Slumdog MillionaireA young Indian man is on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The questions he is asked, he knows all the answers by going back into his rough life and picking out places, events, and people that have shaped his life. Does this sound like a good movie? You'd think "no, it doesn't", but you would be wrong.
This is a fantastic film that for me, offers a very different perspective of the country India. I have heard it is a filthy place. And as this movie depicts, it is not a very pretty place. The circumstances that this boy endured growing up are simultaneously revolting and intriguing.
Born into a poor life living in the slums, his mother is killed, he and his brother are scraped up by an "orphanage." As time goes on, he and his brother eventually get tangled with crime and its bloody effects. Oh, and a love interest is thrown in for good measure (which becomes the ultimate payoff). The way in which this story is told is gritty, economical, and above all else, realistic. It is almost a documentary chronicling this boy's fate in his life.
I could keep going on and on, but suffice it to say it was a very good film that you wouldn't expect to be worth your time. But trust me, it is.
A
Doubt This began as a play, and it shows. Entirely driven by dialogue and performance, this film is not a fluffy polished one, but damn is it good! The plot is simple: The head nun at a catholic school suspects the church's father of committing deviant acts with a young student. A few suspicious incidents occur, and even after he explains what really happened, she will not relent. She has no doubt in her mind, he did it. This is what the film is all about: Doubt.
This film was so good! Meryl Streep brought so much to the role of the traditional, domineering head nun, you could almost feel the sweat on your brow grow when she glared toward the camera. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is fantastic as the priest, trying to hold onto his love for the parish without having it tainted by the strict Meryl Streep. Two amazing actors deliver astonishing performances. This makes the movie.
A note: the film never really reveals if the priest was guilty, leaving the audience in a sort of 'doubt' about the character. However, this is not a movie about leering pedophiliac priests, it is about certainty, truth, and yes, doubt. Great, great film!
A
The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonA baby is born an old man and must live life growing younger with every day. The people he meets and interacts with shape his very curious life in this charming movie. I don't know where to start on this one. First off let me say I loved it. At least, the first 2.5 hours.
Nearly two thirds of the film is spent in Ben's younger years, or should I say his 'old man' years. And this is very much the most interesting part of the entire film, but it unravels in the end.
At the beginning I kept thinking how great the 'old man' was working. I loved the juxtaposition of the young boy in an old man's body. It made for some great moments and created a sense of an aged character without a history. It was near perfect. But I was thinking how cool it was going to be when this man grew into a child's body. I kept looking forward to that juxtaposition, but it didn't happen. Instead, the last 35 years of his life were gleaned over in the span of 20 minutes in a series of little scenes that don't stick with you long enough to have meaning.
It almost seemed like so much energy and talent was poured into old-man Ben Button that absolutely no love was given to young-man Button. But it isn't just the fact that it is almost entirely omitted, but the general way in which the end never really came to a resounding, life-changing, ephiphionic* ending, it just sorta fizzled out. And what I thought was going to be a great movie, by minute mark 150, just turned into a merely good film.
But it was a very good film about a very charming man. The effects were spectacular, the acting was solid, and the look of the film was at times breath-taking... Except that damn fart of a closure.
ephiphionic*- to contain an epiphany. This is not a real word, but it should be.
B
Valkyrie I love that we are seeing more stories from the 'enemies' perspective. I know there were others, but the first I noted was Letters from Iwo Jima. This year we have three, this one, the Reader, and Good. The film presents a fantastic portrait of Germany in the last years of WWII. Soldiers and Officers are beginning to dislike the Regime of Hitler, but are too afraid to do anything, this is the story about the failed Hitler assassination attempt in the last year of WWII. Tom Cruise plays one of the key members of the planned coup.
I don't want to go into story details, just know that it is interesting and will have you on the edge of your seat as the plan unfolds and then goes wrong.
I really really liked this film. Of the 4 that I saw, this would be my favorite, but that doesn't mean it was the best. My problem with this film was that there was no explaining of how everyone got to the position of hating Hitler so much. Yes I know, he was Hitler, and that is reason enough to hate the guy. But you have to realize that he didn't come to his power on his own, the people gave it to him. They saw in him a hope that could restore Germany to its former glory before their defeat in WWI. But what I think was missing from Valkyrie was these characters' switches from being servants of the Reich to enemies of it.
From the start of the picture they all want to stop him. It is a minor complaint, and it honestly did not factor in at all as to how much I enjoyed it. That being said, it was a great movie. It zips along at such a frenetic pace that before you know it it's over. Of course that could be because I sat through the 3 hour Ben Button before it.
I loved this movie. Go see it. I don't care if you don't like Tom Cruise, this film is stocked to the brim with pedigree actors, all of whom bring their A-game. Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, the weaselly guy from Pirates 2 &3 (Tom Hollander), and the fellow who played Hitler was great too (David Bamber brought incredible malice and it wasn't just in having the mustache). I really enjoyed this flick.
B+
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