tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post1034526673595939856..comments2024-03-17T12:16:42.048-07:00Comments on Civic Center: The Triumph of "Milk"Civic Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-45958835467282146212009-01-10T23:26:00.000-08:002009-01-10T23:26:00.000-08:00all that said, hell it was one hell of a film..the...all that said, hell it was one hell of a film..the actors and director and writer have a lighter lit because they rock!<BR/><BR/>More to the point, it captures an era, and a time in SF when you really COULD do the activism thing and not have to sell your soul to The Man and Web 2.0.<BR/><BR/>What bugs me most about "today's SF" is that while people talk about "losing" artists and whatnot, the fact is that Willie Brown and his cabal did the damage.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02639710572191340548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-10426392631188817062009-01-10T20:56:00.000-08:002009-01-10T20:56:00.000-08:00Dear Mike: I am so glad you liked it too. It made ...Dear Mike: I am so glad you liked it too. It made me remember what it felt like to be young and hopeful. That's pretty wonderful.<BR/><BR/>I have just spent a weekend with some 400 young gays who are trying to find themselves despite coming from very hostile Christian backgrounds. They are finding their own way to peace, but they sure aren't experiencing the rush of joy some of us got to feel at the birth of an alternative culture.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-32780725337547119152009-01-09T17:58:00.000-08:002009-01-09T17:58:00.000-08:00Dear Sibyl: This is probably Van Sant's best movie...Dear Sibyl: This is probably Van Sant's best movie since "Drugstore Cowboy" back in the 1980s and though Sean Penn doesn't do usually do much for me, this role brings out the best in him as an actor. He seems genuinely likeable and filled with humor.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-50127301027095575212009-01-09T17:22:00.000-08:002009-01-09T17:22:00.000-08:00Thanks for posting your take. I have been deeply a...Thanks for posting your take. I have been deeply ambivalent as I want to see the movie and I want to see the people and times done justice. I have heretofore had no respect for Sean Penn and little for Van Sant, so I was really worried. If you can be positive about it, maybe I can (I can trust you over those guys any day).Sibylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298819489853065976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-72689668446974202082009-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:002009-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:00Dear Rube: If you're the same Rube I think you are...Dear Rube: If you're the same Rube I think you are, we met at a temp job doing inventory at I. Magnin's (now Macy's) on Union Square, giggling at the overpriced handbags.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-30934802213351127912009-01-09T16:09:00.000-08:002009-01-09T16:09:00.000-08:00As I recall, you were known as Jake and described ...As I recall, you were known as Jake and described yourself as a Free-spirited San Francisco Madcap. I often think of (and miss)all the funny, brilliant, talented people who supported themselves as temporary office workers in corporate law firms - I think that is how I met you!RubeBardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06992304225911729076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-61490574663927344792009-01-08T18:00:00.000-08:002009-01-08T18:00:00.000-08:00Dear Matty: Good observation, though Scott Smith w...Dear Matty: Good observation, though Scott Smith was definitely not as pretty as James Franco (not many people are).<BR/><BR/>Dear Nancy: It's basically an optimistic film, even with all the ghosts. You should definitely check it out.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-17194926951487430922009-01-08T17:52:00.000-08:002009-01-08T17:52:00.000-08:00I enjoyed the film, and in one way I found it uniq...I enjoyed the film, and in one way I found it unique. When they showed pictures of the people portrayed, many of the real people were MUCH prettier than the respective actors. That never happens except in movies about Hollywood stars, where an actress playing Lana Turner or Marilyn Monroe isn't quite up to the standard set by the original.Matthew Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17769958949302039878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-49429453620603955762009-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:002009-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:00I haven't gotten up the courage to watch it. I wor...I haven't gotten up the courage to watch it. I worked at Davies Medical Center during the height of the AIDS plague and just thinking about all that has been lost - the energy and optimism and beauty - makes me very teary. I remember Harvey standing on street corners with his signs and his grass roots campaigns. I wasn't involved in anything because work and school took all my energy but I remember my horror at his death. Sometimes I just feel like I've attended too many funerals, you know?Nancy Ewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12116290968007398337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-33761360064326849732009-01-08T13:46:00.000-08:002009-01-08T13:46:00.000-08:00Thanks for posting this. I was wondering what your...Thanks for posting this. I was wondering what your take on it would be. I was living in Berkeley at the time, and not living the events as up close and personally, but the movie resonated with my more general memories of the time and events.momohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12149328149132703479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-56138348855957594862009-01-08T10:48:00.000-08:002009-01-08T10:48:00.000-08:00I too was a bit ambivalent about seeing the movie....I too was a bit ambivalent about seeing the movie. I remember seeing "The Times of Harvey Milk" when it came out in the 80s and recently saw it again (it's online free at hulu.com). I kept wondering if they'd make SF out to be something it wasn't but they didn't and it was pretty good.<BR/><BR/>The thing that was kind of sad though was how really, someone like Harvey couldn't happen today. There are no "cheap" areas where activist types can live in SF anymore, and the economy doesn't have the kinds of jobs that allow people to put a roof over their head and do activism like back then.<BR/><BR/>Now everything's "upscale" and a branding opportunity for Budweiser, the GAP and so on. But that all said, movies like Milk remind us that we can do something about our circumstances, no matter how impossible they may seem.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02639710572191340548noreply@blogger.com