Slumdog Millionaire (Spoiler Alert!)

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Vikas Swarup, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful story about a young boy who struggles through life in the slums of Mumbai, India. Because of all the buzz surrounding Slumdog Millionaire I came into the film expecting a lot. I was not completely disappointed but there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way.

Jamal Malik is a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and he is one question away from winning 20,000,000 rupees. When the show ends for the day right before the last question, the police take Jamal into custody for questioning because they are certain that this orphan, with no education, must have cheated in order to make it this far in the game. As he begins to tell his life story in flashbacks, he explains how he knew the answers to each question.

The story encircles Jamal and his brother Salim. Danny Boyle does a great job developing these characters from the very beginning. It was very interesting to see how these children made it through each day, as their mother was killed and they were forced to live on their own at a very young age.

These children became cons and thieves in order to survive each day. I'm sure everyone has either experienced or heard stories of so called "street rats" in third world countries. Well, I think this film gives people a different perspective on the situation. It shows you some horrible things that these children have to endure and really makes you feel sorry for them.

There were a couple of things in this film that I just didn't like. First of all there was a love story that I just couldn't buy into. Latika and Jamal first meet when Jamal sees her standing in the rain and, despite his brothers wishes, offers her some shelter. A short time later, when the children evade some evil men by hitching a ride on a train, Latika is left behind as Salim neglects to help her onto the train.

Throughout the rest of the film Jamal only sees Latika a few times and in small increments. At the end of the film Salim helps Latika escape the mob boss who basically owns her so that she can go to Jamal. I didn't think that this made any sense because Salim seemed to be an increasingly villainous character as the film progressed. This sudden change of heart just seemed out of character and a little cheesy.

After Jamal is believed to be telling the truth, he returns to the show. Risking the entire 10,000,000, he admittedly takes a wild guess on the final question and gets it right. After winning the 20,000,000 rupees, Jamal finds Latika and, as the film ends, proclaims it was destiny. I think it was all just a little far fetched and hard to buy into.

I was never bored and I really enjoyed myself during this movie. The aesthetics were memorizing. The directing & editing were very well done and it was a really interesting story. I really enjoyed the beginning of this film I just thought the ending was a little too "perfect". Therefore overall i would say Slumdog Millionaire is good but not great. So if it sounds like your choice of brew check it out.

Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1113194521/

My Favorite Film - City of God

Based on a true story, Cidade de Deus (City of God) is truly an epic tale in which one young man, against all odds, avoids the typical life of crime and violence and finds a way out of the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

City of God takes place over two decades (the sixties and the seventies). In this epic tale there are many characters and most of them play important roles, but overall I would say there are two main characters. Rocket, played by Alexandre Rodrigues, the young man who does not want to partake in this life of crime but, at the same time, is poor and wants to get out of the City of God. The other would be li’l Ze, played by Leandro Firmino, the villain who’s thirst for blood, money, and power ultimately lead to his downfall.

The film begins in the sixties and right away the crime begins. Rocket being a young man never partakes in any crimes but Li’l Ze on the other hand is always the center of these criminal activities. He starts off as a boy following around and participating with older boys known as hoods. One day when one of the hoods die there is a man photographing the body and that is when Rocket discovers what he wants to do with his life.

As the film progresses the li’l Ze goes from simple hold ups to becoming the head of a massive drug business in Rio de Janero. Eventually li’l Ze’s greed and anger lead him to raping the wrong guy’s girl, trying to take over the wrong guy's business, and an all out war in the slum.

Rocket ends up getting a job delivering newspapers and when he asks a friend at his job to develop a roll of film for him someone finds a picture of li’l Ze and his gang posing with guns and she publishes it on the front page. Apparently no reporters can go into the City of God because it is too dangerous so they tell Rocket if he can get more photos then he will have the job as a photographer and an ultimate way out of the slum.

Many people in which I have encountered will dismiss any foreign film before they see it just based on the fact they do not want to go through the minor effort of reading subtitles. I truly feel sorry for these people because this is my favorite movie and I truly believe that it is one of the greatest films of all time.

