I liked it overall, and quite frankly there were moments where it was a little dusty in the theater, but not the obvious times you may think you could pinpoint out. I liked the general style, the way it build tension and the acting… well, during the children’s/growing up scenes anyways, where it seemed that they were going to develop into a more epic character arc. I was really digging on Slumdog for a good time, and then they’re adults all of a sudden and aside from the scene atop the building, those adult scenes, including the reconciliation, are a whole lot of ’so what?’ that is neither bad nor great. These characters are definitely static. Salim’s death should be more tragic, the reconciliation should have been more emotional, and the kiss should have been more of a payoff, but at some point it became so Point A Point B Point C Applause, and yes, I will drag out the P word and say it panders and I even think the (first) ending may make Kurt groan.

In other words, it is yet ANOTHER Danny Boyle movie where the third act doesnt live up to the first two, but in this case, its actually the final act being too conventional rather than the other way around.

Mind you, I’m doing all this over what I enjoyed quite a bit overall. It’s not going to be in my top 10, and a lot of whats great about the movie can make up for its flaws to the point that I was able to walk out of the theater after a pretty shitty day feeling quite happy I watched it. It is definitely fun enough.

I will dare coin a term for it though. With its specific style, influences, method of storytelling, static characters despite all these tales that should suggest more changes in them as people, and overt sentimentality Slumdog Millionaire is really…

City of Gump

When I haven’t heard of a director in a while, I imagine him or her languishing in obscurity, directing unreleased movies or straight-to-DVD releases. Or dropping out of the business altogether to sell real estate or something like that.

Does anyone have interesting stories of once “big” directors who are now doing strange jobs like cleaning toilets? (Or maybe once “big” directors even comb sites like Film Junk to see if anyone remembers them and so can give a first-hand response?)

I did send Sean some scans of my neighbourhood cats. So hopefully, they will be added to the post. You can’t go wrong with cats. Everyone loves looking at cats. Sean said he forwarded the photos to Jay who has the episode of Cantankerous in his hands right now.

Liney, my initial thought for a title was Spot/Dog with Spot and Dog being the separate names each of the guys have for the dog. When talking about Capt. America with Will Smith, we should have brought up Obama as you astutely pointed out.

Lunch break is over!

Any of you seen the 80’s Captain America movie?

Any chance of getting Tom on the filmjunk podcast? The more the merrier!

Personally I don’t know the character, but I agree it’s probably not a good idea for the reasons you mention. I like Will Smith, but I think each actor should only get one shot at the super hero thing and then move on…

Also enjoying Greg’s posts from the festival…keep up the good work guys.