You seen the original?

Slumdog Millionaire.


Want me to be totally unbiased? Here we go...

After the 28 Days/Weeks duo, I did not expect this from Danny Boyle. He came across as a moviemaker who has a sensible approach and a no-nonsense way of filmmaking, and for him to make this is a bit incomprehensible. The very first word of the movie title itself portrays the country wrongly, and that goes with the mis-interpretation the West has always had of India - a country full of poverty, crime, slum dwellers, superstitions, orthodox beliefs, etc., when today's India is more or less an opposite.

Now the movie itself.

The performances of the two leads was about par, but the two superstars of the Indian movie industry were a bit flat. The concept of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was novel, but the execution and the questions itself were poorly done.

The music wasnt that great either, and why A R Rahman has got nominations for it is totally beyond me. He is a very talented music director, and has much, much better soundtracks under his belt than this one.

The only redeeming factor I noticed was the cinematography. Fine camerawork dots this flick from beginning to end.

Boyle's direction - considering the basic premise idea and the settings he should have taken into account, is mediocre. Being a Britisher, he should have had a much better view of modern India today, since the history of India and Great Britain has been so deeply linked. Any Indian viewer with a deep-rooted sense of patriotism would tear him to pieces, but I am being unbiased here, so I ll spare him.

Overall, it has a good beginning, but after the first 30 minutes, it goes down paths which viewers would already have seen many times before in crime/Mafia-esque type flicks. Considering the fact that it doesnt correctly portray the great nation as it is today, its another big minus on Slumdog's credentials. Roland Joffe faced the same problem when he made City of Joy in the early 90s with Patrick Swayze - he totally misinterpreted and misrepresented India and Indian culture, and faced a lot of flak for it.

Watch it, get entertained, but dont leave the theater with any post-conceived ideas from it. Erase it from your memories once you are done watching.

And dont even get me started on the Oscars and their credentials.



Rating - * *

!

Yes, _V_. I completely agree.

A lot of it seemed to me like a cheap way to pull the viewer in emotionally, too.

It was a double post.


Gran Torino

This movie really cracked me up.. angry old Clint Eastwood... :D

It is one of the better movies I've seen in a long time, even if the racist jokes to get abit old half way through.
It is a good story and it has a lot of heart.

8.5/10

glad to see im not the only one who thought it didn't live up to the hype.

Doubt
Revolutionary Road
both acting powerhouses, i enjoyed doubt a little bit more though.

is that the one about the car that just wouldnt stop ? :D




last seen :

Taken.

enjoyable popcorn flick. nothing deep but a fast paced actioner that satisfied without insulting the intelligence (too much)

Bluntly put, this movie partly feeded off the world's sympathy and empathy for the Mumbai attacks in November '08. Anyone who knows India the way India is, would straightaway condemn this pic as being too cliched and grossly misrepresentative.

I dare say it might win the Oscar for the same reason above.

Too late, the damage has been done. People of the world continue to have a cock-eyed view of India, thanks to this flick and its immense popularity.

And too bad, because there are WAY better HINDI flicks than this one which never got the world's attention (because they werent released worldwide, and restricted to domestic BO), and which rightfully deserve an Oscar for Best Pic, in many more ways than one.

Watched The Mothman Prophecies again last night. 7.5/10

good movie that could have been a bit better

Tokyo Gore Police - I really liked this one, there are some parts where they tried way too hard but the film held together. I can't wait for the sequel.


Battle Royale

Oh, and The Great Mouse Detective, there's one they won't be playing on The Disney Channel anytime soon.

RocknRolla - 6/10
Pretty good... but Guy Ritchie can do better.

Totally agree; there were lot better hindi films already made in India (even Ram Gopal Verma made couple of better flicks I think:D) and you know.. that didn't surprised me at all; cause this is the same award platform that almost failed to recognize Satyajit Ray (Ray was an Indian Bengali Filmmaker & one of the greatest in the history of world cinema) and awarded him only with an honorary one just before his death at 1992 (it was like.."oh man! we almost forgot about him, let's just give him an award now..before he dies!") while he deserved a lot for his several outstanding masterpieces like Pather Pachali, Goopy Gayin Bagha Bayin, Jolshaghor etc.

last seen movies:

Igor (2008)

>>: C+


The Lucky Ones (2008)

>>: B-

Ray is amazing. The Apu Trilogy were some of the first films that really got me loving cinema.

Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) - 1/5

The father of gore's most infamous film is probably remembered mostly for its idea and not its execution. It starts out great, banjos roaring and confederates raging; in fact, the opening credits sequences paint an extremely uncomfortable portrait of an angry southern town. However, the next hour or so tears that apart with snail-rate pacing and an uninteresting storyline.

Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005) - 3.5/5

A loving homage full of twists and turns, cinematic in-jokes and style. Argento gleefully fills the screen with all of his favorite Hitchcock moments (and ours too) but never crosses into kiss-ass or cheese territory, which is extremely impressive. Elio Germano does a great job at playing the sympathetic angle while remaining voyeuristic and nosy, and the rest of the unknown cast do a good job filling in the gaps around him.

Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) - 5/5

Becker's response to the noir wave is both gracefully entertaining and revolutionarily violent. The film takes its time in engulfing itself in a world which just seems to get darker and darker, constantly diving into lower depths of the city. As usual, Jean Gabin is astounding; here he is cool and sleek, not unlike a lot of the American noir icons, but he doesn't have as gracious a sense of humor and he's on the wrong side of crime. Modern gangster fare owes credit to the slow-burn, character-oriented plotting used here, though few films have been able to match Becker's engaging style.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - 3/5

A decidedly unfocused attempt at pairing Bram Stoker's meticulous novel with themes of voyeurism and cinematic invention. The film isn't a failure; Coppola is masterful in both his stunning visuals and his complex sound design, and the film is probably the closest Stoker adaptation to date. Unfortunately the acting is unnatural and uncomfortable. Oldman seems pretty at-home with his Count characterization, and Hopkins knows exactly what he is doing, but the rest of the cast is blatantly overwhelmed. Whether Keanu is in place as some kind of cultural joke is not important because his naivity is both boring and unprofessional. See it for its craftsmanship but don't expect any kind of groundbreaking drama.

To Have and Have Not (1944) - 4/5

The beginning of a beautiful friendship; Bogie and Bacall are immediately magnetic, their chemistry gleaming as though it had been alive for years. The story isn't exactly explosive (in the wake of Bogart's previously successful overseas film, this one seems recycled) but strong characters keep the film pulsing and rich. Hawks and Bogart reportedly never got along, but this never showed in their collaborations, which ironically were some of both of their finest career moments.

Sadly, no...but I was an extra in a movie by the guy that directed it :cool:


Now that it has a decent DVD release, I'll have to check it out though. Nothing like a good slasher once in awhile.

White Dog (1982) - 3.5/5

What starts as an effective idea and a thought-provoking metaphor never quite becomes anything profound, though Fuller's exploration is brave and his intentions important. It isn't a fun film to watch; its presentation is barbaric and sometimes cruel, but the story is always on track and engaging. A reminder that cinema does not always have to be a friendly medium, and that sometimes things are more effectively shown than told.

My Bloody Valentine 3D

I thought it was pretty dissapointing, I mean it was just run of the mill, but it was in 3D, so that kind of made it cool, but they could have used the 3D better.

5/10


P.S Elvis I will check out the origanal sometime in the next week....

Sea Change - quiet low key flick about an alcoholic cop in a small town based on a robert b parker novel. .. not bad.

Secretary

Not as good as I thought it would be

The Midnight Meat Train.

Pretty good overall. Nothing too surprising in the plot if you're a Clive Barker fan though. The gore was well done and the pacing/intensity was spot on. The one disappointment was the CGI gore. Most scenes were passable, but one scene just looked so horribly fake that it irked me through the rest of the movie.

House

This was the first horror movie that ever really had an effect on me, and I just watched it for the first time in 20 years or so, I pretty much remembered it in full. It was very nostalgic for me, I'll be watching it more often in the future..

7.5/10

My most recent:
The Wackness- Loved it. Ben Kingsley was amazing.
The Man With Two Brains-One of Steve Martin's funniest. Glad I took a second look at this one.

Duke, duke, duke
Duke of oil, oil, oil...

:D


Love that movie.

Dr. Necessiter: As you know, my research has advanced to a point where I can put her mind into the body of a gorilla.

Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr: I couldn't fuck a gorilla.


Very funny film

Man with the Screaming Brain

Pretty trashy b-grade Bruce Cambell, written and directed by the man...

Don't expect much and you will have a fun ride.


6/10

since everyone else is quoting it :


Into the Mud - Scum Queen !!

What have you got in there ? a kitty ?

it just keeps on getting better and better

the breeze feels good

Watched both Sleepy Hollow and Fight Club last night.

Attempted to watch a blood n boobs flick called Shower of Blood also but only lasted half an hour before giving up.

Watched Rambo again last night.

Thats a good fuking movie

i picked that up on Blu-Ray to see if it's any crazier in hi-def

I'm sure its gonna look sweet.

The CGI is so subtle but effective.

Pathology

Morally bankrupt, which is why I kinda liked it. Not a good movie or even remotely plausable. It is a filthy movie through and through - murder, indiscriminate fucking, reckless drug abuse, lies, broken oaths and some really sweet autopsy gore... who knew post med-school residents were so much fun?

Like I said, not a good movie, but for some stupid reason I liked it - it was written by the two guys who wrote and directed Crank and shares the same sort of out-of-control, nihilistic glee. It says nothing, but makes a lot of noise in the process.

6.5/10

The Crow: Wicked Prayer

Not worth the time. 3/10

Repo! The Genetic Opera. After that, I watched Poltergeist 2: The Other Side. I fell asleep after about an hour during Poltergeist, but I'll probably watch it again tonight.

Coraline

cool movie - brilliant animation.

unfortunately the experience was ruined for me by the fucking ignorant motherfuckers rattling bags, talking and kicking the back of my seat.

the girl nect to me crossed her legs and put her boot on my pants and left it there.

what the fuck is wrong with people that they dont know how to act in public ?

I hate this type of shit.
*****Slumdog Millionaire Spoilers********
When i saw Slumdog millionaire, a pair of old ladies sat next to me. The old bag completely ruined the end of the film by saying 'Thats the right answer, he got it right!' before it was revealed whether the answer was correct or not. made me want to hit her in the face.

a big reason I don't go to the cinema much anymore.......fucking idiots all around

Watching The Who at the Isle of Wight as I sip a few brews.

great concert

Childs Play 2

Anchorman: The legend of Ron Burgandy

Psycho 2

Cheesy and stupid... It got more and more ridiculous..


5/10

The Caine Mutiny

I wasn't too impressed at first, but it built up to a nice climax. Bogart is fantastic as usual, but the court martial sequence should have been given far more time - Jose Ferrer was incredible.

Not really the classic I was expecting, but still very good.