tree of Life! For any of those not familiar with director Terrence Malick, his films tend to divide critics. Whereas some see deliberately paced, beautifully filmed tome poems on life, others see pretentiously staged treacle that is just too damn slow. Naturally, befitting the Cinephile Hissy Fit concept, me and Don fit into those critic molds respectively.

We recorded this episode awhile back as one of our “back-up” episodes if things got busy (we are both teachers and the end of the year has reached the single-digit day mark) so if we mention some piece of technology or news event that makes us seem like really bad time travelers, we apologize. But The Tree of Life is actually one of the proof of concept films we used to start this podcast as the usually friendly Don and myself found ourselves sniping at each other over social media about our takes on this film. Hopefully that makes for a compelling listen!

Brad Pitt leads his son down a suburban street at sundown
Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight/Plan B

So, without further ado, check out our ninth episode and see who you think wins the battle of philosophy vs. pretension. Follow us on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook if you are so inclined! We are very responsive there and will gladly answer any of your questions. Cinephile Hissy Fit is a 25YL production and part of the Ruminations Radio Network!

The Tree of Life

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PS, below are some Malick-related reviews from 25YL. Don, naturally, takes the hate train. I, unexpectedly, heap loads of praise on the man:

Written by Will Johnson

Will is the author of the little-read books Secure Immaturity: A Nostalgia-Crushing Journey Through Film and Obsessive Compulsive: Poetry Formed From Chaos. Will is a film critic at 25YL but also specializes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the occasional horror review. Will loves his hometown Buccaneers and lives in Phoenix, AZ, USA with his two daughters.

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