It is Written

Review: Slumdog Millionaire


What is Slumdog Millionaire?

A) A new film by Danny Boyle
B) A film with no major stars
C) One of the Best films of the year
D) All of the Above


The Answer is D. Slumdog Millionaire, is bound to be the surprise of the award season. It's a beautiful, touching, romantic, uplifting yet quite harsh look at the rise of a poor boy in India to his appearance on India's Who wants to be a Millionaire. I know how that sounds, but its truly a cinematic feast. Go out and see it now. It's a great holiday movie that will leave you both humbled and enriched.

Danny Boyle has always been a visually inventive, solid director. He has the ability to push and blend genre to create something greater than given. I give Boyle credit for single-handedly resurrecting the zombie genre with his awesome 28 Days Later. He made a cult classic in Trainspotting. He elevated a standard Event Horizon-ish sci-fi film into something more in Sunshine. And he showed he could make films with a lot of heart in Millions, a tale of a boy who sees saints and comes across a fairly large sum of money just when his single father needs it the most.

I adore Millions. It wears it's heart on its sleeve, but I love it for it. Boyle is always visually inventive. The guy makes good looking flicks (even 28 Days Later which was shot on Mini DV). His actors are always solid. But Millions was really his first use of child actors, and the performances he elicits are phenomenal. That film help really set the stage for Slumdog.

The narrative is fractured around how young slum kid Jamal could possibly know the answer to these questions. The film then cuts back and forth between the present and the rest of Jamal's life to show how he came to know what he does and be where he is today. Three different actors play the three leads as the pass children, to teenagers to young adult. Most were untrained actors. All of them do amazing work.

The films is fantastic in that it takes the Bollywood genre and deconstructs it and adopts it for western audiences. This is a Indian film made by an English writer and director yet it feels totally authentic. This is for India what City of God was for Rio. I don't know if life is like that, but it feels right. Bollywood films adhere to strict guidelines regarding the precantage of action, romance and musical numbers must be in the film. And Slumdogs has that mix without seeming forced. They even threw in a musical number, just when I thought they had forgotten. And not only that, but it furthers the plot! The film mixes both English and native language with ease, never once being annoying. Boyle uses the Tony Scott interactive subtitle route and it fits beautifully into the film, becoming just another piece of the frame rather than an intrusion on the film. The subtitle's intergration should help those who cry foul and run away from foreign fairs.

The use of M.I.A is extremely deft. The beginning chase scene is perfectly complimented by her. Also the use of Paper Planes. Listen, I am addicted to this song. Ever since before I heard it attached to the Pineapple Express trailer. When itstarted during the movie, it put a smile on my face. Then I thought, really, why are they using it? But honestly by the time the montage with it is finished (and it is quite a montage) you'll find that the song is actually telling the narrative in a way you'd never imagine possible. It's quite fitting.

Also, unlike Millions, which some might deem to saccharine, Slumdog is quite harsh. There is torture, blinding, fist-fights, murder, riots, things that you'd usually wouldn't find in something that is actaully an uplifting film. But its those real world tragedies that ground the narrative and enrich the story. Without all this strife as a backdrop, Jamal's rise wouldn't be so moving. It is inspite of all this adversity that Jamal strives to find happiness, not with money but with the woman he loves.

I really can't recommend this film enough. There aren't enough films like Slumdog around. Films made with craft and heart. Films that were shot on a limited budget, yet feel epic. Who has no movie stars, but it doesn't matter. It's a about the characters, not the people playing them. Films like Slumdog don't come around often. And when the do, they should be heralded and supported. I hope this puts Boyle, who often struggles finding finacing for films, in a position where he'll be making many more for an awfully long time. Don't be surprise if this walks away with some Gold men come Oscar time. It deserves to. Cherish this. Go with friends. Find it in the theatre. And experience Slumdog Millionaire.

Have You Ever Seen a One Armed Man Punching at Nothing but the Breeze

Review: The Wrestler

I'm a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky. Before The Fountain, I had to argue with many that he wasn't purely the MTV stylist that Requiem for the Dream tagged him as. Don't get me wrong, Aronofsky is an amazing visualist. The Fountain only proves that. With that film (one that i waited six years dying for) he took himself to the next level of cinematic craft, creating a visually innovative and stunning film, as well as an emotional one. There is an underlying humanity beneath all the pretty flash of Requiem and Fountain, and with The Wrestler, that flash has been stripped as bare as the soul of lead role Mickey Rourke's Randy "the Ram" Robinson. All that's left is his humanity. And boy is it a beauty to see.



