A Dangerous Method by David Cronenberg

Legendary canadian auteur filmmaker, David Cronenberg, delivers his latest cinematic effort A Dangerous Method after four years apart from motion pictures. A film that goes back to the birth of psychoanalysis and its pioneers Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Starring are Viggo Mortensen as Freud, Michael Fassbender as Jung, Keira Knightley as Sabina Spielrein and Vincent Cassel as Otto Gross.

Jung, a Swiss Christian, and Freud, an Austrian Jew, were psychologists who disagreed over the way patients should be treated and this gave birth to Psychoanalysis. Everything Freud did was from a sexual perspective. Jung was more ortodox by helping patients recover to be functional beings. Jung began treating Sabina, a hysteric russian woman who was molested by her father, that her intelligence allowed her to become a doctor. After several months of treatment, Jung and Sabina began a sadomasochistic affair which eventually "cured" her. Jung ended up using extramarital sex as an escape to his boring married life. Freud hardly convinced the status-quo that his theories would play an important part in the study of human behavior.

At the end, this two important social scientists were nullify by the World Wars that later arrived. Freud ended up committing an assisted suicide, while being in exile in England, in the verge of World War II. Jung died tormented and hopeless in the 1960s.

The performances in this film were brilliant. Keira Knightley made a great performance as the hysteric Sabina Spielrein and Viggo Mortensen made a very credible Freud personification, smoking tobacco and a jewish-nose included. The scenery was beautiful and served as background to the early 20th century setting. Cronenberg added another good film to his prolific and versatile repertoire. If "A history of Violence" and "Eastern Promises" (in both films Mortensen was the lead) were violent and gory as his earlier work, this witty flick puts him in the list of the greatest North American auteur filmmakers without a doubt. 8/10 stars.

Melancholia by Lars von Trier

Melancholia is the newest film by danish auteur filmmaker Lars von Trier. Starring are Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard (Eric from True Blood), Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt.

The story evolves around Justine (Dunst) who is getting married to Michael (Skarsgard), in a larger-than-life wedding paid by her wealthy brother-in-law John (Sutherland), who is married to Justine's sister Claire (Gainsbourg). Justine's relationship with Claire is not the best. Also their parents, Gaby (Rampling) and Dexter (Hurt), hate each other. After several events during wedding day, Justine ends up living at her sister's mansion. They wait there for Melancholia, a strange planet about to collide with Earth, and everything will change forever.

Lars von Trier tells the story in two different parts. 1st part is Justine's wedding day and 2nd part is Claire's family life at the mansion. Both of them are part of the end of the world story of Melancholia hitting planet Earth.

The camera shots are very reminiscent of his Dogme 95 days. They follow the characters with no apparent purpose as the actors wander through the gorgeous and iconic settings. As the story comes to an end, all the shots made perfect sense. The photography and editing are very interesting as well as strange, but serve the purpose of telling the unconventional story, just as prior's von Trier films.

Dunst performance is her best seen so far. She won the Best Actress Award at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. She also sounds for at least, an Oscar nomination. This isn't for baring all her clothes but for the dramatic scenes that compose her interpretation of a depressed and confused Justine.

During Cannes last edition, von Trier made some politically incorrect comments about sympathizing with Hitler, something that made him "persona non grata" at the prestigious festival and banned him from competition.

All in all, its very good storytelling about the end of the world told by the best Scandinavian filmmaker of the last 20 years. Entertaining, unique and somewhat controversial. 8/10 stars.

The Skin I Live In by Pedro Almodóvar

The Skin I Live In is the new film by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. Starring are Antonio Banderas as Dr. Robert Ledgard, Marisa Paredes as Robert's mom Marilia and Elena Anaya as his patient Vera Cruz. All of whom have appeared in previous movies by the legendary manchego filmmaker.

Dr. Robert, an innovative plastic surgeon, has invented a powerful synthetic skin. He has lost his family to tragic events and therefore uses his time to develop his scientific experiments on his guinea pig, Vera. His mother Marilia has return to help him in the house duties. Life is getting better for Robert but unexpected events will get things back to the usual.