Nominated for an Academy Award for best director Fernando Meirelles has created a Masterpiece. The way he manipulates different shots is extraordinary. For example there is a shot at the beginning of the film of Rocket as a teenager and the camera spins around him until it is back to the sixties and there is a younger Rocket playing soccer on a dirt field which creates a really cool effect. Also he uses a lot of different techniques such as split shots and overhead views that really enhance the film.

The film is fast paced with action and violence and it tells a remarkable story. With corrupt cops, crime and violence being a way of life it is truly inspirational that this young man could make it out and eventually say “my name isn’t Rocket anymore. I’m now Wilson Rodrigues, photographer.”

Top 10 Biopics of All Time

#10 - Men of Honor - Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carl Brashear the first African American US Navy Diver. An inspirational story about a man who had to overcome relentless bigotry in order to make history. Also starring Robert De Niro as Chief Billy Sunday a disgruntled dive instructor determined to see him fail.

#9 - Ray - Jamie Foxx delivers an Oscar winning performance as the legendary Ray Charles. Ray Charles lived an extraordinary life as a musician despite the fact that he went blind when he was only 7 years old. Ray is a great film about a blind man who despite some struggles with drug addiction, revolutionized American pop music.

#8 - Braveheart - Mel Gibson directed and starred in this amazing story of William Wallace, a 14th century Scottish man who leads his fellow countrymen into battle against King Edward Longshanks of England. An interesting story about a man who wanted nothing more than his countries freedom, mixed with some intense battle scenes makes Braveheart one of the best Biopics of all time.

#7 - Bobby - A film that takes place the day before the assassination of Robert Kennedy. I'm not sure if this film really can be classified as a biopic but I put it on my list anyway because it is a great but mostly fictional story of a number of different characters who are all in the Ambassador Hotel on the night that Robert Kennedy was killed. Robert Kennedy is only shown with real stock footage of him during his political campaign. It is a very moving film with an all-star cast including Sharon Stone, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Sheen, Demi Moore, William H. Macy, Shia LaBeouf, and more.

#6 - Catch Me If You Can - A Steven Spielberg film, starring one of the greatest actors of our time in Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch Me If You Can is the amazing story of the infamous Frank Abagnale Jr.. Frank successfully impersonates a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor and cashes millions of dollars in fraudulent checks all before his 19th birthday. An FBI agent played by Tom Hanks tries to track down Frank as he travels around the world. A great story with one of the best directors and a phenomenal cast creates on of the greatest biopics of all time in Catch Me If You Can.

#5 - The Insider - Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Mann), and Best Actor (Russell Crowe); The Insider is a work of genius. An ex research biologist for Brown & Williamson, a major tobacco company, decides to team up with 60 minutes producer Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino, to spill some inside information about Brown & Williamson. However, the tobacco company will stop at nothing to prevent him from doing the interview for 60 minutes. The Insider is a wonderful intellectual thriller, an all around great film.

#4 - Milk - Milk is based on the story of Harvey Milk; a business man, Gay Rights Activist, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the USA. Highlighted by an exceptional performance by Sean Penn, Milk is an instant classic, an inspirational story about a man who played an important role in American history. Gus Van Sant's Milk is a Masterpiece.

#3 - Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese's depiction of the life of Jake LaMotta earned him his first Oscar nomination in 1981. Robert De Niro won a best actor Academy Award as he played Jake LaMotta the 1940's middleweight prizefighter known as "The Bronx Bull" or "Raging Bull". Joe Pesci also delivers a captivating performance as Joey LaMotta; Jake's brother and manager. This is one of the greatest films of all time about one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time.

#2 - Schindler's List - Schindler's List was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won 7 including Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), and Best Adapted Screenplay. IMDB's 7th greatest film of all time is based on the story of Oskar Schindler. Oskar was a businessman and war profiteer during World War II who used Jews from the Ghettos to work in his factory. As he witnesses the truly horrifying acts endured by the Jews, he became an unlikely humanitarian as he began to spend his fortune to save over 1000 polish Jews. Schindler's List is a moving film; an inspirational story of a great man.

