Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone gives Brokeback Mountain 4 stars out of 4....

[ZetaPhi708]

New York Film Critics Circle Awards


picture: Brokeback Mountain
director: Ang Lee
actor: Heath Ledger
actress: Reese Witherspoon
supp. actor: William Hurt
supp. actress: Maria Bello
screenplay: The Squid and the Whale

[ZetaPhi708]

Best Picture: "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Director: Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Screenplay: "Good Night, And Good Luck," by George Clooney and Grant Heslov
Best Actor: Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon for "Walk the Line"
Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Costner for "The Upside of Anger"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams for "Junebug"
Best Foreign Language Film: "Caché" ("Hidden")
Best Documentary: "Grizzly Man"

[Rudey]

"Brokeback Mountain takes great pains to be a compassionate love story; but the filmmaking itself, self-consciously restrained and desiccated, is inert and inexpressive."
-- Stephanie Zacharek, SALON.COM

"For all its brave beginnings and real achievements -- its assault on western mythology, its discovery of a subversive sexual honesty in an unexpected locale -- Brokeback Mountain finally fails to fully engage our emotions."
-- Richard Schickel, TIME MAGAZINE

"I love gay people and I love a lot of gay movies - just not this one."
-- Kevin N. Laforest, MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL

2/5 "An inert disappointment."
-- Phil Hall, FILM THREAT

"So much for down and dirty."
-- Ed Gonzalez, SLANT MAGAZINE

"Ang Lee's formalism is so extreme that it's often laughable, and the sex is depicted as a holy union: Gay love has never been so sacred."
-- David Edelstein, SLATE

"Brokeback Mountain is an epic love story about gay cowboys and that, in itself, is something. Otherwise, the film is not one to get particularly excited over."
-- Marcy Dermansky, ABOUT.COM

"Ultimately suffocates on its own good taste."
-- Kevin Courrier, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

"Heath Ledger's extraordinary. . . though Lee's passion for this project seems several degrees cooler."
-- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL

"The movie is too tame and too clumsy to be worth much outside its "groundbreaking" status."
-- Jeffrey M. Anderson, COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID

It's not that great. Hyped up.

And I just clicked on a link that turned out to be a sound clip and now people are making fun of me. Great.

-Rudey

[Kevlar281]

Am I the only one who read the short story?

[ZetaPhi708]

Originally posted by Kevlar281
Am I the only one who read the short story?

Kevlar, I have not read the short story yet but plan too after viewing the film.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by ZetaPhi708
Kevlar, I have not read the short story yet but plan too after viewing the film.

You're sure heaping a lot of praise on a film you haven't yet seen. You may want to see it before getting on the bandwagon.

[Sistermadly]

Brokeback Mountain Short Story from the New Yorker.

[ZetaPhi708]

Originally posted by KSigkid
You're sure heaping a lot of praise on a film you haven't yet seen. You may want to see it before getting on the bandwagon.

I hope to see it this weekend if tickets are available in Atlanta. I am just keeping track of the Critic's Choices leading up to Oscar time.

[amycat412]

I saw it and reviewed it and also gave it a big thumbs up. Its true, do not judge the subject matter. It is a powerful story about love and courage.

[GeoffZ]

Originally posted by Kevlar281
Am I the only one who read the short story?

I read it too. The movie is a good adaptation.

[Sistermadly]

I saw it last weekend...here's my verdict.

I saw it, but reading the short story beforehand kind of took the sting out of the sadness of it. I think it's a very well made movie, but the jury is out on whether it actually deserves all the accolades it got. Of course, this could be my Heath Ledger bias talking, but my adorable Jakey-Wakey just didn't seem right for the role. He did a fine job, however.

I also think that the Hollywood Foreign Press gave the Best Supporting Actress nod to the wrong person. Don't get me wrong - Michelle Williams does a wonderful job (and hooray for her for being the only Dawson's Creek alumnus to actually be able to act worth a damn!), but Anne Hathaway truly surprised me. Granted, I hadn't seen her in anything except the original Princess Diaries movie and Ella Enchanted, but she was amazing. Hopefully someone will give her the recognition she's due.

