Slumdog Millionaire Movie Review

We saw Slumdog Millionaire, and it was a pretty great movie. Telling the story of a boy who grew from a scrappy orphan living in the Mumbai slums, to a teenage tea-server on the verge of becoming a millionaire, it's one of the most engaging movies I've seen all year. Slumdog Millionaire does a great job of plopping you into the middle of Mumbai with all the bright colors, sounds and madness associated with the slums.

The director Danny Boyle gave a very realistic portrayal of the filth and destitution in the slums, without ever sacrificing his eye for the beauty and youth that permeates the landscape. It's a fun film, although it has some dark moments (including a graphic scene where a man who kidnaps children and uses them as beggars, blinds them in order to make more money). It's like a hybrid of the movies City of God and Oliver Twist mixed with Carlito's way.

So all in all go see Slumdog Millionaire. It is funny and scary, heartwarming and suspenseful all wrapped in one. Plus there's an awesome Bollywood musical dance number at the end. How can you beat that?