matthewmckibben


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I haven't updated this thing in a while, but just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and well. Well, maybe not *too* well, as I've had to contend with the rapidly changing weather in the hill country. It's January 11th, and it's about 75 degrees outside. I don't even have to expand on that, so I won't. Wearing shorts and sandals during the winter months is just...weird. But I like it.

Recently saw both "Brokeback Mountain" and "Munich."

I think "Munich" may be the movie that seals the Spielberg thing for me. "Munich" demonstrates my worst fears and best hopes about Spielberg. My worst fears being that I find his "message" movies to be muddled messes. My best hopes being that Spielberg is the best director when it comes to crafting suspense and inspired action sequences. When "Munich" is a James Bond/Tom Clancy like spy thriller, the movie is kick ass awesome and moves with an urgency that you wish all movies had.

But when he starts getting to the "message," I think the movie leaves a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong, I believe in his message whole heartedly, but I sometimes think he's a bit out of his element. I believe artists should try new things, but this is the same guy who made "Jaws," "ET," and the Indiana Jones trilogy. When one person is so perfect at a specific genre of films, they often have a hard time with a movie that doesn't fit into their genre. I thought "The Color Purple" was boring. "Minority Report" was great, but that's a nice mix of his two styles. "Saving Private Ryan" was overly sentimental. I don't know. He's still my favorite movie director.

"Brokeback Mountain" was an excellent movie and deserves all the accolades it is getting. The acting is brilliant, but the direction and cinematography really steal the show.

Can we petition to have the "gay cowboy movie" label removed? It's a love story. We don't refer to "Romeo and Juliet" as a heterosexual love story. This is no different. I also wish we could take the "brave" label off this movie as well. The more those who know better label it as such, the more we're perpetuating the belief that homosexual love is something altogether different than the love heterosexual people experience. It's the same love no matter whom you love.

But maybe I'm off base on this...

More on this later.

matt out


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