Why don´t you watch it, and see what all the fuss is about?

GLAAD needs to be more careful around Brokeback Mountain.

But the nasty backlash is only starting to begin.

Hold on to your seats people.

BTW, forgot to say...

It is a landmark film cause it could be the first gay romance to reach the mainstream ("Making love" tried in 1982 but basically failed cause It wasn´t good)... not cause there must be a political intention behind it. They say It could be a watershed cause It´s good, not the other way round...

The reviews or articles which have mentioned that the film can change minds are a minority. There are 73 positives reviews on RT, and most are raves, and mostly just about how much they liked the film. It seems that all of them are on the "overhyping" thing. The LA and NY critics too. And the HFPA, too. Everybody seems to be on it. The bastards!

Apparently Catholic News service is too, by the way. They seem to like it a lot, despite of the content:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/05mv682.htm

So, why can´t you think that people actually like the film cause maybe, just maybe, it is very good? Is it cause of the short story by the pulitzer winning author? Or the screenplay by the also pulitzer winning writer? Or the Oscar winner director? Or the already awarded performances by the actors?

I guess, in the end, It doesn´t matter. Apparently, a gay love story must be under suspicion, cause there must be some other reason why people are liking it. It just can´t be good, right?

I have no intention of seeing it. It just sounds wholly unappealing and I hope it doesn't do too well. Heath Ledger and Gyllenhaal are both overrated actors and Anne Proulx wrote The Shipping News, which turned into a dull as can be film starring Kevin Spacey. On top of that, it is helmed by another overrated person in Ang Lee. There are just so many reasons why it holds no appeal.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178983,00.html

The Ten Best Films of 2005

1. "Munich" ? Steven Spielberg 's second big picture of 2005, but the most important one. Is there enough time to absorb this before the year is up? I hope so. It's not quiet, but it is emotional. And Spielberg's eye for detail has never been better. Eric Bana makes a superb hero, easy to follow as he is drawn by loyalty to God and country into a thankless assassination plot. Universal seems almost to be hiding "Munich" rather than courting an audience. This is a big mistake. Spielberg has merely reported history, not distorted it, with a deft eye.

2. "Match Point" ? Woody Allen is back. "Match Point" should be at the top of every list this year. A well-wrought thriller with a lot of Woody's little Allenisms dropped in, this is a winner from beginning to end. Scarlett Johannson and Emily Mortimer are standouts in a thrilling screenplay that is as knowing about the British class system as Woody used to be about New York's Upper East and West sides. It's nice to see Woody's come home at last. I just hope the old fans will respond positively. "Match Point" is worth waiting in line for.

3. "Capote" ? The perfect movie of 2005, with award-winning performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Clifton Collins Jr. Two childhood buddies ? Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman ? directed and wrote, respectively, the story of Capote's writing "In Cold Blood" as if they'd been making films all their lives. Hard to believe the former was an actor on "Judging Amy," but there you go. Who knows what's next? An orderly from "E.R." could get a Pulitzer at this rate!

4. "Walk the Line" ? I do love this movie and Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Johnny Cash . Phoenix ? Hoffman's only real rival for Best Actor ? gets it right, making Cash a three-dimensional figure and not just turning in a celebrity imitation. Reese Witherspoon, who I ordinarily find grating, does her best work here, wiping away the frivolity of "Legally Blonde." James Mangold ? whose credits include "Heavy," "Cop Land," and "Girl Interrupted" ? now rises in the ranks of accomplished directors. In the end, though, the music speaks for itself. Johnny and June Carter Cash must be smiling down from heaven.

5. "Transamerica" ? Felicity Huffman probably dreaded agreeing to do a series like "Desperate Housewives." After all, she's a "real" actress straight out of David Mamet plays. When she won the Emmy, it seemed obvious that her next movie would put her over the top. Her performance as a pre-op transsexual is mesmerizing. She's got the Best Actress thing locked, which isn't easy in a year of Judi Dench, Diane Keaton, Charlize Theron and Witherspoon.

