Slumdog Millionaire

What does it take to change your destiny? When you're born a poor child, your family is killed, making you an orphan, and as a result you spend your childhood and adolescence scamming and scavenging to get by, what possible hope is there for you to win a millions of dollars on a popular game show?

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine)answers that question in Slumdog Millionaire which is a heartfelt tale of Jamal, an orphan that takes up a life of innocent crime with his brother Salim after his mother is killed.



The movie focuses on three periods in the boys' lives. Jamal, the innocent doe-eyed boy who fawns after a young girl who also lost her family, struggles to find his footing eventually growing up and working for a call center. Salim, the tough-as-nails older brother turns to a life of crime, killing fellow con-men, serving his own interests, and even using the object of his brothers affections, Latika, to his advantage.



Latika, as Jamal finds out, is a fan of the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" after a failed attempt to take her from her current life where she lives with a wealthy criminal. Jamal then decides to take a chance with his fate and becomes a contestant on the game show with the simple hope of having Latika see him again.

The movie is told through three vignettes. The first where Jamal, played by doe-eyed Dev Patel, is being interrogated by police after the first night on the game show where he successfully answers questions that doctors and lawyers can't even answer. They suspect him of cheating. The second where Jamal is on the game show answering question after question with much trepidation and lack of expression. The third and final is the narrative which explains how this boy, this kid from the slums, who wasn't meant for greater things, knows the answers to the questions he's being asked.



What transpires in the following two hours is a tale of hope and tragedy, love and loss. And what occurs emotionally is more important and fulfilling than the desire for Jamal to win, both the money and the girl, but the realization that sometimes when you don't know the questions, the answers are already written out for you. ***A***

R.I.P. 2008

Thank God 2008 is over. It was pretty tough year. But we're all the wiser, right?

I had some ridiculous number of jobs. Like five. I'm working out my finances which hopefully will be more prosperous this year. (Supposedly 2009 is going to be great for Aquarius'. I'll keep breathing to be sure). Uh, the rest is too long, boring, frustrating and wasteful to dwell on. I'm thankful for all my friends, who I've cemented as my make-shift family. Rachael, Rachel, Ben, and of course Jordan, have all been noticeable shining stars in my life.

Now my top picks. They're few. Especially the movies.

Albums
(My apologies to Beyonce and Britney for not getting their albums in time. I have to purchase them out of principle).

5. Madonna - Hard Candy


4. Robin Thicke - Something Else


3. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular


2. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak


1. Coldplay - Viva La Vida


** Honorable Mentions - T.I. - Paper Trail, Panic At the Disco - Pretty.Odd., Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, Estelle - Shine, Ludacris - Theater of the Mind

Movies
(A lot of movies I saw this year were comedies. And they all have something to do with Judd Apatow)

5. Role Models


4. Step Brothers


3. Pineapple Express


2. The Dark Knight


1. Milk

Milk

The story of Harvey Milk is one I've known only briefly. An out gay man who was elected to San Francisco's board of supervisors and who was gunned down by a fellow supervisor in 1978. The subject seems perfect for a movie, right?

In Milk, Gus Van Sant's affecting dedication, Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, a man frustrated with his life, so, he moves from New York area to San Francisco to follow his dreams of living a simplistic life with his partner. Soon he and the audience realize, like many instances in this life, sometimes having the easy life isn't meant for everyone. Milk is dissatisfied with his neighborhood and the treatment of homosexuals and wants change.



Milk begins by running for office. He fails. Repeatedly. He does eventually win, however, after much strife and alienation experienced by his long-time boyfriend played by James Franco in a strong, subtle performance.

What fascinates and awes in this movie is the degree to which Milk plays the system. Yes, he's gay, but he's smart and calculating as a politician. He's elected. And there's resistance of course. Threats on his life are made. He forges ahead.



What is great about this movie is its universal and timeless message that we our in control of our fates, if we're willing to take the responsibility to do so. Still more amazing is Penn's ability to strip away the narrative of the film and talk directly to the audience without actually doing so. At times, when Milk is talking to those huddled masses, that he shakes you to the core and makes you look at yourself. And personally, as a gay man, he tells you exactly what every homosexual must realize: a life of simplicity and privacy is something you should have if you desire it, but no matter how we try, what happens in the bedroom affects us as much as any other force in our lives, and hiding can't lead to change.

Inspirational, chilling and affecting. Van Sant crafts an amazing and subtle movie with much grace. Could it have been as good if the director himself wasn't gay?



