Slumdog Millionaire

[thepaulo]

The new Danny Boyle film has been getting consistently growing buzz as one of the best films of the year.....It's about a teen competing on the Hindu version of the "Millionaire" show but not for money but for love.

[fezident]

Literally just heard about this film today for the very first time.

I'm totally down with Danny Boyle. I didn't dig that piece o' shit sci-fi movie that he pooped out a couple of years ago but, he is -without question- a director to watch. He's truly talented.

I'll see SLUM this weekend fo sho.

[celery]

http://www.larps.com/art/LarperOfTheYear.jpg

[thepaulo]

saw it today...enjoyed it tremendously....

(what is celery saying.....Anthony is a slumdog?)

I'll try to pull myself together for the air this week.

[underdog]

saw it today...enjoyed it tremendously....

(what is celery saying.....Anthony is a slumdog?)

I'll try to pull myself together for the air this week.

They are doing a bunch of free screenings for it all over, too. I think I'm going to one on the 20th in Boston.

[TheMojoPin]

Even if his movies fall apart they're still interesting to watch.

[thepaulo]

The script is extremely well written....so it allows Danny to focus admirably on translating it to the screen.

[suggums]

Literally just heard about this film today for the very first time.

I'm totally down with Danny Boyle. I didn't dig that piece o' shit sci-fi movie that he pooped out a couple of years ago but, he is -without question- a director to watch. He's truly talented.

I'll see SLUM this weekend fo sho.

Sunshine was a cool concept, in the same subgenre of disaster movies as Armageddon/Deep Impact, and blew the two of those blockbusters away. Yes it degenerated into a slasher towards the end, but it was beautiful and interesting throughout. I know I'm partial to anything sci-fi that doesn't involve giant aliens and laser guns, hell I like Soderbergh's Solaris, but that was a good one. 28 Days Later is my favorite of his, and I'll definitely be seeing this Slumdog movie at some point.

[aceofspades7]

great movie - i'm surprised ronnie b hasn't brought it up yet

[thepaulo]

the great thing is it doesn't have too many of those pesky sub-titles.

[Gerald]

I'm kinda already sensing the onset of a backlash against this. It could be this year's Juno - festival darling that gets turned on by the same people who hyped it up when it was obscure as soon as it breaks through with shopping mall multiplex crowds. I'm kind of willy-nilly with my expectations because I think that, while Boyle is supremely talented, everything he's done has been flawed in some form or fashion to varying degress.

[thepaulo]

The great thing about Slumdog is that Boyle focused on telling the story....
his talents didn't overwhelm but served.

[west milly Tom]

This movie has no appeal from the get go for me. My movie buff buddy is all psyched, showed me the preview, and all I could say is meh.

[Johnny Manf]

I saw this last night in Philly at a free screening.
Its an awesome movie. Visually and storyline wise. I was interested from beginning to end. Definitely one of the best movies of the year.

[Rake]

I haven't seen it yet but I am looking forward to it. If for no other reason than to see the ridiculously hot Frieda Pinto:

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/UponDarkWings/?action=view&current=fp.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/UponDarkWings/fp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[thepaulo]

It seems since I've been having all my personal problems, Ronnie hasn't been going to the movies as much as he use to....I need to start pushing the good movies again....
there's a bunch of good movies he needs to see.

[Gerald]

the ridiculously hot Frieda Pinto:

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/UponDarkWings/?action=view&current=fp.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/UponDarkWings/fp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Aishwarya Rai eat your heart out.

[underdog]

Saw this movie with a bunch of friends today and all of us walked away amazed. Great, great movie. I'm just glad of what went on during the credits because I was tearing up at the end. I needed a pick-me-up.

And Frieda Pinto is fucking drop-dead gorgeous.

[thepaulo]

They just bombed the shit out of that train station in Mumbai that was in the end of the movie.

[Foster]

They just bombed the shit out of that train station in Mumbai that was in the end of the movie.

does that mean no sequel?

[thepaulo]

No Bollywood dancing.

[hammersavage]

Loved it. Never quite seen a movie like it.

