Hmm, I guess you might get that idea if you don't follow the film discussion there too often, but there are plenty of people there who would rank TDK and Wall-E among the year's best. Many people loved Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, and there were even quite a few fans of IJ4 there too. There is definitely an appreciation for well done mainstream films there, IMO.

Regardless of what your opinion of Slumdog Millionaire is, I think we all realize that the term "film snob" in the context of this thread, is a code word signifying those people who don't like the same films as older white ladies.

As I mentioned in my review:


...and that crowd was primarily made up of elegantly dressed white-haired white ladies of a "certain age" - - this type of film especially appeals to them because of their upper-middle class guilt about the "third world" - - and Slumdog Millionaire is especially enticing because the poor people of India are saved by none other than our old friend, the American Dream^®.

Don't believe me? Ask your Mom...

First off what's the AD forums?

Second I loved Wall-E, TDK, and IM with all 3 being in top 10.

Third I liked Slumdog Millionaire just a little bit more than the above mentioned three, does that mean I'm a film snob too?

After watching Slumdog I really can't find anything wrong with the film. Its extremely well done in all regards and the story is a modern fairytale that all can embrace and believe in. Its borderline perfect and by far Boyle's best film yet. The hype around this film is justified because the film delivers everything one expects from a film. Its moving, mesmerizing, dazzling, joyfully inspiring and simply a pleasure to watch. In my lowly regarded opinion its the best of the year so far, based on all the films I've seen.

Grade A++

It means quite the opposite.

I would have liked a shot or two that shows the top of the frame parallel with the ground. In general it would have been a lot better if the director showed a little restraint with the style. The most memorable parts are whenever two actors are looking eye to eye, up close and quiet. It would have been much more effective if the rest of it were as visually simple.
The acting is pretty great and it does have some of the best imagery of the year. And the basic story is kinda awesome. Also, I loved the closing credit sequence...that pretty much made the movie for me.

Just got back from watching it. Very beautiful, enthralling, uplifting, and stunning movie. It's a little too in your face, but it never goes all the way in preaching the message of how suffering in our lives eventually leads to our greatest destiny, whatever that may be. It's beautifully shot and surprisingly well acted, by all the cast members ( from the children - to the adults). I think it's too, light, to win the Best Picture and I don't think it will.. it's just not that moving of a picture, but it's so enjoyable and a great film. A

yes that would have been nice. but boyle wanted to show us lots of his cool tricks like tilting the camera this way or tilting the camera that way.

Slumdog Millionaire is an amazing film. I agree that the Amitbach scene was one of the best scenes I've ever seen captured on film. The MIA was definitely overdone near the end. The pacing of the film helped make this such a crowd pleaser. There was a strong build up, and for once, the audience gets the ending that they want. There were people all over the theater by the end just hugging their loved ones which was kind of odd as people usually just quickly move out of the showing. This movie moved a lot of people in my theater. No one moved for the longest time even when the credits started. The mood of the theater was something I've rarely seen before. But once this goes more wide, I think its going to strike a chord with a lot of people outside of the critics circles as well. It may not be a perfect film, but it is a story that a lot of people can relate to. I also don't put my stock in the Academy anymore and have seen bad films time and time again get more attention than they should be getting. While this could be the case here, when I think about it, from a best picture winner I want a film that gives me the cinematic experience of the year, that makes you realize how great movies can be, and is still able to deliver a fun and exciting moviegoing experience despite its flaws. This is one such type of film.

A +

I guess it's only a matter of time before audiences break into bollywood dance routines in the aisles.

on the M.I.A. presence: yes, the use of Paper Planes seemed quite out of place, especially given its recent success, but apparently Boyle had the song in mind while shooting the film and wouldn't cut it. The little remix of it that came up was quite decent though. That said, AR Rahman and M.I.A.'s collaboration on O...Saya was easily the best part of the film.

I adore "Jai Ho," the song over the dance number at the end. I hope it gets an Oscar nod.

This was quite amazing. Its a fairy tale and its rather unbelievable but you just get swept up in it, and sometimes I like a fairytale over banal reality.

Ok it does feature shittiness with the crappy slums and racism and police brutality and child abuse but in the end it paid me back with the ending I wanted and for that I was grateful and really happy!

Best film of the year methinks.

