JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Acting, Theater, Film and TV Forum GAC Review: "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"/Dev Patel/Freida Pinto/etc.

Filmed in India...but NOT Just the Usual-Touristy-Taj-Mahal.

Get ready to REALLY do some Slumming, as you enter the world of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel)..orphaned-early and struggling for his life with his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal), & occasionally-joined by another orphan girl, Latika (Freida Pinto). The film's a Fictional Biography of these 3 Survivors, from the Slums of Mumbai.

Directors Danny Boyle and Lovelean Tandan skillfully-interpreted a novel, "Q & A" by author Vikas Swarup (With a fine assist by Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy), that interweaves an Emerging New India, "Warts-&-All", with the Indian Version of America's "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE" Game Show.

Jamal's managed to survive one of the toughest childhoods imaginable: Killer Cops, Street Gang Violence, Starvation, Religious Persecution, Depressing Poverty. You'll re-live it with him, as Flashbacks to "All The Above" help him answer Question-After-Question on the Game Show. (GREAT Kid Actors, too-numerous to list here, make for some Vivid, Well-Acted..& often Grim, yet Skilfully-Humorous Scenarios.)

There's a raw, beautiful-grittiness that permeates this film: Beautiful Colors, Interesting Place-after-Place-after-Place (That most Tourists would NOT be safe to Visit In!). The street excitement is increased by wonderfully-chosen Local Music.

All this unexpected Beauty is Counterpointed by frequent Violence, Murders, and one of this year's Strangest Love Stories Ever hangs in the balance of Jamal's surviving "Police Questioning" so he can get back to the TV Show to answer the final "Million Dollar Question".

See it & Find Out how he fares, eh? It's 2009's first "10-Outta-10" Movies I've seen..(HOPE there are a few More!)

There's enough Humor in-between all the Very, Very Sad Goings-On here to make this the Hit it Deserves to Be. You get a pretty good "Update" on what India's turning out to be for its "Survivors"..the ones you hear from the Phone Banks near-weekly..who, many, were former "Slumdogs". (Even AFTER it ends, there's a Credit Roll with an Indian Dance Number straight outta West Side Story..that's definitely an "Upbeat Note" as you exit. The Dance Number...IS a bit "Outta Place"...but you can tell the Directors & Distributors wanted you to feel really GOOD after this Movie ran..& you will.) The camera-work & acting is SO good I wouldn't mind seeing this one Twice!

JMO..Keep-or-Sweep-it!

Big Hugs,
Stan

I'm gonna Bump this Baby 'cuz I want ya to go see it. It's, so far, the Best I've seen in 2009/don't want ya to miss it IF ya got a theater showing it. (It's NOT a highly-hyped Movie...distributed by Fox SEARCHLIGHT..their kinda Minor-League Distribution Team.) But..I got Newfound Respect for what Bollywood's crankin' out these days...& this one's a Winner!

(WAY cheaper than a Trip to India...& it's as Good-As!)

Best Wishes,
Stan

Stan, I'm tempted to agree. Everything I've heard about this movie has been good. I think this may be the first evidence that "Bollywood" is no longer a joking matter.

I will still wait for the video--but only because I am waydam cheap. Thanks.

Joe

HiDee BroJoe!

This is ONE Flick that I feel the BIG Screen REALLY Enhances. The Camera Work is AMAZING, as it slices thru glimpses of Big Slums & Big City...(& it should be BIG...JMO!) There's a early Chase Scene thru the Slums that feels EXTRA "Claustrophobic" that'll probably be neutered-down by a Small Screen...again, JMO.

The COLORS are a Big Part of this Adventure..& again, I don't think reducing their SIZE is gonna help things.

And...Fellow-Cheapskate that I AM, I'd still LIKE to see this Flick make MORE Loot than much of the Over-Advertised-Crap that it's in-competition-with..so perhaps it sends Hollywood the Message that there ARE Intelligent Viewers Out There who WILL pay Serious Denario for QUALITY Entertainment.

