Slumdog Millionaire (Blu-ray) Release Date: March 31, 2009 Own it on Blu-ray and DVD Director: Danny Boyle Writers: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) and Vikas Swarup (novel) Stars: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Rajendranath Zutshi, Jeneva Talwar, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan MPAA Rating: R HoboTrashcan’s Rating:

Chances are you’ve heard of Slumdog Millionaire, the film that won Best Picture and seven other Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. However, since indie films are often tough to find in your local Cineplex (even ones as beloved and successful as Slumdog), it’s entirely possible that you haven’t actually seen the film. Luckily, Slumdog Millionaire was released today on Blu-ray and DVD, making it easier than ever to finally watch.

So what is Slumdog Millionaire actually all about? It’s the story of Jamal Malik, an uneducated 18-year-old from the slums of Mumbai, India who is one question away from winning the grand prize of 20 million rupees on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The makers of the show assume that Malik is cheating, so they turn him over to the authorities, who torture and interrogate him in an effort to uncover how he has been so successful on the game show.

Through a series of flashbacks, we discover how Jamal knew the answers to the questions – each answer coming from Jamal’s real-life experiences surviving in the slums of India. The flashbacks introduce us to Jamal’s older brother Salim and the love of Jamal’s life, Latika. Growing up, Jamal dreamed that the three street kids could be like The Three Musketeers, but fate, and his brother’s ulterior motives, keep that from becoming a reality. We also come to learn what motivated Jamal to go on Millionaire in the first place, a decision that had nothing to do with the 20 million rupee prize.

While the film goes to some very dark places, at its core it is a very sweet story about love and fate. Dev Patel’s portrayal of Jamal Malik has you rooting for the character from the very beginning of the film and Freida Pinto, who only has a few scenes in the movie, does a great job portraying the grown up version of Latika. Though she doesn’t have much screen time, she makes the most of the time she is given and has great chemistry with Patel. The kids who play the younger versions of Jamal, Salim and Latika all do a great job as well. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, who plays Youngest Jamal, does a phenomenal job in the funniest scene in the movie, which has infamously been dubbed the “Toilet Scene.”

The music in the film is also well done. All of the songs add something to the film, especially the two tracks from M.I.A. The dance number at the end of the film, which is a tribute to Bollywood films, is also a wonderful touch (and one of the charming bonus features included with the film shows just how much Patel struggled with the choreography of the scene before he finally nailed it).

Obviously, there was a lot of buzz surrounding this film, but I can gladly say that it truly lives up to the legendary hype. Director Danny Boyle and writer Simon Beaufoy crafted a beautiful story that is both heart-wrenching and inspirational. They’ve created a lovable main character who goes on an amazing journey and set the film in a world not often seen in American cinema. On Blu-ray, you truly appreciate the beautiful locations in the film, which really pop in high definition.

The film comes with an assortment of special features, the most interesting one being Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle and the Making of Slumdog Millionaire, a behind-the-scenes featurette that originally aired on British television. While Slumdog Dreams is your typical behind-the-scenes program, it does a great job showing the love Boyle and Beaufoy have for India. It also shows the struggle Boyle had communicating with the young actors on the set, who didn’t speak English (Boyle had to rely on hand gestures and translations back and forth from co-director Loveleen Tandan).

In addition to Slumdog Dreams, the Special Features include 12 deleted scenes, two audio tracks, a music video and a behind-the-scenes look at the aforementioned “Toilet Scene.” There is also a black and white short film called Manjha, which is a much darker and more twisted look at the life of children living on the streets of Mumbai.

The film itself is definitely worth watching and the two hours’ worth of special features should give those of you interested in taking a deeper look at the film plenty to sink your teeth into. I can’t recommend buying this film highly enough. It’s definitely worth it. And if you own a Blu-ray player, go for the Blu-ray version (which includes a digital copy of the film) – you’ll appreciate the beautiful locations in the film even more.

Written by Joel Murphy. Slumdog Millionaire is available Blu-ray and DVD today.

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Aaron R. Davis

As most of you know by now, the SCIFI Channel (I used to write for them, and they really did capitalize it like that) has changed its name to “SyFy.” It’s the same name, just spelled like a four year-old wrote it.

