Gus Van Sant's MILK

[Batutta]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/

This trailer looks pretty darn good. Sean looks like he's going for an Oscar here. He might get it if he doesn't go "full-queer" like the Brokeback boys did and is shown doing the actual deed. Note that Tom Hanks didn't go "full-queer" in Philadelphia and won.

[KMR]

Sean is amazing in this trailer. Wow, a biopic where the lead doesn't look like a cartoon version of the real person!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

This looks really good. :thumbup:

Great cast all around.

[Cheesesailor77]

IMO the trailer looks amazing. This and "W." are my most anticipated of the fall. We'll see if the movie's as good as the trailer.

[Kubrick71]

Lol @ the full queer reference

Im really psyched about this movie! I just love the work Gus has been putting out lately and I am curious as hell to see how that influences this more main stream studio type picture.

Did anyone find it interesting and very, very cool that the trailer ends with written by Dustin Lance Black in giant letters? Have you ever seen that before?

[sean90291]

Wow this looks like it could be far more powerful than I expected. I saw the documentary Life and Times of Harvey Milk years ago, and it was incredible, but I found it hard to imagine a translation to "fiction." From this trailer, it looks like they might have done it. It feels like a big movie, it looks gorgeous, and it feels perfectly authentic. At least in the trailer (famous last words).

[Evan S]

I don't really like Penn, although this seems pretty good. I just don't think Penn GETS it sometimes. I just don't think actors should have opinions it ruins my view of them when they're in movies. AKA Tom Cruise

[Kirk Gillock]

Wow. I've watched the trailer a few times now and I get chills each time I see it.


Can't wait to see this one.

[hoofandmouf]

looks pretty rad. GVZ is a gay mad genius

[bkgarceau]

Another great looking Van Sant film and what appears to be a good Penn performance!

[Zak Forsman]

I just don't think actors should have opinions it ruins my view of them when they're in movies.

maybe if you withheld your opinion of their opinion, you'd be able to enjoy them?

[Will Clegg]

Anyone see this yet? I am going tonight.

[Kubrick71]

Yes, this movie was totally sweet! I have to admit I was digging Van Sant's direction more in the first half because it seemed like he was doing more artistically than later in the second half but I want to see it again to solidify how I feel.

Overall though I thought it was fantastic

[Will Clegg]

I really liked it too. Sean Penn was just as good as everyone has been saying, and Josh Brolin too.

[sean90291]

I was really impressed with the film. It's real "filmmaking." Van Sant has incredible mastery of the art form. The characters are fascinating, and it captures an interesting time and place. I loved the look and choices Van Sant made with his technique.

[Batutta]

Great movie. I am enough of a heterosexual man to admit that seeing gayness gives me the heebie jeebies, and there is a lot of gayness on display here (this ain't Philadelphia), but I was able to get past it and enjoy the film. Ironic that Sean Penn's most charismatic and appealing performance is as a gay man. And Josh Brolin continues his streak.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Great movie. I am enough of a heterosexual man to admit that seeing gayness gives me the heebie jeebies, .

Sorry but...LOL.

[Batutta]

Sorry but...LOL.

I'm just being honest. This movie is ass slappin', in your face gay, as it should be, but as a straight man some of it made me cringe.

[Zak Forsman]

not as gay as the volleyball scene in top gun.

[Noel Evans]

not as gay as the volleyball scene in top gun.

That's great.

Looking forward to this a lot. Personally I think Sean Penn is great.

Gay is a part of the world. Doesnt mean you have to be a part of it, but accepting is a good start.

[Zak Forsman]

for the record, I thought MILK was mostly awesome. had some trouble when Penn's character seemed very self aware of his impending assassination (that early morning scene on the phone), but it quickly got back on track after that.

btw, i'm more of an Elephant and Gerry fan and not so much a Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester fan. not at all actually.

[Batutta]

btw, i'm more of an Elephant and Gerry fan and not so much a Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester fan. not at all actually.

I think this and Drugstore Cowboy are his best work. I like Good Will Hunting and To Die For. Finding Forrester was way too conventional and uninspired.

[Zak Forsman]

I like Good Will Hunting

that's okay. it's not your fault. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY6k50qB4Ys

[Batutta]

that's okay. it's not your fault. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY6k50qB4Ys

Now THAT scene is gay!

[jimpatro]

Enough of a heterosexual man here to NOT be bothered by gay people doing what gay people do . I always thought guys who get squeemish about things might be a little soft in the middle anyway. No, I don't mean gay.

