Overbuzzed movies

Last night I watched Brokeback Mountain on Warner Channel and it was way better than I remembered. The last time a saw it was at the movies four years ago. At the time I thought BB Mountain was an overbuzzed movie, the kind of movie that becomes controversial even before being released and then when you finally watch it you've heard so much about it that you don't get what was expected.

But last night I was able to see Brokeback Mountain with different eyes (figuratively, not literally) and I could really see a feel the struggles both Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist go through by trying to understand the feelings they have for each other. It was really enjoyable. Brokeback Mountain is definitely NOT an overbuzzed movie.

An overbuzzed movie that comes to my mind right know is The Passion of The Christ. The movie generated a lot of buzz for the religious subjects. Some people say that it was good because it showed how brutal Jesus' torture "really" was. But I don't think that showing the torture with explicit violence was cinematographically necessary, we already know how brutal can mankind be and maybe showing a different point of view on Jesus reactions woudl've been much more interesing.

And, did you know that The Passion of The Christ on DVD sold 2.4 millions copies on the first day? But does anybody actually wants to see the movie again? I mean, I can't imagine anyone saying "You know, why don't we make some popcorn and watch The Passion of The Christ DVD? As we watch the explicit torture we can practice our Latin, Hebrew and Arameic".

And also did you know that Ennis Del Mar means "island of the see"? I just thought that was cute.

What other movie (or movies) do you consider to be overbuzzed?

I'm not alone

Apparently I'm not the only one who noted the absence of Arráncame La Vida at the Oscars. Daniel Hernández from Intersections also blogs about the costliest film in mexican history and how it made it to the nine finalist prior the nominations (not eleven like I said).

I stumbled upon Daniel Hernández' blog by accident but it seems really intersting, note his post on mexican Mariachis' homenage to Barack Obama in Mexico City.

81th Oscars: Milk, Heath Ledger, Penelope Cruz and no México

Like I said in a previous post Milk had great chances for the Academy Awards, and managed to get 8 Nominations, including Best Movie, Actor In A Leading Role and Directing. Sadly there was no Oscar nomination for mexican hottie Diego Luna :(.

Heath Ledger got a completely deserved nomination for his performance as The Joker on The Dark Knight. Most people will say he only got nominated because how and when he died, but I couldn't disagree more. Heath Ledger's work was at it's finest and has great chances of winning.

Another nomination that made me happy was Penelope Cruz'. I really enjoyed Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Penelope Cruz along with her character are by far the best parts of the movie. I hope she wins.

And unfortunately Arráncame La Vida (AKA Tear This Heart Out) didn't make it to the Best Foreign Language Film nomination, even though it was within the top 11 foreign films. Arráncame La Vida, by Roberto Snider, is based on the novel by Ángeles Mastretta and tells the story of Catalina Guzman, a young, humble and naive girl from Puebla (my hometown) in the 1930's who marries Andres Ascencio a rich and macho army general politician and trough the years evolves into an clever, idealist and independent woman. Some historical facts reveal that the story is based on the life of Maximino Avila Camacho. If you ever get the chance to see Arráncame La Vida I really recommend you do it.

Will Mexico Get Milk?

Apparently yes, but not until february.

The late release of Milk in México is one of those little things that always reminds me of the intolerance towards homosexuality in México. Milk has everything to be a hit here, it has cast full talented actors, an encouraging story, generates Oscar buzz, and on top of it Diego Luna has an importan role. But it discusses homosexuality, so you rarely here about the movie in mexican media (except for a few great film experts like Lucero Solórzano on the radio).

According to Anodis (mexican LGBT news agency) UNAM's international gay film festival tried to get the premiere of Milk, but Universal International Pictures gave it to the 6th International Contemporary Cinema Festival (FICCO). The FICCO will run from February 17th to March 1st but it's website is so chafa (chafa = mexican slang for crappy) it doesn't have the festival's programming.

Luckily Milk has good opportunities for the Oscars, and a Best Movie nomination usually means wide release before the ceremony in México. So I really hope the academy will consider Milk for Best Movie. Now if Diego Luna somehow gets a Best Supporting Actor nomination mexicans would go crazy and wouldn't even care about all the gay subjects in the movie. But that nomination is not very likely.

Also Cinemex has Milk: Un Hombre, Una Revolución on it's comming attractions section but has no date for the premiere. Another possible name for the movie in México is Mi nombre es Harvey Milk