movie recap: slumdog millionaire (2008)

slumdog millionaire follows the story of jamal, a young boy who grew up in the poorest of neighborhoods in mumbai, india. he's currently one question away from winning the indian version of 'who wants to be a millionaire' and has been arrested for cheating, the reasoning being that he grew up in said impoverished neighborhood. seeing as that there is no way someone like jamal (see: slumdog, most similar to an untouchable) could know all this information. jamal then tells his story, which the viewer sees through perfectly executed flashbacks, which end up piecing the story together.

i was a bit hesitant about watching this, considering the fact that i grew up with bollywood films. i mean the standard flick consists of a forbidden love story (with no kissing!), some songs sung in a choreographic fashion either in a meadow or with rain, some violence and usually runs anywhere from 3-4 hours in length.

this was a very well-crafted and overall incredible movie that anyone should be able to enjoy. and fyi: it's about 70% english, 30% subtitled hindi, so it shouldn't be TOO hard to follow. the movie did a seamless job in terms of working with the language barrier, i'd say.

slumdog millionaire is still slowly getting added to theaters across america, so keep an eye out for your local spots. i saw it about two weeks ago and forgot to post about it, but it's definitely a must see.

p.s. hit up the sound rack for SM, as it features a new MIA cut, among others. i'm pretty sure if i posted it, this post would be axed by blogger in no time.


grade: B+

-slumdog grizzly

movie recap: eagle eye (2008)

caught this flick last night. to clear up: i'm a sucker for governmental/cia/crime/terrorist/whatever movies, regardless of how shitty they looked. i mean i rented the sentinel for the sole reason that kiefer sutherland was in it. (24 REPRESENT!) but seriously, what the fuck was this?

this was one of the most disconnected, unrealistic and downright ridiculous movies i've ever seen in my life. visually speaking, the movie's incredible. cgi just keeps getting more and more realistic. but getting framed and being able to escape from a maximum security prison in less than 8 minutes of film time among COUNTLESS other things are just ridiculous. in my time, i've let the most outlandish things slide in the name of entertainment. first thing that comes to mind is jack bauer landing a fucking plane on a los angeles freeway.

several people told me that this movie was "great," "awesome" or "badass." but if i had to describe the movie in three words, they would be "shitty," "shit" and "shit."

shia laBUFF [sic] is a great actor. i mean, he's come a long way since even stevens, which was still awesome. even though this movie is a tanker, he's great in it.

so if you like completely unrealistic action movies, and can suspend disbelief for around two hours, then this is the movie of the year. otherwise, save your 8 bucks. stream it from a website or something.

grade: NO.

-grizzly's eye

movie recap: nick and norah's infinite playlist (2008)

so i finally managed to get into a movie theater (twice in one week!) and i ended up catching nick and norah's infinite playlist on opening night. yes, i realize i'm a little late, but that's just a part of being a contributor to this blog. aside from the inevitable "overrated" tag that this movie is going to get, it was a solid movie.

completely entertaining, not too long, decent cast and of course, a typical indie-based soundtrack to cater to the wannabe pitchforker's out there. the premise is your standard run of the mill teenage heartbreak-turns-confusion-turns-sad-turns-bitter love story between cera and his ex-girlfriend, which ultimately leads him to his musical soul mate, kat dennings. dennings was a mediocre choice for the role, and to be honest, ellen page would've nailed this. unfortunately, that would be retarded...you know, with JUNO and all.

if you liked juno and its dry humor, you'll probably like this one. nick and norah pales in comparison to juno, as far as flicks with michael cera go. he's a cool dude, but from the looks of it, he's been typecasted into this certain role for a long time. he has a lot of potential, but until that breakthrough falls into place for him, i don't see many more movies coming from him. i really don't care though. HE WAS GEORGE MICHAEL ON ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.

the soundtrack rules for the hipster douchebag in all of us. from vampire weekend to devendra banhart to band of horses, the soundtrack definitely has a fair share of credible namedrops.

but to sum up, the movie is entertaining and cute enough to bring a lady along for a date.

grade: C+

p.s. am i the only one who wishes where's fluffy? was real?

p.p.s. here's vampire weekend's (sorry jerome) brand new track, featured on the soundtrack:

vampire weekend - ottoman


-grizzly's infinite playlist

movie review: the wackness (2008)

so i caught the wackness last night, and i'm completely content with it. to clear it up, the movie isn't necessarily groundbreaking or amazing, but it is definitely well-done. aside from a few cheesy lines (especially the line where the movie's title originated from, haha), there is solid dialogue.

josh peck (yes, from drake and josh) has a bright future. the only advice that i hope someone has already given him is to try not to be pigeonholed into one role and one genre, like john cho. but the transition in his roles from drake and josh to the wackness is extreme, and i feel like there should've been some sort of gap that needed to be bridged.

there was a solid cast, too. ben kingsley is awesome, aside from being extremely creepy. now, i'll save you from spoilers, but the images from one scene have forever been burned into my mind. the worst aspects of the movie were method man's god awful jamaican accent (i'm not convinced) and mary-kate olsen as a drugged out hippie. seriously.

above all, the soundtrack is incredible. any fan of old school hip-hop will be more than happy to see mentions and clips of a tribe called quest, biggie smalls, nas and biz markie among many others. aside from being historically accurate, the soundtrack was intertwined with the movie in true spike lee fashion.

oh, and pick up/find the soundtrack immediately.

grade: B-

also, i'll leave you with this creepy picture of josh peck:


-grizzly