Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood-Elsewhere had an interesting write-up on Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line," saying that any kind of excitement he had for the movie upon initial viewings has evaporated away the last few years: "I’m always excited when I watch scenes from Malick’s 1998 film on YouTube, but I found it labored and ponderous during my two full-boat viewings. I was exhausted at the end of both."
To which I replied: "The Thin Red Line" is long, pedantic if you will, but also has some truly astonishing moments scattered throughout its 3 hour running time. It can sometimes be a chore to watch but who cares? It's as much a work of art as "2001," "L'Avventura" or "Andrei Rublev," meaning just because it moves at a snail's pace doesn't mean it's not worthy It's also significantly better than any of Malick's last 3 features."