Milk (Gus Van Sant)

[Silencio]

Trailer (http://buzzsugar.com/1914966)

Looks pretty damn great.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Was just going to post about this, looks fantastic. Didn't know Victor Garber was in this!

[Sxottlan]

Looks very interesting.

Harris Savides is the DP. He's got 1970's San Francisco down cold. He did Zodiac too.

Anyone else notice the compositions that give just a little more head room than normal?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Quicktime version (http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/)

Looks promising. Certainly a departure from Van Sant's last few films.

[Wryan]

Looks very interesting.

Harris Savides is the DP. He's got 1970's San Francisco down cold.

Some of those shots look incredible and some look a little stagey.

And what is with Hirsch's wig? Not working. :P

[Ezee E]

Incredibly done trailer. Love the piece of music. Anyone know what it's called?

[NickGlass]

Incredibly done trailer.

Certainly, but it's a bit too "fast." I'm sure the film will be more patient. I wonder if Van Sant will adopt a structure similar to To Die For, with the media coverage (either archival or recreated) being intertwined with the film.

That said, I think Harvey Milk is a fascinating subject and I love The Times of Harvey Milk.

[Silencio]

Incredibly done trailer. Love the piece of music. Anyone know what it's called?Which one? The opera-type music or the slow piece? The former is "The Infinite Descent" from Angels in America, and the latter is "Almost Martyrs" from the Life of David Gale soundtrack.

[soitgoes...]

I saw the trailer before Burn After Reading, and I have to say I'm excited for it. Looks great.

[Morris Schæffer]

A little late, but that was an amazing trailer. Gotta love Penn!

[number8]

It's all right. Yeah, Van Sant's most accessible since Good Will Hunting, for sure.

[Wryan]

It's all right. Yeah, Van Sant's most accessible since Good Will Hunting, for sure.

Likely intentional, considering.

[MadMan]

Huh, so now I see why people are buzzing about this film. I remember reading only a little bit about the man, and thus a film about him should be quite enlightening to say the least.

[Sycophant]

Very much looking forward to this. Among many reasons, the one I'm giving to my friends is "It has Sean Penn in it... smiling."

[Ezee E]

Very much looking forward to this. Among many reasons, the one I'm giving to my friends is "It has Sean Penn in it... smiling."
He smiled in I Am Sam.

[Sycophant]

He smiled in I Am Sam.
Okay, smiling as a... uh, person operating at full mental capacity.

[Ezee E]

Okay, smiling as a... uh, person operating at full mental capacity.
Guess that knocks out Fast Times too...

[Winston*]

Slant's positive review for this compared it to Kinsey. Doesn't really fill one with confidence.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Slant's positive review for this compared it to Kinsey. Doesn't really fill one with confidence.

Ugh. Sure doesn't.

[Watashi]

Slant compared Benjamin Button to Weekend at Bernie's 2.

[Stay Puft]

Slant compared Benjamin Button to Weekend at Bernie's 2.

As if I wasn't excited enough!

[Raiders]

Slant compared Benjamin Button to Weekend at Bernie's 2.

Link?

[Watashi]

Link?
I had one, but I lost it.

[Pop Trash]

The critics are loving this one. 86% on metacritic. Needless to say, it's now a shoo-in for best pic, director, and actor.

[Ezee E]

The critics are loving this one. 86% on metacritic. Needless to say, it's now a shoo-in for best pic, director, and actor.
The lists that are all out right now seemed to have forgotten Doubt.

Button, Dark Knight, Slumdog, Milk, and Frost/Nixon seem to be the tops right now.

[Pop Trash]

The lists that are all out right now seemed to have forgotten Doubt.

Button, Dark Knight, Slumdog, Milk, and Frost/Nixon seem to be the tops right now.

Given the political climate of Cali right now (where most Oscar voters live) I'm pretty sure this is getting in. I'm thinking Milk, TDK, Button, and Slumdog will get in for sure. The fifth spot is up in the air. Don't count out Revolutionary Road either.

