Slumdog Millionaire!

[Estonut]

We may have World War III on our hands because of Emma's attitude.

Maddie inherited Grandma Jean's vintage fur coat. Emma was upset at the idea of Maddie wearing fur and threatened to destroy it if we brought it home. We yelled at her and said that it's Maddie's personal choice to wear fur and that Maddie loves the coat becuse it belonged to her Great-Grandmother's. Still, when we brought the coat home, we hid it so as not to tempt fate.

Would it help to point out that the peltless animals are long dead, but it would mean the killing of new animals to replace the coat, if destroyed?

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

We may have World War III on our hands because of Emma's attitude.

Maddie inherited Grandma Jean's vintage fur coat. Emma was upset at the idea of Maddie wearing fur and threatened to destroy it if we brought it home. We yelled at her and said that it's Maddie's personal choice to wear fur and that Maddie loves the coat becuse it belonged to her Great-Grandmother's. Still, when we brought the coat home, we hid it so as not to tempt fate.

Would it help to point out that the peltless animals are long dead, but it would mean the killing of new animals to replace the coat, if destroyed?

We have already pointed it out to Emma.

[Bob Juch]

We may have World War III on our hands because of Emma's attitude.

Maddie inherited Grandma Jean's vintage fur coat. Emma was upset at the idea of Maddie wearing fur and threatened to destroy it if we brought it home. We yelled at her and said that it's Maddie's personal choice to wear fur and that Maddie loves the coat becuse it belonged to her Great-Grandmother's. Still, when we brought the coat home, we hid it so as not to tempt fate.

Would it help to point out that the peltless animals are long dead, but it would mean the killing of new animals to replace the coat, if destroyed?

We have already pointed it out to Emma.

Tell her they all died of old age.

[silverscreenselect]

The USA Today has picked Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of the year.

[silvercamaro]

The USA Today has picked Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of the year.

This movie must be wonderful. My brother rarely calls me. Yesterday, he did. He wasted little time on small talk.

"We just got back from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. It was great. You, of all people, have to see this movie! You are going to love it."

I cannot remember the last time he called that wasn't about our parents.

[Timsterino]

The USA Today has picked Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of the year.

This movie must be wonderful.

It is indeed.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

We saw the movie last night and I have to say that it's the best movie that I have seen in a long time.

[dodgersteve182]

Will the Slumdog transcript be available for expert critique?

Until it's out on DVD, it might be difficult writing up an accurate transcript.

Just hold your cell phone up and point it at the screen when you go see it!

[dodgersteve182]

Actually Jeff's parents had the girls for the weekend and took them to see it. They both really enjoyed it. Phyllis said that she was ready to take Emma out of the theater at one point but that Emma was ok.

From what you've told us about Emma feeling the world's pain, that surprises me, but I'm glad they enjoyed it.

Emma does feel the world's pain.

We may have World War III on our hands because of Emma's attitude.

Maddie inherited Grandma Jean's vintage fur coat. Emma was upset at the idea of Maddie wearing fur and threatened to destroy it if we brought it home. We yelled at her and said that it's Maddie's personal choice to wear fur and that Maddie loves the coat becuse it belonged to her Great-Grandmother's. Still, when we brought the coat home, we hid it so as not to tempt fate.

Is Emma the Amy Carter of the New Millenium? I didn't know she possessed nukes or was schooled in waterboarding?

[VAdame]

We had a change of plans that left us with some free time tonight -- and what better way to fill it than to go see "Slumdog Millionaire"?! I won't click back thru the thread as I don't want to be spoilered.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, & all that good stuff to all

[VAdame]

We saw it -- as a matter of fact, we got to see it for FREE! We arrived at the theater in plenty of time for the 9:45PM show. The box office guys asked if we were there for the 9:45 showing, and said, well, there's a technical problem with the film. And offered us FREE tickets if we were willing to hang around till the 10:15 showing! Well who could argue with that?

We went for a walk (it was pretty warm & the rain had finally stopped) & window shopped for a while, enjoying the wonderful juxtaposition of menorahs & Christmas decorations in the stores -- the theater is in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood called Squirrel Hill

Great story! Wow! And I'm sure it was a pretty "real" look at India from what I've heard. My sister Ro used to go there a lot in her work, & she's told me some stories of the poverty, etc....

Spoiler

The Taj Mahal scenes were just a hoot! "Please remove shoes here..." Yeah, right!

Well, it's pretty darn late -- off to bed now. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night

[SportsFan68]

We may have World War III on our hands because of Emma's attitude.

Maddie inherited Grandma Jean's vintage fur coat. Emma was upset at the idea of Maddie wearing fur and threatened to destroy it if we brought it home. We yelled at her and said that it's Maddie's personal choice to wear fur and that Maddie loves the coat becuse it belonged to her Great-Grandmother's. Still, when we brought the coat home, we hid it so as not to tempt fate.

Would it help to point out that the peltless animals are long dead, but it would mean the killing of new animals to replace the coat, if destroyed?

We have already pointed it out to Emma.

This gets really complicated. Should vegetarians refuse to wear leather also? A work acquaintance has a mink-lined leather jacket and asked me if I objected to fur. In that case, it seems I would have to object to the leather as well as the fur. I think that minks and chinchillas are farm-raised these days. Cotton and, if I understand the process correctly, wool coats don't require any animals to be killed.

[MarleysGh0st]

"We just got back from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. It was great. You, of all people, have to see this movie! You are going to love it."

I wonder if all BBs are known throughout their families for their connection to that show?

