And yet you gave it an A.

I've long since changed my grade.

Loyal actually gave it a B, I think, but I would've guessed it was under his "Crash Level of Awful" benchmark if I didn't know otherwise.

Y'all can feel free to disagree but I'm somewhat convinced a lot of the hate people have for this movie wouldn't really exist if it didn't catch on like it did.

He gave it an A to start with. Before the hype caught on.

You can say I hated it just because it's the Oscar frontrunner, whatever. It's not true, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead. I don't like or dislike movies simply based on their popularity. I hated both WALL-E and The Mummy 3, but I also loved both TDK and The Happening.

I was actually quite looking forward to this. I love Danny Boyle, and you can see by my response in that "Fuck Slumdog Millionaire Club", he's the reason I didn't join that club. But this is a serious misfire.

Whatever, I don't really care about this film enough to have a debate about it. I hated it, you loved it. We each did so for our own reasons. You claiming I did because it's the Oscar frontrunner is about as offensive had I done the same about you.

I disliked it before it was cool to dislike. In fact, I probably made it cool to dislike.

I rate it with 8 out of 10 points.

My lukewarm written review is dated Nov 23rd.







With a B-, it ranks in the top 70 or so of films released in 2008.

I didn't say that about you specifically. I meant, IN GENERAL, I think a lot of the criticism this movie has gotten would be less pronounced if it weren't so popular.

I think the same thing is true of Juno, just among recent examples. Chalk it up to backlash.

Any viewing after the Toronto film festival in October would be susceptible to influence. I mean, I pointed out in my review that the film wasn't "the secondcoming that the reviews have lead many to believe."

I wish I could view it in a bubble but I can't.

if only

But Dan you liked Speed Racer which was a disgusting insult to the memory of 50s motorsport with its lazy dealings with the danger of the era and its piss poor rip off of the mille miglia! Fangio, Ascari and co are rolling in their graves!

Sorry I couldn't resist

Jamal is an extremely common Muslim name (which the boy in the movie was) and is extremely common, both as a first and a last name in South Asia and the middle east.. Infact, both my cousin's last name is Jamal and I went to school with quite a few of them back there.

At least Speed Racer had pretty colours. And ninjas. And John Goodman. Slumdog had none of those things. Its colours were all uggo.

I think the Snob Brigade is taking the film too seriously in a bandwagon effect. If it actually went straight-to-video they'd praise it as a GREAT GLOBALIZED FAIRYTALE!

I think you're just jealous we didn't include you.

Was my app even rejected?

I think makeshift just forgot/lost interest.

For the record, I was pulling for you!

Actually, if it went straight to video, we wouldn't fucking watch it.

Well, Jamal guesses on the last question because he doesn't care if he wins or not. His brother chooses a life of money and gets killed for it (and he paints this message when he dies). Yeah the movie says the money dominated world creates a lot of suffering. That's not offensive... derivative and 'what else is new', arguably, but regardless, it says quite just about the exact opposite from "money will bring you happiness"

And again, the mobsters, etc. plot is supposed to be "derivative". It's a homage... it's a story about stories, so they borrow and embrace cinema traditions heavily, from the Bollywood stuff to the American gangsters, to the romance princess arc, to the three journeyers and their quest from classic literature, and so on. This is all done completley intentionally.

Boyle pumps up the film to make it heavily cinematic and "big"... just as Bollywood films have big song and dance, he has well, lots of song and montage and big flash in the editing room.

This ties into the complaints about this not being a 'real' or legit portrayal of India slums... again to even use loyal's analogy, this is basically closer to something like Aladdin and it knows it. Realism and the 'omigod, suffering' is not the point here... it's a story that knows it's a story, and pumps itself up accordingly so, if that makes sense. Bollywood and American cinema of the past did the same thing. If it feels too fun and light for the subject matter it's dealing with, it's because again, Boyle is making cinema big fun type entertainment fare here. This film cares much more about its roots as a cinema ride than it does as a realistic portrait, much more.

I think I've said this on 5 different pages everytime someone posts a bad review lol

I don't know why a bad review = the reviewer doesn't get it.

I edited, that was a bit much

But at the least, trix seemed to imply making the film big and flashy, and Boyle using "borrowed" plot, villains, etc., as without a clear point and intention. Which is untrue

Another thing I just realized I liked about this movie... the whole India music/American rap music mix, really fits into this being a mix of Hollywood and Bollywood cinema...

I think the biggest issue with Slumdog and it appears to be the root of all its criticism, is that it tries to be everything to everyone.

It's fairy tale, it's silly. The way events unfold are completely impossible. Yet you have the main character saying "You wanted to see the real India. Here it is." Well, which is it?

It robs the movie of any gravitas. Kids being mutilated, Latika being raped, murder, poverty, paedophila, torture. No thanks, we'll just focus on the adorable street urchins and dance number instead.

That would make sense if it wasn't so dark and brutal and ultra-violent. There's no correlation between the light fairytale stuff and Jamal getting electrocuted by the cops, or the kid getting his eyes burned out, or Jamal's brother blowing away the gangster. It wavers between light and dark far too much, and so feels terribly uneven and ugly because of it.

loyal is right; it tries to be both a colourful love fantasy and a grim portrait of the 'real' India. It can't do both, and so fails to be either.

I will agree. I wanted to murder people every time the hip hop music came on. I'm like wtf!? it doesn't even fit!