[NickGlass]

It's superb. Van Sant and the ensemble have done something significant to the biopic; they've let iconic characters actually breathe. Character development comes in the form of performance, atmosphere and energy, not flashback. It's certainly not without a jarringly clunky, yet thankfully very brief, moment or two (what was up with that Gus? Were you just showing off how bad the film could have been if it was in someone else's hands?), but it's so well-crafted, serious, buoyant, devastating and triumphant. It unapologetically gay and it totally works.

[number8]

You know, I'm not so enthusiastic about it other than the performances, and I have to say, what was up with that scene where Milk runs into a drunken Dan White? Josh Brolin was friggin' hysterical in that scene.

"Who are you? You just -- You came outta nowhere.... Latino man!"

[origami_mustache]

It certainly exceeded my expectations.

[Mysterious Dude]

Seemed kinda run-of-the-mill to me. A little better than most biopics, but Van Sant has done much better than this.

[Mysterious Dude]

I'd also like to say:

Milk's death took so long, it should have been accompanied by Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEzQcayEPM). What happened to the Gus Van Sant of Elephant who knew how to kill people properly?

[number8]

:lol:

[origami_mustache]

Seemed kinda run-of-the-mill to me. A little better than most biopics, but Van Sant has done much better than this.

I expected it to be run-of-the-mill, and script-wise it probably is aside from the structure of the flashbacks based on an audio recording format, but Van Sant does a lot of interesting things technically, that you wouldn't see in in an average bio-pic, and the cast is stellar. I also think this film incorporated some of the most effective use of stock footage I have seen. The villain, depending on how you look at it, is basically only seen through news footage.

[Duncan]

I thought it was very good. Got a little choked up at the end. Still, I propose a moratorium on the opera = profundity trend. That needs to stop.

I thought it was interesting that he used the long lens during the gay sex scenes. Sometimes that's used to emphasize the disorientation and merging of selves or whatever in sex scenes, but here I just got the feeling that he wanted to make it blurry because in-focus gay sex is harder for an audience to take. Just supposition though.

Anyway, it's well made. Van Sant's definitely a talented guy, but Gerry is still the only film of his that I've really connected with.

[Briare]

Slant's positive review for this compared it to Kinsey. Doesn't really fill one with confidence.

I was reminded of Kinsey at more than one time during Milk, although I liked Kinsey a lot more. :)

I think the way the films are laid out [byway of lame interview flashback], the reverance and unwavering admiration held for the main subject and a softening of the more undesirable traits of both characters as they have similiar problems. They are also both rather light on the dirtier bits of either man's lives and come off sanitized for it.

[Watashi]

Very good, if a bit uneven. Kinda weird saying this is Van Sant's most accessible movie since 1997 with all unapologetic gay themes. Hell, even Brokeback Mountain had to throw some boobs in there to draw in the homophobic crowd. Oh noes! Not really seeing the Brolin love. It's a good subtle performance, but he has some scenes that just don't work (like the scene 8 mentioned).

My theater had a pretty strong reaction to it being in California and all. This film couldn't be any more relevant.

I'm interested to seeing 8's theater reactions and reactions from San Francisco in general. I expect huge standing ovations and such.

[Wryan]

Did Luna wander off the set of a different movie? Penn's great, and much of this feels very true. Its conventions and accessibility felt intentional. Not hard to digest this because it's gamboling through familiar territory, just like all the hetero biopics. Equality at last. I liked Brolin and Franco. Some fine points made, scored, and earned.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I dug this alright, but I didn't find it to be much better thematically or more interesting formally than pretty much any other biopic.

Also, I wasn't really impressed with Brolin either. He should have actually been drunk for that scene.

7.0

[Raiders]

He should have actually been drunk for that scene.

That's ridiculous. No he shouldn't.

[Spaceman Spiff]

That's ridiculous. No he shouldn't.

I was being facetious, but in any case, you have a problem with actors altering their physiological state for the sake of a scene? I don't think I do, really.

He just didn't look drunk at all.

[Wryan]

I was being facetious, but in any case, you have a problem with actors altering their physiological state for the sake of a scene? I don't think I do, really.

He just didn't look drunk at all.

Looked aight to me. Lots of drunk variations out there. Plus I liked Brolin a lot in the film, generally, though some people seemed to not have.

