Ah, 1996. A year that movie stars were made. Will Smith in “ID4.” Billy Bob Thornton in “Sling Blade.” Matthew McConaughey in “A Time To Kill.” Edward Norton in “Primal Fear.” Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in “Swingers.” And, of course, Billy Zane in “The Phantom.”

The big hullabaloo at the Oscars was that all of the best picture nominees but one were indy movies. Big deal, sniffed Cam.

“The English Patient” – I’m with Elaine Benes on this one.

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“Jerry Maguire” - I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I still love just about everything about “Jerry Maguire,” despite its clunky moments.

“Secrets & Lies” – Other than “Naked,” which I saw under the influence of…something…I never have cared for Mike Leigh’s movies. Nor do I hate any of his movies, or find him to be a hack. But his movies don’t illicit anything more than a “that didn’t suck” outta me.

“Shine” - Really never got all the fuss over this one, either. I kinda hate it, in fact.

“Fargo” - From the lie that it’s based on true events to every aspect of the execution — everything about “Fargo” screamed instant classic. (more…)

Well after its phenomenal success of eight Oscars, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA’s, and $350 million at the boxoffice, “Slumdog Millionaire” has managed to stay alive. As much an amazing longshot victor as its hero, an urchin from the Mumbai slums cum tea server at a phone call center who wins a fortune in an Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” “Slumdog” has kept making news in ways deeply rooted in its own depiction of the world.

Recently the film’s British director Danny Boyle, serving as jury president of the 12th Shanghai Film Festival, confided during a panel discussion that on “Slumdog” he had shed the patronizing, “imperialist” mentality, relying heavily on a local Indian crew. Boyle also observed that while it was “regrettable” that Beijing imposed censorship restrictions on its filmmakers, he’d nonetheless love to work in China, as it would be a “challenge learning Mandarin.” Boyle neglected to mention that on “Slumdog” he’d skipped the challenge of learning Hindi, necessitating an Indian co-director, and also skipped the patronizing practice of paying Western wages, and the low pay for local child actors would fuel most of the subsequent controversies. (more…)

Easily the best of the five films nominated for Best Picture this year (which isn’t saying a whole lot), “Slumdog Millionaire“ can be summed up with the term, “highly original.” The story, how it unfolds, the cinematography, editing, score, end credits (of all things) and most of all, and most impressively, the tone. “Slumdog” is a living breathing thing that somehow shifts — frequently on a moment’s notice — from harrowing to exhilarating to touching. With a dip into Bollywood territory, director Danny Boyle, who jumps from genre to genre more successfully than any filmmaker since Billy Wilder, takes you into a completely foreign world for a wild, emotional ride that only fails in its ability to linger with you any longer than the walk to your car.

Our slumdog millionaire is Jamal Malik (Dev Patel). A slumdog because for all of his twenty-odd years he has hustled and barely held on in the worst slums of India; a millionaire because he’s captured his nation’s attention impossibly making it to all but the last round of the Hindi version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” (more…)