I saw two movies this week. The first was "Horrible Bosses", and tonight "The Tree Of Life" made its initial appearance on the West Side. Let's talk about that one first.

"The Tree of Life", of course, is the latest from Terrence Malick. Malick and David Lynch are probably the two most unique American directors left. Lynch always jolts you with color. And Malick does, as well, but his films always shoot from different angles. Angles that most people hardly see in a movie. Close ups, framing a subject from behind, trees from the ground up, etc.

So, yeah, I've been waiting for this one for a while. And I could tell right away that we were gonna have people hit the eject button, it was only a matter of when. Old couple sits directly behind me and I hear the woman say, "I thought it would be more crowded. You know with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in the movie." OK, my Spider-sense is tingling. Also had to hear "This is weird." and "Do you want any gum?". I give 'em credit, though. They actually made it to the end. We had 15 at the start and this is your Up-To-The-Minute "The Tree Of Life" Walkout Scoreboard:

We had 2 leave before the dinosaurs.
We had 1 leave during the dinosaurs.
We had 4 leave after the dinosaurs (one guy letting us know he was asking for his money back).

That means 7 of 15 left in the first 35 minutes or so. You may be wondering why I mentioned dinosaurs. After Pitt's family suffers a loss, Malick decides to show us (sorta like 2001) his vision, at length, of how the earth was created and took us through some various early life forms. This tends to honk off the Car Chase crowd. It also points out the ignorance of today's movie crowd. Do you just open the Friday Magazine and see the picture of Pitt and Penn and say, hey, looks like a good one. Seriously, how do you not know this is a Malick film? Trust me, for its alleged offensiveness, I didn't see one person walk out of "Borat". Yet, 7 of 15 walk out on this one? Baffling.

Too bad, because the scenes that immediately follow the dinosaurs is awesome. It shows a kid growing up and makes you wonder how that happens exactly. First steps, starting to talk, etc. Amazing sequence.

Now, I'm not gonna pull a Jack Buck and say, "I don't believe what I just saw!". I understand Malick is not everyone's cup of tea. But, as a moviegoer, I think you owe it a look. But it's not exactly "Happy Days" here.

Pitt is not exactly a great father and he and his wife are constantly battling for the kids affection. And the whole house knows who wins on that front. And, for almost three hours, the characters rarely smile, although I think near the end, when Penn (Mostly a dour figure) believes he's come to grips with his life, there is a faint smile. As for the acting, Pitt and the kids have most of the dialogue. Jessica Chastain and Penn have more narration of their parts, as does the oldest son.

So, again, it's a different type of movie experience. But one you have to see.

For a movie where your brain doesn't suffer from overload, I give you "Horrible Bosses". This isn't by any means "Hangover"-funny, but there are enough laughs to keep it going.

Charlie Day and Jason Bateman basically play themselves. Jason Sudeikis plays a horndog. And their bosses are, respectively, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. The latter two are especially funny, while Aniston is a sex harasser. Hilarious cameo by Jamie Foxx.

The plot is the three guys want to off their bosses. Hilarity ensues. That's really about all you get here.

Meal of Links

Playhouse Square finally released their summer movie schedule. They need me to program this. I hardly see anything of note. Although, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Jaws" are the standouts. I say this every year. You want asses in the seats? Gotta be an early Tarantino selection. How 'bout a Richard Pryor comedy? "Silver Streak" would do. Have a Bond movie. "Ghostbusters", "Caddyshack". It ain't difficult.

Nick Gilbert has a Fathead. Seriously. For charity.

Alan Sepinwall talks Emmy nominations. Still baffled by "Community" being ignored.

Wal-Mart starts selling "Cheesy Poofs"next month. Yes, it is South Park-related.

Lots of Soda Pop



If the debt ceiling is not raised, which side wins? Maybe neither.

Dads on Vacation.

Exercise Yard

What is Sunday's biggest sporting event? Last round of the British Open? USA-Japan at the Women's World Cup? How about the WWE PPV?

Visitor

48 Across: "12 Angry Men" director (5 letters) Answer: Lumet