Slumdog Millionaire tells the tale of an orphaned boy from the slums of Mumbai, describing his struggles with his brother, his life, and his love. There are some very endearing moments in this film, like when the young Jamal Malik (played by true Mumbai slumdog Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) gets to meet Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan under the most pungent of circumstances, but there are also some heartbreaking moments as well, like when we witness a young boy getting his eyes burnt out. This is partly a story of survival, but at its heart, Slumdog Millionaire
Dev Patel, who plays the teenage Jamal Malik, manages to find his way onto the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, not to gain unfathomable riches, but rather to get the attention of the love of his life. He’s been chasing this girl since he was a very young boy and this is one of his last attempts to win her over for good. The acting in Slumdog isn’t particularly breathtaking, but the art direction and cinematography are simply incredible. From the chase scene through the train station to the torture scenes with the Millionaire thugs, this is a visually stunning film worthy of the attention it has been receiving.
I’m not so sure that Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt takes us to a Catholic school in 1964, shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Father Flynn, played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman, extends a compassionate hand to the first black student at the school, but how far does this relationship go? The suspicious Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) accuses the priest of an “inappropriate” relationship with the altar boy, trying to wrangle up any evidence that she can to confirm her suspicions. Yes, the tale is almost a typical one (how many times have we heard a story about a Catholic priest molesting an altar boy?), but Doubt
At its core, Doubt presents the struggle between a forward-thinking Father Flynn and a much more orthodox Sister Beauvier. He wants to include “Frosty the Snowman” in the Christmas pageant, but she feels the song is heretical in nature, promoting the belief in witchcraft and magic. She may be narrow-minded, but she’s also a very powerful and intimidating character. You can’t help but to fear her, as do all the students at the school. By contrast, Flynn aims to teach through kindness and understanding.
Throughout the movie, we are left questioning the position of Father Flynn. Did the charismatic priest take advantage of the impressionable young boy or was he simply showing him some priestly love, reminding the boy that there are good people in the world? The ending leaves something to be desired, which took away from my star rating for this film, but Doubt
The Wrestler is remarkably gritty in its approach, throwing you right into the trenches (or into the “squared circle,” if you prefer) of professional wrestling’s minor leagues. On a visceral level, you almost feel like you are watching a documentary and not a polished Hollywood vehicle. It’s not one of those boring documentaries that put you to sleep either; it’s one of those films that is both educational and entertaining. You can feel their pain. You can taste their blood, sweat, and tears. The Wrestler
I grew up watching a lot of professional wrestling as a child, cheering on such characters as Papa Shango, Mr. Perfect, and the late Chris Benoit. Mickey Rourke plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a character who comes from that same era of 80s and 90s wrestling. During his heyday, professional wrestling still had its mystique. I was probably one of the very few fans that knew about things like breaking kayfabe (getting out of character), being a face (the “good guy”), and blading (purposely cutting your forehead to produce massive pools of blood) at the time, but all of these issues are discussed in The Wrestler
Randy “The Ram” is not the man that he once was. He lives out of his van, working at a supermarket to make ends meet, and only finding companionship with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). The Wrestler may not present the strongest of stories, but it is an utterly fantastic character piece that I would peg as Picture of the Year. Mickey Rourke is back.
I would’ve given The Wrestler 3/5 and Slumdog 5/5. I thought The Wrestler was garbage, to be honest.
I personally found the acting to be a little lacking in Slumdog, but the storytelling and directing were top-notch. The Wrestler isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the best non-documentary wrestling movies I have ever seen. There’s an obvious bias for the latter for me, since I grew up being a huge WWF/WCW/ECW geek.
Totally agree with you. The Wrestler was a pretty bad movie.
Well, I don’t really go to the movies, other than a William H. Macy film or a Disney flick for my kids, so I can’t comment on the Oscars.
I can comment on the the Wrestler, because I was a big fan and friend of more than a few wrestlers while living in Memphis Tenn. I personally knew Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Stan Lane and Steve Kern (The Fabulous Ones), Rick Rude, The Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart and my best friends who actually took me to matches back stage, the MoonDogs.
I actually sat with Miss Elizabeth during matches and got to participate in a loser leave town match between the MoonDogs and the Fabs when the Moon Dogs were signed by the WWF (WWE). The MoonDogs used my crutches, I had a bad knee that was healed, to hit the fabs with during the match.
A lot of fun to see them cut the crutches through so that they would break easily. People don’t see the other side of the show, these are real people, doing a long hard job on the road most of the year.
In Memphis, I would think you had a greater chance of meeting Jerry Lawler and people from his promotion. It must have been pretty incredible to meet guys like the Macho Man and Jimmy Hart though.
Well, I ran the restaurant connected to the hotel that all the wrestlers stayed at, so that is where i got to meet them. I did meet Lawler a few times, but he wasn’t the friendliest person. He has a great following in Memphis, but he doesn’t socialize with the regular crowd and now he isn’t really in Memphis much.
Whether or not, Slumdog Millionaire wins the Oscar or not, it was a great movie nonetheless.
I haven’t seen any of these, but I really should. I waste all my money on comedies, like “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” lol
This film is beautifully filmed as Danny Boyle can do. He is a film master. The acting is magnificent as well. Imagine using 3 children under the age of 7 to tell the early part of the story plot. The film uses past tense, and present tense to tell the whole story, which is also seamless.
I watched slumdog the other day and the movie really deserves to be nominated in Oscars.
That’s what people are saying. I ended up watching it this morning. Now I’m torn between that after the Wrestler for best picture. It would be nice to see the young kids from Slumdog win though. They probably won’t get another chance like this.
SlumDog is probably going to win, but the Curious Case of Benjamin Button was great. I personally think that the real race is for lead actress between Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet.
Well it sounds quite interesting, I’ve never really been much of a bollywood fan but this sounds like worth giving a shot.
Haven’t seen these movies yet, but the Wrestler seems intriguing, esp Marisa Tomei. Loved her in John Cusack’s War Inc. I might just run out to Blockbuster & do a Marisa Tomei retrospective. She’s one of those actresses, who’s a bit under the radar but has built up an impressive body of work throughout the years.
I saw the Wrestler last night actually. I’m not a Mickey Rourke fan, but I must say he did one heck of a job.
Knowing real wrestlers, I think his portrayal is very lacking in a realistic sense.
Perhaps if he acted more like Hulk Hogan or Chris Jericho, he might have pulled off the character a bit better. Getting in shape for the role wouldn’t have hurt him either.
Ray: How so? Rourke’s character was meant to be someone well past his prime, clutching to the only thing that ever made his life feel complete and fulfilling. In terms of some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, I think it seemed pretty accurate, but this is all second- and third-hand knowledge for me.
Chris: Mickey has always been in decent shape, because he used to be a semi-pro boxer. I’m not sure what you mean by if he acted more like Hulk or Jericho, since the characters they portray in front of the camera aren’t necessarily representative of how they are outside of the ring.