It it won't get the hipster backlash that the last few years Fox Searchlight pictures have gotten. This is much more serious then those films.

[Marc with a c]

No Bollywood dancing.

way to be 15 minute paul.

it was fantastic. that lady was extra pretty.

[hammersavage]

Even with that gash

on her face

[NewYorkDragons80]

This is one of the best movies this decade. It should be a shoo-in for the best written movie of the year. As for the comparison with Juno, it was a good movie that hade *too* much hype that ended up building expectations to an unrealistic level.

[TheMojoPin]

Fuckin' LOVE this movie. Maybe my favorite all year. I just felt so good after I walked out of the theater.

[Marc with a c]

why the tub full of money?

[underdog]

why the tub full of money?

I thought it was so he'd ruin it. Or would show for sure that it was really blood money.

[Marc with a c]

i got into this with my girl, i thought it was a "money isn't everything" type of thing, which paralleled why he went on the show in the first place.

[NewYorkDragons80]

I thought it was so he'd ruin it. Or would show for sure that it was really blood money.

Yeah, I guess they were going for that symbolism, but I thought he was gonna set it on fire after shooting the gangster.

[Recyclerz]

Finally saw this today and thought it was really good. It was Dickensian and I mean that in the old-fashioned, good way, not as a post-modern insult for naive.

I agree with Hammersavage and Dragons that it is not fair to compare this to Juno or Little Miss Sunshine; it aims, and hits, much higher and deeper than those trifles. I think a better comparison would be a slightly more user-friendly version than City of God. And I agree with Underdog on the money in the tub symbolism.

[TooLowBrow]

when salim threatened to kill jamal with the gun if jamal interfered with him raping the girl, why didnt she just leave after the 13 year old, drunk salim passed out? and why didnt jamal just hide outside and follow them to wherever they went? why did it take her years to even consider escaping from living as a prostitute? to me, it seemed like she followed them money her whole life, she chose salim over jaml because salim had the money and power, she only left when she saw that jamal was going to be rich. which is fucked up

[Fallon]

I loved it throughout, from being children to adults it was great. Not normally a kind of movie I'd watch, but it was great to see.

Freida is so hot.

[MacVittie]

I just saw it earlier today. I thought it was a very solid movie, it reminded me a lot of City of God. Maybe that's just because its about really poor brown people (albeit on opposite sides of the globe). I did think that there was a little too much of a Hollywood ending too it, but I think it could be a strong contender for best screenplay/best picture. There's something for everyone there; there's not way you can leave the theater and say "I don't get it."

I have to add that one thing that kinda bugged is how beautiful everyone is in the movie. Salim and Jamal's mother is a gorgeous woman with perfect teeth before she gets killed, even though she lives in the poorest of poor places. Salim, Jamal, and Latika are all adorable children who grow up to be adorable teenagers and then adorable young adults, except of course for Salim because he goes on to do some shitty things. I know that there are a lot of beautiful Indian people, but they usually aren't orphans from Mumbai. Then again, I understand it's a movie, and why pass on someone who has a shot of putting together a decent acting career for someone that looks like shit?

[foodcourtdruide]

I definitely liked it, but I thought the movie was full of plot holes:

1. How did Jamel get on the show? We heard how impossible it was to get on, then he just somehow got on.
2. When did Jamel fall in love with Latika? We kinda see them interacting for a minute, and automatically he's a child in love. Sorta rushed.
3. Why did Salim have a change of heart at the end? He did a complete 360 for no apparent reason.

Also, I find the whole "destiny" plot line to be cheesy and sorta cliche'. I hate when complex human interactions are explained away by one-word.

Overall, I liked the movie a lot. However, definitely not the strongest film of the year.

[fezident]

Just saw it.

Truly disliked it.
I'm enjoying movies less and less these last few years. Throw this one on the pile.

[FezsAssistant]

I thought this movie was ok. I guess my expectations were too high.
Same with The Wrestler. It was ok.

[TheMojoPin]

Just saw it.

Truly disliked it.
I'm enjoying movies less and less these last few years. Throw this one on the pile.