I'm always fond of Underdog-Makes-Good Plotlines...& this Baby really Delivered. So...SEE it at the Theater...&..If ya don't think ya GOT your Money's-Worth, I'll sendya a Check for the Loot-Lost. (It's really THAT Good, Amigo!)

(This Offer Only Good For BroJoe...Expires when it ends up [way-too-soon] on Video!) But it's already reapin' some Awards..watch for it at The Oscars!

Thanks for Checkin'-In, Amigo~! (Go see it while ya Really Can!)
Big Guy-Hugs,
Stan

Did I hear right (I don't watch much TV) that this puppy got *four* golden Globe awards last night? That's pretty good, yes?

Joe

I tuned-in just in time to see Micky O'Rourke get his Globe..(What a Fun Acceptance Speech!)...then watched until "SDM" got it's "Best Flick" Honors..what a Night! (Wish I'd seen the Other 3 Awards get awarded..heh! I understand it's Just NOW gettin' released in India--they'll make a BUNDLE off this Baby, Now!!!)

They Deserve To. It's a FINE MOVIE, Great "No-Big-Name-Yet" Cast, and touches all sorts of Unexpected High-Notes as it Entertains-Away. (I especially recommend it for anyone who's having a Bad Week--Just Think...YOU haven't gone through ALL THIS~!)

Ya owe it to yourself to see this one/I'm SO thrilled it's gettin' Appreciated at the Uppermost Levels--& SOME movies DESERVE to be BIG Hits/This One Does!!!

Best Wishes, Amigo..& Happy New Week!
Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

I agree Stan, this was one of the best movies I have seen in a long long time...We went as a family (first time in like 5 years).. 18,25,45, and 50 years old...and everyone loved it..we were SO happy last night when it won ! !

HiYa Brother Herbie!

Thanks for Reportin' In, Amigo!

I'm always fond of the Underdog Making It...& in this case, it's not just "The Plotline". Warner Bros. was originally gonna Distribute SDM...THEN they "de-Activated" the Division that WAS gonna do-so. SO...with lots MORE effort, SDM got Fox Searchlight to do the job..& Voila..! This ALMOST Didn't Get U.S.-Released!!!

NOW..It's gonna get some OSCARS!!! (What an Incredible Year for that Cast & Producers, eh?) ;-)> AND it's NOW playin' in India...(July 2008 Population: 1.12 BILLION)...so this Movie, itself, is a true "Underdog Success Story"..(As well as The Plotline!)

Lookin' forwards to Lotsa Indian Restaurants opening now...I fell in love with Curry Dishes after an R&R to Singapore, ages-ago~ ;-)>

I critiqued exactly ONE "10-Outta-10" Movie alla Last Year, best I remember..for "There Will Be Blood". THIS'n's so-far the ONLY I've felt was THIS Good This Year. Glad you & family concur it's a GOODIE...&..I hope this'll spur Others to Give it a Peek TOO!

Thanks for Your Kind Visit & Critique, Amigo! (Didja wanna go VISIT this Fascinating Place after the Viewing? I sure did!)

Best Wishes & a Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

NO, I have no desire to go there...traveling these days? hard to get me to go anywhere outside of a 4-5 hr plane ride...More than that is torture..hugs back atcha buddy

HiAgain Bro Herbie!

Hey...we're down to 38 Degrees tomorrow AM...heard Chi-Town's gonna be 31-BELOW tomorrow? Wouldn't blame ya a Bit for Travellin' further-South...tho it's gonna have to be a LOT further to hit 75-80-Degree Weather..& Sunny~!

(The Cold Snap's gonna last us until next Week...Brr!) (But NO Frostbite in sight..heh!)

