MILK: Sean Penn is a revelation as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected into public office in California. The movie follows his character from when he opened a camera shop in San Francisco’s Castro district to his election into public office to his ultimate assassination by Dan White (a compelling Josh Brolin). Director Gus Van Sant’s passionate and immersive directorial flourishes ensure that there is never a dull moment in the entire film, and his decision to insert real footage into the movie lends the proceedings an extra feeling of authenticity that is simply irresistible. The highlight of the movie is easily the scenes where Milk gets into heated debates with a couple of homophobic politicians. These scenes are wonderfully written and raise a couple of points that leave you with a lot to think about.
THE READER: Are you kidding me? Last year we saw Clint Eastwood act and direct a movie, which is easily his best since “Mystic River.” For some reason, that movie did not receive a single nomination, yet a plodding, pretentious, and pointless drama like “The Reader” walks away with five nominations. The post WWII story, based on the book by Bernhard Schlink, follows a 15 year old boy named Michael Berg (David Kross) as he engages in an illicit affair with a 35-year old woman named Hannah Schmitz (Kate Winslet) for the duration of one summer. Then, as a college student, he attends a trial where Hannah is being tried as a Nazi war criminal. I saw the movie with Bell Ringer Web Master Ryan Townsend, who turned to me after the movie was over and said, “There was no point to that movie.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: This movie is a treasure, vibrantly directed, beautifully visualized and flawlessly acted by a cast of unknowns (with the exception of Irrfan Khan who was last seen in “The Namesake” and “The Darjeeling Limited”). “Slumdog Millionaire” tells the dark yet uplifting rage-to-riches tale of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a young man from the slums who finds himself a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” However, because he is doing better than many of the show’s more educated contestants, who “have never made it past 16,000 rupees,” he is taken in by the police and is accused of cheating. The majority of the movie is told in flashbacks, showing how certain events from Jamal’s life have helped him in answering every question on the show right. A heart-warming love story, a powerful character drama and an intelligent look at the Indian culture, “Slumdog Millionaire” goes some very dark places (one scene shows someone blinded with acid), yet in the end, it leaves you smiling and full of hope. I can’t wait to see it again!