★★★ Slumdog Millionaire

[Gino: 3.0, Tiny: 2.5]
Gino says: 'This is about a young man from terrible living conditions winning oodles of rupees on "who wants to be a millionaire." The authorities don't believe he is on the level, that he could know the answers without any education.
Hmmm. For me, this seemed 65% Forrest Gump [the semi-doomed love story, the many life coincidences that provide the game-show answers] and 35% City of God. Not as slick or cheesy as the former, not as visceral as the latter, and not as good as either. But all in all, not a bad flick.'

Tiny says: 'Perhaps this was a case of overly high expectations (I guess I should have read the other Cinemojo review), but this movie just didn't work for me on an emotional level. I never really bought into the love story. I liked the glimpses into the ugly underneath of India, but because so much of the plot seemed incredibly contrived, it made even the "reality" seem contrived. I loved the idea of the game show as the framing device.'