DIBs opinion of films is mediocre.

BJs Grade:

B+/A-

well made predictable fluff that should not be nominated for BP.

If anything, Slumdog Millionaire is a B. I am grateful that Boyle quit the horror genre this time. But I assume it won't be for long.

I bet this would have been better if it were a horror movie .

And it's not like all he does is horror. He's done what, two that could even be considered horror? The only two I can think of are 28 Days Later and Sunshine, though I mostly consider Sunshine sci-fi. Otherwise there's Trainspotting and Millions, which aren't horror.

Has a "feel good" movie ever made you feel as badly as this one?

Discuss.

Yeah, but Gump is only depressing in its badness. The narrative is all the beats you expect in an uplifting picture. I understand this.

Slumdog, meanwhile, is textually depressing. There's nothing 'feel good' about this at any level.

I came out of this film feeling like I was walking on air, sort of. So.

Cocaine will do that, Libs.

That definitely seems to be the trick that's working in this film's favor - - the big fat happy ending - - despite it's disconnect from the rest of the movie, it seems to be what most moviegoers are remembering, and then projecting that on the entire film. Good strategy on Boyle's part - - between that and the memorable title - - he's just gone and tricked his way into a Best Picture Oscar...

Certainly.


All I intended to say is that he unnecessarily ruined both 28 Days Later and Sunshine with cliché horror finals.

this is actually very true. It was very dark and depressing yet is called a true 'feel good'? No, not really. Good things happen, and an upbeat conclusion, but it was really a tonally disjointed movie, making no sense as far as general mood. I've decided this was probably my biggest problem with the film.

I didn't think the ending for 28 Days Later was great, but I didn't think it was particularly cliché either (that is, if you're talking about the entire third act, not just the last scene).

At least, not in the way that Sunshine's was. That is a movie severely hurt by its ending.

Whoah, I thought everyone felt my taste was bad...thanks

I do agree about the ending of Sunshine. It would have been better of sticking to what was working so well in the first place. But I didn't have a problem at all with 28 Days Later.


Now if Boyle returns for a third 28/Later film, the trailer and ads can say "From The Director of Slumdog Millionaire."

#1 i don't ever want to live in India

#2 what an awsome movie A

#3 hope it wins big at the Oscars

Do you mean as a slumdog?

...or absolutely never, despite India's rich culture, varied climate and terrain, and breadth of shopping and cuisine opportunities?

most places are.

Its very sad that i watched this movie once it became a legit oscar contender. Because one stops judging for what it is and starts judging it for if its worth winning or even being nominated for the top prize. And sadly, thats what happened. So before i continue any further, I'll say this much that the movie ranks as an A- for me.

The film is beautifully choreographed and probably even better acted. While Dev patel's performance in the film is something i find questionable, many of the supporting characters (including the youngest salim and jamal and the begger leader) deserve oscars for their very realistic and believable portrayals). The movie itself had a brilliant premise and like Neil already said, the idea that the boy looked at events in his life to answer each question was also quite interesting.

But there are certain placs where the movie truly fails which is why i don't think it should be an oscar contender at all.

a) Looking at your life to find answers is fine. But the fact that each question somehow triggered one of the most important memories in this boy's quest to run away and then find the girl again bordered on the realm of unbelievable coincidences. But .. i managed to excuse this.

b) I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but watching this movie felt like watching Forrest Gump, a story of someone going from one event to another. The reason why i point this out is because much like forrest gump, the film is more about a man's journey than a constant unfolding of his life and story ... the story and the theme in general comes together at the end. Sadly, Forrest Gump was meant to be light hearted and wile each scene was significant in the movie, it was never meant to be taken overly seriously at its surface. Slumdog sadly is and the major disconnect from scene to scene became quite prevalent.

c) I honestly thought the use of English in the movie was for the western audiences to understand whats going on. Then with the switch from hindi to english made me realize these characters are actually talking in english. Which is fine ... i don't have an issue. But these 'slumdogs' who've spent their entire life working or begging or something or the other got time to master a language? I mean the simple fact that they initially spoke in broken english and then improved is testament to this. I'm sorry but this just bothered me quite a bit.

d) A very small nit picky thing but i seriously doubt anyone ever taught Lathika how to drive, espicially a manual car.

e) The fuck was wrong with the shit ass hip hop music that suddenly showed up in the film from time to time. SOunded totally off.

I personally feel that if the movie kept just about every scene in this movie but just rearranged them for a better structure, it could vastly improve. For now, i'm personally of the opinion that its oscar status and its love from many people here mainly exists because its a well made portrayal of people who lived a truly miserable life that none of us are accostumed to seeing and another beautiful portrayal of an unfamiliar culture. I stand by this.

A-

yup...the AMPAS do love those endearingly joyous depictions of suffering (ala Life is Beautiful)

Does Danny Boyle have a toilet fetish?

Of the nominees, this is the best film I have scene (missing The Reader and Frost/Nixon). Reminded me a lot of City of Men, just more uplifting and with a love story, of which I am usually a sucker for.

A-.

I had to wait over two months to finally see it, and it was worth the wait. It's without doubt one of the most energetic and captivating movies of 2008, and there wasn't one minute of it I didn't love. Yes, a general idea of how it ends is incredibly easy to gather without seeing any of the movie, but it's the journey that matters here, not the destination. And that journey, though dark and unpleasant to begin with, leads to what ultimately a deservedly happy ending. It's not the year's best movie, but it's certainly among the best. I loved it.

A

City of God + Children of Men?

They made of City of God sequel

Actually they made a spin-off TV series - City of Men.

And out of that series, they eventually made another movie.

Good catch, must have been tired last night. Solely City of God. Not the semi-sequel to it, City of Men (which I have not scene).

So...I gave it another chance. This time around I can say that well the first half of this film is actually pretty damn good, but as soon as that song from the Pineapple Express trailer comes rolling around the whole thing goes downhill. For one I never bought into the romance, sorry there was three scenes between Jamal and Latika (scenes you can count in seconds) as kids and then BAM their love is now so strong that it leads Jamal to leave a steady life over by the Taj Mahal? And then there was the overly annoying destiny theme. Seriously how archaic is that? This is what I was talking about as schmaltzy and cheesy, sure the presentation wasn't, but its message sure as hell was. I didn't leave the theatre uplifted nor inspired, just impartial really more than anything. Then the editing? Seriously? How does this get nominated for best film editing? Sometimes, yes it was good, damn good, but only in that flashy kind of way. But then most of the times it was too fastly edited; it never let me settle with the characters, it needed to slow down, pace itself instead of rushing to the next scene. Oh and the cninematography, outside of the shots of the slums and a lot of the scenes in the first half (the torture scenes were actually well shot) it kind of ruined the atmosphere. At times it was too claustrophobic when I wanted to see then entire environment, and at other times it was too spacial when it needed to be tense. And yes, the dancing still sucked.

B (there, my impartial grade)