Josh Brolin, as Dan White, Milk's fellow supervisor who eventually guns him down, is strong and reserved. There's something boiling under White's skin. Frustration? Disenfranchisement? Whatever it was, we know how it ends. And what an unexpectedly expected ending.

This movie, its quality of performance and craftsmanship, will be remembered for years to come, and perhaps everything Milk fought for won't die in vain. ***A***

Quantum of Solace

Ah, James. How does a former super-spy designed to fight Cold War villainy keep modern audiences entertained and captivated? First you revamp the entire genre starting with a comparison to what audiences respond most: intelligent action propelled by character-driven story lines. Simple enough, right? Not so much.



Quantum of Solace picks-up where the last James Bond left us in Casino Royal. The series was revamped with a new, more intense James, Daniel Craig, and inspired by a need to tell the origins of how one becomes a secret agent with a license to kill. The action sequences become more elaborate and sophisticatedly real. The series became more dark, more real, and somehow promised to compete with every action series out there.



Easy enough. Not so. While Casino Royal promised a new direction, the ability to keep up with its commitment has once again stranded the super spy in action hero limbo.



For all intents and purposes, Quantum delivers on the action. A little too much. From the very start the action sequences are long and intense. And I mean needing a defibrillator and a cigarette intense. Much appreciation goes out to the cast and crew for delivering so much to a genre that once needed invisible cars to get us from point A to point B.



But for all the action, the story dwindles. Our Bond is tough, smart and savvy, but the transition from action sequence to action sequence, disguised as a story, or hell, even a plot, is lost. It's almost as if our dear James is so worried to keep up with the Jason Bournes, the Transporters, the superheros, that he's lost touch with what people really love about him: he's a spy. He has to investigate and gather clues to get to those bad guys. Believe me, people like to feel a part of the story by understanding how you arrived to the bad guys. In this Bond, he seems to know where they are at all times and just goes in for the kill. And boy does he rack up the body count.



For what it's worth, an action movie, Quantum delivers above and beyond. As for a spy drama, let's hope the next one is a little more in-tune. Kudos to Daniel Craig for bringing Bond to a whole new level of badass and for Marc Forster for bringing beautifully shot landscapes and technically marvelous action sequences to the sliver screen. But as far as delivering on what began a couple of years ago, that shot heard around the world has long since been muffled. ***C***

Role Models

There is something in the water in Hollywood. Ever since the take-over of Judd Apatow and his league of funny men, Hollywood's yearly barrage of comedy popcorn flicks has featured great ensembles, crude and highbrow humor, and surprising heartfelt human touches on what could be less-than-stellar plot lines.



Role Models is such a movie. This time Paul Rudd carries this feature with much-do credit. Rudd plays Danny, a man in his thirties unfulfilled in his professional life which has put strain on his personal one. Rudd proves, once again, that he can charm and deliver us the laughs. Great actor.



Danny's partner where he works, did I mention it was an energy-drink company, Wheeler, is just the Stifler-like character you'd expect would be the wingman. Shockingly the movies producers got Seann William Scott. Fitting.



In a fit of rage Danny distroyes a company truck, forcing Danny and Wheeler to serve community service. They are directed to Study Wings, a Big Brothers, Big Sisters-like organization run by ex-con Gayle Sweeny, played perfectly by Jane Lynch.

The humor is perfectly crude at times. Look for excellent cameos by the young men that Danny and Wheeler mentor, Bobb'e J. Thompson as Ronnie and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Augie. Enjoy laughing your ass off! ***A***

American Teen

American Teen is a documentary that follows a handful of teens in an averagge American town. Through the ten months of filming, filmmaker Nanette Burstein intimately captures portraits of the trials and tribulations of modern-day teens.

While touching, hilarious and heart-breaking at times, the film is also, at least for me and my relatively recent high school experience, nothing new. The movie follows the clichéd stereotypes: the jock, the nerd, the popular princess, the hunk, the "alternative girl" and breaks them.

As far as being a member of the audience, I came expecting what I got: a heartfelt story that shatters the one-dimensional facade of teenage life. Everyone knows that these people are more than the sum of their parts. Blah, blah, blah.

Yes, the movie's good. Yes, I'd recommend it to everyone. No, it breaks no new ground. Except the weird animated sequences that they have when the kids do voices overs, those are more creepy than anything else. ***A***

Pineapple Express

What is to say but the fact that this is a great stoner movie! Fun, fun, funny!!! Go see it. ***A***

The Dark Knight

Alright, I'll admit it, I've been slacking when it comes to writing this review. It's been a week since I've seen this film and words absolutely fail me.