[Raiders]

I don't think "drunk" really has a specific look. I think just amongst the people I know, the variations on how they look and act when drunk practically runs the gamut.

[Ezee E]

Meh. Feels like it's been there done that, just with a different setting and group of people. Brolin's character is pretty boring, and I don't understand the love he's getting, and I dig the Brolin. Franco should be getting the acclaim here. Penn is justified.

Gus Van Sant does do some pretty neat things with the camera, but I wish they would've dug deeper into a few things, such as Milk's paranoia. It was just one scene, and we never really saw him be scared anymore. Or going further into other characters besides their surface personality. The character we did get to see more of, Franco, was the best thing. Go figure.

[Ezee E]

You know, I'm not so enthusiastic about it other than the performances, and I have to say, what was up with that scene where Milk runs into a drunken Dan White? Josh Brolin was friggin' hysterical in that scene.

"Who are you? You just -- You came outta nowhere.... Latino man!"
Speaking of which, I'd really like to see Brolin do some comedic roles again.

[soitgoes...]

Or going further into other characters besides their surface personality. The character we did get to see more of, Franco, was the best thing. Go figure.
This was my biggest problem with the film. At the end when they show stills of the characters from the film followed by their real life counterparts, I was at a loss at who half of them were. I remember them being in the film, but they weren't of any importance to me or the film. They were just Milk's posse. Granted the film is called Milk, and for the most part his character was fully realized and wonderfully acted by Penn.

Seriously though, Diego Luna's character was soooo annoying. I'll give the benefit of the doubt that that was how he was supposed to be, since I have no clue, but damn, what a bitch.

[Ezee E]

I never understood what brought Milk to liking Diego Luna's character. From the beginning he was just a drunk dude that wandered into his place. Nothing noteworthy to say either.

[NickGlass]

Diego Luna's character represented a friend's aloof, petulant boyfriend that you and your friends hate. It worked.

As for people who claim it's too been-there-done-that, or that the characterizations are shallow, can you please elaborate? Milk has a relative structure of a biopic, but it's so loose and fluid. It doesn't sublimate character development just to harp upon historical points. Unlike Walk the Line and Ray, Van Sant tells the story from the inside out--focusing on the array of characters (and, DUH, not going into their backstories) as a cohesive, powerful ensemble.

Brolin, for the record, was absolutely fantastic. It's an extremely tricky role, but he infuses the character with more nuance, genuine frustration, and perfectly awkward energy.

[Ezee E]

No, there's no backstories, or a need for them.

It's just that the characters are basically one-note to me. Diego is whiney. The behind-the-scenes guys are just that. Emile Hirsch is excited. There's nothing rounded about them at all.

I think they could've gotten a lot more into Brolin. Instead, he felt rushed, going straight from possible good guy to angry guy. Heck, the way he was blindsided, I almost empathize for him.

And while Diego may represent what you say, what makes Harvey Milk attracted to such a person?

Take for example, The Class, which you gave a high rating for. We see that characters are all stereotypes on the outside, but as the year goes on, we get to see more and more of them. They aren't just the stereotype that we think they are. There is something behind them.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

I would like to hear some thoughts from you about The Class though.

[number8]

After his December 23 appearance on David Letterman, Rourke told someone backstage that he was surprised that so many people seemed to think that Penn was his Oscar competition since “I’m not even sure he’ll get a nomination.”

On December 28, a Los Angeles entertainment honcho shared a text message with me that Rourke had sent him: “Look seans an old friend of mine and i didnt buy his performance at all—thought he did an average pretend acting like he was gay besides hes one of the most homophobic people i kno" [sic]

Wouldn't it be more of a challenge to play the role if you're a homophobe?

[Ezee E]

Wouldn't it be more of a challenge to play the role if you're a homophobe?
Not if you're an actor.

