Brokeback Mountain, A Break Through or Expected Revelation?

Foley's last statement is very true. His comparison of Brokeback to Back to the Future was eyebrow-raising though. BttF was very good for its genre, but nowhere near the quality of Brokeback, imo.

I don't know if he was really comparing "Back to the Future" as far as emotional impact -- there were relationships in the first film with the family of the past and the professor that were touching in that film but there it ends (having a lot to do with "what if" one could travel back in time, a doubtful fabrication). There's virtually zero fabrication in "Brokeback Mountain" although some of so-called "faith" or hererosexual men could likely not see the forest for the trees. It's really a wide chasm in genres, isn't it? I think he was speaking more of box office strategy based on an audience's connection with a film and that connection can certainly vary. In their own genres, they are both great films. "Brokeback Mountain" is destined to be a classic as well.

I did appreciate his comparison to "Far From Heaven," and there was another independent film with Colin Farrell, "A Home At the End of the World" with a male to male relationship and a rather realistic kiss but it wasn't a great film, and didn't do great at the box office despite that star's draw.

Yes, I agree with you about Back to the Future and Brokeback being great within their genres. I just don't remember much emotional connection in BttF - for me anyway.

I loved Far From Heaven for many reasons. I'm glad it won the accolades that it did. I don't know A Home at the End of the World. I'll add it to my Netflix list.

Well, it was already in my Queue! I guess I'd run in to the title before.

"Home At the End of the World" has its poignant moments but some of it doesn't ring true. Excellent performances by the actors, though, despite an uneven script.

I thought the script for "Brokeback" to be flawless and read it alongside reading the original story. Of course, in the story the description of the characters don't really fit Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Actually, I find it more authentic that they are visually attractive. The actors who might better fit the pair would be Bill Macy and Steve Bushimi.

If true, a little dissapointing Jake wasn't at the Golden Globes to support the film (not that this item from The Defamer could be The Enquirer type of journalism):

AWOL At The Globes: Jake Gyllenhaal Alive And Well At Former Gay Cowboy Bar

READ MORE: Awards, Jake Gyllenhaal, golden globes, sightings
The single biggest complaint about last night's Golden Globes ceremony seems to revolve around His Dreaminess' jarring absence from the Brokeback lovefest. So let's get your twisted awards seasons priorities straight, Jake: Palm Springs International Film Festival, yes, Golden Globes, no? And don't give us this "I wasn't nominated" crap. Who else could we have counted on to pull a Phillippe if Heath had won? Michelle Williams? She would have trouble tackling a roll of soggy paper towels.

And for those of you who were prepared to give Mr. Gyllenhaal a free pass, assuming he was in some far off Asian locale for the start of principal photography on the thawing sequel to The Day After Tomorrow, an operative sends in this Saturday night sighting of the missing-in-gay-cowboy-action star at a hot new east side hipster hangout:

I was standing outside Silverlake's Cha Cha Lounge Saturday night trying to figure out how in a few short weeks, the place went from the neighborhood "gay cowboy bar" (when it was called Le Bar) to a clusterfuck of mostly straight hipsters, when I spotted Jake Gyllenhaal arriving. Irony aside, we left minutes after for something a little more low key.
Having frequented the locale in both its incarnations, we would concur with our operative's before and after descriptions. We imagine Jake was unaware that only months ago the Cha Cha Lounge was a dive catering to gay Mexican cowboys, though we can't imagine it would have bothered him; if Jake taught us anything this year, it's that amor is a universal force of nature.

(Not too sure most of that isn't tongue-in-cheek, but enough about Jake and Heath's kissing scenes).

Word is that Brokeback is a shoo-in for Best Picture Oscar...http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1078524.php/Brokeback_climbs_another_awards_mountain

Being of a skeptical sort, though, I can't help but see the hype for the movie as another exercise in Hollywood political correctness, similar to the last year's nod to euthanasia (Million Dollar Baby) and the 2002 awards of Best Actor and Best Actress to Denzel Washington and Halle Berry (the latter awards probably being long overdue, but synchronization of awards to black actors, hosting by Whoopi Goldberg, and special award to Sidney Poitier is exceedingly suspicious).

Political correctness would have likely shooed in "The Aviator" as Scorcese has never won an Oscar and Eastwood had. I saw nothing suspicious about the coincidence of a black MC and Halle Berry nor Denzel winning. If anything, Russell Crowe may have won if it weren't for a backlash for his public behaviour. Of course, we never know what is in the minds of the Oscar voting body -- if one wants to believe it is mostly liberals, that's their progative. It kind of works the other way, also. That conservative minds are not creative minds.

The film has won Best Picture by the Producers Guild:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-guild23jan23,0,6252344.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Just a question: What conservative produced film is deserving of the Oscar?

All the films up for awards hardly qualify.

