The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, January 16, 2009 - 5 Worth its weight in awards Boyle's rags-to- riches masterpiece paints a stunning picture of devotion. By NOAH DEAN STAHL Daily Arts Writer Danny Boyle's widely acclaimed "Slumdog Millionaire" is as good as everyone says, if not better. Like ****4 "Juno" last year and "Little Miss $IUmdog Sunshine" the MilioDnaire year before, it's this year's unoffi- At Showcase cial "little-indie- andtheState that-could." Theater Seeing and dis- Fax Sarchlitht- cussing the film is at once a vali- dation of one's personal taste as well as an expression of awareness about the cultural importance of cinema. As the awards season hits its stride, omnipresent buzz about this little movie with a big heart is inevitable. "Slumdog" is the story of Jamal Malik (various actors, including Dev Patel, TV's "Skins"), an orphan of the streets who becomes a con- testant on India's version of "Who Wants to Be Millionaire?" The film begins with a brutal inter- rogation scene where police offi- cers, assuming that Jamal cheated on the show, violently attempt to coerce him into confessing. Their assumption that he used sinister methods is justified by the ques- tion "How could a slumdog possi- bly succeed?" COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT The officers pull up a tape of "This is roughly the size of my guptanga. Jamal on the show and inquire as to how he could possibly have an unauthorized tour guide at the istic colors with the palpable grit ly recalls Fernando Meirelles's bai into a sort of imaginary techni- Mumbai in a manner that effec- known eachofthe correctrespons- Taj Mahal. In these flashbacks, we of the slums, "Slumdog" is both 2002 film "City of God," set in Rio color playground. tively communicates its identity as es he gave. Between the ques- see how Jamals tribulations have an authentic depiction of India's de Janeiro. Both portray life in Butthedirectorconqueredthese a sprawling Indian metropolis. tions, the film cuts to show one of given him the necessary knowl- struggles with poverty and hard- impoverished slums in hyper-real doubts with deft control of the Though critics may be overdo- Jamal's experiences in the slums edge to answer the questions on ship and a fairy tale about the will cinematic style, complete with film's visual language, exploring ing it slightly,trumpeting,"lum- of Mumbai - struggling through a the show. Jamal's life experiences to overcome impossible circum- dynamic camerawork and editing. Mumbai as a fantasy setting while dog" as "miraculous" (Chicago sea of feces to meet India's great- lead him to "Millionaire" and, stances. Against all odds, Jamal But "City of God" was realized by maintaining the fidelity of the city Sun-Times) and "life-affirming" est movie star; the brutal killing ultimately, to his true love, Latika is constantly driven by his deep- a native Brazilian, whereas Boyle and its life. There is a magnificent (The Village Voice), among other of his mother in an anti-Muslim (various actresses, including new seated belief that he will be reunit- is a Briton in foreign territory, beauty to the cinematography of fulsome remarks, "Slumdog" is an massacre; making a living with his comer Freida Pinto). ed with Latika. Boyle's foreign perspective raised Anthony Dod Mantle ("The Last undeniably great film - surely one brother Salim (various actors) as Juxtaposing vibrant, surreal- In many ways, "Slumdog" close- concerns that he would turn Mum- King of Scotland"); he captures of the year's best. ARTS IN BRIEF Film teoiew An unspirited attempt at bringing conc books to the silver screen "The Spirit" Lionsgate At Showcase and Quality 16 Give Frank Miller credit for sticking to what he knows. The comic book artist-turned-filmmaker has taken on his first solo directorial effort after co-directing "Sin City," and, as he did with that excel- lent film, he has pulled out every trick in the book to make "The Spirit" look like a living, breathing, 1940s comic. Problem is, most of his techniques - stylized black-and-white photography with brief glimpses of color and excessive green screen use - already feel like old hat in only their second appearance. Once the thrill of the visual effects quickly wears off, it becomes all too obvious that Miller still lacks the ability to tell a compelling story. The relatively standard plot, featuring a former cop (Gabriel Macht, "The Good Shepherd") who becomes immortal and swears to protect his city from its criminal underbelly, doesn't develop nearly O enough to become engaging. Bizarrely, Miller seems to have run his own script through a copy machine before handing it to his actors, who often recite the same lines of hokey dialogue three or four times in a row ("I can't stand eggs!"). Samuel L. Jackson, as gun-toting wild man The Octopus, once again proves to be the best part of a mediocre movie. Somebody make sure he's part of the cast for the upcoming "Sin City 2," because if "The Spirit" is any indication, that film won't have a chance of surviving on looks alone. ANDREWLAPIN Film Review Aniston and Wilson should have viewers wagging their tails with Marley' "Marley & Me" 20th Century Fox At Showcase and Quality 16 "Marley & Me," based on The New York Times bestseller