Much has been and will be made of Mickey Rourke's performance. It's not hyperbole. Rouke deserves every word dedicated to his accolades. It's been a long time coming. The Wrestler is the role Rouke was born to play. I'm so glad that Aronofsky stood by his gut, and took a budget cut; Nicholas Cage gracefully stepping aside and backing Rourke a role written for him. The film works on a meta level. The Ram's career mirroring Rourke's own.

Randy: "The 90's sucked"

Yes they did for Rouke, who literally disappeared for the screens for a decade before returning in smaller character roles thanks to Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott. If this film had a subtitle it'd be the Passion of Mickey Rourke. As Randy himself says, he's a "dired up piece of meat." A man whose career has taken as much toll as his body. Randy is washed up and alone. A daughter that hates him, and a crush on a stripper near her end much like him. Both burdened with a occupation and responsibility they cannot escape.

Yet together Marisa Tomei's Cassidy and Rourke's Ram have that beautiful chemistry of two old souls surviving the life they've been dealt. Tomei deserves her praise as much as Rourke. If anything, and its minor, its that at age 44 she's still too beautiful to play a washed up stripper. Would you say no to a naked Marisa Tomei standing in front of you? I'm half her age and I don't think so. But despite that physicality its Tomei's working class, brown beaten spirit that shines through. She's a glimmer of hope in both the film and Randy's life.

Also not to go unnoticed is Evan Rachel Wood. I've had my eye on her since Once and Again years ago. She's come a long way since Thirteen. Wood's screen time is brief but brimming with emotion. There's beauty in her few scenes with Rourke that really does capture a girl that would like nothing better to have a Daddy again. A father Randy never was, and never can be.

All this is grounded by Aronofsky's uncharacteristically plain, verte-style camera. Rourke is introduced through a series of tracking back shots, Rourke's bleached hair and huge shoulder blades on display more than his mug. This is a man whose best days are behind him. He is not walking at us into a brighter future, he's walking away from former days filled with glory. The Ram's saga is built on the details that Aronofsky and cinematographer Maryse Alberti (in place of his usual collaborator Matthew Libatique) loving capture with deft subtly. This is a film about how Randy prepares to face the world, whether it his audience or the deli counter he works at (in an wonderfully reversed Raging Bull-like entrance). Whether it's with bandages, steriods, bleach and tanning, or hair nets and swallowing pride, the every day minutia of the Ram's life is the journey.

It all builds to a beautiful final rematch with The Ram's old foe, The Ayatollah. It ends with a staunch ambiguity that lets the viewers decide as they are sheparded out the door to an amazing original track by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen (who should hopefully win Best Song Oscar. Go download it now.)

The Wrestler is a film with its heart on its sleeve. I hope it gives a gold statue to Rourke and opens more doors for Aronofsky. Together they've crafted a touching modern tragedy, and one of the best films of the year.

Disappearing Trick

So, yes, once again, its been awhile. My fault completely. Between moving to Brooklyn, among other things, parts of my life got dropped by the wayside.

Witness example A.

But that's not all, I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of the blog, and I'm thinking about what I want to use it for and the site in general.

So I'm going to be experimenting a little. Bear with me. And forgive, alittle.

More posts to come soon.

Changeling trailer! New Clint Eastwood film! J. Michael Straczynski !

I started getting excited for this film when I found out J. Michael Straczynski (of Babylon 5 fame) wrote this film. And Clint always delivers solid films. After seeing this trailer, and what I've heard out of Cannes, look for it to be collecting Oscars later on, maybe even for star, Angelina Jolie.

New Bond Trailer! Watch now and rejoice!

My love of Bond was established long ago with Sean Connery and a little film called Gold Finger. It was cemented with a film called from Russia with Love. The Bond franchise is a staple of my film going experience. I really enjoyed Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Goldeneye restarted the Bond franchise my generation after it had all but died. He was an awesome Bond it lukewarm to bad Bond films. Then Martin Campbell (who also directed Goldeneye) with Daniel Craig gave us a Bond shot in the arm with Casino Royale. I really enjoyed that film. It had it's problems, but, like Batman Begins, it left us with a promise of a truly kickass sequel to follow. Well, with the teaser, I was thoroughly excited. With this, well... let me just say, the Bond series may have just Dark Knighted itself. There. You heard it here first.