Yeah, but you still like SNL.

[fezident]

Yep.
It's still funny.

[underdog]

I thought this movie was ok. I guess my expectations were too high.
Same with The Wrestler. It was ok.

Just saw it.

Truly disliked it.
I'm enjoying movies less and less these last few years. Throw this one on the pile.

Racists.

[TheMojoPin]

I rest my case on your face.

[foodcourtdruide]

I definitely didn't dislike it. This was a quality film, but I don't think this was a better movie than The Visitor, Milk or The Wrestler. It's funny that someone mentioned City of God above, it reminded me of that movie too, but City of God was a better film and didn't have the glaring plot holes of this film.

[HumanName]

I also enjoyed the movie, but how did that blind kid know it was Benjamin Franklin on the $100?

[fezident]

Can't like 'em all.

Like I said... throw it on the pile.


I hated the music, the look, the vibe, the flow, the inexplicably uneven audio mix, I wasn't interested in the squalor, the chases, I sensed ZERO bond between characters, the character's motivations were never clear to me, their reactions never felt genuine, etc etc.

I was not the least bit "uplifted" when I left the theater. Not even a bit. In fact, I was in a worse mood when I left than before I went.

Not my movie.

[TheMojoPin]

In space while playing a bass.

[foodcourtdruide]

Can't like 'em all.

Like I said... throw it on the pile.


I hated the music, the look, the vibe, the flow, the inexplicably uneven audio mix, I wasn't interested in the squalor, the chases, I sensed ZERO bond between characters, the character's motivations were never clear to me, their reactions never felt genuine, etc etc.

I was not the least bit "uplifted" when I left the theater. Not even a bit. In fact, I was in a worse mood when I left than before I went.

Not my movie.

I definitely think this was simply not your type of movie. I don't agree with your points about the look and vibe, however the bond between the characters, except the game show host and Jamel, were never clear and inexplicitly changed.

[Kevin]

Fantastic movie. From the cast, to the writing, to the storyline. I never was bored. Best movie ive seen in years.

[Rockvillejoe]

Fantastic movie. From the cast, to the writing, to the storyline. I never was bored. Best movie ive seen in years.

agreed. a lot of hype, but for me it lived up to the hype. very unlikely that would be the case. the storytelling approach reminded me of "the usual suspects" style of going back. how could you not cheer for this kid? when the little girl is standing in the rain, shoeless, i fought every impulse to walk up to the movie screen, walk through the screen a la purple rose, and pick that girl up in my arms and comfort her and take her away from that hell.

and now i'm waiting for the hollywood version rip it off and re-telling using lil bow wow from compton. maybe they can have cedric the entertainer as the guy who recruits the beggars.

is it any wonder many indian folks resent us after getting a glimpse of how they live? shitting in a raised shack? washing their cloths in a filthy river?

above an entertaining story, it also opened my eyes to the 3rd world. i thought india, specifically bombay/mumbai was a progressive city. they have a way to go.

that chick was captivating. and the dance at the end was bollywood. can you imagine seeing brad pitt and anglina jolie do a line dance over the credits?

this movie gave me hope that perhaps all is not lost in present day cinema. there is more out there, ie.e slumdog, lust, caution, the counterfeiters, than shit movies like the dark knight. yes, the dark knight!

costumed, unbelievable, needlessly violent, pointless drek.

[Gerald]

I was a little underwhelmed by this. I didn't get caught up into the romance that served as the crux of the story, and the nature of the answers as being preordained by fate to coincide with the kid's life experiences seemed like a lazy, contrived plot device. The scenes when the brothers were kids, and some of Boyle's stylistic touches, were the only hype-validating aspects for me. I'm frankly stunned that it's considered the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar.

[foodcourtdruide]

above an entertaining story, it also opened my eyes to the 3rd world. i thought india, specifically bombay/mumbai was a progressive city. they have a way to go.

Go rent City of God tomorrow. You won't be able to sleep!

[FezsAssistant]

Racists.

ahhh...the obama defense...very crafty...