I think the reason why the Batman franchise failed in the 90s was because it was taken out of the hands of its creator, Tim Burton, and took a 180 degree turn. Burton definitely was taking the character to the place where mass audiences could understand the character of Batman. Sadly, it was given to Joel Schumacher and began resembling the 1960s Batman television series, a comical, satirized version of a kids cartoon book.



But then came this new incarnation of Batman on screen by Christopher Nolan, and the audience is introduced to a much darker, and thus more relatable, character. This Batman took his guilt and pain from his parents death and made it his mission to destroy evil by becoming a symbol of something evil would fear.

The Dark Knight picks up where Batman Begins left off. But this time, Batman is a sensation in Gotham City. A hero who's imitated and feared. Until, that is, an opposing force rises to the occasion to challenge "The Batman".

Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is untouchable and is something that should be seen. This was a great thinking actor who treated the character as real as you or I.




And this gets to my point about every actor in this franchise. I believe the filmmakers and the actors they have chosen have given great respect and attention to something that could have easily become a farce.

All actors have an understanding that these characters are humans, no superpowers, and are driven by different philosophies and motivations.



My hats off to Christian Bale and Gary Oldman for expanding upon characters very well-tuned into in the first film.

Kudos and praise to Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart, as Two-Face, for creating real characters with relatable drives.




Beautiful and well-crafted work of art. Rumors run rampant on the interweb that Johnny Depp is being sought after to play the Riddler in the next film. Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penquin. Perhaps Catwoman too? F*** YEAH! ***A***

Viva La Vida

I don't see what all the fuckin' fussin's for? Coldplay, the most feared and hated bands in the world, due to their success, might actually possess talent. Is this why people are afraid of them? Haha. I think it is.

On their fourth, and yes, best album, Viva La Vida, Coldplay churn out a album, not an record. Remember records? Yeah, me neither. But unlike filler albums of recent memory, all the songs on this album fit in their proper place.

The album is just that, a whole album. It tells a story like albums used to. It begins in "Life in Technicolor", the prelude that announces this will be a musical journey. The band accompanied by an orchestra are released from behind Chris Martin's possessed voice. His is a flow through the sound-scape in the background.

The album's songs are but chapters in a thematic book, unlike the many "filler" songs of X&Y. It interludes with much grace, like in "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and switches themes altogether in songs like "42" and "Yes".



Musically the band has grown by leaps and bounds. On Viva the band is more of a presence. Guitarist Jonny Buckland is released and commands the air in which the music floats into. Many of the songs were recorded in churches and places where the sound can expand and echo, a trick Coldplay knows a thing of two about.

The album also features many points where the band is singing together, trading their sound-enveloping musical instruments for their own voices that get lost in the heavens. The album postludes in "Death and All of His Friends" just as how in begins, a sweeping instrumental, this time joined by Martin as he and his band members bid us a due.

Is this mass transition credited to Brian Eno, a producer who has worked with U2? Or is Eno a means to an end for a band that wants to grow creatively? The haters will give it completely to Eno. Can't win them all.

Truly a great album from a great band. Get over it haters. I want it on vinyl because I know it will sound perfect.

Sex and the City

Well, my absence from blogging has brought me back for my favorite season...summer movie season. Why I haven't seen Iron Man or Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yet is beyond me. Those will be reviewed later. Sex and the City though was a must see for me.

I've come to the conclusion that being a fan of the series, and a movie goer, has both helped and hindered my enjoyment of this movie.



The audience joins Carrie and Co. right were those of us who followed the series left off (and expected)...Carrie is enjoying her flowering carrier as a writer, now with three published books, and her love life with Big (now with a "big" full name, John James Preston); Miranda is continuing her struggle to balance professional and personal life; Charlotte is enjoying family life with husband Harry (Evan Handler) and adopted daughter Lily; and finally Samantha has moved her business and boyfriend Smith (Jason Lewis) to L.A. to continue growing Smith's blossoming acting career at the sacrifice of Samantha's professional and personal life in New York.



My only grievance, which has yet to be determined as minor or major, with the movie is the significance of the movie. Yes, it's fun to watch the movie and its over-stylized decadence. But was it necessary to dust these characters off to live through that which fans of the show should already have known these characters to encounter?



The truth is, yes, I expected Big and Carrie to toy with the idea of marriage. I expected Miranda to seclude herself in her work, thus making a strain on her marriage. I expected Charlotte to continue blissfully growing her family. I expected for Samantha to struggle with her independence while in a relationship with Smith. Carrie and Charlotte's respective gays, Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone) are reduced to minor cameos while leaving the audience curious as to if they are in a relationship or not. Didn't they hate each other on the show?



