FILM REVIEW: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I haven't written any film reviews for this blog since I think The Dark Knight. Maybe because I haven't seen a lot of good films lately. There are a number of good ones that came out last year, but not really worth blogging. But this one... Wow.

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal, an uneducated Indian who joined Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. It narrates how he knew the answer to all of the questions in the contest, and basically the reason why he joined the show. It's actually a love story between Jamal and Latika, the love of his life, how they got separated and found each other in the end.

It's a very effective feel-good movie. I mean, I was smiling the last 15 minutes of the film, it was the best part of the movie. But I'm not saying that that's just the highlight of it. Slumdog Millionaire's got a lot of great moments. Jamal is a very likeable character. You get to follow him as a kid, how he got a famous actor's autograph, how he became a tourist guide in Taj Mahal and of course the tragic way he met Latika.

The film is moving. Maybe because all of the actors were great in it. The indifferent host of the show was annoying, Latika gets my sympathy anytime she's around, and Jamal's brother Salim was both irritating and relateable. It's just brilliant.

It's really hard to write a review without giving any spoilers that's why I'm having a hard time writing this, but I'd want you to see this for yourself. It is a really good movie in the veins of Pursuit of Happyness or As Good As It Gets. It's sort of a Rags to Riches story that guys would appreciate. Stories like these rarely come to the big screen, and rarer still to be very good. I liked it. Scratch that. I LOVED IT!!!

I especially loved the last 15 minutes of the movie. I think this has the best ending I've seen in a long while. You know it's the climax, but the way it was done, it shows how grand the story really is. Jamal's not just a simple call center help anymore... and his destiny at that point is about to be fulfilled. The drama, the tension, it's an edge of your seat moment. I'm such a sucker for those kinds of things.

SCORE: 10 out of 10.

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I watched this film in the office, and now, a few of my colleagues are glued to their youku site watching this movie. I'd say I've had a very productive day.