6. "Good Night and Good Luck" ? With reservations, I have to say "GN, GL" is an admirable piece. David Straitharn will get an Oscar nom as Edward R. Murrow. The whole thing looks and plays right, with nice stuff from the underrated Jeff Daniels and the always appreciated Patricia Clarkson. Hesitation comes from the fact that the film turns on well-known newsreel footage of Sen. Joseph McCarthy being dressed down at last by colleague. But you can never see that too many times.

7. "A History of Violence" ? Usually creepy David Cronenberg goes film noir and makes a movie that looks and feels like the best of the mid-1950s ? a sort of updated "Cape Fear." Viggo Mortensen is spectacular in a Richard Widmark -like role; he should be rewarded over and over. His square-jawed, bright-eyed presence is walks a fine line between potential psycho and likeable townie. Maria Bello, William Hurt and Ed Harris are all excellent. Howard Shore's music is a perfect underscore. A little gem that deserves to be taken seriously.

8. "Broken Flowers" ? Focus Features has done a good job ignoring this brilliant Jim Jarmusch film so they could give us gay cowboys mumbling and tumbling together in "Brokeback Mountain." I do think that Bill Murray 's sublime performance in "Broken Flowers" is going to outlast "Bill and Ted's Excellent Romance," and that video viewers are going to wonder why Murray, director Jarmusch, supporting actor Jeffrey Wright and a trio of Murray's ex-flames ? in cameo ? Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy ? weren't shown more respect.

9. "Murderball" ? Almost no one went to see this documentary when it came out, although the critics told you to. Paraplegics and amputees don't make for romantic moviegoing. "Murderball" in concept sounds scary and off-putting, but it's so uplifting that after a few minutes you just don't see the infirmities of these amazing athletes as they head toward the Paralympics. They are simply transcendent. This is one is a winner, as are all the people who made it including directors Henry Rubin and David Shapiro. Kudos to ThinkFilm for putting this out and staying behind it.

10. The Sundance movies ? My favorite films from Sundance this year were Craig Brewer's "Hustle & Flow," Mike Mills' "Thumbsucker," and Miranda Joy's "Me and You and Everyone We Know." The former has made a star out of Terrence Howard , an actor we're going to be seeing a lot of from now on. "Hustle & Flow" wasn't perfect, but its various elements made it real and appealing at the same time. Brewer is already on to his second film; we can expect big things from him.

From MCN:

Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
1 A History of Violence
2 Sin City
3 Batman Begins
4 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
5 King Kong
6 Munich
7 Match Point
8 Zathura
9 Broken Flowers
10 Waiting

Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV
1 King Kong
2 Crash
3 Batman Begins
4 Memoirs of a Geisha
5 Hustle & Flow
6 Sin City
7 The Chronicles of Narnia
8 Kung Fu Hustle
9 40 Year Old Virgin
10 Lords of Dogtown

Alison Willmore, IFC News
1 2046
2 A History of Violence
3 Cache
4 Kung Fu Hustle
5 Paradise Now
6 King Kong
7 Head-On
8 Grizzly Man
9 Me and You and Everyone We Know
10 Brokeback Mountain

Andrea Meyer, IFC News
1 Cache
2 Match Point
3 Grizzly Man
4 Kings and Queen
5 Keane
6 Me and You and Everyone We Know
7 Brokeback Mountain
8 Capote
9 Head On
10 A History of Violence

Matt Singer, IFC News
1 Last Days
2 A History of Violence
3 Sin City
4 Grizzly Man
5 Tropical Malady
6 2046
7 The Weather Man
8 The White Diamond
9 The Squid & The Whale
10 Memories of Murder

With a Top 5 like his, he should be my favorite critic around.

Just...what in the world is Broken Flowers doing on there?

Or Waiting.

Tasteless

I know. It should be much higher on the list

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune:

1. King Kong
2. Saraband
3. Best of Youth
4. History of Violence
5. Brokeback Mountain
6. Oliver Twist
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Howle's moving Castle
9. The New World
10. Munich

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-0512180397dec18,0,1679385.story?coll=mmx-movies_heds

A few more from the Chicago Tribune people.