[DavidSeven]

I wish people would stop calling this film a "conventional" or "accessible" biopic. To do that is to lump it with artisically empty drivel like Capote or Kinsey brought to screen by "filmmakers" with no significance in cinema. Milk and Van Sant deserve more than that. OK, he's not doing his Bela Tar routine (holding... holding... holding... the shot), but it's still clearly the work of man who knows how to use the form. The use of stock footage is amazing and near seamless with the washed out colors and production design on Van Sant's footage. I like what Nick says about the characters being able to "breath." Forget historical checkpoints and key moments in early development; this film informs us about the players by the way they interact with each other. Van Sant and Penn lifts Milk by bringing him down to earth rather than making him an alien character who only exists in movie-worlds with obsessively structured scenes and mannered performances (see Capote).

Not without flaws, but extremely moving stuff and some exceptional technical work. It warrants its BP nom and probably deserves a win considering the competition.

[ledfloyd]

I wish people would stop calling this film a "conventional" or "accessible" biopic. To do that is to lump it with artisically empty drivel like Capote or Kinsey brought to screen by "filmmakers" with no significance in cinema. Milk and Van Sant deserve more than that. OK, he's not doing his Bela Tar routine (holding... holding... holding... the shot), but it's still clearly the work of man who knows how to use the form. The use of stock footage is amazing and near seamless with the washed out colors and production design on Van Sant's footage. I like what Nick says about the characters being able to "breath." Forget historical checkpoints and key moments in early development; this film informs us about the players by the way they interact with each other. Van Sant and Penn lifts Milk by bringing him down to earth rather than making him an alien character who only exists in movie-worlds with obsessively structured scenes and mannered performances (see Capote).

Not without flaws, but extremely moving stuff and some exceptional technical work. It warrants its BP nom and probably deserves a win considering the competition.
van sant's direction is exceptional, but i wouldn't have expected anything less. i think the screenplay is a bit conventional.

[DavidSeven]

i think the screenplay is a bit conventional.

Yeah, I wouldn't dispute this.

[Ezee E]

I'm not entirely sure what made Capote conventional since it all took place during the In Cold Blood process, when Capote was already established.

[balmakboor]

I just got home from this and I'm positively swimming in love with it.

[DavidSeven]

I'm not entirely sure what made Capote conventional since it all took place during the In Cold Blood process, when Capote was already established.

Conventional in craft and filmmaking; not necessarily in story.

[Kurosawa Fan]

My wife and I watched this tonight. I was actually quite impressed. It's an emotional look into the fight for gay rights more than it is a film about Harvey Milk. It gets a little silly at the end,

The opera and phone conversation at the end was cheesy enough, especially for a film that had managed to avoid those moments, but Penn looking out the window at the opera banners across the street as he's being killed was too much, as was the "fake out" of the lack of presence at city hall before Scott and Anne "find" the vigil.

but overall it was very effective. This is easily my favorite of the BP nominees, though I still need to see The Reader and Frost/Nixon.

[lovejuice]

My wife and I watched this tonight. I was actually quite impressed. It's an emotional look into the fight for gay rights more than it is a film about Harvey Milk.

guess he's not "harvey meh" after all. ;)

i do agree it turns silly at such and such moments as you mention.
also i think they can go further showing the dark side of milk. my favorite moment is when he insuniates the crowd in order to appear as a hero. what's a delightful jerk! too bad the movie kinda leaves it at that.

i recently read a book that doesn't deal directly with harvey milk, but it mentions his assassination in passing. seems like the writer justifies white's action as a rebel/revenge of the blue collar against the middle class.

[number8]

I listened to the Creative Screeenwriting podcast interview with Dustin Lance Black, and he said one of the toughest thing about writing the screenplay was deciding if he should've kept those two exact moments or not.

Black felt, like you guys, that those moments might be too much for the audience to believe, but since they actually happened in real life the way it was portrayed in the movie (down to the accurate position of how Harvey Milk was shot--the forensics report showed that Harvey really did drop to his knees overlooking a window that just so happened to be the opera house, and yes that particular opera he liked was indeed playing there at the date of his death), and Black felt he had to stay true to what happened, as unbelievable as they were, so he ultimately kept those moments. It's weird like that.

[balmakboor]

I didn't mind the moments pointed out. I found the opera house moment quite beautiful and very moving. Milk's life had a very operatic quality especially concerning his final moments with a number of his lovers.

