Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see what I now consider to be one of the best movies ever made: "Slumdog Millionaire". Directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting), the film follows the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an orphan who gets a spot on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". However, right before he has a chance to answer the last question, he is apprehended by authorities on charge of suspicion for fraud; they think he has cheated. Here the film begins to tell three stories at once. It shows Jamal being asked a question on the show. Before he answers each question, it cuts to his childhood and shows how he knows the answers to these rediculous trivia question. After an especially difficult question, it cuts again to Jamal being interrogated and tortured by the authorities.
Despite its "comedy" label on many websites (IMDB, box office mojo), the film tackles heavy-handed social issues. Poverty, child abuse, and religious warfare are all depicted in a realistic, and often disturbing, way. That isn't to say that the movie isn't funny. It is. But there were moments that impacted me so much that I came out of the movie with to different emotions simultaneously. The first was the heart-warming Shawshank Redemption feeling that can only be described by warm and fuzzy (the ending is stunning). The second was the same I got after watching "Atonement," that the world is a terrible, corrupt place where not even those with the best of intentions can redeem.

Together We Will Live Forever

This weekend I decided to re-alphabetize my DVD collection (yes, that is how I spend my free time). Stuffed inbetween two other movies a found a surprise. It was a copy of the movie "The Fountain" that I thought that I had lost months ago. Since I have no life, I decided to watch it. I had forgotten how much I loved this movie; its millenium-spanding plot, stunning visual elements, and Clint Mansell's minimalistic score continued to give me the chills. The story follows three seperate (but not really) timelines that all focus on one man's search for the tree of life. Hugh Jackman plays Tom (and Tommy and Tomas) who is determined to save his wife, Rachel Weisz, from her imminent death.

If you're confused at all by now, you should be. The plot is incredibly confusing, but that only adds to the impact that the film's final frames have to offer, and the mind-bending conclusion makes you think even more. But that's what so wonderful about this movie. Even though I first saw it two years ago, I try to piece together what really happened at the end.

What makes this more engaging than other science-fiction movies is its focus on character and thematic development instead of special effects and violence. Even though "The Fountain" contains both, neither of them are the focus of the story. Instead, they help directory Darren Aronofsky to tell the story. Here is a link to the film's trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM_NF8ZpqyE&feature=related

Twist Endings

I love twist endings. I love having my expectations for a film twisted in on themselves to reveal unseen truths about the characters and their previous actions. However, a twist ending is only good when the viewer is not expecting it.

Take for instance Frank Darabont's 1994 prison drama "The Shawshank Redemption". During its finale, the warden (and the viewer) discover that Andy (Tim Robbins) has not only escaped but that he had been digging a tunnel to get out for over twenty years, during which the film takes place. When I first saw the film, I had no idea that this would happen. Andy seemed very indifferent, spending his time reading books and making a chess set out of rocks from the prison courtyard. What he did and who he talked to seemed of no consequence. However, on repeat viewing I noticed how every word he said, everywhere he went, was to get himself closer to his goal: freedom. That's what is so wonderful about twists. They make viewing a movie for the second time even more enjoyable than the first.

Not all twist ending work out as planned. This is the case in "Wanted", a blood-laced and adrenaline-induced comic book adaptation with James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. Despite director Timur Bekmambetov's attempts to surprise the audience with McAvoy's sudden revalation that the man he was hired to kill is, this twist never took me. It seemed to me that in an already convulted plot, this twist seemed too routine to make an impact.

Film Scores

I'm obsessed with film scores. There, I said it. I am officially out of the film score closet. The reason I love them so much is that they give a film its of the emotion and pathos. If you have ever watched a movie on mute with subtitles on, you know what I mean. Without it, a film would be dull and boring.
Take, for example, M. Night Shyamalan's most recent film, The Happening. It was a marginal film with a really cool presence (plants are scheming to exterminate us!), and was very boring, sloppy (you could see the microphone dip down into the shot a few times). But worst of all, it was a suspense flick without the suspense! The reason, I propose to why this was is because of the score. Composed by James Newton Howard (King Kong, The Dark Knight) it lacks any moods whatsoever, turning instead to ambient noise that adds nothing to the drama onscreen. Even when the characters are in grave danger, Howard does nothing to try and increase the excitement and tension.
I am also secretly obsessed with disney movies.

Foreign Films

For some reason, I really really like foreign films. They seem to be, and yes, I am making a generalization, much more artful in their filming and the overall effect of the story is greater. Don't get me wrong, I was one of thousands of people who flocked to see The Dark Knight the first day it was out. I feel I watch, and enjoy, many more foreign films than the average person.



Among my favorites are The Lives of Others, Pan's Labyrinth, Amelie, La Vie en Rose, and Life Is Beautiful. I know that the amount of foreign films released here in the U.S. is only fraction of all that are made in their home countries; that only the "good ones" are released here. But I don't care. All I care about is that the foreign films that I see I like.