Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)


Director: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Writer: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) Vikas Swarup (novel)
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and a bunch of indian children

Synopsis
a kid from the slums of india with no schooling wins "who wants to be a millionaire" in india. the story of his life, and how he knew the answers to the questions

MOster
I really enjoyed this movie.  I'm usually a big fan of Danny Boyle, and this showed that he's continuing to mature.  His "signature" chase-through-the-crowd scene was a good example of that.  But it wasn't all as super-duperlative as the Best Picture moniker tried to lead me to believe.


Everything worked in this film, including the younger actors.  The story was interesting and engaging, and game show aside it did a good job of showing how difficult it must be to make anything of yourself if you're a "slumdog."  The only real critique (will quibble) I have is that the use of the police station as the framing device got to be a little redundant; it could have just evolved into VO, or just cuts to the game show. 

But there was just something missing for me here. It's the je ne sais quoi that would have pushed it from a four to a five.

The Woman
this was really good. i thought "doubt" was better, and more oscar worthy, but that's just my opinion. i do not belong to the academy. this was a long movie, but it was good so it wasn't really noticed. i dug stuff. yay.

The Endurance

The Endurance (2000)


Director: George Butler
Narrator: Liam Neeson

Synopsis
Documentary which tells of the 1927 Shackleton expedition to reach the south pole.  The film is named after the ship on which they traveled.

The Woman
i enjoyed this greatly. that said i'm kind of a documentary addict so.....
i'm am totally impressed with the outcome of this expedition. it seemed that everything that could go wrong (short of dying) did go wrong. i don't think you would see that kind of survival happen in contemporary days. they were made of different stock back then. i know i would have died at least four times over. very impressive leadership, and survival skills.
i also enjoyed seeing all the old photos and footage actually taken on the expedition. it makes it more real and tangible.

MOster
This is the sort of documentary which merges interesting subject matter with excellent presentation.  Unpretentiously narrated by Neeson, the movie combines the various available media with interviews with the (old!) grandchildren of the men in the expedition.  The film follows a chronological course which perfectly suits the material on which it's based.  I also appreciate how the presentation unfolds around a story free of "bad guys."  The frustration that we feel is not aimed at specific people but at a series of shitty situations.

The Damned United

The Damned United (2009)


Director: Tom Hooper
Writer: Peter Morgan (screenplay) David Peace (novel)
Starring: Michael Sheen, Colm Meaney, Timothy Spall

Synopsis
Brian Clough's rise and fall in football (aka soccer) management in the late sixties-mid seventies.

MOster
This was another just-fine kind of a thing.  It's another great technical outing from our forebears across the pond.  You really got the feel for the settings, and the football itself was filmed interestingly.  Stock footage was mixed well with new film.  But the characters were a little thin, and I think it's more in the writing than in the acting.  This seems strange to me, given that these are such well-known figures in the history of English Football.  I don't know if it's the fault of the author or the screenwriter, though I suppose that if it's the author it still lands on the screenwriter. 

That's a shame because the story is really interesting, and I'd like to have known more about some of the specifics of the matches as well as the families of the key players. 

This lands on a three, but it falls below the "recommended" line for me.


The Woman
this was another one that was good-ish. i liked it, but i didn't love it. just like "the young victoria" i felt like we just watched a tiny piece of what happened, and i wanted to see more. there was an epilogue, but i actually wanted to see the redemption of his career.  well acted, of course. with a cast like that i would be shocked if it wasn't.

Ondine

Ondine (2009)

Director: Neil Jordan
Writer: Neil Jordan
Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda

Synopsis
an ex-drunk fisherman pulls a chick out of the ocean in his net. he's convinced by his kidney failure daughter that she's a selkie, aka a mermaid.

The Woman
i distinctly remember watching this trailer and saying to myself "oh god, that looks terrible" and yet i put it on the queue. good job me. my first thought was closer to target. the exterior shots are really beautiful, but the story was pretty lame. irish movies always have this depressing sadness in their ambiance. even if the story is meant to be heart warming. i'm not entirely sure this was supposed to be heart warming because SPOILER ALERT turns out that the woman in question is really a romanian drug mule. that kind of takes out the magical gas out of the bag. i guess there are worse movies i could have spent nap time watching, but i think this one was pretty forgettable.

Legion

Legion (2010)


Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Writer: Scott Charles Stewart, Peter Schink
Starring: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Adrianne Palicki, dennis quiad, kate walsh, and caitlynn from the oc

Synopsis
god has decided that has doesn't like us anymore and begins the apocalypse (?) the archangel michael disagrees with god's plan, and therefore cuts his wings off to be the champion of mankind. there's a pregnant chick, like there always is. and, she, of course, is carrying a special baby of some sort.

