Synopsis:
A
Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a
contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under
suspicion of cheating, and while being
interrogated, events from his life history are
shown which explain why he knows the answers.
The Freak's
Rating: A+ : One of the questions I
always get is, "What is the best movie of the
year?". A friend recently asked me and I
had a tough time answering. The primary
reason is that nothing over the last year of
releases stood far and away above all
else...until now. Slumdog Millionaire has
had all the hype you could imagine and is worthy
of every last drop of it.
Director Danny Boyle, who previously helmed such
projects as Trainspotting and 28 Days Later (two
great flicks for those of you who haven't
seen them), wanted
authenticity for the film and chose to cast
residents of Mumbai, India and neighboring towns
in all roles in the film. This brave
choice produces great acting from all parts with
none too weak or strong, yielding to the real
beauty of the film, its story.
Who
doesn't like a rags to (possible) riches story?
Everyone loves this storytelling, though it is
rarely told on this level. We are normally
told this tale in as American a way as possible
(think Annie or Coal Miner's Daughter).
We're to believe that growing up poor is the
worst life can be. Slumdog Millionaire
takes you deep into the life of Jamal Malik,
following him from the slums of Mumbai (when it
was Bombay) through multiple hardships all the
way to his adult life where he gets a chance to
go on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire.
Direction is phenomenal here. Danny Boyle
creates fantastic composure with his shots,
making all scenes engrossing with blends of
color and authenticity of wide angle shots
sweeping over poverty stricken areas.
There are a few shots here that are so
wonderfully created that my mouth dropped in awe
of his talent. Boyle's direction is some
of the best I've seen, period.
Slumdog ended with our theater clapping, as I've
heard it has with many others. Garnering
10 Academy Award nominations, the film is a dark
horse as an independent film that needed
financing from four different sources to get off
the ground. Rarely do I leave the theater
as emotionally drained as I did here. It
is a fantastic film that erupts with the triumph
of the human spirit and leaps off the screen,
associating everyone in attendance with
heartache, pain, desperation, loneliness,
triumph and most of all love. Home now
only 5 hours after it ended, I'm already very
excited to see it again. A feeling that I
sincerely hope the Academy voters have when they
place their votes.
Jen's
Rating: A+ : Can I give this an A++++...
(all around the room like in Christmas Story)?
Absolutely fantastic, definitely one of the best
movies I've EVER seen! Everything about it was
amazing, I honestly can't find a flaw. So, go
see it! I don't know how anyone could not love
this film.
Sebastian's
Rating: A+ : theres something about this
movie that i can't put my finger on. It was a
pretty serious and intense movie filled with
problems from the slum. I didn't expect this
movie to be so strong... yet it still turns out
to be a happy movie.
This movie seperates the difference between good
and bad. it's like pans labyrinth, you can think
of whatever you want about the ending. I
believed it was her destiny to die, Although she
had the choice which "dimention" (aka heaven for
me) she wanted to go to. this movie can also be
like that.
You can think of this movie as just a romance,
or you can think of it in many different way.
two boys, go through the same life. Experience
the same moments, experience the same trouble,
Yet what would happen with there lives was up to
them. One boy, decided that his life was already
over, and turned to the bad side of life, guns,
violence and crime and gansters. However,
Jamal... He took the right path.
This movie was so innocent, yet so disturbing.
It was a predictable ending yet sometimes,
through the movie, you wouldn't know if it was
going to end the way you planned it would.
after leaving the cinema, you have a feel-good
feeling, that sticks with you for a long time.
its very rare that a movie like slumdog
millionaire is released, it's a movie to praise
for.
Yet be warmed, for all the faint hearted out
there. Although the trailer is up-beat, Slumdog
millionaire is a fairly depressing romantic
drama and is not for little kids.
Chris's Rating:
A+ : My friends told me that I should watch
this film, and when I did, the first thing that
went into my mind was "I'm going to see this
again." Indeed, I have. The story was
compelling, and both Patel and Pinto play their
roles superbly.
Angie's
Rating: A+ : I think everything I want to
say has been said... so I'll just share my
favorite part of the movie: the escape from the
outdoor bathroom, if you can even call it that,
to get an autograph from his favorite actor who
has just landed on the makeshift airstrip close
by.
Loved the whole thing! Can't wait to see it
again
Brian's Rating:
B+ : The Blu-Ray for this movie rolled in
last week, and despite my disappointment for
having only 5.1 lossy-compression for sound I
entered into the viewing with high hopes.
Everybody loved this film. It is the greatest
film made in the past 5 years. A heart-warming,
touching rags to riches tale that is lost on
nobody.
While I did enjoy the movie, it did not blow me
out of my socks like some other better movies
have. I end up giving a lot of B+ ratings to
movies I see because I honestly do not see
myself ever really wanting to watch them again
despite the fact that I enjoyed the first
viewing.
I have got to say that the directing and editing
for the film was amazing. The way the scenes
from his past are interwoven into the present is
done in such a way that the flow of the story is
not broken. Information that the viewer learns
about the main character sort of trickles in and
the buildup of his past story is not too slow to
be boring, and not too fast to be confusing.
Acting in the film was not done poorly, but I
would not call it great. The movie really
shines in the script, the directing, and the
editing.
I do have to say that I found myself cringing at
the implausibility that all these questions just
happened to line up with significant life
events. It made from an interesting story, but
I could not help by being distracted as I tried
to conceive of the odds that that would happen.
Like everybody else, I would recommend this
movie. I'm just not drooling over it like the
rest of humanity is.
click here to review
it yourself!