[ulysses5019]

"We just got back from seeing Slumdog Millionaire. It was great. You, of all people, have to see this movie! You are going to love it."

I wonder if all BBs are known throughout their families for their connection to that show?

Some in my family have forgotten......

[KillerTomato]

I saw it this evening as part of my post-holiday triple-feature (see the soon-to-be-posted thread on this topic, which I'll get to momentarily and just before I start scoring the last of the LS from earlier this month).

Liked it. Didn't love it. Certainly didn't LOVE it.

Danny Boyle (the director) has all the subtlety of a tornado. I wonder what this movie would have been like under the direction of a better director, like, say Fernando Merielles or Alfonso Cuaron.

[Weyoun]

I enjoyed it, but was not blown away.

I think my central issue was the main character. He was written to be dull - and instead of him being inventive, the whole "it is written" thrust of the movie made anything he did irrelevant. I just can't find that compelling.

[MarleysGh0st]

I think my central issue was the main character. He was written to be dull - and instead of him being inventive, the whole "it is written" thrust of the movie made anything he did irrelevant. I just can't find that compelling.

Spoiler

You could tell Jamal got onto the show through some kind of phone game, because he certainly didn't display the bubbly emotion American APs would be looking for in the Hot Seat. He just had the "chai wallah" hook for the nasty host to rag on.

[lv42day]

I just saw Slumdog Millionaire. I thought the movie was great. But I think I might not have rated the movie quite as highly if I were not a former contestant of the American version of the show.

[Weyoun]

Not to spoil anything, but I actually had to take a quick bathroom break when I appeared on the show. Alas, Regis was not waiting for me in the men's room.

[silverscreenselect]

Mike Clark, who is the film critic for the USA Today, appeared as a ten-year-old movie expert on the $64,0000 Question in the 1950's. As he tells the story, they interviewed him extensively, asking about his interests in movies, who his favorite actors and actresses were, etc. He could, for example, remember every John Wayne movie and who the co-stars were, but as far as directors, technical questions, behind-the-scenes people, etc., he didn't know very much at all. What he realized as an adult was that the show's producers took advantage of those interviews and fed him questions that played into his strengths so that he was never asked a question about a subject that he didn't know (obviously, they couldn't trust a 10-year-old to be in on a fix).

Seeing Slumdog reminded me of this; with the fates, instead of the show's producers, coming up with just the "right" questions. And without spoiling anything, the last two questions he had were perfectly chosen on a number of levels.

[peacock2121]

I am going to see it today!

[peacock2121]

I enjoyed it - more than I have enjoyed a film in some time.

I liked the love story being weaved through the story of how he knew answers.

I thought of Nancy, what with me loving that she knew her million dollar question, not because she studied it in a book, but because of her life experiences.

I liked how the cop listened to him, finally.

I was moved by the scenes of pretty modern day India and how kids can survive.

I liked the brother's relationship. it seemed like it could have happened - I kinda gave that one up at the end, though.

I recommend it - especially to anyone who has any feeling about BAM.

[mntetn]

Finally saw it on New Years Day. It was showing at only one venue, albeit on two screens, way across town for us; not the "art house" theater but rather the multiplex in the upscale mall in the upscale neighborhood. The matinee that we were at was close to a full house even though it has been here almost two weeks.

I dragged my skeptical wife along. She wasn't too sure about going to see a "foreign film". I think she was expecting "Twenty One" with subtitles. I was expecting something a bit more uplifting, perhaps along the lines of "Remember the Titans". It definitely wasn't that, nor was it a full-length commercial for the show.

Afterwards, neither one of us wanted to ask the other what they thought. She finally said "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I in turn said "I understand why they didn't try to show it on our side of the river."

plot and ending details discussed here

She didn't like the way they dealt with the brother at the end. She thought he should have killed the bad guys instead. I reminded her that he was a bad guy.

As for the lady love, she reminded me of those women who gravitate to bad boys who disrespect and abuse them, while the nice guys strike out. I realize that this is a cynical view and does not take the environment or the cultural difference into account. I did find it ironic that as the older brother died in a pile of money, the younger brother had just won one of his own. So the lady simply goes from one wealthy life to another. Yes, she redeemed herself at the end, but I'm left to wonder how happy the "ever after" would be compared to the "exciting" lifestyle she was leaving behind.

Others have commented about the variances from how the show would actually work, at least in the US. I don't think anyone mentioned that the show ran live as opposed to the pre-recording that we are accustomed to. As with other variances, this was necessary to make the story work, and may or may not reflect reality with the Indian or other countries' versions.

As for the link between the show questions and his life experiences, I've found that this happens more often than not, and the movie makes this point nicely if unwittingly. It was just fortuitious that his questions were asked in the exact same chronological order as his life experiences.

To me, the line that summed up the movie had nothing to do with the show. It was when Jamal said "you wanted to see the real India, well this is it."

Ultimately I would describe it as a good story, but hard to watch. It's not for everyone. But on balance I liked it. It was interesting on many levels.

[dodgersteve182]

Will the Slumdog transcript be available for expert critique?

Until it's out on DVD, it might be difficult writing up an accurate transcript.

What??? You mean you're not one of those guys who holds his cell phone up to the screen???

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

Spoiler

The actor that came down in the helecopter (in Emma's favorite scene) was supposed to be Amitabh Bachchan, who was the original host of India's Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. His daughter-in-law is Aishwarya Rai, who rumor has it, had to marry a tree, because she is a manglick.