Oscar Nods for 'Milk' Somehow Make It Less Popular

Angry Dark Knight fans?

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Well, I agree with him. If you go look at the comments, some of them were posted before the movie came out, and are rants against how Hollywood likes to cover the "homosexual agenda." Those who like the liberal "homosexual agenda" will like this movie, and blah, blah, blah. I thought the movie was good. I don't know if it's great, but there is no denying there is an element that has a problem with any non-white, non-male or non-straight story line. They see this as an "afront" that these movies even exist. The internet allows these sorts of speakers to rant without any criticism.

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yeah i've never understood how & why so many great films on that site received a score of "1"
much of me supposes it's a secret community of imdbers who makes sure no score gets too out of hand or too high. crazy? definitely, but still plausible.
but yeah, w/ so many stupid reasons people justify for hating excellent movies, i wouldn't be surprised if the obvious reason was the case for "milk."

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I have a particular disdain for people who jump to conclusions about movies that they haven't seen, and I vehemently disagree with homophobia and anything to do with any type of intolerance--towards anybody, for that matter. And it's a damn shame about the movie, because it really was a terrific movie, and more people should see it, because it's got an important message for EVERYONE.

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Once you've rated The Dark Knight a '10' you should automatically have all your other votes discounted. Especially after the TDK fans rated The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption a '1' just so their great but not that great comic-book movie could be number 1 on a largely irrelevant list.

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Homophobia and childishness run rampant on Imdb? What a surprise ...

The Imdb "top 250" is a joke any way.

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One of the reasons I pay no attention to imdb ratings.

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It's probably a combination of gay bashers, Sean Penn haters (count me in that group) and people that are tired of boring, predictable nominations (also in that group). While I would not vote on a movie I haven't seen, I might be inclined to give a much lower score to a mediocre movie that gets nominated for a bunch of Oscars owing more to its subject matter than its actual entertainment value.

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The real travesty is that Crash ever beat Brokeback Mountain. A sure sign that Oscars follows the Hollywood agenda more than any other possible posturing. A gay-themed movie win the Oscar? Now that's dangerous! Milk becomes more relevant the more it is trashed.

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I bet it was Mickey Rourke!

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"Adams' theory is that these are gay-haters who can't stand the idea of a gay-themed film doing well with critics and the Academy."

Wait, why would gay-haters even see this movie in the first place? And why would they suddenly *not* see the movie because it's getting accolades? That's absolute silliness!

Sheesh, does everything *have to* come down to homophobia and hatred when something dealing with homosexuality isn't popular? Or loses its popularity, as in this case?

Could it possibly be that Milk is on the tail-end of its box-office run, and attendance is winding down normally?

-Pie

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I don't know where you're coming from Hughman. Hollywood is totally pro-gay in their thinking. Tons of movie stars came out against Prop 8.

Hollywood is also anti-racism, so it was a case of one "message" trumping the other. But there's no denying it was a major upset, as Brokeback was the expected winner.

I personally believe Milk will win this year to make up for (as it were) Brokeback losing, and as a statement about Proposition 8.

-Pie

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The film biography (along with action movies, historical dramas and courtroom dramas) is far from my favorite genre. However, I think "Milk" is quite good. In large part this is due to Van Sant's use of a semi-documentary approach to the filming. The movie flows very well. It's not just a compilation of awkward, traditional scenes clipped together to explain a character, such as "Walk the Line" (Johnny Cash's father is mean, Johnny's brother is killed in an accident, Johnny enlists in the army, Johnny meets Elvis, Johnny gets hooked on drugs, and so on). "Milk" doesn't feel episodic, even though it takes place over a number of years. This is the director's skill. Also, I don't think Harvey Milk has been that well known outside of 1970's San Francisco. People of my generation might remember his name and his tragic death, but not much else. Just knowing the bare bones of his story, I was very intrigued by Milk's persona and his drive. Who else was addressing homophobia and gay civil rights at the time? Sadly, this proved to have been extremely risky. The fact that the setting is San Francisco (especially, as we know the city today) only adds to the movie's amazement and admiration. The film initially presents Harvey Milk as a person of seemingly small consequence. But, we see his transformation into a political activist as believable, with thanks, again, to Van Sant and the film's screenplay and fine cast Sean Penn's performance as Milk is a wonder. We all know that he is a great actor. Not only is he funny and heartbreaking, but we feel his joy of acting, This is not common, I think, for film actors. And, of course, Penn is the least hammy of actors. People don't seem to like Sean Penn as a person. I admit that my impression of him is that he is irritable, unconventional and narcissistic. But aren't these the building blocks of an acting talent? Anyway, why should we care? He's not our college roommate. "Milk" is eliciting homophobic venom in the country and this is only a testament to the film's artistry and power. Unlike decades ago when homosexuals were widely viewed as sick, deviant people whose motivation was to undermine the country's social fabric, today the general fear is that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people are gaining economic, political and social power. And why shouldn't they? But, this scares the hell out of some folks (Fox News, anyone?). Gay people are feeling less shamed by society and coming out more readily in large numbers. This was Milk's message for equality; identify yourself as a person as worthy for regard as anybody else. Today, gay teenagers are coming out to their family and friends. I don't think this happened much in previous generations. Who doesn't now know a friend, family member or co-worker who is homosexual? (If you don't know, why don't you?) Movies that address an important social issue (especially if they are perceived as politically correct by those darn liberals) rarely make for good film art. Believe me, "Milk" is no "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?". "Milk" is an important movie and an excellent one. A friend recently asked me if I thought she would like "Milk". I said no, but go see it anyway. I rarely give this advice for what are deemed to be "message" movies. Hopefully, "Milk" will inspire Harvey's inclusion in high school history books and classes We all should be so brave.

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