The story is very Almodóvar-like in many aspects. The dark humor, the shocking themes and dialogs, the bright colors of the scenery, the feminine identity, Art and music presenting the tone, homosexuality in some form, nonlinear storytelling using flashbacks, a movie inside the movie itself, strong sex scenes and a final twist at the end are all elements in this flick.

The performances by Elena Anaya and Banderas are great. Anaya's unconventional role uses more body language than words, making it very interesting. Bandera's character is a bad guy with the social acceptance to do whatever he wants because of his profession. Both are worth any nomination in the festival circuit.

Almodóvar never dissapoints on my book. His stories are unique and told in an original and bizarre way. If you have not seen any of his movies, avoid this. If you are a fan, then sit back and enjoy, his latest entertaining gem. This film was nominated for the Palm D'ore at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. 8 out of 10 stars.

50/50: A Jonathan Levine Film

50/50 is the new film by director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness). Starring are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, Seth Rogen as his friend Kyle, Anjelica Huston as Adam's Mom, Anna Kendrick as therapist Katherine and Bryce Dallas Howard as his girlfriend Rachael.

Adam is a young radio writer who suddenly gets a rare type of cancer. His life torn apart but with the help of Kyle, Katherine and his family, his journey becomes one of self-discovery and acceptance.

The film goes back and forth between comedy and drama. Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes an outstanding performance that is really Academy award nominee material. Adam is one of those characters that you feel happy for them when things are getting better and very sad when things go bad. Seth Rogen does the same funnyman character we are accustomed to see and Anna Kendrick's character brings up the feelgood elements of falling in love and sexual tension with the main character.

It is all based of a true story. The script being penned by real-life "Adam", Will Reiser. He got cancer while working as a writer for HBO's Da Ali G show and his best buddy at that time was actually Seth Rogen, who plays the friend in the movie.

Worth seeing if you are into switching emotions in a limited time period. Avoid it if you hate sad movies or Seth Rogen type comedy.

7.5 of 10 stars.

Drive: Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive is the new film of danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. Starring are Ryan Gosling as a movie stunt driver, Carey Mulligan as his love interest, Bryan Cranston as Gosling's boss and Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman as the L.A. crime bosses.

Driver lives a quiet life between his two jobs as a movie stunt driver and a mechanic in a car repair shop. Because of his badass driving skills, sometimes at night, he works as a getaway driver in heists.

In his apartment building lives Irene with his son Benicio, both with whom Driver has began a heartfelt friendship that adds spice to his apparently boring life existence.
When Benicio's dad comes back from jail and needs to do a last roobery in order to pay for a crime debt, Driver helps him but things get out of hand and everything goes downward spiral after this. A bloodshed tour de force that can only be stop by Driver's love for Irene.

The film builds up with an intensity that at the end seems like a whole different movie. The main character who at the beginning speaks in monosyllables and smiles at the end becomes a bad-ass vigilante type, so cold-blooded that scares his love interest away. Gosling's performance is marvelous. He perfectly incarnates an oxymoron (an almost innocent cold blooded slasher).

A movie that combines gore and romance in a non-formulaic way can't go wrong. It is a very entertaining flick which will probably earn Gosling an Oscar nomination. Movie and TV stars like Cranston (Breaking Bad) , Brooks (Weeds) and Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) make a great supporting cast with badass performances as well. Go see it if you are into ironic-type characters, gore or action-packed films. Avoid it, if you are looking for a romantic happy ending type. 4 out of 5 stars.

Beastie Boys Short Film

Beastie Boys-Fight For Your Rights (Revisited) Short Film.

Featuring Will Farrell, John C Reilly, Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Stanley Tucci, Susan Surandon, Rainn Wilson, Danny Mcbride, Seth Rogen, Ted Danson, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Rashida Jones, Mike Mills, Roman Coppola, Amy Poehler, Alicia Silverstone, Laura Dern, Kristen Dunst, Maya Rudolph, Orlando Bloom, etc.