MICHAEL PHILLIPS:
1. "Capote"
2. "King Kong"
3. "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"
4. "October 17, 1961"
5. "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"
6. "The Squid and the Whale"
7. "Junebug"
8. "Le Grand Voyage"
9. "Pride & Prejudice"
10. "Brokeback Mountain"

ALLISON BENEDIKT:
1. "The Squid and the Whale"
2. "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" 3. "Syriana"
4. "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
5. "Good Night, and Good Luck."
6. "Brokeback Mountain"
7. "Capote"
8. "Layer Cake"
9. "Winter Solstice"
10. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"

ROB ELDER:
1. "Brokeback Mountain"
2. "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"
3. "Batman Begins"
4. "The Constant Gardener"
5. "Kung Fu Hustle"
6. "Broken Flowers"
7. "King Kong"
8. "Murderball"
9. "Grizzly Man"
10. "Serenity"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-0512180401dec18,1,4696567.story?coll=chi-leisurearts-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Frank Ochieng (The World Journal)
01. Brokeback Mountain
02. Broken Flowers
03. Capote
04. The Constant Gardener
05. Good Night, and Good Luck.
06. A History of Violence
07. Sin City
08. The Squid and The Whale
09. Walk The Line
10. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
11. Crash

Richard Roeper:
1. "Syriana"
2. "The New World"
3. "Crash"
4. "Munich"
5. "Nine Lives"
6. "Capote"
7. "Brokeback Mountain"
8. "A History of Violence"
9. "Walk the Line"
10. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"

Brokeback Mountain doesn't quite sweep the #1 positions in the way Sideways and Eternal Sunshine did it last year. We have no distinictly clear critics' favorite this year, it seems.

Which bodes better that it won't be perceived as "overrated."

Eternal Sunshine and Sideways are hardly perceived as overrated either.

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is that good???

Chicago guys love it.

40 Year Old Virgin has actually made quite a couple of lists. Still need to see it.

Maybe I should give it a chance.

Funniest movie of the year

i thought 40yoV was one of the worst of the year. so. : (

Kris Tapley's top 10 article is up:

01. Last Days
02. Crash
03. Batman Begins
04. A History of Violence
05. March of the Penguins
06. Hustle & Flow
07. Good Night, and Good Luck.
08. The Family Stone
09. The Weather Man
10. Brokeback Mountain

11. Lord of War
12. Cinderella Man
13. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
14. Murderball
15. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Honorable mentions: The Upside of Anger, New York Doll, Memoirs of a Geisha, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

dunno if this has been posted, but an update:


1. A History of Violence
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Syriana
4. Good Night, and Good Luck
5. Munich
6. Capote
7. The Squid and the Whale
8. The Constant Gardener
9. Crash
10. Wedding Crashers
King Kong

Jami Bernard (New York Daily News):
01. King Kong
02. Brokeback Mountain
03. The New World
04. Good Night, and Good Luck
05. A History of Violence
06. Hustle & Flow
07. The Beat That My Heart Skipped
08. The Constant Gardener
09. Pride & Prejudice
10. March of the Penguins

Also recommended:
1. "Corpse Bride"
2. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
3. "The Squid and the Whale"
4. "Cache"
5. "Match Point"
6. "Howl's Moving Castle"
7. "George A. Romero's Land of the Dead"
8. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
9. "2046"
10. "Duma"

Jack Mathews (New York Daily News):
01. A History of Violence
02. King Kong
03. Good Night, and Good Luck
04. March of the Penguins
05. Brokeback Mountain
06. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
07. The Aristocrats
08. Sin City
09. Crash
10. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Both have worst 10 listed as well.

Melora Koepke (The Montreal Hour):
01. Brokeback Mountain
02. Walk the Line
03. Murderball
04. King Kong
05. Oldboy
06. A History of Violence
07. Transamerica
08. Capote
09. Good Night, and Good Luck
10. North Country
11. C.R.A.Z.Y.

Good to see some love for HP4

Elizabethtown as worst movie of the year - ahead of Dukes, Boogeyman, San Luis Rey, etc. ? that's just wrong...

Engin's top 10 lists site for 2005 is supposed to launch today!

PEACE, Mike.