[Batutta]

Enough of a heterosexual man here to NOT be bothered by gay people doing what gay people do .
Hey, I don't mind them doing what they do, but seeing it in extreme close-up 30 feet high is a bit much to take.

[spidey]

i cant wait to see this film.

[Kubrick71]

Yeah I loved Milk and can't wait to see it again but I'm totally with Zak on Van Sant, Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, and Paranoid Park are his films that I love and appreciate.

The DP of Milk, Harris Savides, did the first three of those film and the article on Milk in AC this month really kicked ass, he did some really sweet stuff to make the film look more authentic and so many of the locations were the actual ones from Harvey's life.

[Batutta]

The DP of Milk, Harris Savides, did the first three of those film and the article on Milk in AC this month really kicked ass, he did some really sweet stuff to make the film look more authentic and so many of the locations were the actual ones from Harvey's life.
The film did look like it was shot in the 70's. Not just the production design but the cinematography felt like it was from that era.

[sean90291]

Hey, I don't mind them doing what they do, but seeing it in extreme close-up 30 feet high is a bit much to take.

It's a conversation that never dies on dvxuser...or anywhere else.

Milk is awesome filmmaking. And given that we are supposedly filmmakers too, gee whiz, grab some kahonas. If human lips connecting with other human lips on screen, at any size, gives you any trouble at all, I say, it's time to be a man and get over it. I don't think there was even any nudity. I was too involved in the story to notice.

[Batutta]

If human lips connecting with other human lips on screen, at any size, gives you any trouble at all, I say, it's time to be a man and get over it.

As I said, I really enjoyed the film, and don't think it should be any different. I was just being honest about my visceral, knee-jerk, non-intellectual response. I actually respect that Van Sant didn't make a "safe for the masses" gay story like Philadelphia, but let it all hang out.

[sean90291]

I actually respect that Van Sant didn't make a "safe for the masses" gay story like Philadelphia, but let it all hang out.

You're right, Van Sant's film is brave. It feels different than other films I've seen. Hard to put a finger on. I think he's an artist through and through.

[BryantStanton]

Just got back from this.

Really enjoyed the movie and thought it was great.

It's unfortunate that most people who are sympathetic to homosexuals will see this movie and come out feeling the same, or maybe slightly more justified in their opinions, yet the people who are against the whole matter will ignore the film and never see it.

Doesn't make the film at all bad, just unfortunate the audience that needs to see it the most will probably never bother.

[Drew Ott]

Was it the projectionist, or does this film have constant exposure flickers?

The first time the recurring scene showed with Penn talking into the microphone, it looked like the light above him was flickering, and this same subtle flicker stayed through the whole film. At some points, it looked like the projectionist slid something like an ND filter over the projector and left it on for a few scenes. The highlights were pretty much gray the entire film.


Other than that, I liked the film a lot. The only thing I didn't really like was how it was sort of like "Gays vs. The Cops" and "Gays vs. Christians" instead of acknowledging how the often-opposing forces aren't always at war with each other or even against each other.

[Jim Klatt]

This is the best I have seen in a theater so far this year. Sean Penn with an incredible performance.

I am now really interested to see The Time of Harvey Milk, which has been recommended by many.

[sean90291]

The only thing I didn't really like was how it was sort of like "Gays vs. The Cops" and "Gays vs. Christians" instead of acknowledging how the often-opposing forces aren't always at war with each other or even against each other.

Keeping in mind this was the 70s. A much more hostile time. I don't think there were many cops who claimed to be friendly to the gay community. The brutality and raids were a reality. Obviously, it's a bit different today. Cops seem pretty cool in the big cities I've lived in, at least on the surface.

[Daryl Auguste]

I really liked it. Would go along with Elephant and My Own Private Idaho as my favorite Van Sant films.

[spidey]

Loved it one of his most personal films to date and I would say one his very best. also I dont like penn that much, but this movie changed alot about him for me.

[jasonthewho]

Whenever Josh Brolin and Sean Penn had a scene together, there was a lot of head room, and often unusual framing.

Anybody have an opinion as to what effect Gus Van Sant was going for?

My wife and I think it is to suggest something "off" about their relationship and the character of Dan, but I also feel there is more to it.

Opinions?

[Zak Forsman]

I do it to diminish the scale of the characters. Putting them below the horizon has the effect of conveying a heaviness to their environment.