I agree witcha on Plane Travels..it's ALL a major Pain In The Butt. Haven't flown in the last 3-4 years. Hope to, soon's I get Officially-Retired...headin' to Panama for a Peek...dunno if The Good Ol' USA's the Final Destination After-All...since I seem to be doing a Millionaire-headin'-towards-bein'-a-Slumdog in the Current Economy. (Average Floridian, over age-60's reported to have lost at least a Mil so-far in the current Debacle...& Real Estate's supposed to take over a year to recover down here.) (If-ever.)

But..no major Heating Bills..so-far!

Big Guy-Hug/Stay Warm, Amigo~
Stan

We went and saw this and also Doubt a couple days ago. I think Slumdog deserves the hype and awards. The story line is a little predictable, but because the setting is so exotic to westerners, it makes the story format seem fresh and original. And that's fine. We love watching foreign films for this reason. And the mechanics of the story were clever and enjoyable.

Every American youth should be forced to watch this just to get a perspective on how easy they have it. Even our poorest in the US have a better head start than these characters. (And I know, I grew up dirt poor).

Doubt was a very different film with some of the best acting you'll ever fine, but a storyline so different in tone and result that it's almost the antithesis of this movie which is all about setting and action verses Doubt's acting tours de force.

Brian

Every American youth should be forced to watch this just to get a perspective on how easy they have it. Even our poorest in the US have a better head start than these characters. (And I know, I grew up dirt poor).

AMEN Brian

Amen, Gents!

PBS just last night had a Great Double-Segement on The History of India. Learned LOTS I'd never known about this fascinating country. (Also heard "India's GDP is projected to exceed the US in 2030"...) Fascinating...and a bit frightening, as well!

Thanks for Your Further Feedback,
Best Wishes,
Stan

Yeah, real feel good movie and deserving of its accolades.

For another, wonderful look at Mumbai, read Shantaram

Great book.

This movie won a Screen Actors Guild award last night, too, didn't it?

Joe

I still havent seen this movie!!! ahhh!! i need to see it now!!

HiYa Carrie!

IF ya watched The Oscars last night..you'll certainly get That Impression!

It was Great to see Bollywood finally get a bitta R-E-S-P-E-C-T last night!

I also felt good about Kate Winslow gettin' Best-Gal-Honors (even tho I kinda panned the Movie she won it for, here)..tho I'm sure Meryl Streep gave her a good run for the Statue this year..(& glad to see a Fine Crop of Gal Nominees there, too!)

Real Touching as Jerry Lewis got his Special Award..& Heath Ledger got that Oscar Posthumously (in spite of Oddsmakers sayin' it wouldn't happen.) "KUDOS" for Sean Penn's fine Acceptance Speech, & I'm REALLY gonna make the effort to drive about 20 miles AWAY to see "MILK" in one of the Few Tampa Area Theaters it's Playing-In..to-date.

S-Dog Millionaire got "Best Picture" Honors...so now ya got No Reason to put off Seeing this Great-Night-Out Flick!

Best Wishes..& Congrats to All The Well-Deserving Winners,
Stan

Stan

YOur movie recommendation here earned a lot of nominations and awards....

Gee I wish I thought that story too..

The movie location is quite the same here. The slums, the beggar in the streets the impossible dreams of every poor people..

Actually Im having this story playing in my mind for so many days after watching that movie several months ago.maybe I should pitch it to you and write this into a novel....

Wanna hear it????

Lynman

HiDee Favorite Doc!

Sure, I'll happily listen! (& I'm pretty sure at least ONE of the 30 Artists ya got signed to Your Label CAN actually LIVE out that Success Story that's in the Slumdog Movie...just takes Talent/Perseverance/Luck, too!)

As ya already know, I think, I'm best at writing "3-Minute-Movies."
(Real Short Attention-Span..heh!) IF I ever get the time..& knowhow..I would like to pen a Screenplay for the Bio of Nikola Tesla..Inventor of Radio..AC Motors..A Particle Beam "Death Ray" Gun..& Light Shows..to name just a Few of His Inventions, most of which Other Folks..like Marconi..have taken credit for.