The Woman
utterly, laughably, ridiculous. plus the plot is so full of holes it doesn't make any sense. SPOILER ALERT: so in this version of armageddon it's the angels who have possessed the weak of mind (like the ice cream man) to destroy the prophet baby because god is mad at us and has determined to "exterminate" mankind. so then michael must fight his bestest archangel buddy gabriel. gabriel still, of course, has his angelic powers not to mention his wings. *side note: why are all angels british? i guess the sun never does actually set on the british empire.* so lots of fighting and machine gun firing, (and ooh, ooh, gabriel has this magical heaven mace that can extend it's points and rotate really fast for shredding purposes) and gabriel kills our friend michael. lots of light, and disappearing on michael's deadness. then you think gabriel gets blown to smithereens by dennis quaid's ultimate sacrifice, but no. he finds those two crazy kids with the baby, who has been born at this point because it's almost the end of the movie, and voila! michael comes swooping down from heaven to save the baby. feathers and all. it seems our beloved god who has forsaken man, has let michael convince him of the errors of his ways and restored michael to full archangel status. huh? so everything is fine and dandy. baby lives with those two crazy kids to join the army of man. but wait. why is there still an army? hasn't god seen the error of his ways? did i not just mention that a mere 3 sentences and 2 questions ago? last shot is of happy go lucky kids driving in a car linda hamilton terminator style all blissful with their baby carrying an arsenal in the back of the car. why is there still a need for that? wasn't the army of possessed men angels? if they were angels wouldn't their god have told them "oops. my bad. come on back up to heaven."?

i also forgot to mention that when michael was killed as a mortal, his tattoos magically transferred to boy kid's body, and they were supposed to follow the instructions on the tattoos. it's a good thing they could read angel symbol alphabet, because that shit was not in english.

Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980

Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980
Written by David Peace (novel) Tony Grisoni (screenplay)
Directed by James Marsh
Starring Warren Fox, Paddy Considine, James Fox, Maxine Peake

Synopsis
The second in a trilogy of films about the Yorkshire Ripper case of the 70s and 80s, this movie follows a special police investigator brought on to look into the case as well as the way the local cops are handling things.  Crap ensues.

The Woman
good. since we watched the last one so long ago i kept trying to see connections between the two. i know there really isn't anything,but the case, but i still found myself waiting for a mention of a character from the first one. it was kind of distracting. i'm not saying their choice was bad either. i may have enjoyed this one more than the last one.

west yorkshire police from the seventies seemed to me to be equal to the chicago police from the early twentieth century. super corrupt, unstoppably bad.

i am eagerly awaiting our viewing of the third installment.

MOster
This is another interesting approach to the material.  Spending more time on the internal workings and the corruption in the police, the story itself is just as compelling as in the first installment--if anything this part is more incensing than the first go-round--and the production kept pace with the period while maintaining a solid through-line.  In addition to the shared writing staff, the producer worked on all three movies; and the attention to detail in the costuming and production in general is just as good.  But the solid direction gets a lot of credit here as well.

More than the first film, this one should be on film class curricula. From both obvious and subtle uses this film serves as a good teacher of telling a story with nothing but camera work.  One scene in particular would have been almost as effective if muted.  Of course, some of that scene's power must be attributed to the actors and it serves as a good example of the collaborative nature of movie-making.  The leads embody their roles and actors never feels out of place.  Down to one- or two-scene wives, characters are fully realized and generate the requisite empathy or distaste (or, occasionally, a combination of the two).

After another highly-recommended outing in this series I, too, am anxious to watch the third one.  (But we have to watch some of the actual DVDs that are in our house at some point.)

Babies

Babies (2010)
Directed by Thomas Balmès
Written (?) by Thomas Balmès, Alan Chabat
Starring Bayar, Hattie, Mari, Ponijao

Synopsis
babies! four babies. one from tokyo, nambia, mongolia, and san fran. from birth to walking. cuteness abound.

MOster
I think tiny babies are very cute.  If you think tiny babies are very cute then you will enjoy spending 80 minutes watching this movie.  Don't expect to learn anything, though.

The Woman
holy crap. this movie is warm fuzzies. if you like watching babies and you're having a down day, may i suggest melting your insides by watching the cuteness that is this movie. there is no dialog. you don't have to deal with the parents very much at all. it's just babies. doing baby things. there's some sibling involvement and some animal walk-ons, but that only works to reinforce the giggling. if we are sarcastic curmudgeons and we think this movie is like kittens on a cloud...damn.

also if you have young children that are driving you slightly insane with their crabbiness. sit them in front of the tv and this will keep them entertained for at least a half an hour.