[fezident]

I was a little underwhelmed by this. I didn't get caught up into the romance that served as the crux of the story, and the nature of the answers as being preordained by fate to coincide with the kid's life experiences seemed like a lazy, contrived plot device. The scenes when the brothers were kids, and some of Boyle's stylistic touches, were the only hype-validating aspects for me. I'm frankly stunned that it's considered the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar.


I (obviously) am inclined to agree with you.
Movies like this are obviously transmitting on a frequency that I'm simply not able to receive.
I feel nothing. And even worse, I'm confused.

I couldn't understand why the main character (Jamal) moved through events -especially as an adult- completely devoid of expression or emotion. His demeanor when he was being tortured was just as detached and robotic as when he was playing the game on TV.
If part of the plot was that something was "wrong" with him, I'd have believed it. He had no reaction to drowning in shit, seeing his mother's grusome murder, or winning 10 million rupees.

I never felt a moment when he where he felt connected to Latika. His undying, overwhelming love for her, felt extremely forced and sudden. And it WAS quite sudden. He went from seeing her in the rain to "I will wait for you at the station every day at 5 until you are there too."

The nonsense at the call center, with him looking up and dialing his brother's number felt like it belonged in a different movie. (to be fair... this movie had two main directors)

And the overall device of cutting back and forth in time has been done, done, and redone. I don't see where all the "groundbreaking" & "unconventional" story telling is.


Personally, I think there will be a backlash against this film.
It's a 6 on a 10 scale. People are expecting an 11.

[Rockvillejoe]

I was a little underwhelmed by this. I didn't get caught up into the romance that served as the crux of the story, and the nature of the answers as being preordained by fate to coincide with the kid's life experiences seemed like a lazy, contrived plot device. The scenes when the brothers were kids, and some of Boyle's stylistic touches, were the only hype-validating aspects for me. I'm frankly stunned that it's considered the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar.

what does it take for you to be impressed? It's this type of post that conjures the word pretentious.

[thepaulo]

I have mixed feelings about Slumdog as well, but I feel that I may not relate to these characters because they are so different than me. Obviously, it's not fair for me to judge a film this way. Both the director and screenwriter overcame their Anglo-Saxon roots and emraced and immersed themselves in the foreign culture. The film has so many positives I
need to be more open to the totally different place they show me here.

[foodcourtdruide]

what does it take for you to be impressed? It's this type of post that conjures the word pretentious.

I'm not sure why his post is pretentious? I don't think it's a stretch to say the plot of the film is a bit contrived. I think even some defenders of this movie will admit that.

[mrlithic]

I found it brilliant and brutal.

Not a feel good film at all.

I would not classify a film as feel good when the hero is being tortured in the first ten minutes, children are being blinded to be beggars, and the guy's brother dies in the final five minutes.

It was a brutal flick with a brilliant insight into modern India but often tough to watch.

[foodcourtdruide]

I found it brilliant and brutal.

Not a feel good film at all.

I would not classify a film as feel good when the hero is being tortured in the first ten minutes, children are being blinded to be beggars, and the guy's brother dies in the final five minutes.

It was a brutal flick with a brilliant insight into modern India but often tough to watch.

I have a guy at work from Mumbai that remembers the 1992 muslim/hindu riots. He said they were pretty brutal and the movie was quite accurate.

The movie was kinda feel good though. It still had the basic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back premise.

[thepaulo]

10 noms...deal with it.

[Epschtein]

i thought it was near perfect in its own charming and original way, it wasnt afraid to get really dark and be honest about the real environment that it is set in, and yet it still dared to let itself be a little cliche and feel-good storybookish ...

i thought the two things actually worked well together , the cast was great , the cinematography was great , the music was great , and the "device" of cutting back and forth didnt bother me much at all , it isnt trying to be a city of god , it is quite unique i thought ...

and someone said they didnt understand the kid ; the kids lack of emotion at times was perfect imo , he only got emoitional about the girl or his brother , nobody else could touch him - i get the money , i dont get the money , torture me, let me go , whatever , you cant hurt me any more than i already am hurt ... i just want the girl ...

he loves the girl and will do anything to be with her , he sees past anything that has happened to her because she can never be spoiled in his eyes ... i thought they really made that point excellently , even tho when the got to the rape and the cutting i was more than a little worried where they were going to go with it ...

i can definitely see some of the destiny/fate stuff feeling cheezy to some people , but i dont think it was thrown in there out of laziness , i think he knew exactly the message he wanted to send and i think he hit the nail on the head ...

among the best movies i have seen ... ever ...