Of course, my favorite scene in Paranoid Park is when Alex breaks up with Jennifer (set to something by Nino Rota it's actually the scene where I knew I loved the film) while I've read numerous comments from people who hated it.

[Bosco B Thug]

Good, pure-of-heart and sound-of-mind and method, the biopic benefits greatly from Van Sant's formally unpredictable artsiness, so self-serving and self-evincing that this, yes, conventional and straight-forward story and screenplay don't become mawkish and blase. I like how the film feels as if it could as well have been a documentary with extensive re-enactments.

The film's just a bit unwieldy. I agree with a lot of the little criticisms strewed about in this thread. I dig the film's "message movie" sense of purpose and I also even admire the film's lively desire to be accessible, but Ezee E's comment about Milk's paranoia being uncovincingly illustrated is one I agree with. The film covers way too much at such a rapid clip, it goes back to the feeling of this being a documentary in its "case and point" rhythm.

Performances are great all-around. But...


Brolin's character is pretty boring, and I don't understand the love he's getting, and I dig the Brolin. Franco should be getting the acclaim here. Really? Can't agree with you here.

Never felt very impressed with James Franco, though his role as "complacent but of the maturity Milk needs" is very interesting. Now (without having to mention Penn's performance) Josh Brolin, I thought he was clearly the shining point of the film. He had so few scenes but each one left a great impression.

Diego Luna's performance is something. I'd call it "annoying" too, but the character is such an unbelievably depressing character type that also added layers to the film (although it played a bit too much into the "Milk is such a bonafide saint" point).

[Sycophant]

I finally caught up with this on Thursday. It's sitting very well with me. It is, most assuredly, one of the best biopics I've ever seen, and may be a close second to my personal favorite, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.

The performances here are all excellent, with the curious exception of Franco, who I usually love. Indeed, perhaps it's the personality cult my friends have developed around him that detracted somewhat from my ability to access the performance everyone else is raving about. Not that his performance was bad, by any means. His shoes just didn't feel as comfortable and lived-in as every one else's.

And that's what really stands out about the film--how lived-in everything feels. With a minimum of expository scenes, Van Sant explains a lot about his characters and their world, leaving much to suggestion of a brief insert shot or a detail hanging around in the corner of the frame. Milk himself comes across as freed from the constraints of a movie detailing his own factual life and is allowed to instead exist as the protagonist of a story that unfolds much the way any narrative film would.

My only real complaint with the film would be a few minor details near the end. Some things just came off a bit unsupported. The explanation of the disposal of Milk's ashes were sweet and personal, and maybe that was intended as a nod to his close friends and more biographically knowledgeable supporters, but as literally one of the last things the movie has to say to me, it left me thinking "Grape Kool-Aid. Huh?"

[Wryan]

Hmm. Pleased you liked it so much Bosco/Syco. I felt much of it rang very true and the audience I was with couldn't have been more receptive to it, which helped.

[Spinal]

Gripping from the very beginning. Tense. Heartfelt. Emotional. Necessary.

Any minor complaints about the structure of the Hollywood biopic fall to the wayside when one realizes just who this Hollywood biopic is about. A winsome, tenacious, big-hearted crusader battling ignorance and intolerance with a smile on his face. For someone who tries so hard to be avant/garde, Van Sant seems right at home directing a conventional mainstream crowd pleaser. The biggest compliment I can pay to Sean Penn is that I hope the real Harvey Milk was as charismatic as the fictional version we see on the screen.

My favorite of the four Best Picture nominees I have seen thus far. Would be shocked if Frost/Nixon were to top it.

[Spinal]

To weigh in on a few issues in the thread ...

... Brolin's performance was my favorite supporting role.

... Luna's was my least favorite supporting role.

... Brolin's drunk scene was hilarious.

Regarding the ending:

I didn't mind the detail about him seeing the opera playing outside of his window. However, they should have set that up earlier in the film somehow. Him going to the opera happens just about right before that, so it seems kind of cheap. Maybe if he had been listening to it at home in the early days, it might have had more significance somehow.

[number8]

Maybe if he had been listening to it at home in the early days, it might have had more significance somehow.