He "forgave" George Westinghouse a $5 Mil Royalty-Owed (Back in the 1920's!) to help out a friend-in-need...& died near-peniless in NYC, feeding the pigeons in the park.

WAS a Handsome Bon-Vivant..never-married..(Main Babe's reportedly His Best Chum's Wife)..&..he was an Immigrant..who came to the U.S. specifically to get Hired by Thomas Edison. An early Clash-of-Egos led to him quitting...diggin' ditches a while..before Westinghouse hired him. One of Edison's Stipulations to The Smithsonian was that Tesla's Inventions NOT be included there..so I think ya gotta travel to Serbia to see "The Tesla Museum" nowadays. T's quite A Good Story..& even 2 Hours Screen Time won't really TOO-Thoroughly Cover His VERY-Interesting Life. (FBI reportedly confiscated ALL his Files from his Appartment upon his death. Some are STILL "Top Secret" to this day.)

Only 2 Books ever-published on his life story...so he's easy to bone-up on. I mention alla this because I DON'T know if I'll ever have time to DO this Project...& Somebody OUGHTA!

OK, Amigo...I told ya Mine...Lemmie hear Yours!

Best Wishes & a Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Stan

Yup I heard the story of Tesla and even the hidden one just like waht youve said. He was so penniless that time and no way to lobby for his true history and the one who got the money can put payola to the historians and write all of his so called "achievements" leaving the real thing unnoticed.

Actually there is one invention of tesla i dont know of you heard about it it is a black battery in a shape of a donut that runs several AC appliances like TV, fans, bulbs and can run for days without recharging. I think this is similar to perpetual machine, a machine envied by Leonardo Da Vinci. I saw the design long time ago in VHS tape but again the wicked enterprising electricity CEO will not support this not in a thousand years...I think Tesla is an ALien landed here and he has no way to go back again where he came from...

Anyway that is also a good story hope some of the folks here can get idea from us because both of us have no time to write a novel. Im also a quikie guy in writing. LOL

My idea is about this poor 17 year old girl who was raped by 10 guys and during that time she was fertile and get pregnant.. She makes a decisions to abort it but her ages limits her. So alot of pros and cons from the government, religious organization, Pro life and so on...

The girl delivered a healthy boy but unfortunately she died from her delivery.

The boy became poor too and he was like the brother of jamal and turns to be a super male with triple y in his chromosomes.

So this boy really hates the world after learning his mother died from delivering him and he was fathered by 10 rapist and he dont know who among them.

So the hates goes on and on. The serial killing is similar to hannibal lecter. He killed every people who is anti abortion, He unskinned the leader of the group who is adamant on the campaign. He castrated the 10 rapist and forced to eat it their testicles and burying them alive.

This kind of story will be 3 to 6 books in length until the last of his life he became a father and her girlfriend delivered a baby girl. This time he gave all his money and turn his daughter like paris hilton fortune.

Of course after erasing all of his identity, connection from everyone, and his history he took his life. He just vanished without a trace.

What do you think????

Lynman

Stan,

I just wanted to chime in and say that I have been intrigued by Tesla for over twenty years, and would love to a see a movie based on his life.

Lynman, that sounds like a fascinating story.

HiDee Doc!

Haven't heard of a LOT of Tesla's Inventions..(But he DID mention that if ya took 8 Boxcars fulla Dynamite...stationed-'em at appropriate-spots along the Rails..& Dynamited-em at the Proper Intervals..you COULD Split the Earth in-half.) Needless to say, this DID get The Attention of The Powers-that-Be at the time..(He was a Master at Resonance...hung a gadget on a Girder, it started Whacking-Away...& left long-enough "ON"...coulda "brought down the Entire Skyscraper"..)