What an excellent film, backed by probably the best script I've seen all year. It's not an acting showcase, but the directing is almost impeccable. The cinematography reminded me City of God and definitely deserves recognition. The score could be a little too loud at times, but overall well used, and the last dance number is great.

A

Maybe some of this is my own fault for expecting something more...frivolous?

But I'm not cool with this movie and its kinda offensive mix of bad Hollywood plotting (the love interest is a gangster's moll...rofl), standard "inspirational drama" conventions, and terriflying, unflinching, stomach churning brutality. What the fuck was this? The first two were never able to reconcile with the third. "Shit, we almost got our eyes cut out! Cue Paper Planes montage."

I really found the whole movie to be in bad taste. Take the well-shot, toe-tapping Bollywood ending. Excuse me?!?!? It was as if Spielberg had ended Schindler's List with the Schindler Jews breaking out into a chorus of "To Life."

Yessss yoshue hated it, my love for the film is now 100% cemented.

"____________________" hate "___________________________"

I didn't hate it.

neither did I, but as snobs, we technically hate everything that we don't love.

I actually kinda hated this film.

I think part of the reason is that it could've been so, so, so much better. The premise alone is so fucking good (pivotal moments in guy's life experience coincidentally (or fatefully) provide him the answers he needs to win a game show) but so poorly and insultingly executed. In the end, it's just an after-school special on the trials and tribulations of impoverished kids in India, complete with 2-dimensional villains and characterisation, fashioned and modelled into a trite, clichéd and manipulative feel-good flick.

The worst thing about the whole film though is the laziness of the scriptwriting. I can imagine at some point during the scripting process someone might have said "but wait, Who Wants to be a Millionaire isn't filmed live, and anyone with an ounce of common sense watching this film will know this", and then Danny Boyle (or whoever) just said, "fuck it, let's just bend the facts, no one will care. Besides, having all of India cheering on our protaganist in the streets at the end is a far easier way to get the audience all riled up than earning a genuine emotional response by good scriptwriting and hard work".

And Deal or no Deal would've been a far better show to frame the film around.

D-

I didn't read a post in this thread before posting my above "review", and it's not my intent to turn it into another Juno or Crash. I went into it having seen the trailer, thinking it was an excellent idea, hoping it would be a masterpiece. But in the end... god this film pissed me off.

Another thing that really bothered me: all that blather about fate and destiny. This really is an epic of inappropriateness and bad taste. The mind boggles. Don't feed me trite Hollywood romantic-corn ideas of destiny when I have to watch seven year olds get their fucking eyes burned out.

It's too grim and ugly and violent to work as some sort of feel-good "inspirational" drama, but it's too silly and formula and cliched to function as realism. It's just a mess.

The show is shown live in some countries, the Indian version I don't know which though.

Also I refuse to believe Chris was offended, he is 2 girls 1 cup man!!

I'm glad you brought that up, considering the not-dissimilar-to-2girls1cup-scene early in this. I don't care how much the audience laughed- I don't care how much I laughed before realizing what I was laughing at- but there is nothing funny about a poor 'slumdog' swimming through/covered in poo to get that autograph. Nononononono. Well, actually, maybe there is- but not in the context of this movie. Not when the next scene features the brutal murder of his mother, and men on fire, and all those other atrocities.

But that's entertainment, and an admittedly gross, weird internet curiosity like 2girls is offensive. Ok.

The movie is so viscerally vibrant and alive and aesthetically compelling. Watch the rollicking, joyous(wtf) end credits scene on YouTube. It's great, if mind-bogglingly inappropriate. I really really wanted to like this movie.

But it wouldn't let me. Something's really rotten in the state of Denmark. Or, for purposes of this discussion, Mumbai.

What game shows are live? Do they really make live game shows?

I'd let it slide if it was a children's film. One where the illusion of TV being real time can be let go because the intended audience are people who don't know better. But you can't spend half of your film trying to be as realistic and brutal as possible (albeit, as real and brutal as any westerner might've assumed from watching a Comic Relief VT) and then have the other half follow the fairytale rules of a children's film. "Wow, look how hard this kid in India has it - his eyes were nearly hollowed out! Now, here's his final question on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire... a question that would be at best a £2000 question in any part of the world!"

It just doesn't ring true. And ultimately the whole film feels like a big cheat because it's trying so desperately to be one thing and failing, while trying and failing to be another thing at the same time.