New flicks from the usual auteurs

Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime


Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void


Chris Nolan's Inception


Robert Rodríguez's Machete

The Limits of Control by Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch's new film is called The Limits of Control. Starring is Isaach De Bankolé with supporting roles by John Hurt, Bill Murray, Gael García Bernal, Tilda Swinton, Óscar Jaenada and Paz de la Huerta.

The loner (De Bankolé) travels throughout various Spanish cities meeting with strange characters in Cafés who exchange with him matchboxes containing instructions in codes. Several vignettes with repetition of sequences, stunning photography and minimalist dialogues.

The mysterious characters talk to the loner about music, art, bohemian life and other themes that reflect Jarmusch's view. It is constructed very smoothly but without the unity of his prior work, although the nudity and the multilingual scenes is a reference to this other films. Overall is an art film that has a lot of abstract messages, with non-acting performances that are followed by the camera. Definitely, his most incoherent film and not for everybody (specially those not familiar with his other work).

Funny People by Judd Apatow

The third film by comedy writer/director, Judd Apatow, is named Funny People. Starring are Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana and Leslie Mann. The story of the comedian, George Simmons (Sandler), who after being diagnosed with a terminal illness decides to hire up-coming comedian, Ira Wright (Rogen), as his personal assistant and ghost writer. Both of them have failing careers, Wright's roommates Leo Koening (Hill) and Mark Taylor Jackson (Schwartzman) have better gigs than him and Simmons lives a lonely superficial life while still loving his ex-fiancee Laura (Mann), now married to aussie business man Clarke (Bana) and with two girls (both played by the real-life daughters of Apatow and Mann; Maude and Iris Apatow).

Apatow's proves himself again as a comedy genius. Original stories with an actual entertaining plot to it. Mixing romance and drama with those jokes for laughing-out-loud. Sandler and Rogen complement each other very well on-screen. Sandler's unforced jokes with a serious face makes jokes funnier and Rogen's witty punchlines are off-the-hook. Overall great acting by the ensemble cast and great cameos by rappers RZA and Eminem, and comedians Paul Raiser, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick and Ray Romano. Good soundtrack, real video footage from Sandler's beginnings, fake movies made just for the film , pop-culture references and unconventional storytelling makes this film, Apatow's best effort yet. If you wanna laugh your lungs out, run to the big screen right now.

The International by Tom Tykwer

The International is the latest feature film by German director, Tom Tykwer (director of Run Lola Run and The Perfume: The story of a Murderer). Starring are Clive Owen and Naomi Watts with a little cameo by Ben Wishaw (The Perfume and I'm not There).

An action-thriller that follows Interpol agent Salinger (Owen) with the help of NY D.A.'s officer (Watts) attempting to uncover an arms deal scheme by a International bank based on Luxembourg. They travel through Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul following the bank's greedy manners to control arms deals in Third World African and Asian countries.

Tykwer's take on international action-thrillers (think Bourne's series) is actually very good. It has an intelligent social commentary on how these international banks control governments, corporations and individuals by generating an infinite debt. The photography throughout the European, Asian and American cities is stunning. The camera shots and the editing construct a suspense storytelling that keeps you wondering how it's going to end.

Owen's performance is very credible but Watts' role seems like an excuse to add a female character to an entire testosterone driven cast. The NY Guggenheim scene exceeds the shots-fired barrier for my taste but one thing I sure like was that it did not end in an Owen-Watts romance like a predictable film of this type will end. Kudos to Tykwer for an enjoyable social-awareness feature that stands alone in that sort of modern Hollywood genre.

Rudo y Cursi by Carlos Cuarón

Rudo y Cursi is the first feature film directed by mexican screenwriter Carlos Cuarón. The movie is produced by Cha Cha Cha, a company integrated by fellow mexican directors Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Del Toro. Starring are Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna with supporting roles by puertorrican actress Jessica Mas and argentinean actor Guillermo Francella.

The story of brothers Tato "Cursi" Verdusco (Gael) and Beto "Rudo" Verdusco (Diego) who work in a plantation in their poor Mexican town. They also play in the local soccer team. One day a scout, Batuta (Francella), arrives and watches them playing. Tato is the first who is drafted to play at a soccer club in DF called "Deportivo Amaranto" but he also wants to be a singer. Rudo eventually is scouted to another team in DF to play as the goalie. They both become famous players but Cursi falls for a beautiful model (Mas) who is a social climber and Rudo becomes an avid gambler. Both brothers are against each other at the final soccer game of their lives.

