Best Picture Project 9, Braveheart

Well, after a hiatus due to some summer flicks we recently saw, we are back to a Best Picture Project post for your Monday reading pleasure. Today, we will be discussing our thoughts on the 1995 Best Picture Winner, Braveheart... starring a pre-insane Mel Gibson.

Braveheart, 1995

The Wife: "THEY MAY TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR...FREEEEEDDDOOOM!"

Oh Braveheart, how I misjudged you. Seeing a graphic bit of this film once on TV, I had labeled it as a gory, boring action movie that only appeals to wanna-be macho men. Well, little did I know the wonderful quoting power Braveheart would provide. Also the winningness of several unintentionally funny scenes, Mel Gibson sporting a Billy Ray Cyrus hair-do, shouting almost as excellent as the yelling in 300 and of course, KILTS.

In all seriousness, Braveheart was pretty good. I find myself absolutely loathing the English and wanting Mel Gibson to make the Evil King suffer for giving him an Achy Breaky Heart. This movie had me emotionally irritated/upset many times, which to me is the mark of a good film. Some scenes and plots were so predictable, like I knew Billy Ray, I mean William Wallace (Gibson) would eventually bang Princess Peach (I don't remember the character's name so this is what I named her). However, some scenes caught me completely off guard. As someone who usually figures out plots and scenes before everyone else, I LIKE it when movies/books throw me off a bit. For example, I didn't expect the evil King to toss his son's gay boyfriend out the castle window. That was the epitome of a "what the ???" moment!

My fear was that it would be all fighting with very little substance, but the film broke up the fighting scenes in a manner that kept me interested and invested in the storyline. Not to mention the use of blue war paint. As someone of Irish ancestry, I also loved Mr. Irish Dude (don't know his name either). Mad Eye Moody (yes he is in this!) was another favorite character. I believe Mad Eye's name in the movie is "Hamish," but due to Scottish pronunciation, I thought it was Hermit for the longest time, so therefor Mad Eye's character will always be known as "Hermit Crab" to me. I found myself very sad when Hermit Crab's dad died. Stupid English and stupid Scottish earls' betrayal!

The end was particularly sick as we watched Wallace be tortured. Major ownage by the Princess though... evidently she has a bun in the oven and *gasp* it's not the prince's child! One can hope that the baby doesn't end up to be a Miley Cyrus type though, since her father bears so many similarities to Billy Ray. Maybe she will have a boy?! Oh we will never know as I've been told that was a fictional piece of the movie.

So Braveheart was good. I know I seem to have mocked it, but it was pretty winning, I admit it! I can see why it won Best Picture, however, I personally think the other BP nominee, Apollo 13 is the better movie.

I will close with this simple statement: FREEEEEDDOOOOOOM!!!

Hobo Dan: Okay, I admit, I have seen this before. But it was a long time ago and we REALLY didn't want to watch Gone with the Wind; do you blame us? So my conundrum with Braveheart is that Apollo 13 was also an incredibly good movie. They both equally deserved the best picture title. 1995 actually looks like it was a pretty killer year for movies. I do have one question though; Nicholas Cage won an Oscar? What? The man who later stole the Declaration of Independence, traded faces with John Travolta and continuously tries to pull off badass in movies only to end up with bad, won an Oscar? My head exploded when I heard this. If you're interested (which I am) in seeing the performance, the film is named Leaving Las Vegas. I guess it is true, after some actors win their Oscar they just go and do what ever they want (See Christopher Walken).

Anyways, yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell! Oh wait, that's Samuel L.; we were talking about Mel Gibson. It's clear he put a lot of work into Braveheart. For its time is was incredibly bloody. Now days the gore looks slightly dated, but everything else holds up very well for a movie now over 15 years old. A true mark of excellence these days with computers being used more and more. Despite how you may feel about Mel and his antics lately, it is undeniable that he is a great actor and a very good film maker. It's easy to make fun of Gibson, but Braveheart is truly epic work that most certainly deserved the Best Picture Oscar even if my heart is a little more fond of Apollo 13.