I saw it with my husband and a gay male friend, and by the end they were both crying.

Has anyone else seen it?

[ZetaPhi708]

WARNING!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!



Yes, I saw it last weekend in Atlanta. Here is my official review of the film. I consider it to be the best film of the year.

This film is a wonderful cinematic experience from several different levels. Everything comes together in this film perfectly, from the casting, the cinematography, the direction, and the words written eloquently (sic) from the pens and/or word processors of Proulx, McMurtry and Ossana.

The acting in this film is what I must comment on first. Ledger's performance ( VERY WORTHY OF THE BEST ACTOR OSCAR ) is one of sheer passion, ORIGINALITY, and heartbreak, both internally ( from the soul of Mr. Ledger ) and externally ( delivered to us, the viewers ). I comment that I felt Mr. Hoffman's performance ( "Capote" ) felt zeroxed, in that Mr. Hoffman was ( oh boy, i might get flamed for this comment ) just copying the mannerisms of Capote. In contrast, Mr. Ledger's performance is one of embodying someone ( the character of Ennis) we have ever seen on the screen before. The emotional pain of Ennis is heartfelt and mesmorizing in that we, the audience, struggle with him on each word, in that we wish he would make that one choice that might have steered the relationship down another path, one of happiness and not of sorrow. Add into the mix of the strong acting of Michelle, Jake and Anne and and you get one of the best ensemble casts in film history. Heath and Jake, thanks for your hard work and strength from the heart to bring these characters to life and to our hearts.

The directing talents of Ang Lee are top notch and he deserves the Oscar this year. I have yet to see a film of his I did not like ( Hulk was even on my personal top ten list for its year of release ).

The camera work on this film is beautiful and each shot captures the vista of the mountains, the clouds, the storms and the environment that each of the characters has to endure and be a part of, whether it be the outdoors, a pup tent or a crowded apartment above a landramat.

This film speaks of what is at the core of it in a brief song lyric, that a love can never grow old but live on in the hearts of those that love you. Ennis' love for Jack will never grow old but live on for all eternity. We know this to be true, emotionally in the form of the tearful eyes and the wavering voice of Ennis Del Mar and physically, two shirts and a postcard of one of God's creations, both of which are hanging in a simple closet in a simple trailer on a lonely dirt road. God Bless you Jack and Ennis, wherever you are.

Yeah, I am man enough to admit that I cried. First time I have cried at a movie since Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

[PiKA2001]

I like Ang Lee. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm are both really good movies. I saw the movie and said to a friend that it should have been called Bore-back Mountain just because the movie really drags on in some certain scenes. I liked it but I dont think i'll see it again. It does have some pretty good messages that anyone gay or straight can relate too.

[James]

Well I would say that you are either getting a piece of the gross or or you have a pretty personal stake in gay issues and stories.

I hope you enjoyed the movie.

Originally posted by ZetaPhi708
Well, I am a guy and I don't think that most guys are going to be seeing this movie.

I have been watching movies ( both mainstream and independent ) for over 34 of my 38 years. I have learned not to judge a film by its content but see each and every movie with an open mind.

[ZetaPhi708]

Nope to either but I have long since been a fair judge of film and I do not judge a film on it's content but on several other factors. I can estimate that I have seen over 1000 films in theaters in my life so far and also have written film reviews for newspapers and online websites.

Hey, Ebert and Roeper are straight and they saw the film and LOVED it........It was Mr. Ebert and the late Gene Siskel in their show on PBS that taught me, as a teenager, to see films and review them honestly and with a non-judgmental mind and heart.

BBM is more about repression and lonliness than gay issues. If you are worried about the "sex scene" with Ledger and Gyllenhall, you can be advised that the scene is of a short duration with no nudity and that the sex scene between Michelle Williams and Ledger was more graphic.