Because misspelled brand names are hip, the geniuses at the Mansquito network have picked out a new, phonetically identical, trademark-friendly typographical error to represent their fine programming schedule of Next Generation reruns and movies that can’t even get released on video.

The idea behind this stupidity is what you usually get from basic cable programming. It goes like this: “Hey! There’s not a channel devoted to [insert special interest here]! Let’s start one! Now that we’re finally carried on every cable system, let’s sell out the first chance we get to whatever multimedia conglomerate comes along first! Now let’s reconstitute this low-rated basic cable channel that people like into a little niche boutique that we can use to repurpose all of those reruns of old shows we’re syndicating! And something cheap but popular, like wrestling! And now let’s do some original programming! We’ll pay for it by selling more ad space! After all, we only have six hours a night of paid programming, we need more money! Reality shows are cheap – let’s make lots of those!”

But, occasionally, there’s a runaway hit, the channel starts to get some popular attention in the mainstream press, and the people at the parent network lap it up. They want to keep their little boutique channel in the news, so it becomes time to rebrand while pretending not to rebrand. It’s the same reason MTV never plays videos anymore and Cartoon Network has six new reality shows on their schedule.

And that’s what gets us this, from the “SyFy” press release: “By changing the name to SyFy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider range of current and future imagination-based entertainment beyond just the traditional sci-fi genre, including fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure.”

You see what they’re saying? Even though they’re the SCIFI Channel, ostensibly a channel devoted to programming of a science fiction nature, they’ve decided not to “limit” themselves to only showing programming of a science fiction nature. Maddening enough for you?

The funny/shitty thing is that no one would ever consider the SCIFI Channel a, well, science fiction channel. They delved into fantasy and mystery long ago, then lame reality shows with a horror/supernatural/asinine bent, and then took on wrestling in a desperate attempt to capture the all-important superstation demographic. The idea that the SCIFI Channel is the home of science fiction has been a joke among fans for a decade. Granted, SCIFI has been banned in my home ever since they canceled Farscape, but I see the commercials and I know what they’re airing. They’re about as devoted to science fiction as VH1 is to actually playing music. (VH1: We May Not Play Videos, But at Least Women Degrade Themselves for Brett Michaels Here.)

What’s ironic is that SCIFI just had its most successful year ever, mostly due to the critically-acclaimed Battlestar Galactica. Lots of people have theories about Galactica, so here’s mine: this show would not have survived on NBC, the parent network of SCIFI. There’s no way. Bionic Woman didn’t survive. Knight Rider won’t. The Internet would have you believe that Heroes is failing, if “second-highest-rated show on the network among 18-34 year olds” can be seen as a definition of failure. What is a monster hit on basic cable is not the kind of numbers they look for on a major network like NBC. SCIFI is successful because it airs science fiction, and now they want to run away from their image as a network that airs science fiction.

If this channel really wants to make a change in the way they run things, what they ought to do is start respecting science fiction instead of using it to make bank. They’ve claimed for 16 years to be a channel devoted to the science fiction fan, and once upon a time —when they bothered to air programs like SciFi Buzz and Mystery Science Theater 3000, that got what science fiction fans were about — they were. But now their commitment to science fiction is little more than countless airings of X-Files reruns, proud “Sci Fi Originals” like Supergator and treating fans of Farscape and Battlestar Galactica like they’re expendable. So it’s not like they’re really the SCIFI Channel anymore, anyway. They’re the Hastily Cobbled Together Out of Reruns and Cheapo Straight-to-Video Movies Channel. So does it really matter what stupid thing they call themselves, even if it looks like it’s supposed to be pronounced “Sigh-Fee” or “Siffy”?

Personally, I think they’ve picked out the perfect name: in Polish, “syfy” means “crap.”

Welcome to basic cable, Crap Channel!

Aaron R. Davis lives in a cave at the bottom of the ocean with his eyes shut tight and his fingers in his ears. You can contact him at samuraifrog@yahoo.com.

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Alcoholic and lactose intolerant, Meredith Palmer is definitely an interesting character. And while she might not be the best employee in the world, she is definitely fun at parties. Fearlessly tackling the role is Pennsylvania native Kate Flannery, who was nice enough to sit down and talk to us in 2006.

If you missed the interview then, here is your chance to read it now:
http://www.hobotrashcan.com/2006/04/04/one-on-one-with-kate-flannery/