Donald Trump Takes Randal and more[Entertainment Week]
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King Kong hits theatres, Brokeback Mountain is a shocking success, singer Foxy Brown is pulling a Beethoven, and more. Kerry Rickard writes.  The king has been crowned: Donald Trump has chosen Randal Pinkett as this season's Apprentice. For those who thought the competition between Pinkett and runner-up Rebecca Jarvis was close, you’re right. For those who think Trump chose Pinkett only because he’s a man… well, you might be right too.The final challenge, a fundraising event for charity, went well for both contestants: Pinkett raised $11,000 by auction for Autism Speaks, after his softball event was rained out, and Jarvis packed a comedy benefit fundraiser. What was the deciding factor? Well, who knows. Trump cited Pinkett’s leadership qualities while declaring him the winner, and not much else. Yeah – leadership. We all know men make the best leaders. Just try telling that to Hilary Clinton. Movies King Kong may deservedly conquer the big screen this week, but it’s Brokeback Mountain that is getting the artsy-fartsy whispers and nods. Director Ang Lee’s new movie was nominated for almost every major award (Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress) at the Independent Spirit Awards, and took home “Best Film” at the Berlin Film Festival. Once again, indie movies like this one are showing us why the outer limits of human expression can’t be funded by major studios, and can only be found where script-writers and directors are free to roam: gay cowboys. While there may be something in the North American psyche which instinctively resists this notion (who ever heard of The Duke having a softer side), Ang Lee has managed to create a movie that is less about sex and much more about love. Not just any love – the special kind of love only available to two guys who were thrown together for survival, the kind of love between men who would always be individuals in a crowd – the Holmes and Watson kind of love, which springs from devotion, trust, camaraderie and necessity. That and the bloody cold, which is what actually brings Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) together. (This paragraph contains a synopsis.) The two isolated cowboys are left to tend sheep up on Brokeback Mountain, with no company but each other and a couple of flocks. One cold night, they’re freezing to the point where the only way to stay warm is to cuddle up in bed, and, as they say, one things leads to another. In the morning, confusion and denial ensue, followed by more nights of friendship, love, passion and keeping warm. The cowboys go their own separate ways at the end of the summer, move on with their lives, grow up and get married… until a postcard reunites them years later. Like Boys Don’t Cry, you need to be secure and mature in order to watch this movie and actually get the point. And like Boys Don’t Cry, it’s not a movie about sex, it’s a movie about love. Ang Lee has always enjoyed testing limits and delving into the taboo through film, and it just so happens that something beautiful came out of it this time. The lowest rating I have seen for this movie was “4 stars out of 5.” So if you’re in a courageous mood, and willing to confront your own stereotypes of the Wild West, go see it – if you can find it that is. The film was available in an extremely limited release on December 9, and will expand to mainstream theatres before Christmas. |
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