He... did. Several times.

[Spinal]

He... did. Several times.

Ha! :lol: OK, then I totally missed that.

[Spinal]

Are we allowed to neg-rep ourselves? :confused:

[number8]

Are we allowed to neg-rep ourselves? :confused:
It evens out if you just rep me for the trouble.

[Spinal]

It evens out if you just rep me for the trouble.

I'm one step ahead of you.

[Grouchy]

Just seen this and, yes, apart from the excellent performances by everybody, it was exactly what I was expecting to see. It neither disappointed me nor surprised me. Van Sant correctly adapted his style to a more mainstream sensibility. I thought Penn and Franco were the highlights, and Brolin was also very good, his drunk scene being (like others said) a pretty goofy moment.

As to what made Milk like Jack despite his bitchiness, I think it's just another demonstration of his character traits - he has a compulsion to pick up and help stray cats, even at the risk of damaging his image and career. Didn't like or understand the implications that White was a closeted homosexual. I think his psychosis could have been investigated from other angles.

Overall, I found the movie watchable, but I doubt I'll ever think twice about it or revisit like I would with other Van Sant films.

[jamaul]

Did anyone notice that the two-shot, med-close of Penn/Franco right after they had their first love scene together, and Harvey explains that he's forty years old and he's done nothing with his life -- well the shot recurs later in the film right after Harvey gets shot, and the exchange between the two are from two different takes. Now, I know it's too subtle to really notice, but this is one of the things I love about Van Sant, and why even in a film like this that maybe doesn't push the boundaries like his obvious masterpieces, it is still such an enriching experience. The film is so well acted, so uncompromising in its portrayal of its time, setting, and characters, and so beautifully composed, it deserves to be placed on the short list of best biopics. Harvey Milk's story is already so inspiring, and Van Sant does a hell of a job respecting and complimenting that with this film.

[NickGlass]

Dan White's death-mission stroll down the hall is pure Van Sant.

[Sycophant]

Just realized I haven't seen any pre-Good Will Hunting Van Sant. Must correct this.

[jamaul]

Dan White's death-mission stroll down the hall is pure Van Sant.

Oh, how about that upward tilt of the camera at city hall near the end, from Harvey walking up the steps to the hallway and White walking through it in the background -- fluid, one take. Very nice.

[jamaul]

Just realized I haven't seen any pre-Good Will Hunting Van Sant. Must correct this.

Get on it. My Own Private Idaho is fucking fantastic.

[jamaul]

I would also like to point out that Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black are great men for not giving us an obligatory scene of Dan White eating junk food and twinkie's before shooting the Mayor and Milk.

[Ezee E]

Dan White's death-mission stroll down the hall is pure Van Sant.
Why so?

[NickGlass]

Why so?

The way he channels aloofness--or, rather, insanity--of character through the camera and subdued atmosphere. The eerie tracking shot nails the warped psychology of White while also foreboding the inevitable tragedy.

[Spinal]

Just realized I haven't seen any pre-Good Will Hunting Van Sant. Must correct this.

Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For are two of his best films. My Own Private Idaho is not.

[jamaul]

Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For are two of his best films. My Own Private Idaho is not.

Well, hopefully, if he's smart, he won't listen to you.

[Spinal]

Well, hopefully, if he's smart, he won't listen to you.

I'm sure he's familiar with the phenomenon of different people having different opinions of the same film.

[Sycophant]

I'm sure he's familiar with the phenomenon of different people having different opinions of the same film.

:eek:

[Grouchy]

To Die For is one of my favorites. Wicked little movie.

[Spinal]

:eek:

I spoke too soon.

[jamaul]

I'm sure he's familiar with the phenomenon of different people having different opinions of the same film.

My good sir, you are a douchebag. You really have nothing of any value to bring to a discussion, do you?

Yes, we all have different opinions, so . . . so what? Shall we all join in wasting our time posting our opinions so that if anyone shall comment upon them with anything resembling a conflicting view, we could come back with the oh-so-intelligent and flabbergastingly well thought out, 'ever heard of different opinions, man?' or one of my favorites, 'that's the great thing about movies . . . they are subjective.' So indeed, my opinion differs from yours, hooray for cinema - fuck discussion! Put it to bed. Wait a minute! Isn't this a film discussion board?

