"CRASH" or "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN"??---this year's Best Picture- Page 4

[LaVieHilary]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:38pm

I aggree, this year was ok for film. I mean it wasn't fantastic but we got a lot of good movies out there. I have not seen Crash so I can't tell you which film I think should win, but Brokeback Mountain is one of my favorite films. A lot of the nominations and awards have some to do with politics. Many critics think that the nomination of Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man was some of pity since many feel Cinderella Man got snubbed and Paul Giamatti gives good performances. I would hat to see politics play an influence in the results.

[Patronus]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:40pm

I actually thought it was a pretty good year for film, just a bad year for Academy Award nominations.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:46pm

And that's part of where it all comes down to--I thought it was overall a great year in nominations. All 5 nominees for Best Picture--in my Top 10 of the year.

I've said this before: it was the year of love it or hate it films. And depending on how many of them you loved or hated will determine whether or not you felt it was a good year in film. But the fact that this was a year of so many divisive films--films that engaged you to react one way or the other makes it a good year, an interesting year, a progressive year in film instead of a bland one. The fact that the Best Pic noms are small films and not studio pics/blockbusters makes a huge statement over the quality of studio films this year.

Additionally, great art comes out of conservative times. You can see that in this year of films.

[LaVieHilary]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:50pm

I was totally thinking that, too. I mean all the flims nominated for best picture are not huge blockbusters 80 million dollar movies. This year I was happy to know that no more Lord of the Rings would be there to snatch away any awards that quality acting and films deserve.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:51pm

And that last point is a huge one in why these films are "love them or hate them."
All of them are trying to SAY something.

I do feel exactly the same about The English Patient as I do about Crash.
I still hold to the contention though, there are MANY people who love Crash, it seems most likely the reason it would win would be becuase more people jujst liked it more than BBM.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 1:55pm

And thank God films are trying to say something! THAT is a great year in film! lol

Also, love/hate films always get my respect. That's what I am looking for in these discussions. Just because YOU hated something doesn't mean it WAS bad or that you can't respect it for being a great film. Just one you didn't dig.

To relate it to theatre: I imagine there are people who hate Sondheim. But to not have respect for what he has done or to proclaim that any of his critically successful shows are crap would just be moronic. Yes, you are allowed to think what you will about his work, but have a respect.

[Patronus]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:02pm

Not specifically on topic, but it's related...

I also get very annoyed when people like or enjoy something but can't seem to understand that it isn't great.

For instance, I love Center Stage, but I don't think it's a Best Picture nominee.

I won't bring up the name of the movie but a lot of people enjoyed a recent musical movie that was released on DVD. Some of the people were outraged/shocked that it didn't get Oscar nominations. Enjoyment doesn't always have to equal greatness and vice versa. I think that is a point that is often forgotten.

[smartpenguin78]

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

I also think that sometimes people get caught up in what a movie is trying to say and forget about the other failures it may have. Great art for me needs to have both style and substance.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:09pm

True dat. I liked Rent, but I wasn't foolish to think it had any Oscar noms in its future. It's all subjective, but in discussions one should be aware of where their opinions do sit in the "big picture". Not that one has to agree with the big picture--just being aware of what you are dealing with.

And the big picture is that if there is any chance Brokeback won't win, it will be because of the other film nominated that has moved people deeply.

[Plum]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:46pm

Hm. I'm still going with the "okay year" conclusion. As of December, I didn't have enough movies I actually liked to fill out a top 10. And I'd watched more movies than usual because I lived by a movie theater in London. For me, too many of the year's "great" and "anticipated" films turned out to be disappointments.

I hate saying that.

Oh, and a couple of other things- I don't think movies are revolutionary so much as reflective of what's already happening. Movies aren't first responders; they take too long to develop, shoot, and release. They preach mostly to the converted or ready to be converted.

I know it's romantic to think of BBM as pioneering, but with all the implications people here attach to it, wouldn't you rather have it speak to something that's already there rather than be years ahead of its time?
Updated On: 2/26/06 at 02:46 PM

[Luscious]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:00pm

"And the big picture is that if there is any chance Brokeback won't win, it will be because of the other film nominated that has moved people deeply."

