This year, I did something I’ve never done before: I managed to watch all five films that re nominated for the Best Picture Oscar prior to the actual ceremony. I think I was able to do that because all five films are still playing in theaters around here, unlike most years where at least one or two of the nominated titles are in that limbo between the theaters and DVD by the time the Oscars come around.
Anyway, the ceremony will be held this Sunday, February 22, and I saw Slumdog Millionaire, my fifth and final nominee last night. This film has received most of the Oscar buzz as far as Best Picture goes, so I was looking forward to watching it. Unfortunately, while it was indeed good, I didn’t think it lived up to all the hype.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The film opens with a young Indian man named Jamal (played by Dev Patel) being beaten by a security guard. Jamal has been on the Indian version of the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and is one question away from winning the top prize of 20,000,000 rupees. But since Jamal is an uneducated boy from the Dharavi slums, the game show’s producers think that he must have somehow cheated. After all, doctors, lawyers, and university professors have all failed to win the top prize. How can this “slumdog” do it? Thus, they are now trying to beat a confession out of Jamal.
But Jamal steadfastly proclaims his innocence, saying that he really does know the answers. So then a police inspector (Irrfan Khan) takes over the interrogation, going through the video of the game show question by question to find out how Jamal knew the answers.
The film then flashes back to Jamal’s childhood in the slums with his brother Salim (young version played by Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail) and their mother (Sanchita Choudhary). These early days yielded the answers to two questions asked on the game show — including one that came about as the result of Jamal’s mother’s brutal murder.
The rest of the film is told in much the same way, as the viewer follows Jamal and Salim through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood while they navigate the streets and slums of Mumbai in an effort to survive without parents. Along the way, they befriend a similarly orphaned girl named Latika (youngest version played by Rubiana Ali), who ultimately turns out to be the love of Jamal’s life, and have a bunch of wild adventures, all of which help Jamal win the 20 million rupees and show that he did indeed know the answers after all.
My Reaction: As I said, I thought Slumdog Millionaire was good, but not great. It was so utterly Dickensian in nature that I couldn’t help but have my mind drift back to Oliver Twist more times than I care to remember — especially during the time where Jamal, Salim, and Latika were begging for that modern-day Fagin. So while the overall structure of having Jamal’s life experiences laying the foundation for his success on the game show was pretty unique (albeit completely unrealistic), the actual retelling of those experiences seemed like little more than a Dickens ripoff.
Nevertheless, the story as a whole flowed pretty well, so I was able to enjoy most of it. There were a few slow spots to be sure, as well as some highly predictable ones, but it wasn’t too bad for a two-hour long film. Plus, the main character Jamal was pretty likable (except for when he was actually on the game show… couldn’t he smile or something? I know he was nervous, but still. He came off as just as antagonistic as that annoying host.), which was important given the fact that we were meant to root for him in the end. I was happy that he won and happy that he got the girl, so mission accomplished in that regard.
Overall, however, I felt that there was just something missing from Slumdog Millionaire that prevented it from being a complete winner for me. I can’t quite put my finger on it; maybe it was a bunch of niggling little things that bothered me throughout. At any rate, I give the film 4 stars out of 5 and still think it’s worth watching despite its flaws.
While I’ve been pretty tough on some of Michael Connelly’s books in the past, I have to admit that I’m starting to like them more and more with each one I read. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t suddenly think Harry Bosch is the second coming of Philip Marlowe–far from it. But I do enjoy Connelly’s offerings as light, entertaining fare that I can get through quickly. The Closers, a 2005 novel featuring the further adventures of Harry Bosch, was exactly what I expected from a Connelly book. Nothing more, nothing less.
Few stories are as touching as those that tell of a promising future cut short by terminal illness. Think of the untold thousands who have died in their teens, twenties, or thirties because of cancer or some other disease, well before their lives have even had a chance to start in earnest. Football player Ernie Davis was one such person, dying at the age of 23 before ever playing a single down in the NFL despite being the No.1 overall draft choice in 1962. I’d never even heard of Ernie Davis prior to watching The Express, which tells his story.
Last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives had yet another unwieldy title that was utterly ridiculous. It was called “In a World Where Kings Are Employers” and focused on everyone’s problems at work. WTF? Do the writers pick out the Sondheim song titles/lyrics and then create the episodes around them? This little quirk is starting to get on my nerves!
A remake of the horror classic Friday the 13th was the No. 1 movie at the box office this weekend. Bearing the same name as the original, the 2009 version took full advantage of its Friday the 13th opening and ensuing Valentine’s Day by earning a solid $42.2 million over the weekend, easily outpacing last week’s champion, He’s Just Not That Into You. The ensemble comedy added another $19.6 million to its coffers, bringing its total gross to $55.1 million in 10 days.
The name Harvey Milk didn’t mean anything to me, as I’d never heard it before. That made it all the more surprising when I learned that a film had been made about his life. And not just some low-budget indie feature, either. No, this was a project for mainstream audiences, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and James Franco among others. So I read a little bit about Harvey Milk, and learned that he was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S. It sounded like Milk’s life — and death — were pretty interesting, so I decided to give the film a try. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Milk has been nominated for a few Oscars, including Best Picture.
I’ve been watching Lost ever since its premiere five years ago, and have seen every single episode since then. But the storylines are so convoluted that it’s often difficult for me to keep everything straight or to know why certain things are significant, which is why I just love 
Grey’s Anatomy 5×15 — “Before and After”: This was the actual crossover episode, and I have to say that I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminded me of how great Grey’s used to be, what with Izzie being her perky (borderline annoying) self while wanting the interns to have fun, and Addison back at Seattle Grace. In fact, I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a mistake for Addison to leave in the first place… that character just relates so well to Derek, Mark, Callie, and Karev. She has so much chemistry with those people, and practically none with her current PP crew. Oh, well.
Private Practice 2×16 — “Ex Life”: This was a crossover episode as well, and essentially continued what was begun in the GA hour. I thought it was hilarious how Archer made all of his deathbed confessions only to have Derek walk in and tell him that he’s going to live! I actually laughed out loud at that scene. Also, I liked seeing Addison working side by side with both Derek and Alex again. I’m telling you, she belongs at Seattle Grace!
With a whopping six Oscar nominations to her name at the age of 33, there’s no question that Kate Winslet is one of the best actresses of her generation. I usually like her work, and am at the point where I’ll see anything that she’s in no matter what the subject. And of course when it’s a film that she has actually been nominated for, then it’s even more of a no-brainer for me. That was the case with 2008′s The Reader, which was also nominated for Best Picture of the year.