So yeah, sorry buddy, I like to discuss films and hear about people's complaints and praises and share my thoughts in regards to said complaints and praises. Also, I do not come back on someone's previous post in which they are suggesting a title and offer two alternate titles and tell them the aforementioned title suggested by another poster is not worthy. And under what grounds? Oh, that's right, the deepest you can get on comparisons is 'hey, bro, phenomenon people opinions differing, man.'

[Sycophant]

Hey, jamaul, knock it the fuck off with all the abrasiveness, 'kay?

[NickGlass]

My good sir, you are a douchebag. You really have nothing of any value to bring to a discussion, do you?


Well, hopefully, if Spinal's smart, he won't listen to you.

[jamaul]

Hey, jamaul, knock it the fuck off with all the abrasiveness, 'kay?

:cry:

Don't you think you're being a little abrasive?

[Watashi]

Well, hopefully, if Spinal's smart, he won't listen to you.
Might be the first and last time I rep Nick.

[Sycophant]

This is the first time in over two years of posting at Match Cut that I can remember someone flat out calling someone an insulting thing--here, a "douchebag."

And if you've been paying attention, Spinal's usually a pretty damned thoughtful poster. And your first reply to his first Van Sant recommendations was loaded with far more meanness than any of his responses, and your posts about My Own Private Idaho didn't contain any more lofty intelligent film discussiont han his did, so bleh.

[jamaul]

This is the first time in over two years of posting at Match Cut that I can remember someone flat out calling someone an insulting thing--here, a "douchebag."

And if you've been paying attention, Spinal's usually a pretty damned thoughtful poster. And your first reply to his first Van Sant recommendations was loaded with far more meanness than any of his responses, and your posts about My Own Private Idaho didn't contain any more lofty intelligent film discussiont han his did, so bleh.

I was going off of about two instances of discussion between him and I where I attempted at a discourse regarding the film Watchmen, and his responses were the same there as here. Now, 'douchebag,' a female hygene product, is not something I would consider insulting, especially considering its popular usage in today's modern lingo as something one might compare to the word 'gay' or 'fool' and never, ever take it as anything more than a meaningless adejective used less insultingly than jokingly. No, I am not angry, nor am I trying to be mean. I also doubt I offended. Now, if I had called him vagina perfume or something like that, that would be uncalled for.

[NickGlass]

Now, 'douchebag,' a female hygene product, is not something I would consider insulting, especially considering its popular usage in today's modern lingo as something one might compare to the word 'gay' or 'fool' and never, ever take it as anything more than a meaningless adejective used less insultingly than jokingly.

Oh yeah, you're really helping your case here.

Can't you guys just kiss and make up?

[Watashi]

Oh yeah, you're really helping your case here.

Can't you guys just kiss and make up?
Yeah, but that would be gay.

[jamaul]

Yeah, but that would be gay.


I don't see how that would matter . . . this is a thread regarding Milk, is it not?

[Spinal]

Yes, I confess that I have become increasingly dismissive when it comes to antagonistic posters over the years. It saves me a lot of time and energy.

[Grouchy]

I like antagonistic a lot more than dismissive.

[jamaul]

Yes, I confess that I have become increasingly dismissive when it comes to antagonistic posters over the years. It saves me a lot of time and energy.

Didn't realize I was being antagonistic.

I do have a question though -- what is your avatar from? I keep thinking it's Legolas whenever I see it, even though it's obviously not.

[Pop Trash]

Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For are two of his best films. My Own Private Idaho is not.
I agree with this. Esp. Drugstore Cowboy (great film!) Idaho has some really, really good scenes and an amazing performance from River Phoenix but I always thought the Shakespeare stuff was awkward and shoehorned in. Never liked those scenes.

[number8]

This is silly. Clearly, Van Sant's best work to date is Finding Forrester.

[Wryan]

This is silly. Clearly, Van Sant's best work to date is Finding Forrester.

"You're the man now, etc..."