#1 - The Aviator - A Martin Scorsese film about the life and Career of Howard Hughes, from the 1920's - 1940's. Howard inherited millions from his parents and used his money to live an extraordinary life. He began as a film maker creating many controversial films but his true love would always lie in aviation. He was an innovator of aviation and hired by the government to build spy planes during the war. He had an incessant case of obsessive compulsive disorder that continued to get worse over the years. Leonardo DiCaprio was amazing as Howard Hughes and I think he should have won the Best Actor Academy Award over Jamie Foxx (Ray) in 2005.The Aviator is one of my favorite films of all time by my favorite director of all time.

Biopics can be some of the best films because they portray real people who have lived fascinating lives. Goodfellas and Cidade de Deus (City of God) are both films that are based on the lives of real men and could be considered biopics. However I think I would consider them both crime dramas. However, the point I'm trying to make is if I had considered these films biopics (which some people do) they would most definitely be in the top 5. Some biopics that I really like but just missed the list include A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man , Hotel Rwanda, and The Hurricane.

Talk to Me

"Wake up Goddammit!" A phrase coined by the legendary Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. The straight talking ex-con, from the streets of our nations capital, who made his voice heard as he became a radio personality and Disc Jockey for the radio station WOL-AM.

Inspired by a true story, Don Cheadle delivers an exceptional performance as Petey Greene in Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me. It's the mid 60's and after Petey is released from prison he talks his way into getting a chance at DJing for a local radio station through a fellow inmates brother Dewey Hughes, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is the program director at WOL-AM. On his first day Petey's bold antics get him fired by station owner E.G. Sonderling played by Martin Sheen.

Dewey immediately notices people responding to Petey's brief stunt on the morning show. Precariously endangering his own job he sneaks Petey into the station and on the air which creates a friendship and a partnership that will last for many years. By the time Sonderling can stop them there is such an immense response from the audience that all he can do is offer Petey the job.

The self proclaimed ex-con was a very straight forward and direct speaker who used humor to release some of the tension and anger that was built up in so many people in the community. He would not put on a face for anyone and he always said exactly what was on his mind despite any ramifications that his words might incite. That's what people loved about him and that's what they responded to. Many of the things he said were controversial but he was a man of the people. For the people. He spoke to make sure that the voices of his community were heard in a critical time in American history.

Petey struggled with things that many people struggle with everyday. Don Cheadle portrayed these things very well and made the character seem very real. I think these are the things that people look for when they go to the movies, even if it's subconsciously, because if they can relate in some way to the character, even if it is only slightly, then it makes them feel human.

Talk to Me had a little bit of everything. Don Cheadle's performance was excellent and at times he was hilarious, but he also had some very intense emotional scenes. They never explain specifically how Petey Greene dies but I think they make it pretty clear that it most likely has to do with his constant cigarette smoking and his struggles with alcohol. This was a great story that was shot very well. It came out in 2007 so it's on DVD now but I caught it on HBO. If it sounds like your choice of brew check it out.

Talk to Me trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1921843481/

Atonement (No Spoiler)

Atonement, staring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, was one of the big Oscar films last year (2007) that I couldn't get around to seeing. It can become a bit confusing because the 2008 Academy Awards are for films that came out in 2007. Atonement was nominated for 7 awards including best picture and won 1 for Best Original Score. I had recorded it a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to watching it last night.

Atonement was a perfect title for this film because the word itself is defined as one's attempt at redemption for a mistake or a sin and that is exactly what this film is about. This film was based on a novel by Ian McEwan and is about Briony Tallis, a 13 year old aspiring writer who misinterprets a few acts between her sister Cecilia (Knightley) and her lover Robbie (McAvoy) leading her to accuse Robbie of a crime that he didn't commit.

Atonement takes place in 1935 on a very wealthy families property in England. Robbie is the son of the family's servant who lives in a small house on the families land with his mother. Briony's accusations lead to Robbie being sent to prison and Cecilia disowning her family. As a few years pass and WWII begins Robbie is given the option to go to war or remain in prison. Before he sets off to war he sees Cecilia and promises her that he will return and marry her.