Is it November yet?

Quantum of Solace opens Nov 14th.

I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!

Review: Tropic Thunder

So, after three weeks of it being the number one movie in America, I finally got around to see Tropic Thunder. I can’t say that it was “built up” for me. It wasn’t, in fact of the people I knew who saw it they said simply, it’s funny.

And it is funny. In fact the way the movie starts with it’s pseudo-commercials/fake movie trailers are priceless. People in the theatre didn’t know what was going on. It was quite hilarious. So was the beginning part of the film within the film also called Tropic Thunder.

So lets go with the positive. Robert Downey Jr. owns the movie. Owns it. You can see the movie just for him and be satisfied. I’m so happy to see his return to glory this year. He deserves it. And his fake trailer with its amazing cameo is priceless. Simply priceless.

Also Jay Baruchel aka Steven Karp from Undeclared is great. He doesn’t have much to do here, but he’s great. I love me some Steven Karp. I’m really hoping him and Seth Rogen do that post-apocalyptic movie that showed up as a short on Youtube a few months ago, Jay & Seth vs The Apocalypse. I’m sold for that, especially after all the post-apocalyptic movies that have been coming out of late.



Also someone whose every line made me smile was Danny McBride. This is his break out year (I had only previously known him as Bustass in David Gordon Green’s All the Real Girls) with this, coupled with Pineapple Express, he’s in the two big comedy blockbusters of the summer. And he kills.

Unfortunately, the movie has problems. The narrative seems like a dead weight hanging around the movies neck, and the things that move it into place are boring. Its surprisingly graphically violent. More so then I expected, but that’s not a major problem. The problem is that some jokes fall dead. There are points in the film when I know that I’m supposed to laugh but I wasn’t and that shouldn’t be. Yes, comedy is hit and miss, but true classics don’t have that sound of crickets I found myself going through too many times. Now granted, there are equal killer moments, but in the end it just seems like a wash. The film is absurd to the extreme, which I’m fine with if it garners greater laughs. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. There were many times I felt myself saying, “no they didn’t” even though it was telegraphed it was going to happen. And I’m not part of the Jack Black hating crew, but he rubbed me the wrong way in this film, and his storyline was contrived. Though he did have one of the greatest lines of the film.

When all is said and done, Tropic Thunder really is like Downey's line above. Its a dumb Hollywood blockbuster pretending to be a comedy satire of big Hollywood blockbuster war flicks that's really just that, a big summer blockbuster.

Overall, both Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, the summer’s two blockbuster’s failed me. Good for a laugh, but I won’t see them again anytime soon. Well maybe Pineapple (which I enjoyed more). That’s such a DVD movie.

Zack and Miri Make an R-rated Trailer

So here's the link to the trailer for Kevin Smith's hilarious upcoming film, Zack and Miri make a Porno. I wish I could embed it for you, but i can't. Check it out and laugh, but beware, not for the office environment.

Watch it here.

Appaloosa Trailer!

So if you read the fall preview, you knew that I had my ear to the ground about a Ed Harris directed Western starring him and Viggo Mortensen. Til now I hadn't known jack, only the people involved and the quality they strive to produce. I mean honestly, after see A History of Violence who would not be pump to see these two together again and as partners!

From what i've gathered from the trailer above, Viggo & Harris are badass men called in by the higher ups to clean up a town polluted by the scum of Jeremy Irons. I am so there!

Watch the trailer is HD quicktime at the apple site.

Appaloosa will be released Sept 17th.

Looking Ahead: 2008 Fall Movie Preview

After the a summer blockbuster season ruled by superheroes (tentpoled by Iron Man and The Dark Knight and filled in nicely by Incredible Hulk and Hellboy 2). And lets not forget the other great film coming out this summer, pixar classic Wall-E.

As we look to the fall usually we find the race for the elusive Oscar heating up as the studios roll out their big guns for award nights. Generally speaking this is where the big names directors roll out there next masterpieces or failures and all and all critics top ten list are never fully complete until New Years Eve where some January releases are squeaked in around Christmas for Oscar contention. So without further ado, the 2008 fall preview:

Note, I am not stating all fall films, just the ones that I find the need to point out. For a full list check here.

Color Coding: Must sees are in Red. Of interest are in Blue. On the fence are Yellow.

