"CRASH" or "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN"??---this year's Best Picture- Page 3

[harris007]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 9:01pm

ugh,

i know i'm gonna get attacked and yes i'm one of those that loved shakespere in love, but over all i really think crash is gonna get best pic, Brokeback will get director and cine and apt screenplay. overall for me i liked brokeback, and no it didnt make me cry, Crash really made me think, and sparked a 3 hr debate with my friends.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 9:19pm

Crash is a tired parade of cliches, easy ironies, cheap telegraphed climaxes, and bogus redemption. The only thing it made me think about is why there are so many bad movies that manage to pull the wool over the eyes of so many people who really should know better.

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 9:36pm

Amen.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 11:19pm

Agree w/ Roscoe. CRASH contains a lot of histrionics (Thandie Newton anyone?), and perhaps that's the reason why it won the SAG for best ensemble. The movie itself, however, is a mere R-rated race relations fable for Los Angelenos. So if CRASH wins on March 5th, I'd be really upset.

I read Annie Proulx's story well before the Ang Lee film came out, and I loved that the movie stayed incredibly faithful to Proulx's prose. (How an elderly, straight white woman can write that story with such incredible insight continues to amaze me). BROKEBACK is definitely one of the best adaptations of a literary work into a film, and w/ its pitch-perfect performances and direction, if there's any justice, it should take home the gold as the Best Picture of 2005.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 11:28pm

crash, hands down.

but the shephards' shirts will win.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/25/06 at 11:31pm

I loved Crash. Oscar night should be something here on this board! (I hope I'm somewhere else though).

[jasonf]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:06am

I wouldn't argue for Crash for best screenplay - it IS heavy handed there - but I thought the movie itself was well done. The thing that impressed me the most was that it managed to balance all those story lines and not leave the viewer (at least me) with the feeling that I was short-changed on any of the characters or stories.

Some of the dialogue was just stilted, and the ending was terrible, but that didn't make the movie any less fascinating for me.

I just watched North by Northwest tonight for the first time - movies sure aren't written like they used to be...

[Jon]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:18am

Crash and Brokeback are in different screenplay categories. Both will win.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:23am

Wow--I'm really impressed at the level of vitriol for Crash. Basically a compliment.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:23am

dupe

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 12:23 AM

[harris007]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:30am

ya know it's the fact i dont get into relationships with guys deep enough to see the aspects brokeback shows, but i really just think crash will win

[jasonf]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:31am

Jon - I know that, I didn't mean my post as a comparison of the two - I just find it hard to believe that was the best original screenplay of the year (40 Year Old Virgin would have gotten that vote from me...)

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:14am

In all fairness to Crash, the only element that I felt was award-worthy was Thandie Newton.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:30am

A "Crash" win could save this years awards from being a colossal bore of predictable wins and run of the mill acceptance speeches

[Plum]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:39am

Yes, and that's a much more worthy cause than actually rewarding excellence. Heck, let's have Alone in the Dark win by write-in vote! That'll be unexpected!

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:29am

oh, well I also think Crash was the best film of the year and would love to see it devastate Brokeback Mountain, I just thought that my opinion would be unnecessarily echoing things that have already been said

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 9:03am

I think a Crash win would be rewarding excellence. It's all subjective.

[Luscious]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:11pm

I think a CRASH win will be rewarding homophobia.

[harris007]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:28pm

sigh

*shakes head*

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:44pm

Oh, Luscious. That is RIDICULOUS.

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 12:44 PM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 12:49pm

Isn't the in keeping with the vast majority of his posts?

[Luscious]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:18pm

Sorry you feel that it's such a RIDICULOUS comment, but, clearly, I'm not the only one who sees it that way. And some are even getting paid for their RIDICULOUS opinion. Wake up!

How Gay Will Oscar Go?
Handicapping who’ll win, who’ll lose, and who’ll just jerk off

By NIKKI FINKE

Given that it's Oscar time, I nominate the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Bunch of Hypocrites. That’s because this year’s dirty little secret is the anecdotal evidence pouring in to me about hetero members being unwilling to screen Brokeback Mountain. For a community that takes pride in progressive values, it’s shameful that Hollywood’s homophobia may be on a par with Pat Robertson’s.

Despite the hype you’re reading in the press and on the Internet about Brokeback, with its eight nominations, being the supposed favorite to take home the Best Picture Oscar on March 5, Crash could end up winning. The issue isn’t which film is better. The issue is more like which movie was seen by the Academy. Frankly, I find horrifying each whispered admission to me from Academy members who usually pose as social liberals that they’re disgusted by even the possibility of glimpsing simulated gay sex. Earth to the easily offended: This movie has been criticized for being too sexually tame. Hey, Academy, what are you worried about: that you’ll turn gay or, worse, get a stiffie by just the hint of hunk-on-hunk action?

http://www.laweekly.com/deadline-hollywood/12564/how-gay-will-oscar-go/


Oscar horse race: Can 'Brokeback Mountain' survive 'Crash'?
By David Germain, Associated Press

"Statistically, we know the vast majority of Oscar voters must be straight if they're at all representative of the general population," O'Neil said. "As much as they admire this movie, it may not feel like it's their movie. If there is homophobia in Hollywood, it could manifest itself there. Or they could just be sick of gay cowboy jokes."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06047/655912.stm


Is secret homophobia fueling a possible 'Crash' upset?
By Tom O'Neil
Los Angeles Times

Something weird is going on among Oscar voters — and it's also going unspoken. "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" have their passionate supporters who gush with their honest love of those best picture nominees, but most non-"Brokeback" votes I hear from Oscar voters are really anti-"Brokeback."

