Ever since A Life Less Ordinary, I’ve been intrigued by its director: Danny Boyle. Each movie he makes seems so different compared to the others, but I always feel he has an interesting story to tell. And I have to say this is one intriguing little movie.

Slumdog Millionaire opens with our main character Jamal being interrogated by the Mumbai police, who think he has cheated on India’s version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Jamal is only one step away from winning the main prize of 20 million rupees, and the police don’t believe he could have known all the answers. As the inspector says, if even doctors and lawyers can’t reach that final question, how could Jamal, a slumdog from the poorest parts of Mumbai, know them? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the tale of his life and how each answer to the questions in the games show is interwoven in a chapter of his life.

Some people will tell you this film is amazing and that it should win Best Picture at the Academy Awards next year. And they may very well be right; Slumdog Millionaire does feel like the type of fair Oscar voters will gladly bite into and from whatever other films that might be nominated (you know I’m not the Oscar loving type) I’d like to be rooting for this one.

I think the best way to describe the movie is this: Take City of God. Change the setting from Rio De Janeiro to Mumbai. Add more hope and positivity, and a touch of love. And you’ve got Slumdog Millionaire. Like City of God, this movie gives a realistic view of the slums in Mumbai and it can be grim and depressing at times. You really have a feeling as if you’re seeing a side of Mumbai which is normally not seen. Unlike City of God though, there remains a ray of cheeriness and optimism throughout the entire movie. 

I don’t want to say this movie is amazing. Cause to be honest, I didn’t find it a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The plot feels a bit too coincidental (the way every question ties in with part of his past), while it could have been done slightly more subtle. On the other side though it’s gotten really stuck in my head and I keep thinking about it. At it’s heart Slumdog Millionaire is like a fairy tale and you just can’t help liking it.

That being said, Slumdog Millionaire is definitely a film you should watch in the cinema. It’s got more heart and charm than other movies you’ll find currently there and I won’t be surprised if it indeed manages to grab that Best Picture Oscar!

UK Release Date: 9 January 2009
US Release Date: 12 November 2008
Runtime: 120 min

Interesting links for November 30th through December 4th:

• Resampled Space – Amazing "photos" of a Belgium photographer who "combines photographs of parts of buildings into new, fictional, architectonic structures". He's created some cool looking, but slightly impossible structures.
• Vintage Ads: Oldies But Goodies – Wow, vintage ads! Get a fridge to match your style and decor… Love the French Provincial one.
• 50 Strange Buildings of the World – Great list of cool buildings.
• 50 Reasons – Did you catch last week's How I Met Your Mother? Here's Lily's complete list of 50 reasons to have sex.

As a kid, I loved The Secret Garden. Not the story though, but the idea, the concept of something beautiful hidden away. This photo reminds me of that; you can’t see what the end of the path is leading to… could it be a secret garden?

I’ve been asked a couple of times to blog about the events that I’m organizing for the London Geek Dinners. So here’s a quick repeat of three of our upcoming December events:

Mini-GeekDinner: The Death of Reading

The days are getting shorter, the air is getting colder and the fleeting strains of Christmas songs are right around the corner. One last mini GeekDinner before the end of the year! 

This time our guest will be Adrian Hon, Chief Creative Officer at Six to Start. He is one of the main designers and producers behind Perplex City, the world’s first commercially successful ARG (Alternate Reality Game) and has since then been at the forefront of ARG development. This time though Adrian will give us a talk on “The Death of Reading”. 

Again the venue will be our regular Hummus Bros in Holborn at 18:30, with the talk starting between 19:30-20:00. Food will be on a get your own basis, so no need to pay online. If you’re running late and can’t find us at the Holborn place anymore, we’ve probably moved on to the pub down the street.

When: Wednesday, December 10th 2008 18:30
Where: Hummus Bros in Holborn
Speaker: Adrian Hon from Six to Start
Topic: The Death of Reading
Cost: Food and drinks on buy your own basis

Please RSVP on our signup site if you are coming, there is only limited seating.

BBC Backstage Christmas Bash

BBC Backstage is teaming up with most London and Manchester communities to hold two Christmas parties. We will be drinking, having fun, and probably make a fool of ourselves on the dance floor. Will you join us?

Tickets have been really popular and they’ve now run out of standard tickets. But don’t worry! Ticket holders have priority and a guaranteed entry, but basically if by 8pm the venue isn’t full (there’s always a certain number of people who register and can’t make it or just stay for one drink), they’re allowing people to turn up at the door.

For more information, check out the event page.

London Geek Meet 3: Cold War Modern

Again another London Geek Meet! And again something a bit different. This time we’ll be going to the Victoria & Albert Museum for their special Cold War Modern exhibition. Here’s the description about the exhibition from their site:

This period from the end of the Second World War to the mid 1970s was a period of great political tension and exceptional creativity which touched all aspects of life, from everyday products to the highest arenas of human achievement in science and culture. Art and design were not peripheral symptoms of politics during the Cold War: they played a central role in representing and sometimes challenging the dominant political and social ideas of the age.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this exhibition, including the fun and mysterious promotion of it through The 7th Syndikate. And thanks to the guys at 1000heads we’ve gotten 10 free tickets to share with you all!

To make it fair though, we won’t be giving these tickets away. Our idea is this: depending on the amount of people who sign up, the cost of the extra tickets that have to be bought, will be split over all people who attend. So if 15 people sign up, everybody pays £3 (£9*5/15). If you are interested in coming, emailmseckington@gmail.com. This is absolutely necessary, because we’ll probably have to book tickets for a specific time slot.

Because not everyone has been to the Victoria & Albert Museum before, we thought it would be a great opportunity to also see the rest of the museum. We’ll meetup at 11:00 before the entrance in Cromwell Road. If you’re only interested in the Cold War Modern exhibition, we’ll have a second meet-up point at 14:00 inside the musuem in the hall before the exhibition. 

When: Sunday, December 14th
Time: 11:00 for main museum, 14:00 for Cold War exhibition only
Where: Victoria & Albert Museum
Nearest Tube: South Kensington
Activity: Museum exhibition
Cost: Food and coffee on buy your own basis, tickets depending on how many people sign up (won’t be more than £7 per person though)

Sign up by sending an email to mseckington@gmail.com.