http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:22:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-7011 Ambival.net » Movie Reviews » My Top 100 Movies [current] Sun, 15 Apr 2007 18:43:43 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-7011 [...] Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee [...] [...] Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee [...]

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-1585 Ambival.net » Movies » The Children’s Hour Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:40:29 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-1585 [...] This makes an ideal companion to The Bad Seed – in fact, I’d go so far as to say that Karen Balkin’s Mary deserves The Bad Seed’s admittedly silly “spanking” ending even more than Patty Duke’s Rhoda, she is easily the most evil child I’ve ever seen in a movie. I don’t think any scene in cinema has ever made me hate a kid so much as when she craftily threatens Veronica Cartwright’s Rosalie – right in plain sight of the adults – over the missing bracelet, to get her to say what she wants her to say … it’s absolutely excruciating. But where The Bad Seed took a slightly blackly comic approach to its unsettling material – I’d personally go so far as to say that movie is almost straight comedy, it’s hilarious – this one is much more tragic and serious about it. The ending is emotionally shattering and the performances – from the children to the stars Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine – are grittier than most you’ll find from the time. The homosexual side of things is hardly Brokeback Mountain but that’s kind of beside the point – this is a story more about hearsay and the damage it does than an issue in itself, and you only need look at the cast to know there isn’t gonna be much controversy. As a counterpoint to the dozens and dozens of movies that say little girls are all sugar and spice and everything nice, though, it’s pretty much beyond compare. Sure, there’s Damien and Regan and the Children of the Damned etc … but this girl is real and you absolutely believe at every turn that someone could genuinely be so cruel, and that’s what’s so unsettling about it. [...] [...] This makes an ideal companion to The Bad Seed – in fact, I’d go so far as to say that Karen Balkin’s Mary deserves The Bad Seed’s admittedly silly “spanking” ending even more than Patty Duke’s Rhoda, she is easily the most evil child I’ve ever seen in a movie. I don’t think any scene in cinema has ever made me hate a kid so much as when she craftily threatens Veronica Cartwright’s Rosalie – right in plain sight of the adults – over the missing bracelet, to get her to say what she wants her to say … it’s absolutely excruciating. But where The Bad Seed took a slightly blackly comic approach to its unsettling material – I’d personally go so far as to say that movie is almost straight comedy, it’s hilarious – this one is much more tragic and serious about it. The ending is emotionally shattering and the performances – from the children to the stars Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine – are grittier than most you’ll find from the time. The homosexual side of things is hardly Brokeback Mountain but that’s kind of beside the point – this is a story more about hearsay and the damage it does than an issue in itself, and you only need look at the cast to know there isn’t gonna be much controversy. As a counterpoint to the dozens and dozens of movies that say little girls are all sugar and spice and everything nice, though, it’s pretty much beyond compare. Sure, there’s Damien and Regan and the Children of the Damned etc … but this girl is real and you absolutely believe at every turn that someone could genuinely be so cruel, and that’s what’s so unsettling about it. [...]

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-1562 Ambival.net » Movies » The Brothers Grimm Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:50:29 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-1562 [...] It’s still not great … but I’m glad I was able to make the mood switch and ‘get it’ more than I might have on a different day. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon are a couple of actors I’ve only just got over hating (Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and Lords of Dogtown, Damon … okay maybe I’m still working on him), but they’re both brilliant here, and some of the visual effects are so brilliantly conceived and so outright creepy – the gingerbread man, the queen in the mirror – that the perfect execution of them is just icing on the cake. Will I watch it again? In a Terry Gilliam revue, maybe … but it was fun while it lasted. [...] [...] It’s still not great … but I’m glad I was able to make the mood switch and ‘get it’ more than I might have on a different day. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon are a couple of actors I’ve only just got over hating (Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and Lords of Dogtown, Damon … okay maybe I’m still working on him), but they’re both brilliant here, and some of the visual effects are so brilliantly conceived and so outright creepy – the gingerbread man, the queen in the mirror – that the perfect execution of them is just icing on the cake. Will I watch it again? In a Terry Gilliam revue, maybe … but it was fun while it lasted. [...]

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-1143 Ambival.net » Movies » The Devil Wears Prada Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:12:07 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-1143 [...] Things I came to this movie with … first, I kinda have a similar awkward kneejerk reaction to Anne Hathaway as I do to Scarlett Johansson these days. It’s fairly unexplained, I wanna say I hate everything of hers outside the “Princess Diaries” series except then I remember she was ok in “Brokeback Mountain”:http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain; it might be something to do with the way she is “in real life” ... I don’t know. Anyway there’s that. That and it really looked a lot to me like Swimming with Sharks with girl girls. And the fact that I felt like I’d seen the movie already through the promo materials I couldn’t avoid. [...] [...] Things I came to this movie with … first, I kinda have a similar awkward kneejerk reaction to Anne Hathaway as I do to Scarlett Johansson these days. It’s fairly unexplained, I wanna say I hate everything of hers outside the “Princess Diaries” series except then I remember she was ok in “Brokeback Mountain”:http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain; it might be something to do with the way she is “in real life” ... I don’t know. Anyway there’s that. That and it really looked a lot to me like Swimming with Sharks with girl girls. And the fact that I felt like I’d seen the movie already through the promo materials I couldn’t avoid. [...]

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-372 Ambival.net » Movies » 2005 Movies Fri, 09 Jun 2006 00:47:11 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-372 [...] Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee [...] [...] Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee [...]

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-322 Matt Wed, 25 Jan 2006 06:32:14 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-322 <p>There were also a lot of questions people had like if the mother gave the ashes away. The gay obvious was stated, but much of the plot was only hinted at.</p> There were also a lot of questions people had like if the mother gave the ashes away. The gay obvious was stated, but much of the plot was only hinted at.

]]> http://ambival.net/movies/brokeback-mountain#comment-320 leann Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:57:41 +0000 http://ambival.net/?p=710#comment-320 <p>Agree it was good, but not best picture of the year.<br />I was looking for a picture of Heath for an email I was sending and saw him and Jake up on Rubberfaces.com – cracked myself up playing with those cowboy faces! Hey, would like to see the Hulk there too!</p> Agree it was good, but not best picture of the year.
I was looking for a picture of Heath for an email I was sending and saw him and Jake up on Rubberfaces.com – cracked myself up playing with those cowboy faces! Hey, would like to see the Hulk there too!

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