slumdog millionaire

Troperiffic Tuesday!: Chekhov’s Gun

Chick 1 says:

Welcome back to Troperiffic Tuesday!  This week we’re looking at one of the basic tenets of storytelling, Chekhov’s Gun.  The trope is based on a principle espoused by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.  Chekhov said it a variety of ways but it comes down to this, “If you have a gun on stage, it better go off before the end of the play.”

Chekhov’s Gun falls under the Law of Conservation of Detail which teaches writers to make every word, every bit of dialogue count.  If it doesn’t drive the story, don’t waste your precious time with it.  In movies you only have 90-120 minutes to tell a story, on TV only 22-43 minutes so every detail has to count.  Don’t introduce any element that distracts from the story. Read more

Posted on by Chick 1 in Tropes 299 Comments

Trailer Trash: Shymalan, Carrey, & Willis

Chick 1 says:christmas-carol

A couple of interesting blips popped up this week.

The Last Airbender:  M. Night Shymalan is currently directing the movie version of Nickelodeon’s series of the same name.  I’ve never seen it so I have no idea what it’s about but I’m glad to see Shymalan branching out.  Read more

Posted on by Chick 1 in Trailer Trash 5 Comments

Randomness: Oscar Notes

Chick 1 says:oscar2

I wasn’t going to start this rundown of the telecast until it actually started at 7:30 CST.  But after what just happened on the red carpet, it’s time to start.

5:50 pm: All six children from the cast of Slumdog Millionaire being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest.  Was that not the most adorable thing ever?!  I could have eaten them all for dessert.  Closely followed by the other cast members from Slumdog, all humble, excited, and a little giddy.  And they seem to handling the whirlwind surrounding their film quite well.  I hope this movie wins Best Picture! Read more

Posted on by Chick 1 in Randomness 65 Comments

2008: Best Moments in a Theater

Chick 2 says:zooey-on-scooter

 ***Spoilers follow*** Read more

Posted on by wj11 in Year in Review 64 Comments

Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Chick 1 says:Slumdog Millionaire

All I knew about this movie from director Danny Boyle was that it was about a boy from the slums in India who gets to go on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and that it was getting a lot of Oscar buzz.  The words life affirming had also been thrown around so that made me inclined to see it. Read more

Posted on by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 56 Comments