memoir by John Grogan, tells a simple tale: Man meets dog; hijinks ensue. The film depicts the life of Grogan (Owen Wilson, "The Darjeeling Limited") and his wife Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston, "The Break-Up") along with their unruly pup Marley, dubbed by his owners as the "World's Worst Dog." As straightforward as the plot seems, "Marley & Me" actually extends beyond what audiences would expect: It's a dramedy that features legitimately funny gags in addition to its good-looking leads. The good-natured tale is littered with realistic themes, exem- plified as Grogan navigates marital stresses and the ups and downs of his career as a journalist. Audiences may prefer the wisecracking Wilson, but his perfor- mance in the subdued moments of the film is just as engaging. Even more endearing is Aniston, who's more likable on screen than she's been in years. Playing the universal Everywoman, she manages to be more than a straight-faced comic foil to a meddling dog. "Marley & Me" is hardly a progressive film, but the story is warm- hearted and lively, much like the dog it follows. ANNIE LEVENE 'Scrubs' limps onto ABC By TRINA MANNINO Daily Arts Writer For diehard "Scrubs" fans, the seventh season was like a fancily wrapped pres- ent that's hard to resist opening. **k- But when final- ly unwrapped, SUbS instead of con- eaon E taining that new iMac, the box Tuesdays contains just at 9 p.m. another one of ABC GrandmaMillie's lumpy sweaters with a cat on it. The excitement generated by ,season seven dissipated quick- ly as the show moved in a new direction that was simply unnat- ural and out of place; almost out of the blue, childlike protagonist J.D. (Zach Braff, "Garden State") fathered a child. Unfortunately, J.D. isn't the father type - never has been, probably never will be. The season also suffered from frustrating plot problemis chat cul- ininated in a tremendiiusly disap- pointing ending. "Scrubs" fans should've revolted against the fina- le after J.D. and Eliot (Sara Chalke, "Mama's Boy") decided to be just friends - probably the worst idea in TV history after Brody Jenner's reality show. Undeniably, "Scrubs" is dete- riorating. The jokes and scenarios have steadily worsened as the series has progressed, screwing up the lives of J.D., Turk (Donald Faison, "Clueless"), Eliot and the rest of the Sacred Heart Hospital employees. But these flaws can't all be blamed on the creative team. When the writer's strike began in November 2007, the show hadn't completed filming on sea- son seven, and when it finally returned to the air, the writers had little time to resolve the vari- ous storylines that were intro- duced before the work stoppage. With the series's fate undeter- mined as it resumed in April 2007 - it was rumored that NBC was going to drop "Scrubs" from the lineup - it's clear that the "Scrubs" writers scrambled for an ending just to cover their asses in case the show ended up getting canceled. Thankfully, "Scrubs" has another shot to redeem itself after its disastrous seventh season. Two seconds away from being canned, the show was picked up by ABC for this year. Thus far in it's eighth season, "Scrubs" has lacked the goofy buf- foonery it's known for, and that's probably due to a lack of screen time for its most humorous char- acters. Turk, an extremely promi- nent character in past seasons, was barely even in the premier. Even "The Todd" (Robert Maschio, "As the World Turns") and his banana hammock were nowhere to be seen. . . With the limited air time old characters have been given thus far, it seems the new interns will What happened to J.D.'s fantasies and the oddball one-liners? be given larger roles this season. Unfortunately, the newbies aren't nearly as funny as those they're replacing, especially Doug, the intern who works at the morgue, and another intern fondly known as Snoop Dogg Intern. Speaking of newbies, there's also a new chief of medicine: Dr. Maddox, played by Courtney Cox ("Friends"). Cox doesn't fit into the "Scrubs" uni- verse and lacks the mean-spirited humor of the old chief of medicine, Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins, "The Sum of All Fears"). Fans who have followed the show since its beginning will want to believe "Scrubs" still has something substantial to offer. Sure the hospital staff is as quirky and politically incorrect as ever, and the writing is trying awfully hard to be sharp. But let's face it: From what we've seen so far in the eighth season, "Scrubs" is far from what it used tobe. Even the show's life lessons are beginning to get a bit tiring. This season of "Scrubs" should be the last. Not just because it seems poised to suck, but because the characters are growing out of their roles; J.D. has a kid for cry- ing out loud. The "Scrubs" creative team should use this potential last go around to revive the punchy one-liners and the strange fan- tasies of J.D. that made the early seasons so memorable. It's time for "Scrubs" to wrap up with dignity before it starts to resemble the lovechild of "E:R." and "Everybody Loves Raymond" - overly dramatic and totally unfunny. I ~ FRI DAY Domestic Bottles are only &m' zela 75C etfS io- IAs 14 Y8 IJI Amkiu St - R '5 MU-Lftdkt N aw OWSito1 yi Rr 0, < TV. yvvv wswM~ vSWeaanss sr ursw . Un.-