Two guys take jobs as ranch hands, spend a whole summer, and fall in love. It should end there but the whole world is against them. The world eventually wins and this romance becomes a tragedy. Such is the case of Brokeback Mountain, which for good reasons has scored alot of recognition this awards season. Not just because it's about gay cowboys, and this is Hollywood. It's getting recognition because it is a real story that gets all of the details right. (As far as I can tell)
However is this movie better than all the others this year. Does it deserve the best picture? In my humble opinion no. I would compare this movie to other best picture winners like Dances with Wolves, and Out of Africa. Yes they are great movies, yes they deserve recognition, but whoever watches these anymore. I can tell you this, I probably won't see Brokeback Mountain again. It's too long and moves too slow and once you've seen a great landscpe do you really get the same thrill in watching it again.
Not saying that this movie is bad, but there are better ones out there this year. Here are my top five movies I'm thinking of buying this year. I will definitely watch these movies more than once. 1. King Kong 2. Pride and Prejudice 3. Matchpoint 4. Walk the Line 5. The 40-year old Virgin. These are movies I would want to see nominated this year.
Here are the movies that were nominated instead: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Crash, and Munich. (I have yet too see Crash). All good movies, but are they the best. There is a bias in the academy, I think, towards drama, and against comedy, adventure, and remakes. In my opinion it is just as hard to make a superior comedy than it is to make a superior drama. So in that course of logic, hopefully we would have a balance of those genres, but it seems that there are certain films that we feel obligated to nominate whether they really deserve it or not. This hurts twofold. It brings a film attention that doesn't deserve it, and much more harmful: it takes away attention from films that do deserve our praise. (i.e. Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, When Harry Met Sally..., Groundhog Day, There's Something about Mary) It really is a shame. Someday I hope that comedies and comedians get more credit. There's as much good in making people laugh as there is in making them cry.
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