Cuarón's debut as a director is very-well accomplished. The photography is great because of the contrast between the poor coastal mexican towns and the urban life at the DF. The story flows very smoothly without flashbacks or any goofy camera tricks that enhances a non-linear storytelling. His brother's camera work, like long takes are seen a couple of times throughout the film as well as the use of a voice-over narrator who explains the context. Gael and Diego's acting complement very well the kind of funny but very real story that Cuarón tries to tell. The script resembles his shorts like "Me la Debes" (You Owe Me One) and his famous movie "Y tu mamá también" in the sense of being a simple, funny, sexy and thought-provoking drama that can be enjoyed anytime.

Carlos Cuarón along with brother Alfonso, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo Arriaga and Carlos Reygadas are the new generation of mexican filmmakers who are making spanish-speaking cinema stand for itself nowadays.

Zack and Miri make a porno by Kevin Smith

Zack and Miri make a porno is the latest film by indie writer/director,Kevin Smith(View Askew Productions). Starring are Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Traci Lords and Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office).

The story of Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks) who are roommates that run out of money to pay the bills so they decided to film a porno movie to raise money. Their friend Delaney (Robinson) has a little extra money so Zack borrows it to film their new adventure. They began looking for actors and actress (i.e. Bubbles played by Lords) for a couple of extra scenes besides their "first time" having sex. After several events, Zack and Miri realize they are more than simple roommates.

Kevin Smith's trademark humor is there and combined with Apatow's usual suspects like Rogen, Banks and Robinson make a heck of a good funny tour de force film. It is a very simple story, more about love and finding something you like to do than actually making a porno. The film is making fun of that over abundant celebrity sex tapes but uses it to tell a good and funny story about finding love.

On a side note, the film also used an alternate poster because the title caused some controversy for having the word "porno" in it.

Control by Anton Corbijn

Control is the biopic about Ian Curtis, late vocalist of English post-punk band Joy Division. The film is based on Deborah Curtis book "Touching from a distance" and is directed by acclaimed rock photographer Anton Corbijn. Starring are Sam Riley (Ian), Samantha Morton (Deborah) and Alexandra Maria Lara as belgian mistress Annik Honoré.

It presents Curtis' troubled short life that ended in May 1980 by the way of suicide. It covers from his early days as a Manchester lad in love with Bowie, his early marriage with Deborah, his absent parenthood to Natalie, the forming of Joy Division (first named Warsaw), his epilepsy and seizures during concerts, his affair with a Belgian groupie, his depression, his problems with Deborah and finally his struggle with fame in the verge of their first USA tour.

The film shows also contemporary bands like Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols and even a cameo by punk poet John Cooper Clark that gives a real edge to the film. It is very well photographed with Corbijn's trademark black and white shots. The soundtrack, full of the band's classics, was played by the real actors. And Riley's performance was outstanding. He portrayed Curtis was a depressed young adult who felt so much guilt by his actions that decide to end his life and become a rock n roll martyr.

The Burning Plain by Guillermo Arriaga

The Burning Plain is the first film directed by acclaimed mexican screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel; all directed by fellow mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. And also wrote, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada directed by actor turned director Tommy Lee Jones). Starring are Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Lawrence and Joaquim de Almeida.

The story of Mariana (Lawrence) who lives with her family in a mexican border town. Her mother (Basinger) is having a clandestine affair with a mexican man (Almeida). After several events, she meets the mexican man's son with whom she later had a little girl, Maria. Time passes, Sylvia (Theron) has a tormented life as a restaurant hostess in Portland who has promiscuous sex with several men. Her ex teenage lover, Santiago, has a plane crash resulting on him asking a friend, Carlos, who along with his daughter go and look for Mariana so that they can see each other for the first time.