[ToiletCrusher]

I thought the movie was great.

[travisfromkansas]

I saw it last night and really dug it. I felt the love story was supposed to be a bigger part of the story but that some scenes that set that up may have been cut, being basically two hours long I can see where they'd want to cut it.

I genuinely laughed at a couple of scenes, the "mud" one being the main one that I remember. The violence both shown and implied was brutal and unapologetic, but I felt like it was needed to contrast the destiny angle of the story.

I loved the audio mix, I'm a recording and live sound engineer (but I live in KS so I have to have a day job), and as I have understood it, you mix the dialog to be what you set the volume to and everything else needs to fall in at appropriate volumes. There were times when the sound effects and music were extremely loud but that fit in the context of the scene.

I was impressed by so many shots in the movie and of course cannot think of any examples as i try to type this.

Short version (like anyone's read through all of this), I liked the film and recommend it, but who the fuck am I?

I asked my buddy who works at our art cinema about "The Wrestler" and he said if we get it, it won't be until late March. It would be so nice to be able to keep up with movies that everyone else gets to see, that's what we get for living here.

[hammersavage]

Yea, the indie movie market must be terrible outside of the bigger cities. There's always the internet, anything can be found if you're savvy.

[RoseBlood]

Ok, I finally saw this and liked it alot, a whole lot; from the characters to the music.

Someone pointed out that Jamal's character lacked emotion throughout the film, this did not bother me one bit. I think his expressionless face did something for the character, though I'm not sure what.

I didn't pay attention to any plot holes. I'll save the criticisms and synopsis' for the film snobs.

Does it really matter if a movie is an over-hyped oscar darling? If a little movie becomes so big that suburban soccer moms are going to see it, how should that affect your opinion? It shouldn't. It's ok to like a movie that the 60 yr. old lunch lady likes.
It's a movie, enjoy it.

*edit* I saw City of God and I think it's unfair to compare the two. Just like it's unfair to hate on Button because of Gump.

[Furtherman]

I saw it this weekend and loved it. It was just great all around.

[Club Med]

Difficult to live up to the hype, but well worth seeing. Just as the questions linked to an outcome, so did the underlying events of his life. None of the questions or events could have been skipped. Very well written.

[thepaulo]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmCyofBymQXcFVcFMubFbR94Kn6gD96DKT6O0

Is this really going to win best picture?

[foodcourtdruide]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmCyofBymQXcFVcFMubFbR94Kn6gD96DKT6O0

Is this really going to win best picture?

My guess is it'll be this or The Reader. I think The Reader was actually the best film, but this seems to be the film everyone loves the most. I think the best picture pool is pretty weak this year, though I think the best actor nominations are incredibly strong.

[thepaulo]

My guess is it'll be this or The Reader. I think The Reader was actually the best film, but this seems to be the film everyone loves the most. I think the best picture pool is pretty weak this year, though I think the best actor nominations are incredibly strong.

I agree with everything except that I think best picture is wide open partly because there is no clear standout.

[IamPixie]

So...I know I'm really late with this. I've been avoiding watching Slumdog Millionaire and I think it's because the title/premise turned me off (I hate who wants to be a millionaire).

I just gave in and watched and I couldn't be more satisfied as a viewer. I'm a fan of Danny Boyle but I think this particular movie really knocked it outta the park.

[thepaulo]

The whole Regis Philbin angle is a great hook to move the story along. Each question is a new facet of the story.

[midwestjeff]

I just gave in and watched and I couldn't be more satisfied as a viewer. I'm a fan of Danny Boyle but I think this particular movie really knocked it outta the park.

Final answer?

[Gerald]

**deleted**