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Keith

Brokeback Mountain

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Okay, Keith. I have good news and bad news.

The good news? Brokeback Mountain sold out for both theaters. Means it's doing pretty well, at least here in progressive Seattle. Bad news is, I didn't get to see it.

Guess I'll just have to listen to Gay Cowboy for now. I hope to sneak out to a show sometime this week.

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Kieth I have no desire to see it because it's about people who make bad choices and hurt people. The homosexuality isn't really the issue for me, it's the adultery.

If it was two heterosexual people married to other people who went off every year to have a tryst I wouldn't want to see that either.

Plenty of that at the dropzone. Not all that much fun to watch there either.

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I got the PM and hopefully expressed myself accurately there.

I saw the preview. This is a downer movie. Being gay can be a healthy non-event in places like San Francisco and LA.

From the reviews and the preview, these poor guys tried not only to fake it themselves, but got married and had kids to try and either fool themselves and the neighbors.

I don't want to see it cause it sounds like a downer.

And like I told you in the PM, I knew several gay clergy that thought that since they were celibate, their homosexuality was a non-issue.

It's a very hard thing for folks to deal with. I prefer movies that let me escape the hard realities of my life. Or the difficult realities of someone elses life.

:)
Just got back from Narnia, that was fun!

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Okay, Keith. I have good news and bad news.

The good news? Brokeback Mountain sold out for both theaters. Means it's doing pretty well, at least here in progressive Seattle. Bad news is, I didn't get to see it.

Guess I'll just have to listen to Gay Cowboy for now. I hope to sneak out to a show sometime this week.



Well I'm glad the movie is getting all the attention, but my patience is wearing thin with your continued failure to see it ;) But I'll try to be patient a little longer :D
Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville

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I guess they're just assuming that it's going to have a limited audience, which makes me sad, because it sounds like such a great story. [:/]



There was a great review in The New Yorker that really makes me want to go. A lot of good films open slowly like this....it works in the long run, especially with the buzz/awards and all that jazz.

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Well I'm glad the movie is getting all the attention, but my patience is wearing thin with your continued failure to see it ;) But I'll try to be patient a little longer :D



Okay, Keith, you can stop being such a drama queen.;) I saw it today.

I agree with the assessments that the characters were a bit underdeveloped. Especially the supporting characters.

But I still really enjoyed it, particuarly the performances. Heath Ledger completely blew me away; I don't think I expected quite so much from him and he really gave a powerful performance. I noticed it in that I really believed his character was aging (and you could see all his struggle on his face), while Gyllenhall looked like a kid playing dressup.

And of course, since it's an Ang Lee movie, it's fucking *beautiful*. Cinematography was stellar. Either the sound editing or the projection was weak, because I had a tough time understanding dialogue in several scenes. (I'm leaning towards sound editing, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to understand all the dialogue).

Overall, solid B+/A- movie.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Thank You. Now I can exhale :P ;) I have to say, being the hopeless romantic that I am, my favorite movie of all time used to be Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Semour, now it's Brokeback Mountain. I've never really liked Heath Ledger before, but I have to agree his performance was amazing. Now I think he might even be attractive :)

Any one else see it?
Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville

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I think you meant to compliment Rodrigo Prieto, the DP. He also shot Amores Perros, Frida, 8 mile, 21 grams, and a TON of other stuff.

Sorry, pet peeve. :)



Good point, I should call out the cinematographer specifically, but you do have to concede that the director often has a "style" that gets imprinted on the movie (although perhaps that says as much about Lee as it does about his choice of top cinematographers, too).

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but you do have to concede that the director often has a "style" that gets imprinted on the movie (although perhaps that says as much about Lee as it does about his choice of top cinematographers, too).




DEFINITELY.......just not Lee, Ang. By this I mean that he is no Bertolucci, Scorsese, Fincher, Wong Kar-wai, Tsai...........to name but a few. IN OTHER WORDS, I challenge you to look at a Lee movie, like say, Scorsese, and be able to know that he directed it. I just don't see it.
:P

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DEFINITELY.......just not Lee, Ang. By this I mean that he is no Bertolucci, Scorsese, Fincher, Wong Kar-wai, Tsai...........to name but a few. IN OTHER WORDS, I challenge you to look at a Lee movie, like say, Scorsese, and be able to know that he directed it. I just don't see it.
:P



Fair enough. I'm inclined to agree with you now that I actually look at his list of movies and realize he didn't direct some of what I thought he did. But it's still a beautiful movie.