Or that Homophobia is alive and well even in Hollywood and especially amongst Academy voters.

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 03:00 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:02pm

I'm horrible raging homophobe! I thought The Constant Gardener was the best film of the year!

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:07pm

I'm a raging homophobe, too!!

I ranked Brokeback below Good Night, and Good Luck, Crash, and Munich!! OMG!!!

I'm gonna go beat myself up now. Then, I'll have latent homosexual urges sex with myself. Then, I will proclaim my beastly heterosexualness after. Then, I will beat myself up some more yelling, "If you tell anyone what happened, I will KILL YOU!"

And, then, I will pop in Crash to reinforce my homo hating ways!!!!

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 03:07 PM

[harris007]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:17pm

ROFLOL

can you film all this jerby =)

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:20pm

perv!

[MarkCohen]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:55pm

Can we honestly start viewing movies as unbiased as possible?

I didn't love BBM because it was about a homosexual relationship, I loved it because it was fantastically acted, shot, written, directed, and scored. It also affected me emotionally.

I didn't think Crash deserved all the praise because i found it uncohesive and slightly pretentious. I enjoyed it, it just wasn't as amazing to me as lots of people said.

I didn't like BBM because it was about gay people, and I didn't dislike Crash because I'm racist.

What would have been truly revolutionary is if BBM came out and it was seen as a good movie, as opposed to a "gay cowboy" movie.

The Academy won't be homphobic is they pick Crash of BBM, just misguided, .

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:57pm

Or astute.

[Plum]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 5:22pm

And the Academy is totally encouraging unethical medical testing practices and corporate/diplomatic corruption when they don't nominate The Constant Gardener. And the fact that they ghettoize great films like Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit to the "animation" category clearly shows that they're against animal rights.

Clearly.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 5:48pm

Clearly, they are bigoted toward animated actors. Not a single animated actor has ever been nominated. And only one animated film has ever been nominated for Best Picture.

Such bigots!

[harris007]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 6:08pm

i agree

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 7:54pm

bell hooks on Crash:

"a piece of schit"

LOL. Read on...

http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/vn...0f?in_archive=1

Updated On: 3/2/06 at 07:54 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 8:09pm

What are we gonna talk about next week? Oh God, the movie that lost.

But here's the most widely read consensus. Let's use this as a guide, and come back to it on Sunday night. When the screaming starts, one way or another.

http://www.oscarwatch.com/Predictions05/winchart.html

Updated On: 3/2/06 at 08:09 PM

[sanda]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 9:10pm

How could brokeback mountain be the best pic of the year? That movie is boring.

My choice is 40-years-old virgin.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 10:35pm

I would sooner see THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN win the Best Picture Oscar, though it's not nominated, over CRASH. There is nothing original about CRASH: it is patronizing and, ultimately, insulting to people of color. Better movies on race relations have been made by filmmakers like Spike Lee and others, and, similarly, there are other better-made interwoven storyline movies than CRASH (just take a look at Don Roos's HAPPY ENDINGS, for a recent example of a great ensemble film) that do not rely so much on cheap redemptions and impossible coincidences.

And as my biggest pet peeve, I ABSOLUTELY HATED the fact that once again, the Asian Man (or the CHINAMAN as the film affectionately called the character) turned out to be the ultimate bad guy. I mean, if you're going to be preachy and "redemptive", then for God's sake, at least show the "human" side of all races uniformly, consistently and show that everyone, no matter what race, both have the good and the bad within them.

If it were a better film, then I wouldn't be upset if CRASH won the Oscar. As it stands, it's poorly made, with mediocre acting (Sandra Bullock's sudden realization that her Latina housekeeper was her best friend was beyond corny--it was just stupid) and doesn't deserve to win.
Updated On: 3/4/06 at 10:35 PM

[children&art]

Posted: 3/2/06 at 11:53pm

Brokeback was a good movie, but not the BEST Picture of the Year - it's not earth shattering or ground breaking, if one of the men was a woman it would play like a Lifetime TV movie.

Crash was drivel, manipulative and ultimately formulaic.