Slumdog Millionaire
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.99 You Save: $10.99 (73%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.58 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Slumdog Millionaire
Movie Review: Familiar yet surprising tale of love, friendship, and abject poverty
Summary: 5 Stars
Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" has been described as "Dickensian," and there may be no better description of this heartbreaking, funny, riveting tale of three young kids from the slums of Mumbai.
Much of the story's strength comes from its willingness to throw the viewer into a world that is completely alien to most Americans - the slums of Mumbai. These ramshackle tin roof warrens are home to hundreds of thousands of people, each with their own stories, tragedies, and triumphs. Like "City of God," which ripped aside the veil to show the horrific slums just outside of the paradise of Rio, "Slumdog" shows the squalor that can be found side-by-side with such romantic icons as the Taj Mahal.
I saw "Slumdog" after all the awards and accolades, and I was worried. Could it possibly live up to the hype? I knew that one of the characters, Jamal (played in teen version by Dev Patel, in youth by other actors) would end up on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and that he had the hots for a gorgeous gal, Latika (teen version, Freida Pinto). Would this movie strike me as flat as "Juno," another movie I didn't see until dozens of people had told me that "you have to see this" (turns out, no I didn't). Or would this be like "Sideways," a movie that charmed me out of my socks even though everyone seemingly had raved about it?
The great news is that "Slumdog" is another "Sideways" in that regard.
Using the structure of the increasing dollar amounts of "Millionaire," "Slumdog" tells the story of three kids as they try to make their way in a harsh, bleak world that chews up and spits out kids like so many cherry pits. No spoilers here - just prepare to be shocked at the horrors these kids face with so much aplomb as well as the snatches of beauty and humanity these kids find along the way. Not as harsh as "City of God" by any means, "Slumdog" nevertheless contains more than its share of powerful scenes that will haunt you.
All in all, an excellent film.
Movie Review: Bonafide hustler making his name
Summary: 5 Stars
"Sometimes I think sitting on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame
Bonafide hustler making my name"
(M.I.A. "Paper Planes")
And so it goes - the backdrop of a Mumbai slum and a popular game show, mixed with a love story, a drama, the exotic melodies of A. R. Rahman and the unmistakable voice of M.I.A.
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)
1. Boy from the slums grows up the hard way
2. He learns from his unforgettable experiences
3. Boy meets girl
4. Boy loses girl
5. Boy finds girl
6. Boy loses girl again
7. Boy finds girl
8. You guessed it!
9. Boy risks all to find girl again
10. He doesn't take "no" for a final answer
This storyline sounds simple, but it's told as a series of flashbacks that will touch your every emotion. When a former street hustler turned tea boy (Dev Patel) inexplicably makes it up the ladder of the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" the suspicious host (Anil Kapoor) calls in the police, who proceed to extract the truth out of him in their own inimitable and sometimes shocking fashion.
His sad story is revealed piece by piece, with an explanation of how he knew the answers to all the questions leading up to the big one, and the 20 million rupees.
We learn however, that he's really after a much better prize.
Poverty, violence, religious intolerance, child abuse, betrayal and revenge are tempered somewhat by love, faith, hope, suspense, humor and music, and this exceedingly clever and well directed drama will have you laughing, crying, squirming and sometimes make you downright outraged.
This is one you MUST see, and then buy so you can see it again. Great movie, great casting, great music, great sets, great story - too many "greats" to state here.
This isn't one you should miss.
Amanda Richards
Movie Review: True Love Transcends Time, Space & Circumstance!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Even this film, like the amazingly uplifting story
contained within it, is a cinderella story that translates
across continents and socio-economic status!
In a world which is so cynical and jaded and has
seemingly lost it's capacity to be impressed by or moved
by anything that doesn't have a huge price tag or glamour
attached to it, here's a story that stimulates the human
spirit in a way that is very refreshing!
During the 2008/2009 awards season, I was like many people
who wondered just who and what in the hell was
a SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!! As it systematically cleaned
house at all the major awards: The SAG, Golden Globes
and The Oscars against some very stiff competition,
this underdog of a film began to recieve much buzz and
a tidalwave of curiosity from people who wanted to see
what all the hoopla was about!
