First, let me say thank you. I'm a fan and have been reading you since your dirty harry days. While enduring the difficulties of long-term unemployment, reading thoughtful and bold defenders of freedom like yourself is a rare comfort.

Regarding "convention", I simply mean that you seem to be demanding a conventional narrative a la Thin Red Line or The New World (although it employed generous helpings of a dreamscape). I was expecting a more conventional narrative, but once I let myself submerge into his expressions of emotion through his visual creations and flitting about, I loved it. In fact, his unconventional telling brought me back to emotions I haven't felt since I was a young boy contemplating God's creation and the writhing effect of sin.

I couldn't disagree more on this one, Mr. Nolte. I recognize your points, but I think you may have fallen prey to convention here. If this is pretentious pondering, then all pondering must be pretentious (especially when you pay $10 for it).

I for one was delighted to see one man's pondering through the medium of moving pictures. Moreover, I was delighted to see Malick's display true seriousness about creation and our Creator. Tell me the last time we've seen pretentious pondering that took that subject seriously!

For gosh sakes, this line alone must make heads of the narcissist Left explode! "There are two ways through life, the way of Grace and the way of Nature." The soft Left might actually be ready for a conversation about natural law after seeing this film.

Sean Penn's wrong as usual and I'm afraid, Mr. Nolte, you got this one wrong too.

Since I've been unemployed for the last three years, I've had some time to dig into the Netflix archive. Here are the most conservative films of a list of several hundred (* notes those that are available on Netflix Instant:

-The Lost City *...(Fico Fellova (Andy Garcia) fights for himself and his family against Bettista, then Castro
-The Final Option*...commie anarchists and their sponsors are confronted by the SAS (British anti-terror unit)
-The Lives of Others... probably the greatest depiction of the depraved East German thugocracy
-Taken... those who believe that truth is relative and that crime pays have it coming
-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...Alec Guinness' as retired British spy, George Smiley, uses only facial subtlety to turn the grey world of Cold War espionage into black and white and to divine the truth out of a service wrecked by a mole
-From Paris With Love*...terrorism is evil and John Travolta is going to rip its throat out
-Operation Amsterdam*...war is awful and the spies who operate between friendly and enemy lines must risk it all, but still depend on everyday people to do the right thing
-The Fourth Protocol...Michael Cain hunts militant Soviet's intent on exploding a nuclear bomb on British soil. Although the film begins satisfyingly by showing the execution of real life turncoat Kim Philby, it's ending almost ruins the whole enterprise)
13 Rue Madeliene...James Cagney plays an OSS instructor who know the score and cherishes the sacrifice of the job
-The Story of Robert Adams...likely could be left off the list but Julian Adams' debut is too genuine not to mention