"Brokeback" Leads Oscar Noms!

Brokeback Mountain received the most Academy Award nominations today. Ang Lee's "gay cowboy" movie received nods for:

• Best Picture
• Actor: Heath Ledger
• Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal (Finally!)
• Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams
• Director: Ang Lee
• Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
• Cinematography
• Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla

I might have to actually watch the Oscars this year!

My 2005 Movie List

I have always enjoyed the theater experience. Certainly, my DVD and VHS collections attest to the fact that I enjoy watching movies at home as well. But, there is just something about sitting in a room full of strangers, eating expensive styrofoam-tasting popcorn and sipping a too-large soda, while staring at a big screen that makes the phrase "suspend disbelief" very powerful. I honestly believe that some films are best viewed on the Big Screen. Titanic was one of these. All three Lord of the Rings films are perfect examples. Brokeback Mountain, although it will probably carry the same emotional impact on the small screen, certainly benefits from having the Wyoming landscapes cast upon a large canvass.

For no particular reason, 2005 became a year of theater-renewal for me. I saw more movies in public last year than I had for decades. Part of that was because I had movie-watching companions, although I attended many viewings all by myself. I think primarily it was just that I gained the awareness that I enjoy the theater. And so, taken from the Oscar-voting list of films released in 2005, here's my list of Movies I Watched (in theaters) in 2005:

Constantine (I will pretty much always show up for a comic-book based flick)
Sin City (Ditto)
The Amityville Horror (Mostly, I just went to see Ryan Reynolds)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I anticipated this one for MONTHS.)
Revenge of the Sith (I caught this one at a midnight first showing in an almost carnival, people-dressed-in-costume atmosphere. Big Fun.)
Madagascar (This was better than I thought it would be. Penguins rule.)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Eh. S'alright.)
Batman Begins (Phenomenal. Best. Batman. Flick. Ever.)
Bewitched (I was a huge fan of Samantha in the day. This sucked.)
Fantastic Four (I developed a new appreciation for Chris Evans and got to see Michael Chiklis shirtless, so it had some good points. I hope the sequel is better.)
Charliee and the Chocolate Factory (I appreciated that this was more like the Charlie books.)
Serenity (See my review here.)
Corpse Bride (I wanted this to be Nightmare Before Christmas. Instead, I sat through the whole thing thinking, "Serenity is playing just down the hall.")
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (I loves me some W&G)
Jarhead (Beauty, thy name is Jake.)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I've never missed a Harry Potter opening weekend.)
Walk the Line (Excellent. Just excellent.)
Rent (Me, love musicals? Hell yeah.)
Syriana (Intelligent and important)
King Kong (Another Big Peter Jackson film. I dug it, but not as much as I'd hoped.)
Brokeback Mountain (I can't say enough. See below.)
Wedding Crashers (Fun, mindless entertainment. And Vince looked cute.)

My favorites above are in green boldface.

I missed the following in theaters, but either already saw them on DVD or plan to:
White Noise (bought it)
Inside Deep Throat (bought it)
Crash
House of Wax
Monster-in-Law
Revenge of the Sith
Herbie: Fully Loaded (I loved the old Disney Herbie movies)
Valiant
Capote
Good Night and Good Luck
Munich
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Transporter 2

Now, I wonder what 2006 will bring?

Love Is a Force of Nature - Part Duex

A postscript to Thursday's blog: Brokeback Mountain is now playing at two -- count 'em 2 -- theatres in Akron, starting this weekend. Nothing like a few statuettes a decrease the risk of controversary and increase the chances of turning a profit, eh?

Or am I being cynical?

And yes, I went to see it again today. I still cry at the ending.

Love Is a Force of Nature

I always seem to discover the really good movies after everyone else.

In the case of Brokeback Mountain, it might be because I had to drive and hour each way to see the critically acclaimed "gay cowboy" film.

(No theatre in Akron has shown it. Sure, we can have "Passion of the Christ" on eight screens for three months, but anything with a hint of controversy? But, I digress...)

I've seen Brokeback Mountain twice now. I came away from the first viewing moved, but also disturbed. It made me glad to be a gay man in a relatively urban area at this point in history; not forty years ago in the sticks.

(Although Matthew Shepard taught us that homophobia is still a factor for gays in America. And we must never forget.)

I was amazed at the diversity of the audience the Sunday afternoon I first saw the film. There were lots of middle-aged couples, groups of women, gay men and women. And, despite the fact that the movie opened a month ago, the house was packed.

I loved a "straight" man once myself and because of that needed some time to mentally sift through my feelings about the relationship between Jack and Ennis. Like others, I don't think Ennis would have ever gotten in touch with his "gay" side if he had never met Jack. I suspect this would have made very little difference in the overall course of his life. He and Alma would still have most likely divorced; the impetus would have been his failure to really connect with the women in his life, not because Alma knew he was having a long-term gay affair.

Perhaps, one day when he was fifty, Ennis would realize that there was something missing from his life all along. Maybe he would even realize what it was. Doubtful, but I know dozens these middle-aged, married-and-raised a family "late bloomers."

I find it interesting that almost everyone I've talked to who saw the movie took it for granted that the scene of Jack being attacked was a fact and not Ennis' perception. Annie Proulx' short story doesn't make it that clear. (In my heart, I believe that was how he died as well.)

I dragged my friend Tim to the theatre for my second showing. Tim hasn't been in a theatre in at least a decade. My second viewing actually made me more aware of the effect a truly loving relationship can have on a life -- the dimensions it adds. Even after the relationship is gone.

I also came away feeling really sorry for Jack. A friend recently described Jack as "predatory" in his pursuit of Ennis. I don't think so. Jack was pitiable not because of his unfortunate end, but because he was the dreamer doomed never to see his dreams fulfilled. His rushing to be with Ennis when he learned of his friend's divorce was absolutely heart-rending.

Ang Lee's use of symbolism was handled masterfully; it was neither heavy-handed nor obtuse. Obviously, the sheep killed on the mountain while the cowboys spent their first night together symbolically foreshadowed their relationship. The symbolism of the shirts, one tucked inside the other, then reversed when they changed owners, was beautiful.

Everything about this movie delights me. The soundtrack, especially Gustavo Santaolalla's compositions, are hauntingly beautiful. The performances are worthy of the praise they have been getting in the popular press. (I think Jake got robbed for not being nominated for a Globe and Heath, of whom I have never been a big fan, pulled off an amazingly complex characterization.)

This isn't really a gay movie. There are plenty of movies, some with graphic sex, that examine the "gay condition." This isn't one of those. This is a love story. Instead of handsome Ryan O'Neal and beautiful, but doomed Ali MacGraw, we have handsome Heath Ledger and beautiful but doomed Jake Gyllenhaal.