Greatest Movie Moments - Slumdog Millionaire

I've wanted to gradually add my favorite movie moments to my blog. I will forgo including such scenes as the opening & closing moments of Citizen Kane, the chariot race from Ben Hur, the closing of Casablanca. Not because I do not consider those scenes among the best ever, I do. They are scenes that everyone knows and are automatically on that list of the greatest scenes ever put on film.
I figured I would start with a scene from this years winner for best picture, Slumdog Millionaire. I was very happy this won. Unfortunately this year I only saw 3 of the best picture nominees:Slumdog, The Reader & The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Whereas I loved all 3, Slumdog was the one that felt new, and was unlike anything I'd seen prior.
The scene which I would include among my favorite movie moments is this.

*************Spoiler Alert****************

By now everyone knows the basic plot of Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal, a young man from the slums of Mumbai India is a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? How he came to know the answers for each question are told in flashbacks of his life in the slums. As a young child, his Mother is killed in a riot between Hindu's & Muslim"s. Both he and his brother Salim are taken in my a group of modern day Fagin's led by , Arvind and are forced to beg for money. They befriend Latika, a young girl who becomes the "third Musketeer". There is nothing pleasant about what they go through, and the film includes some very harrowing scenes of how the young children are treated. One brutal scene shows one of the young boys blinded in order to bring in more money as a beggar.
Jamal and his brother escape from their captors and travel through India trying to survive. Later, Jamal returns to Mumbai/Bombay to look for the "third Musketeer", Latika. Jamal runs into the young boy who was blinded, begging for money. He gives the young boy an American $100 bill. He provides Jamal with the identity of the person on the American $100 bill. As Jamal is leaving, the young boy lets him know he recognizes who he is, and that he was always a good friend.
The scene was very powerful because, unlike a Hollywood film, there was no swelling music, no overdone close-ups, and no feel of "Isn't this the most touching thing you've ever seen. You should cry now".
The movie stayed with me, and that scene was one of many in that film which was touching for not overdoing it.

Congratulations

To my dear friends at Drew's Reviews: http://drewsday01.blogspot.com/, I want to extend a big big BIG congratulations on the newest member of your family. A beautiful healthy baby girl was born on Tuesday the 17th. Mom and baby and Daddy are all doing great.
I wish them all the best in what will be the greatest adventure in their lives, an adventure they are more than suited for.
Congratulations and all my love.

Octuplet Woman

Well here is the bizillionth blog about Octuplet Mom Nadya Suleman. I, like most realistic people, have had the same shock and disgust at this whole situation. I've seen her interviewed and it seems, as she points out, that there is more public disapproval since she is a single Mom. She said that couples receive disapproval, but it is magnified because she is a single Mom choosing to live this way. I was glad she knows me so well.
Here is the "checklist" I believe all people should go through before deciding to have children.

1) Will I love my child unconditionally? I hate to tell you this Nadya, but most parents do feel this way so you're not providing anything special for your children. Most people love their children unconditionally, that's the most basic thing a parent can provide. So no points for answering yes to this.

2)Can I afford to provide my children with a decent upbringing (Food, clothes, shelter, education)? Well, you need money for most of these things. It's a sad fact, but it's true. In the world, food/clothes/shelter cost money. And jobs you know you will have years from now don't count as income.

3)Can I actually take care of my children? I don't mean with the help of everyone you know and strangers too. I mean, if all those people you are depending on to help you raise your children all by yourself couldn't do it, would you still be able to take care of them?

If 2 & 3 were answered no, then wait to have kids. You can't seriously say that you will provide financially for your children once you get your education, because you'll have a high paying job. Hate to tell you this, but nothing like that is ever guaranteed.

I think if a single man or woman can raise 1 or more children on their own and they want to, then you should do it. But to think that "love" is the magic ingredient to make your poor children's lives great is unrealistic. I won't even go into the fact of risking a child's health all so she can fulfilled with what SHE needs to be happy. Being a good parent means that there are times you need to make sacrifices. I somehow don't think that word in in her vocabulary.
And by no means am I supporting selective reduction. But to be so reckless that she needed to implant multiple embryo's at the risk of having a child with special needs is unbelievable to most people. 6 children wasn't enough. And then to say that she wanted one more girl is disgusting. How about hoping for a healthy child.
I believe most people feel if you can raise many children and have the means to provide for them, then more power to you. But if you can't afford 1 child, let alone 14, then maybe you should wait.
Despite her idiocy, it is horrible that she is receiving death threats, as are her publicists. I understand that people can be outraged at the lack of true consideration she has for her children, and the fact that she is basically looking for a payday for this, but death threats? Let's at least pretend we're more civilized than that.
I pray those children have as little problems as possible. My heart breaks looking at their pictures, and how frail they are. But Ms. Suleman is happy and that's the most important thing.