Sunday, March 15, 2009

Slumdog millionaire craze, or the lack of it

Everyone's talking about "Slumdog Millionaire" when the topic of "Which nice movies to watch?" comes up. Even my boss was telling me about it excitedly & highly recommended it. Almost every movie review I read gave it high ratings. Some people claimed they'll watch it a 2nd time. With all the hype about the movie, I decided maybe I should watch it myself to understand the craze over the movie. So I joined my siblings & friends to watch it yesterday afternoon.

My review? Yes, I enjoyed the movie but feel it's over-hyped. I liked the cinematography & the music used. The storyline was refreshing & the actors were quite good. However i didn't feel it's a 'feel-good' movie despite its fairy-tale ending for the star-crossed lovers.

How can one go away feeling good after looking at the living conditions of the poor in the slums? And the kids being crippled in order to beg & earn money for an organization? And how people despise the poor & get suspicious & jealous when they do well? As for the ending where the lovers finally unite, I didn't feel anything for them. I felt they lack chemistry and it's even more obvious during the dance they did.

I would recommend this movie to someone who wants to watch a different type of movie. A mix of documentary, comedy, drama & hope. Plus good cinematography. But no 2nd time. Unless you seriously want to fantasize about becoming a millionaire based on life experiences & luck.


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