Arriaga still uses his trademark multiple stories that are connected but with a little change, is only one story in different times and spaces. There is an "accident" that connects the characters and storylines (the plane crash) as in his previous movies (Amores Perros and 21 grams; car crash and Babel; the gun shot). For a first time director is very well told, it runs back and forth between the three stories and reveals the facts gradually as it evolves.

The photography and the music fits perfectly with the great performances by Theron and Basinger. The use of both spanish and english language gives a more realistic tone to the film. Arriaga proved that he can be a good writer but also can direct a good complex and entertaining film.

Los Abrazos Rotos by Almodóvar

Los Abrazos Rotos is the latest work by castilian-manchego writer/director Pedro Almodóvar. Starring are usual collaborator and Academy award-winning actress Penélope Cruz (as Lena), Lluís Homar (Mateo Blanco/Harry Caine), Blanca Portillo (Judit García) and Lola Dueñas (Lip reader).

Mateo Blanco is a film director who went blind and becomes his alter-ego Harry Caine to forgive his past. In his final film "Chicas y Maletas" he tried to do a comedy and met the love of his life, Lena. Lena has a relationship with an old rich man who is the producer of the film. He, as an act of jealousy, uses his son to film every step of the filming and a lip reader that can translate every word said during the set. The story goes back and forth from Madrid 1994 to Madrid 2008, where Mateo is telling the story to Diego, one of his employees.

The film, the 17th feature for the Spaniard director, is very well edited, directed and told. The scenes are joined perfectly in true Almodóvar style, the use of different camera shots to see the storytelling as unconventional as possible and the colors are mind-blowing. The usual themes are there: love, betrayal, homosexuality, lies, secrets, etc. You passed from laughing out loud with his witty humor to feel pity because of the way things finally turned out. He point outs references to the Spanish political arena, his previous films and even a fake vampire movie named "Dona Sangre".

One downgrade is that lacks the sick twists his previous films had. The clock stops at more than two hours but is at-large an entertaining film, as everything "El Deseo" does. Is not a masterpiece like "All about my mother" but worth checking out.

Blindness by Fernando Meirelles

Blindness is the latest film by brazilian director, Fernando Meirelles (City of God and The Constant Gardener). It is an adaptation of the novel, "Ensaio sobre a cegueira", by portuguese Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago. Starring are Julianne Moore (Doctor's Wife), Mark Ruffalo (Doctor), Alice Braga (The Dark Glasses), Danny Glover (The Black Eye Patch) and Gael Garcia Bernal (King of Ward Three).

An epidemic of white blindness attacks the city and its first victims are quarantined without much food nor help from the authorities. The Doctor's Wife is the only one able to see but keeps it a secret from the rest. Mayhem overcomes as one of the three wards (Ward Three led by a self-proclaimed king and a previously blind man) imposes the other two wards, selling food for the valuables and having sex with their women. The people from the outside world eventually gets the blindness and the world falls into an apocalyptic stage where chaos and destruction overcomes civilization.

Meirelles adapts this literary classic very outstandingly. Through the images we feel how the characters struggle with their sudden blindness. The white color is abundant in all the shots as well as the light that gives this atmosphere of hopelessness. Rare camera shots as in his previous movies (City of God-esque shots in the rape scenes). The storytelling is unconventional and the use of some characters as narrators apart from the main storyline give richness to the story. We get suspense, violence, dramatic and feel-good scenes throughout the entire movie.

The themes presented are human relationships and how they remain the same although we cannot see each others differences. Some people try to control others and others gather to live better. The politics where the government handles disasters in a not humanly way. Also when humans don't have the power to do something they understand more how is to live without a disability. The movie as well as the novel is a critique on the human flaws that divide us and make us vulnerable when major things occur.

This movie was very under looked in this past film award season because of the social commentary or the artsy way Meirelles presented it. But it was a good flick, well acted, written and directed, that can make us think about life and the course that has taken civilization.

The Limits of Control Trailer

The Limits of Control is the new flick by acclaimed indie director, Jim Jarmusch.