I can't really say much more than what has already been
said about this movie by a score of other reviewers.
The whole cast (Especially Dev Patel & Freida Pinto)
pulled it off with the stellar vision
and direction of Danny Boyle.
The young actors who played Jamal, Salim & Latika as
children deserve major kudos too!--Great Job!
As I said, with movies like Milk, Benjamin Button,
The Changeling, The Reader, The Wrestler, Doubt
and others, all of which were amazing projects themselves,
it was truly a long-shot for this foreign-based feel good
low budget but very well made film to even get a nod,
let alone win Best Picture Oscar and damn near
everything else but the kitchen sink!
Slumdog Millionaire is a great film and proof that in
this world that's much too concerned with being cool,
ultra sarcastic, and afraid of coming off as corny,
that a film about the underdogs and good guys
finishing on top has won out!---Check It Out!
Movie Review: The (Officially) Best Picture of 2008 now on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this movie. Chaotic, loud, colorful, frenzied and so many other adjectives, the Dickensian "Slumdog Millionaire" was one of my top choices of 2008. I was so thrilled by the film after I first saw it that I brought a friend along with me the second time because I was afraid the movie would come and go too quickly for him to get another chance to see it. The big surprise was when it started sweeping awards shows and emerged as the front runner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
But much like Jamal Malik, the hero of this film, "Slumdog Millionaire" came out of (almost) nowhere and rose to the top during the 2008 awards season. I say "almost" because director Danny Boyle was already known for such films as "Shallow Grave," "Trainspotting" and "28 Days Later." But "Slumdog Millionaire" made him even better known. Heck, nearly every single member of my family saw this movie, and that never happens. One of the real treats of this film is the performance by the youngest children who are excellent as children put into a precarious position in their lives.
Some of the scenes of abuse and the rough life of the slums can be hard to watch for some, so let those be forewarned. How accurately does this film depict reality for people in cities like Mumbai? I can't really say. There is criticism that this movie is unfair in its look at the brutal trials these children undergo, that it only shows the absolute worst but come on, how many films have ever been a perfect mirror? "Slumdog" did not purport to be reality any more than "Sex and the City" tried to be a documentary of life in New York City. (And thank God.) I love this movie. Ably assisted from the charismatic Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto as well as more established actors such as Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan (who was wonderful in 2006's "The Namesake"), this tale is one for the ages. I'm glad to see that so many other people responded to it as well.
Movie Review: If Charles Dickens had lived in India. .
Summary: 5 Stars
in the 20th and 21st centuries, he might well have written this story. It's that kind of tale: Unlikely underdog rises from despair due to pluck, perseverance and highly improbable coincidence. And yet it works.
Make no bones; it's a dark-toned film in the early going, especially the first half hour or so. You will see the kind of gut-wrenching, cruel beyond belief poverty and exploitation that will make you want to turn away. I won't lie, 15 minutes into the movie if my friend had said, I'd like to go, I would have. (But what a mistake that would have been!) As usual, the ads may be misleading so if your tastes run to typical bollywood (or even hollywood) light-hearted & all feel-good, move along cause this ain't it. I can understand how some viewers don't want to see the ugly reality of this young man's world, but I would also counter that we can't pretend it's not the way life is for some.
But that being said, if you will give the film the time it needs to tell this story, I think you might be sucked into Jamal's narrative, just as I was. You might come to admire his resolve; his single-mindedness and the idea that he believes in the future -- not that he will be rich, mind you -- but that he will find the girl who is his destiny despite all of the things that keep pulling them apart. Ultimately, his motivation is not the money, but doing right by the girl who was left behind. As the layers unfold of how Jamal came to knows what he knows, I became as intrigued as the police captain who is interrogating him.
But beyond the love story, there's the equally compelling relationship of the two brothers. Jamal's brother Salim alternately exploits, protects, and betrays him throughout the film as the story spans through their childhood, teenage, and young adult years. They survive together and end up taking very different paths as young men. But in the end, blood proves out.