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 My Thoughts Aug 26, 2010
Hmmm. A while back, I finally got my hands on Slum Dog Millionare, and watched it. This was actually a long time ago, but I was too lazy to comment about it:
So, my response was, besides the epic soundtrack (it really did deserve an award for the score, the movie wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was a feel good story written by Americans about India, with perhaps a focus on Mumbai. That being said, there was some truth to the movie: The poverty, the gangs, the violence, the crime and all that exist. My friend's mom didn't want to watch it because she has seen these things up front and it's too real for her. Since I haven't directly seen any of this (not to say I'm unaware of these things and I realize that they go on in Dhaka about as much as they do in Mumbai and other Indian cities, I just don't see them because I keep to myself and don't travel about in the slums or at night or interact with more "shady" people), I was able to watch the show without it affecting me too much.
But, like I said, Slumdog was a feel good movie. Jamal gets on the TV show, he wins the money, he gets the girl, he lives happily ever after. Even his brother, who ends up dying (killing himself, you could say, though he doesn't actually pull the trigger) has a somewhat happy ending. He had dug himself into a hole and got out of it the only way he knew how: killing his boss and letting his former companions get their revenge. The dying in a bathtub of money was good imagery, since I like to imagine it was the amount of money that Jamal won, something about how money doesn't buy happiness or the like.
And yet, despite the fact that this show has such a clichéd ending,it somehow captured the heart of Oscar guys as well as lots of Americans. People going on about how Slumdog is amazing and we all should watch it. I watched it. It wasn't amazing. If anything, I thought the Dark Knight was a better done movie. The Joker was EPIC. It was just amazing. Heck, I enjoyed Iron Man more than Slumdog. Yes, Slumdog was a better show, but it wasn't as fun. I'll probably never want to watch Slumdog again, but I'd watch Iron Man again.
People say that Slumdog was amazing, but I've seen better movies. Gladiator? Master and Commander? 3/10 to Yuma? Russell Crowe has made some amazing movies. I don't even have to mention LotR or Star Wars (original trilogy only please) everyone knows how amazing those movies were. If Slumdog is the best thing to come out of Hollywood (and given the amount of awards and praise it received, much more than any other movie released this year or last), then I weep at the lack of talent Hollywood now has. Where have movie-makers like Peter Jackson and actors like Will Smith gone? When will our next Pirates of the Carribean (not as epic as LotR, but very well done nonetheless) or Spiderman come? Will they ever come? Recently the Oscars have been doing badly in terms of making money, this is because since the last LotR there haven't been any movies that have captured the heart of America, or the world for that matter. The best thing we can show the world is the Dark Knight, a tale of how far humanity has fallen, or Slumdog, a feel good movie that says "miracles happen," just in a rather dramatic and well-done way.
Despite all my criticisms, I did honestly enjoy Slumdog, but looking back on other movies I've seen, I don't think I'd choose to watch Slumdog again over lots of other movies. I've seen better.
Random fact of the day: Iron Maiden truly are the Gods of Metal. :)
Slumdog Millionaire Aug 13, 2010
I really liked this movie. It was interesting and kept me captivated on what was going to happen next.
Jamal (Dev Patel among other actors), a young boy from the slums of India and his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal among other actors) sadly lose their mother early to a violent death. While most of the movie starts from when they are very young, the different scenes show them growing up and fending for themselves on the streets.
More of the plot however, centers around Jamal being on the show of India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." One question away from winning the grand prize, he is forced into police custody and tortured to see how he is winning (they believe he is cheating). Instead, he tells them how he knows the answers and in doing so, gives them the story of his life. Prominently featured in these stories is Latika (Freida Pinto among others) who is a young girl who joins them in their travails after their mother's death.
Each question a new part of Jamal's life is uncovered. Most of it is very brutal; to be sure there are not many happy parts in this movie. Now as a contestant on this show, his only thought is to get Latika back, which could prove very dangerous.
For warning, this movie is very graphic. It features beatings, murders, and other acts of violence. Definitely not a good movie for the younger crowd. It is realistically done though so I could imagine things like this happening.
The characters were well played I thought. Dev Patel especially as Jamal did great at portraying his worry over Latika and his quest to find her. For some reason the actor who played his brother reminded me of Michael Jackson in his younger years, but it was only mildly distracting from the movie. All the other characters seemed authentic enough as well. The only character that wasn't truly amazing to me was the older Latika, while she was quite beautiful, there wasn't a lot of depth that went into her character like there was for the rest of them.
The music in this movie was fantastic. It was a mix of Indian/English so while a non-Indian dialect speaker might not be able to understand some of the lyrics, there were some that could be understood. They had great rhythm and fit the flow of the story nicely.
Overall a great movie. There was a lot of action but enough story to keep you engaged in the characters. I truly cared about how the ending would turn out and was pleasantly surprised and equally as shocked at the results. I can see why it won so many awards.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Who wants to be a trillionaire? Jul 14, 2010
Somewhat convoluted film that is told in and out of time order roughly at five levels, some levels separated by years, others separated by days, others by hours. The story is about two brothers Jamal and Salim, and their friend Latika, who are played by three teams of actors, roughly aged five, 12 and 21. The film starts when Jamal is thrown into police interrogation, suspected of cheating on a 20,000,000 rupee quiz show. No one can understand how a street kid could get so many questions right, but somehow he does. Through flashback, we understand how he does it. And the police, never having encountered someone so truthful, cannot keep him in the cell any longer. And so he goes back to the TV studios to play the final round.
Of course, the question of luck is a bit like the story of Chance the Gardener in "Being There" - he never did anything other than be himself, and was immensely successful at it - but the story of young people who fought their way out of poverty and bad luck to finally make something of their lives, and to win the support of the population in so doing, is simply a tale that is hard to beat. Some moments of unbelievability - where did these kids learn English, anyway? But it's a great film.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 this must be the most overrated film of all times!! Jul 05, 2010
I'm not as much shocked by the Slumdog's thin/predictable story line, bad acting and cardboard cut-out characters, as much as I am with the success it did achieve. Good for the filmmakers..., but hey, you don't have to waste your time watching it.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Flashes of a Millionaire Jun 14, 2010
Slumdog Millionaire has been criticized by some reviewers as being unbelievable, but I've always believed in the ability of movies to help people escape for that hour and a half or two hours. The story revolves around an impoverished and uneducated Indian man who is one question away from winning the Indian equivalent of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. First he is captured by police forces who simply cannot believe that this impoverished man is one question away from winning the ultimate prize. This leads the viewer on a back-tracking whirlwind through the life of this man through his childhood, the formation of the three Musketeers with his childhood friend Salim and his eventual love interest. Jamal and Salim eventual take off, leaving Latika to become an exotic dancer known as Cherry until the two friends retain to rescue their Third Musketeer.
Eventually Salim turns on Jamal to become a hired gunmen for an Indian muscle-man ejecting Jamal from his life and separating him from Latika once again. The style of this movie is a bit bothersome for me because it comes across as an our and half period of flashback ended with a half an hour of present time period action. There had to have been a better way to do it than just stuff that felt like constant flashback. Still I can't complain about the cinematography because they made India look at once bright, beautiful, and hopeful through colors, but yet dangerous through the blacks, whites, and grays of thug life and things lost. At the end, the viewer is confronted with the classic message that there are some things more important than money.
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