Lexicon Devil: A Germs Documentary

Lexicon Devil: A Germs Documentary is the new documentary about the infamous late 70's punk/hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, The Germs, and it's singer/leader, Darby Crash. The film is scheduled to be released in 2009 and in the trailer we see never-before-seen footage of the Germs live performances. The documentary has all the usual suspects like Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Alice Bag, etc. Also has appearances by Fat Mike and Flea. After, the germs biopic (which was not so good) this seems like a good piece of work. Can't Wait.

The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky

The Wrestler is the new film by acclaimed indie director, Darren Aronofsky (PI and Requiem for a dream). Starring are Mickey Rourke as old-school wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, Marisa Tomei as aged-stripper Cassidy and Evan Rachel Wood as Randy's daughter.

Randy, a legendary wrestler from the 80s, is wrestling 20 years later because is the only thing he knows and is his life support. He struggles to pay the rent and to stay in shape, so he also works in a supermarket deli and fixes himself with some roids, respectively. He frequents a stripper bar for cheering his life up and flirts with his favorite stripper, Cassidy. He has no relationship with his daughter, Stephanie. After a hardcore match, Randy has a heart attack, resulting in not being able to wrestled again. He looks for his daughter to tell her, but she does not want to relate to him. Randy's life goes downhill when he cannot even get company nor love from his favorite stripper and only "friend". So he returns to wrestling, the only good thing he does, no matter what are the consequences.

Aronofsky's look at the decadent life of an old school wrestler who is trying to revive his old illustrious career. Visually is the simplest of his films (no cool shots and no fast editing), but is a closer look to a simple story of having to live with your circumstances, having to endure the rough life of being alone and not being able to at least do what you love. A good element of the direction is that at first, you don't get to see Randy's face (a lot of back shots of Rourke's big body and long blond hair) for the sake of good storytelling. The emotions of decadence and pain are well presented with the camera shots of dirty places, the quiet trailer home, the dressing rooms and the strip clubs (as in Requiem for a dream when you feel that emotion of sickness, pain and decadence all in once).

Rourke's role is very well-done as he was himself a wrestler for a couple of time and the looks are there. Tomei's performance as the stripper who feels old for the job (the same as Randy) but still is doing it because is her only income, is greatly performed as well. But the important thing about everything is the story itself and the emotions it provokes as you watch it (the pain in the hardcore match, the sadness in Randy's attempts to get back his daughter and the pity for that wrestler who in the outside world can't make it). Great film overall, unconventional but very good.

Mickey Rourke won the Golden Globe and Bafta for Best Actor and Aronofsky won the Golden Lion in the Venice Film Festival. Rourke and Tomei are nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is the latest film by versatile english director, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, etc). The screenplay, adapted by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), was based on the novel "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup. The story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an orphan from the slums of Bombay, who is playing the indian version of the game show "Who wants to be a millionaire". He earns 10 million rupees by answering all the correct answers but when the final question comes, only the destiny will tell if he is going to win.

Boyle created one of the best films of the new century. A visually striking and deeply moving story of the destiny of a young orphan who is in search of the love of his life, a girl named Latika (Freida Pinto). It evolves around the development throughout the years of the city of Bombay in India, when a pair of brothers, Jamal and Salim, grew up alone and having to survive the tough life in the streets. The game show serves as focal point to tell the story of Jamal as a homeless kid who learn from life itself, the things to survive. These things learned are luckily the answers for the game show, for him the destiny was written.

The storytelling is original, told from the point of view of Jamal, in the game show and in the police station, explaining how he knew all the answers and how was his life prior to appearing in the show. It is constructed as a journey through the colorful streets of India. From the Taj Mahal to the dirtiest slum from the poorest house to the wealthiness of today's indian economic growth. It has a City of God-esque feel to it with the violence of the streets but with comedy elements and the feel-good scenes of a good "Bollywood" film. The music goes great with the images and the story is well-connected in every sense. It is a celebration of living without fear, never giving-up and hope, that any human being can relate to. Boyle proves being a great film-maker who can adapt to any kind of story or environment.

The movie won 4 Golden Globes (Best Movie, Best Screenplay, Best Music and Best Director) and is nominated for 10 Academy Awards.