The reason why the movie fails with substance is because the series was so well written, so well fleshed-out for the audience, that the movie really didn't need to happen for the audience to know what occurs in the lives of their fictional four best friends. I don't believe the movie was made solely to make money, but for the genuine love of the characters and to re-visit that world.



Okay, now I'm stepping down from my soapbox and will just bask in the delicious excesses of glamorama. The fans of the show will enjoy references to the show. Watch for series cameos like Carrie's infamous tutu, muskrat coat and rotary phone.



The stories of the four ladies are enjoyable to watch. Look for heartfelt performances from Sarah Jessica Parker after Carrie and Big's (Chris Noth) wedding fails to come to fruition. Miranada's (Cynthia Nixon) storyline is heartbreaking as she struggles to put aside her pride and save her marriage to Steve (David Eigenberg). And finally Kim Cattrall is great as the sexually and professionally frustrated Samantha. The audience really feels her dissatisfaction at playing second fiddle to a caring man, but longing to be the star in one's own life. Cattrall hints at that great acting intuition she got to show on the series in a moment when she realizes why she really is staying with Smith. Unfortunately there's nothing really new to tell for Charlotte (Kristin Davis) but reaffirm her loyalty to her friends. Watch for Davis shine when she confronts Mr. Big at the wedding and at a restaurant a year later.



Look for strong performances from Eigenberg and Noth (who knew Big could show such affection for Carrie? Isn't that one thing she wanted from the start?). Also look for a forgettable and unnecessary performance from Jennifer Hudson as Louise from St. Louis, big-up to STL!

While it wasn't a complete waste, it really wasn't necessary, which is what I've been saying ever since the movie was talked about since the show ended in 2004. Sometimes you have to let sleeping dogs lie. ***B***

Juno

Okay, I have been on a movie binge. But when you have no money and your mom doesn't want to give you drinking money, she'll pay for some moving picture entertainment.



Juno stars Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff. A wise cracking, know-it-all 16 year-old who accidentally becomes pregnant. After searching through her options, Juno decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption to thirty-something couple, Vanessa and Mark (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman).



But that's just the beginning. The audience follows Juno through her pregnancy and her struggle to figure out what she wants and who she is while going through one of the most challenging experiences of her life. She searches for love in Paulie (Michael Cera), the boy who impregnated her and whom no one thinks of as capable of filling in his own space.



J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney shine as Juno's supportive dad and step-mom.

The movie is filled with sharp, witty dialogue which is sometimes difficult to believe as realistic coming from a character in high school. In addition to the dialogue, the situations, people and places the movie takes the audience are a delight. This is a movie that really tugs at the heart! ***A***

No Country for Old Men

Oh, the critics. Oh how they love to tell the public which movies are the best. And sometimes, they're right. But man do I wish they were wrong.

Yes, No Country for Old Men is arguably one of, if not the, best movie of 2007. Unfortunately, the public has to wait until the wee early months of the following year to see these cinematic cornerstones.

Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen of Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, Blood Simple (trust me, you've seen one of their films), adapt this novel turned grab-the-arms-of-your-chair thriller. And really, it thrills. And shakes, and makes you jump in your seat. Trust me. As someone who never budges during a scary movie, this one made me pop back more than once.



The story centers around three men. Llewelyn, a fierce Josh Brolin (where's he been?), stumbles upon the ruins of a drug deal gone slaughterhouse while out hunting. And in Coen brothers fashion, what does he find? Money. A couple of million to be exact. And in the bed of the truck? The heroin that started it all. Javier Bardem plays the lunatic-psycho sent to hunt Llewelyn down and get the money back. His drive is of madness with no mercy. Just the look in his eyes sends fear down your spine. Tommy Lee Jones plays Sheriff Bell, an aging police man who is becoming increasingly disenfranchised with the changing pace and values of 1980's culture. He investigates the crime.



The movie is a cat and mouse game between Brolin and Bardem's characters as Jones' sheriff is a step behind but with his experience, he knows how the game will end.

The film talks of the changes in society. Why place high priority on things that could potentially be deadly to us and what are our motivations behind them?



The conversation that closes the movie, a dialogue between Jones' Bell and Barry Corbin's Ellis, is probably the most prophetic. The two discuss the demise of our society and the old man's ambition to return to a less complicated time. But Ellis reminds Bell, and the audience, that such a digression would be selfish.

Hmm...perhaps there is no place for the old because the current generation leaves them behind? ***A***