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"[Slumdog Millionaire is] gripping and exhilarating, if a little silly, and even if, of the 2009 Academy Award nominees for Best Picture that I've seen, the strongest in my opinion remains Clint Eastwood's Changeling."

I concur. Changeling is an affecting and sublime piece of filmmaking, which was head and shoulders above the competition last year - Jolie also deserved the best actress statuette for a performance that was vulnerable and entirely believable.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 4:36 AM)

Actually Changeling was not nomianated for Best Picture, Michael. I have seen the films that actually were and that list (Slumdog and Milk aside) was a big joke IMO. Espeically with much better contenders like Wall-E, The Wrestler, Doubt, The Dark Knight (this one would have given them twice as many ratings...),and maybe even the flawed Revolutionary Road not selected so we can make room for that "masterpieces" that The Reader and Benjamin Button were.

I'm still to see Changeling but I certainly felt Kate Winslet won for a performance that was not one of her best works. Angelina Jolie is a very underrated actress IMO (as well as an overrated personality) so I am sure I will enjoy it.

HOWEVER I must say I really disagree with your view (I am assuming it was... or perhaps maybe an afterthought?) that the film is "nothing more" than a promotional piece for WWTBAM... "Nothing more" is too strong of a term... I was actually surprised that the people behind WWTBAM allowed it to be the center program for this film considering it portrays it (at least the India version) as being corrupt and having a host that is nothing short of a pompous dick. What sort of promotion is this? I still applaud them, the film would not have had the same power had it taken place in a fictitional game show.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 5:45 AM)

Did you see the new David Lynch film, Inland Empire? I don't think any film yet has handled the smeary digital look so well.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 4:32 PM)

Oh, and either way, I was always surprised by the great praise for the look of Slumdog. Anthony Dod Mantle is a genius, but he's done better work and a lot of the time the digital problems simply don't fit the scene. And yeah, the milky blacks are especially annoying. Nothing takes me out of a film quicker.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 4:35 PM)

Have you seen City of God, Michael? I don't believe it's out on Blu-Ray yet... (though it's one of those films that scream for a high definition release) but I think it's an interesting film to watch as many people have pointed out how similar it is to Slumdog.

However it's pretty dark stuff... it does make Slumdog look like an upbeat, feel-good film... as it's been promoted.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 5:40 PM)

I think "Slumdog Millionaire" has both very light-hearted and very grim moments. Danny Boyle was able to fit both aspects into the film and he balanced them just in the right way. Those darker scenes help to give the story more substance - a film about kids from the slums cannot really be all happy.

I also liked "Changeling" a lot, but I don't really agree that it's better than Slumdog. Well, to be fair, it's difficult to compare them as they are two completely different films. What I didn't like about "Changeling" is that its characters fall a bit too much into black and white, "good" and "bad" categories. The film is not as over-dramatized as some other Hollywood productions based on real stories, but still some aspects could have been done better. (Some spoilers following) In the film e.g. Christine Collins isn't released from the psychopathic ward until her attorney secures a court order for her release, while in reality police captain Jones went on questioning the boy after Collins had been committed to the ward. She was released after the boy had revealed his real identity to Jones. I always dislike it when real events are changed in films in order to have a more dramatic story or in order to portray someone as more "evil". Still all in all "Changeling" is one of the best films of last year, mostly based on fact and it features a great performance by Angelina Jolie as well as good direction by Eastwood.

Of the two Eastwoods from last year I prefer "Gran Torino" though. That film just works on so many levels. Partly it's a black comedy with very funny moments, but it's also a kind of self-reflecting look back at Eastwood's role as "Dirty Harry". This additional demystification of his own famous role that's part of the film makes it work so well. The film toys a bit with the expectations of the audience. Of course Eastwood had to play the role himself. Maybe it will be his last role as an actor - it would be a perfect choice for that.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 5:55 PM)

The caps doesn't look inspiring. I am not sure why a discerning viewer like you have rated this garbage 8/10 despite the elevated blacks which can ruin the viewing experience :)-

(Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 11:52 PM)

Elevated blacks can be done for style, not just a technical mishap...

"Director Danny Boyle made use of a veritable cocktail of different formats while making the film, often jumping between 35mm and HDV several times in the course of a single scene."

HDV? Surely not?

(Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 1:58 AM)

Just finished watching Changeling and while it is a powerfully gripping tale of suspense, I am going to have to disagree with Michael on its overall quality. Even knowing it was not nominated, I would never place it above Slumdog (which I think truly deserved it).

BobaFett is correct on his assertions of how silly and one-dimensional the film is (the police/medical officers especially are incarnate of evil) but I hardly found that the worst thing about it.

The film has no idea where to end. Within 90 minutes the story had already wrapped itself pretty nicely, then we have to endure a very weak final hour where the screenplay has no idea where to go. The sections focusing on the serial killer that pretty much consist of a SparkNotes summary of his real life are especially weak. Changeling should have been a film about a mother's search for her son and the way the police treated her, not a 2 hour and 30 minutes epic about plots A and B connecting.

But in the end Angelina Jolie's performance is excellent, Eastwood's direction is spectacular, and the film is technically dazzling. It's such a shame someone could not polish up the overlong and unfocused script.

(Posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 10:29 PM)