Sept 12th

Burn After Reading

The Coen’s first film the their Oscar awarding winning No Country for Old Men devles back into their quirky humor before they were known for making Javier Bardem a prince valiant haired killer. The cast including, Brad Pitt, Francis McDormand, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and JohnMalkovich. The plot revolves around important C.I.A info falling into the hands of the clueless Pitt and McDormand. Then they blackmail Malkovich. Hilarity ensues. First must see of the fall.

Righteous Kill

Pacino. DeNiro. Yeah, yeah I know, but that doesn’t earse the fact that I get a stink off of this film. I could be wrong and maybe the energy of these two performers together sparked some movie magic they haven’t had in several films, but I doubt it.

Sept 17th

Appaloosa

I know what you’re saying, what the hell is this? Well actually this is the cinematic equivalent of a blind buy for me. I haven’t seen a trailer for it. I haven’t seen a poster. No one’s pumped it up. It’s a western directed and starring Ed Harris with Viggo Mortensen. Watching those two performers sells it for me. Who knows it could be the sleeper film that came after the year of the western that was 2007. Find out more here.






Sept. 19th

The Duchess

Another Keria Kightly costume drama? Yawn. But I know she has her supporters out there. It might wield some good performances, but it will probably end up like last years Atonement for me. I’ll see it eventually, or not.





Sept. 26th


Miracle at St. Anna

Spike Lee is hit or miss for me. I respect his work, I just don’t always enjoy it. This is Spike doing a WWII film. Count me interested. This might be Oscar contention.





Blindness

Fernando Merieless whose City of God was phenomenal, and whose Constant Gardner was less so, delivers his next film. I am a huge Julianne Moore fan, so having her in it has me there already. The posters and the trailers have me hooked. Unfortunately the buzz out of Cannes said it was a miss. But what do the French know? I’ll let my enthusiasm go unblemished.


Choke

Read the Chuck Palahniuk book. It was interesting. Not as good as Fight Club though thematically similar. The film could be a sleeper. Personally, I think it looks flat. A tough book to put up on the screen. Jury is still out.








Oct. 3rd

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Simon Pegg? Plus. Stock Hollywood comedy? Minus. Could be good for a laugh or date. Could make my skin crawl or be forgotten the next day.




Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist

Horrible title. And good god, one of the downfalls of seeing The Dark Knight 4 times in the theatre was seeing this thing play before it every time. By the third time I actually took interest. I like Michael Cera though. It has some good music behind it and I think a high schooler would possibly love this. If it introduces the youngsters to some music that mid twenties me is listening to, power to it. Cute date flick.





Oct 8th

Rocknrolla

I think the eight other people who saw Revolver along with me would agree that it got shat on for no reason. Not a huge Guy Ritchie fan as some are, but his films, minus the unspeakable Swept Away, are always enjoyable. This one looks a like an awesome British gangster time with a great cast. Despite the fact that the studios are dumping it.





Oct. 10th

Body of Lies

Crowe. DiCaprio. Ridley Scott. I feel the trailers don't really sell me the whole film or how good it might be. Right now it looks like Tony Scott's Spy Game the Ridley Scott version. And lets not forget that it’s written by Oscar winning William Monahan of Departed fame, who also wrote Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (and whose lesser seen director’s cut is absolutely classic). This means we'rein for a well written, well shot film. What’s so bad about that?



Ashes of Time Redux

I have seen part of Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time. It’s a horrible print on a wrongly formatted dvd and I’m going to struggle with my filmmakers OCD to watch the original fully before seeing this gloriously shot film re-cut and beautifully restored to its mind numbingly stunning image in the theatre. Could this be Wong’s Apocalypse Now Redux? I’ll be there in the theatre to tell. Check out the trailer here.








Oct 17th

The Brother’s Bloom

I really enjoyed directors Rian Johnson’s first film Brick. A great little debut with a nice original voice. Let’s hope he continues it here, with what looks like a 60’s heist film starring Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz. Looks like a good time to me.



Max Payne

I don’t expect this to be a great film. I’m just hoping for it to be fun. I love the video game and I hope its adapted right. Its got tons of things to love. Action, guns, Mark Wahlberg, noir trappings, Mila Kunis, Mila Kunis shooting guns. Lots of things. So lets just hope for a decent action flick, and not the Departed 2.

W.

Olivier Stones Bush satire. We’ll see.