Also, are the British Oscars also following so-called "political correctness" as well as Cannes who did not give the film any awards?

Hey, Mr. Wizard. Sorry to say, I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, and I'm not certain that I will get the chance, but I don't see the connection to the movie and Back to the Future, and I hardly think that it's success had anything to do with political correctness; more to do with merit, I suspect.

I was quite disappointed in The Aviator, however, as I was expecting full coverage of Howard Hughes' life.

I did see Crash, and thought it to be exceptionally fine, probably one of the best that I have seen in many years. I created a thread about it, incidentally.

Don't know about the one with Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Halley Berry is okay, I guess, but Washington is excellent as an actor, I think; besides that he's cute. It was good to see him play a villain in that movie where his own neighborhood finally turned on him. Forgotten the tile of the flic.

Didn't see Million Dollar Baby, either; just didn't want to do so.

Makes no difference to me what the film explores as long as the acting is good and the ideas believable.

One surprise. Watched a Wes Craven movie last evening and expected it to be the same old--same old and was delighted with the film from beginning to end and particularly pleased with the shock ending.

Sorry if I haven't touched on all your points, as I never watch a film from another critic's viewpoint, just mine.

"Million Dollar Baby" is a difficult movie to watch -- lots of angst about a subject I don't really have an affinity towards. For those who haven't seen it, I apologize for the poster's spoiler. Perhaps if more were conscientious about offering spoilers without a warning, it would be a better forum.

Halle was the undisputed candidate to win that year.
Denzel likely won by the number two and three cancelling each other out. It happens.

I thought Halle winning the oscar was a joke. I'm sure Team America's Barbie and Ken sex scene was based on her performance. With all those set up, soft lighted scenes and the quick position changes following one after the other... I was expecting her to run for president!

I didn't blame Washington for not turning up to get his.

Huh? Denzel was there in the flesh and who deserved the Oscar more than Halle Berry?

Was he? My mistake if so (I'm sure you know).

As for Halle - I thought her acting was weak (especially her drunk scene) slap slap slap

Actually the film creeped me out. I thought it would be a kind of liberating film (racist white man turns human) - instead I came away feeling that black women had been portrayed as weak "Take care of me..."
child abusing "You friggin pig" slap slap slap
Drunks - Sip
who are only good for one thing: Boing

The references to "splitting the ebony" and "nigger juice"
made me come away thinking the director had an issue of his own.

Yuk -

As for who should have gotten the oscar - I don't care - who was runner up?

I just heard their coming out with the porno version.

I saw Brokeback Mountain this week-end and I have to admit I was disappointed. I was expecting to be blown away because I love Annie Proulx as an author (although I've never read this particular short story), the subject matter interested me, and I had read all of the glowing reviews.

I was disappointed with the lack of development of the emotional relationship between Ennis and Jack. I thought it was cursory at best, and not explored or developed as fully as it should have been or would have been in a heterosexual love story.

In terms of "tenderness" between the two men, most of their love scenes (two or three at best, if I remember correctly) either began or ended in what looked to me to be almost violence. I admit I'm totally inexperienced in knowing what is true or or typical between two men (or two women for that matter) when they have sex - but I definitely wouldn't describe what I viewed as "tender" and I wonder why it couldn't be depicted as such.

Even taking into account the frustration and forbidden nature inherent in the relationship of Jack and Ennis in the time frame in which this story occurred, I didn't buy Ennis' participation in this relationship as "love". He seemed more to be indulging "on the down low" - three times a year he went fishing and had sex with a man. If I was gay - I'd be insulted if someone depicted that as a "loving" relationship for me. I bought Jack's love for Ennis but not Ennis' love for Jack.

I do think Heath Ledger was nominated because he played the tortured soul in a movie that is considered to be controversial so I do think political correctness is playing a role in all the accolades. I was much more impressed with Jake Gyllenhall's portrayal of a gay man by a straight actor than I was by Heath Ledger's somewhat stereotypical "cowboy" character portrayal. And in fact, I thought the portrayals of the women in the film were more noteworthy than either of the men. Michele William's face and affect when she discovered the truth about her "husband" was incredible - she communicated fear, confusion, sadness, anger and the knowledge that her world as she knew it was a lie and was over without uttering a word. The same is true of the woman who played Jack's mother. She communicated that she had known who her son was, loved him, loved Ennis for loving him, etc., again without uttering a word.

The cinematography was awesome and the story was worth telling - I just wish they had taken the relationship further. I'd be interested to hear how people who are gay felt about it. One woman who writes a commentary in one of the papers here (and I think she may be gay - anyway, she writes a lot about gay issues) has said she is tired of seeing every gay love story end in tragedy. I think the ending in this movie was indicative and true to the times, but I do wish they had presented a more fully realized relationship between the two male characters.