Scads of academy members fume to me when they tattle on how they're inking their ballots, "I'm not voting for 'Brokeback'!" Then they calm down a bit and add, "I'm voting for (fill in the blank)" and give a positive reason to justify their decision for picking an alternative. In most cases I hear contrary votes for "Crash," but there's also surprising strength for "Good Night, and Good Luck." So far I've heard equal numbers of votes for "Brokeback" as "Crash," with "Good Night" not far behind. The best picture race is really thisclose.


It's the fury that voters express when mentioning "Brokeback" that's so odd and suspicious. In some cases I believe they're people who think the film is overrated. Or they're just weary of gay cowboy jokes. But in the majority of cases I suspect it's something else and something bad that they feel they can't utter out loud, so they're holding it in. You can see it on their faces.

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2006/02/is_secret_homop.html


It’s the ABC Oscars: anything but ‘Crash’
And does the Academy have the guts to go with ‘Brokeback’?
By Erik Lundegaard
MSNBC contributor

This year “Brokeback” won the Directors Guild Award (DGA), the Producers Guild Award (PGA), and the Golden Globe. Since 1989, when the PGA came into existence, nine pictures have won all of these awards and eight of the nine — “Dances with Wolves,” Schindler’s List,” “Forrest Gump,” “The English Patient,” “Titanic,” “American Beauty,” “Chicago” and “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” — have gone on to win the Academy Award for best picture. The one that didn’t? “Saving Private Ryan,” in what is still a head-scratcher. Apparently the Weinsteins lobbied hard for “Shakespeare in Love,” and as anyone who has ever look at our laws knows, lobbying works. Ads work. People are dumb.

Exhibit A: Word from Hollywood is that “Crash,” of all films, is making an 11th hour run at the title. According to L.A. Weekly’s Nikki Finke, older Academy members are shying from viewing “Brokeback” for the usual homophobic reasons. But then she writes this:

That “Brokeback” isn’t the Oscar favorite may have been foreshadowed at the SAG awards, when “Crash” topped it for best picture and Philip Seymour Hoffman won over Heath Ledger.

First, “Crash” didn’t top anything for best picture. There is no best picture at SAG. What “Crash” won was “Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.” Second, winning the cast award at SAG is not exactly an accurate indicator of what will win the Academy Award for best picture. SAG has given the cast award nine times, and only four of those pictures have gone on to win the Academy’s best picture. Last year, for example, “Sideways” won the cast award.

In other words, if “Brokeback” doesn’t win it’s either a triumph for advertising or homophobia. Either way, the Academy looks bad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11480804/

In Defense of Brokeback Mountain
By Josh Aterovis

I've noticed a phenomenon over the years that you may have noticed as well. Some people just don't want to like something everyone else likes. They have to be different. They like to feel they are somehow superior to the general public. I've seen people who once championed an underground band suddenly lose interest when the band becomes successful. "They sold out," is the usual lame excuse. Then there are those who love a TV show until it climbs into the top ten in the Nielson ratings, then suddenly, all they can do is find fault with it. It seems they only want to root for the underdog. If something becomes too popular, you can almost guarantee a backlash.

That backlash has begun for Brokeback Mountain, but surprisingly, it's not coming from the mainstream press. The most virulent criticism isn't even coming from the Christian press. It's coming from the very people who would have been crying from the rooftops if this movie hadn't been well-received -- the LGBT press. In recent weeks, I've seen a raft of negative reviews surfacing, almost all of them from gay movie critics.

http://www.gaylinkcontent.com/storydetail.cfm?storyid=2383

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 01:18 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:27pm

And that pov denies any notion that Crash is a great film worthy of the honor--yes, I GET that you and others HATE or think the film only ok. I GET that Brokeback is the second coming of Christ.

But at SOME point, one has to grasp some sanity over the matter. I don't care for The English Patient, but I would never speak of it in the terms that Crash has been spoken of here. At a certain point, I would think that you guys (like me with The English Patient) would acknowledge that while you didn't like the film or think it deserving of Best Picture, you would allow for intelligent discourse that others do feel that way and that it is clearly considered a legitimate film of 2005.

This talk that Crash winning can ONLY be about homophobia is absolute rubbish. If Crash wins, it will be primarily because there are [SHOCK! SURPRISE!] people who LOVED the film. I would be happy if Brokeback won because it's clear it's artistically an excellent film and for political reasons, but I am one of those who liked Crash more. WAY more.

[fflagg]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:28pm

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS is the best film of 2005.

Gee is it possible that BROKEBACK will win because it was yet another crappy year of US films and that it is the PC choice to win?

I am so tired of seeing the ADVOCATE and other news sources proclaiming how this is such a groundbreaking film. It is not a groundbreaking film. It is an overpraised film that will do not a damn thing to help gay and lesbian filmmaking or tolerance. A film is not going to erase prejudice.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:31pm

I'm tired of people saying it was a crappy year in film. Quite the opposite.