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Fair enough. I'm inclined to agree with you now that I actually look at his list of movies and realize he didn't direct some of what I thought he did. But it's still a beautiful movie.




even from the previews, this is obvious and at least part of the reason I will be going. The only problem is that living in this hillbilly town, I have to wait till the 30th. :|

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haven't seen the movie, but could it be possible that the great visuals of the scenery might be more due to the fact that the country in that area really is spectacular, more so than any skill in cinematography on the part of Ang Lee or whatever the fuck his name is?
Speed Racer
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haven't seen the movie, but could it be possible that the great visuals of the scenery might be more due to the fact that the country in that area really is spectacular, more so than any skill in cinematography on the part of Ang Lee or whatever the fuck his name is?




no.....but when we need more reductive answers, we will definitely let ya know. :)

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and grind


Ok, finally saw Brokeback Mountain last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Tragic and timeless love story that, imho, transcended the sexuality of the characters. (not that there anything wrong with THAT) ;)

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I agree with the assessments that the characters were a bit underdeveloped. Especially the supporting characters.



I am not sure I agree with this. We know as much as we need to know, when we need to know it. For instance, when Ennis meets Jack's parents at the end, it all makes sense, who he is I mean. I can't imagine meeting them or finding more about him earlier. And as far as supporting characters, they were incidental compared to their love for each other. They were punctuation in the time they spent apart.

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But I still really enjoyed it, particuarly the performances. Heath Ledger completely blew me away; I don't think I expected quite so much from him and he really gave a powerful performance. I noticed it in that I really believed his character was aging (and you could see all his struggle on his face).



The way Leadger carried himself, the way he mumbled, the starkness to every aspect of his life just worked. It was a landmark performance. If he doesn't score Oscar, there is gonna be hell to pay.

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while Gyllenhall looked like a kid playing dressup



Now, Krisanne, do you REALLY mean that? I felt like that naive childlike quality he had worked and reflected how his upbringing was tragic but that he responded to it differently than Ennis'. You even see how he brought that out in Ennis later on, like when he was getting ready to GO FISHING. ;)

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Cinematography was stellar.



It was pretty amazing, especially the way they were able to equate their attraction as natural, a story as old as the hills, etc. They didn't just USE the place and make it "pretty". Appropriation of naturalism is tricky in film and it worked beautifully.


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Overall, solid B+/A- movie.




I am gonna go with A-. Any film that adds up to something greater than the sum of its parts is pretty special. While I may not be gay, I was acutely aware of how far away I was from my SO while watching this film and how that awareness turned into a bona fide ache when I walked out. What more can you ask for from a movie?

ok, MAYBE a "wetshot", but I think that is a whole other genre. ;)B|

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I am not sure I agree with this. We know as much as we need to know, when we need to know it. For instance, when Ennis meets Jack's parents at the end, it all makes sense, who he is I mean. I can't imagine meeting them or finding more about him earlier. And as far as supporting characters, they were incidental compared to their love for each other. They were punctuation in the time they spent apart.



Fair enough, but I thought it was one way that you could tell that they were creating a two-hour movie out of a short story... felt a little thin at times.

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Now, Krisanne, do you REALLY mean that? I felt like that naive childlike quality he had worked and reflected how his upbringing was tragic but that he responded to it differently than Ennis'. You even see how he brought that out in Ennis later on, like when he was getting ready to GO FISHING.



I guess it was something about the way Jake carried himself. I could see the "weight of the world" on Ledger's face, and besides all the makeup/greying of hair, I *felt* him getting older. I just thought Jake looked a little silly as they aged him. I didn't get the same sense that he was aging/wearing as I did with Heath.

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I could see the "weight of the world" on Ledger's face, and besides all the makeup/greying of hair, I *felt* him getting older. I just thought Jake looked a little silly as they aged him. I didn't get the same sense that he was aging/wearing as I did with Heath.



I agree with your observations, but I related them to character. Ennis didn't have money, friends, trips to mexico, other prospects, etc. Even the waitress had to lasso him. Sorry, too easy. :P I think he was suppossed to look a little silly and peter panish, UNTIL he would get together with Ennis. That last meeting it all came out. Like when Ennis told him he wouldn't be able to get away as much.

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