Oct 24th

Changeling

Basically at this time Clint Eastwood could take a shit and get an Oscar nom, but its not undeserved. The man consistently makes solid films. Buzz from Cannes is that he’s done it again. The great news is that its written by Babylon 5 creator, and comic author (Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Amazing Spiderman) J. Michael Straczynski. I'm a huge fan of his writing, if you haven't seen B5 or read his comic series, check them out! If he hits Hollywood gold, it would be a great thing in my opinion. Look for this as another Oscar contender starring Angelina Jolie.

Synedoche, New York

I think Charlie Kaufman writing is absolutely fantastic. This is his first directorial effort. I’ve heard contrasting things, but regardless my butt is in the seat. The man that gave of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation & Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind deserves that much.

Oct. 31st

Zack and Mira Make A Porno

Kevin Smith. Seth Rogen. I really think Smith is getting better as a director, and he does hiliarious rated R comedy. Clerks 2 had so much heart in it while being funny and if he can transfer that here, things should be fine.

Nov 7th


The Boy in Striped Pajamas

I’ve never read the book, but I hear its heartbreaking. A boy a boy living next to a Nazi concetration camp and befriending a boy behind the wire, this can only lead to tears. And maybe Oscars.

Nov 14th

Australia

Hugh Jackman/ Nicole Kidman epic. Looks pretty. Actually reminds me of Peter Jackson's Depression era scenes in King Kong. Not a Baz Luhrmann fan. Hmmm…..

Quantum of Solace

Who cares about the title anymore. New Daniel Craig Bond! They had me at Bond, James Bond.

The Road

I have the Cormac McCarthy novel sitting on my stack of things to read. Hopefully I’ll get to it before this. Viggo Mortensen with his kid doing a lone wolf and cub across a post-apocolyptic America. The pics I’ve seen look superb.

Dec 5th

Punisher: War Zone

First one, sucked. Second one, Thomas Jane cool, movie sucked. Third time: back to a Dolph Lundgren route with a no name Frank Castle. I’ve heard contrasting reports about the chaos behind this film. Whether confirmed or not, from what I’ve seen it just looks like shit. How hard is it to get Punisher right? He's serial killer who happens to kill the right guys, criminals. The end. And I hear they’re turning it from rated R to pg-13? Guh! Studios execs are idiots! Oh and nothing says Christmas like the Punisher. Holy Christ!

Frost/Nixon

Now here’s what I’ll be seeing this weekend instead. Didn’t know about it til a week ago, but Ron Howards next film looks to be a winner in my book. And another possible Oscar nod. Could be this year’s Good Night and Good Luck. Plus bonusFrank Langella Nixon!

Dec 12th

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Here’s a studio meeting, it goes like this: we need a new film to remake. How about remaking a beloved sci-fi classic? And we can put Keanu Reeves in it! Barf. What a waste of Jennifer Connelley. Wake me when the nightmares over.

Defiance

Ed Zwick WWII flick. Daniel Craig. Leiv Schriber. Jamie Bells. Loooks great. Two baddass Daniel Craig movies in one season!

Dec 25th

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brad Pitt aging backwards. David Fincher is back again. Absolutely loved Zodiac, here’s looking for a repeat. Fincher always insures quality. Looks stunning. Here’s for Fincher’s first Oscar bid.

The Spirit

Frank Miller. Will Eisner’s Spirit. Sin City like style. Hmmm. Miller’s solo directorial effort. At Christmas? Really? This is like Grindhouse on Easter. This will not go well. My city screams!

Dec 26th

Revolutionary Road

Sam Mendes. Dicpario. Winslet. Don’t know much about it. But I can’t wait to see it. That’s saying something. Could be another Oscar squeaker.

Valkyrie

Bryans Singer’s Tom Cruise starring WWII film about assassinating Hitler. Its been bounced around scheduling wise. Lots of WWII movies this year, wonder if this one might be the victim of burnout. We'll see. I hope not. Look forward to seeing though after a disappointing Superman Returns.

So there you have it. My picks so far. There might be others that I’ve yet to hear about, or could be added. Notable absent are films I’m dying to see like Terrance Malick’s Tree of Life, Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards that will come out next year. On a whole though I don’t have my big time auteur tentpole that I’m absolutely dying for like last year’s There Will Be Blood. Here’s hoping for surprises and great filmmaking this fall season.

No Heroics

So here's a little trailer for show about superheroes living regular lives out of Britain called No Heroics. I'm a big fan of UK shows. Keeping Up Appearances, Black Adder, Spaced. Extras. The Office. Great, now another UK cult show I'll have to search the Internet for. Take a look.