LAST "Major Project" was a Device that'd shoot Power through the Atmosphere..eliminating the need for Powerlines. Induction. The way Fluorescent Light Tubes (Which, I believe, he invented) will GLOW when ya walk Under a High Voltage Transmission Tower. He reportedly invented MOTORS that's run as-well..same way. Burned Mysteriously...was in New Mexico...couldn't get loot-enough to refinance it again. Needless-to-say, neither Edison nor Westinghouse wanted it to succeed. (DID make Steel-Shoed Horses bolt..miles-away..when he turned the rig ON..heh!)

Your "Outline" looks like another Harry-Potter Series in-the-making! I watched a bit on PBS on Lewis & Clark's Expedition across the US...how Willian Clark "adopted" Sacagawea's firstborn son, Jean Baptiste..& raised her other 2 kids after her death. Their "Upbringing" would be Pretty-Interesting for a Script Outline...(just as Mom's Bio is--how many Pregnant Gals would Sign-On..with their Hubby..to do a 4,000 Mile "Road Trip"...{Sans Roads!}?) Mom dies-early & "Daddy Clark" also commits Suicide..before the Last Reel Runs...Certain to be a Sad One..unless The Kids Turn Out All-Right. (&..very FEW Facts ON 'Em...so ya can Make Up The Ending & prolly get away with it!)

Dunno about snuffing ALL 10 Rapists...gets kinda-Routine after about Three..JMO...Christian Contingent prolly Won't Go See It IF he's doin'-in ANTI-Abortionists..& it's HARD to visualize even ONE Testical-Munchin' ON-Camera...(& all-10.."Off?") Toughie! CAN see Wealthy Kids turning out like Paris Hilton...but is that a "Happy Ending"...or a Horror Show? ;-)>

Good Luck on all 3-6 Books-Worth!~ Me...I look forwards to the next 15-Minute-Fadin'-Flash-of-Genius that turns into the "Board 3 Babies"...for better-or-worse! (Had some fun with a Maserati & a Blond this AM!) But 4-minutes-later...I get Bored.--

Got a Head-Cold today that's prolly-capable of killin' off 10-or-so Rapists..or Normal Folks! I been chuggin' "AIRBORNE" "Evervescent Health Formula" (glorified Alka-Seltzer?) my son bought me, in a fit of Thoughtfulness. Real Kind..&..works for about 2-3 hours. Time for Yet-Another!

Thanks for Your Kind Visit & Outline & Tesla Insight, Amigo~!
Big (Kinda-Contageous) Guy-Hug,
Stan

Good Evenin' Brother Kevin!

Yep..any Good Tale about a Guy with 3 Y's sounds like an "Arnold" kinda-Flick...I'd like to watch. But I'm real-sensitive to Evil Thangs happenin' to Family Jewels On-Camera..it ain't as Oscar-Worthy as say, Kate Winslet's onscreen cavortin' deshabille in Her Last One....

In a Tesla Treatment..the guy WAS a Babe-Magnet. Educated, Multi-Lingual, WELL-Dressed, QUITE Well-Off when Westinghouse WAS payin' him a Buck-Royalty for Every AC Motor Westy Electric was crankin' out. NY Society-Guy...for a While..'till the Discoveries got more important than The Conquests. (Maybe Fade Out with Sinatra's "MY WAY" as it Fades-to-Black..heh!)

Anyways...he'd SURE fill-up a Big Screen with 2 VERY Interesting Hours...& STILL have enough left-over for a Good Sequil~!

Thankee for Joinin' In Da Chorus here, Amigo! Hope Hollywood's Listening!

Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Both my wife and I enjoyed Slumdog.... it really is a 'feel good' flick... I've travelled quite a bit in Asia, and my wife is Filipina- I thought the movie represented the third world quite realistically in a lot of respects..

No mention of the soundtrack? as I recall the guys name is A. Raman- and he does tons of music for bollywood. Jai Ho also won an oscar for song of the year. Both the original version and the Pussycat Dolls track were great.

mike