As Briony gets older she realizes the severity of her accusations. She begins to feel regret for what she did and attempts to contact her sister to make amends. However, no matter what she says or what she does there is nothing she can do to take back the ramifications of her actions.

This film was nominated for best cinematography and there were some really beautiful shots. My favorite shot was on a beach in France. There were thousands of English soldiers just waiting for the boats to arrive to take them back to England. The camera starts on the characters as they walk the beach. As the camera moves you see all kinds of destruction. You also see many dead, wounded and drunk soldiers. As the camera finishes panning it ends up back on Robbie and just creates a really cool effect and feeling.

I know so far I have only written good reviews but I have a limited means on what I can see. Therefore I pick and choose carefully but don't worry soon enough I will tear a movie apart. As far as this movie is concerned, I really enjoyed myself. I would classify this film as a poetic elegy of the late 1930's. So if it sounds like your choice of brew check it out.

Atonement Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3836805401/

Milk is a Masterpiece (No Spoiler)

Man oh man I love Oscar season! If your only going to see 1 movie this month make it Milk. Gus Van Sant is an early front runner for a Best Director Academy Award as he delivers one of the most moving and inspirational films of all time. There wasn't 1 dry eye in the theatre by the time this movie was over.

I have had a phenomenal week at the movies. First I get to see what I believe will be the Best Actress performance by Anne Hathaway, and then I get to see a film in which I believe is going to win multiple Academy Awards. I haven't seen everything and the nominations are not out but as far as Best Actor is concerned it is going to be hard to beat the performance delivered by Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.

Milk is based on the true story of Harvey Milk; a business man, Gay Rights Activist, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the USA. He was elected to San Francisco's board of supervisors in 1977. The hardships he overcame and the things he accomplished were truly remarkable. "His life is an inspiration to all people committed to equal opportunity and an end to bigotry."

The supporting cast in Milk was excellent and included Josh Brolin, James Franco, and Emile Hirsch. There has been some Oscar buzz surrounding Josh Brolin for Best Supporting Actor. Brolin played Supervisor Dan White and though it was a very important role it was rather small and there is no way that it was more immpressive than Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

I believe this is Gus Van Sant's year for a Best Director Oscar. He was nominated in 1998 for Good Will Hunting but lost to James Cameron for Titanic. There were some shots in Milk that really stirred up all kinds of emotions. One shot that really sticks out in my mind is a shot of a wistle in the street. I don't want to give it away so you will understand when you see the film. There is also a shot of Harvey Milk on the television talking and on the same T.V. there is a reflection of Dan White sitting on the couch with his baby watching Harvey. It created a really cool effect.

This film opened my eyes to a part of history that I really did not know much about. I don't believe that we will ever be able to get rid of bigotry all together and there is still room for improvement but this film is a really good example of how far we have come as a society. I believe that this film should be shown at all high schools along with films such as Remember the Titans. Milk is an absolute masterpiece, a wonderful film and I think everyone needs to see it. So whether it sounds like your choice of brew or not get out and see this movie!

Milk Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3658547225/

Anne Hathaway is Brilliant in Rachel Getting Married (No Spoiler)

From Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme, (Silence of the Lambs), Rachel Getting Married is, up to this point, one of the best films of the year. Anne Hathaway is absolutely brilliant and is the front runner for a Best Actress Academy award.

She plays Kym, a drug addict who is getting out of rehab and returning home on the weekend of her sisters wedding. The wedding takes place in the home the father and includes plenty of family and friends. The film is not shot in a traditional manner. It seems as though it was mostly shot with a hand held technique and it really gives the feeling as though you are there just watching this dysfunctional family in action.

There are certain scenes in the film which start to feel just too long and drawn out but each time the build up rewards the audience with some important information or an emotional moment. Between all the character's interactions with each other and what you learn about their pasts you really start to see how Kym's addiction has effected everyone in the family.

The supporting cast is excellent especially Rosemarie DeWitt's performance as the sister Rachel. If you are looking for an upbeat and happy movie then this might not be the movie for you. There were parts when I laughed and there were parts where I teared up. Overall I thought it was a great movie so if it sounds like your choice of brew then give it a try.

Rachel Getting Married Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4010410265/