I almost missed watching this most anticipated Oscar nominee for Best Movie 2009.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal who is born and lives with his brother in a ghetto in Mumbai India until their mother is killed in a religious riot, and thus their travels across the vast expanses, both geographic and social, of India begin.

The story is told through flashback as Jamal in the present finds himself one question away from winning the big prize on the Indian television equivalent of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. After answering every question except the big one correctly, Jamal is suspected by the host of the program of somehow cheating and is taken into custody for questioning. He then recounts his life story to the officer as a means to explain how he knew all of the answers. Jamal’s justification will be the one thing that stands between him being kicked off the program or welcomed back for another night to answer the last question.

The film is painted with such caring, detailed, nurturing brush strokes that the viewer is effortlessly swept up and taken along on Jamal’s journey as he ventures through ghettos, brothels, crime rings, train cars and abandoned buildings. One cares about Jamal, about his relationship with his brother Salim and the orphan girl Latika who may be the love of his life.

Every scene jumps off the screen with joy and life, energized by the simple pleasure of providing a detailed portrait of a society as it functions, collapses, and builds itself back up again. In that sense, Jamal’s story is also very much India’s story as well.

One can read books and memorize facts and become endowed with all the culture in the world, but what good are those? They can be taken to dinner tables to impress company; can be made into speeches to rouse those who are entrenched with the same facts, or they can be taken on game shows and win unimaginable amounts of money, but is that true knowledge? It is not. That's why that second question is so important: what could a slumdog possible know? Well, how about: how to live, love, cry, hurt, learn, survive, overcome adversity and become a better person in spite of it? Those are what Slumdog Millionaire is about: those simple facts of life.

You got to watch it and be the judge. Is this movie gonna win tomorrow? My guts says, it's a big possibility.

*edited*

From Bend It Like Beckham through to Bride And Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha makes feelgood movies that are just grounded enough in everyday life to raise smiles of recognition. Her latest is a generous-spirited study of a 14-year-old girl grappling with adolescence, boys, aged parents who kiss and galloping self-absorption; "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging".

The central issue will strike mere adults as trivial: Georgia Nicolson feels she should be treated as a sophisticated woman, yet she doesn't have a boyfriend and does have - or thinks she has - a hideously big nose. Early on, too, she is pretty irksome (hugely self-dramatizing), and it seemed a tad depressing that she needed to ingratiate herself with 16-year-old boys to find her self-esteem.

I sympathized with her perplexed dad when he asked: 'Why do you have to grow up so fast? Why can't you enjoy being 14?'

As we experienced life through her eyes we are brought back to a time that was simple yet complicated. And although it's silly, it's also cute. I found myself laughing out loud and looking for someone to share the many hysterical bits of Georgia's life because, just look back when you were 14 or around that age, everything was so complicated kan? Hahah..During that time of period, no matter what your parents do or say just didn't cut it, they just don't understand what we're going through in life, that time. Who do we turn to? Our friends, right? Aaah~ The teenage years..

Age 13: Lost in the world of tween. Not yet a teenager but not really a kid. Hmm..complicated.

Age 14: Still trying to discover the purpose of being a teenager. Everything was out of place, no one could understand what you're going through. Mood-swings were like rollercoaster, you wanted to be happy but everything around you just irritates you. Parents just don't get you. Maybe that was the changing phase from a kid to almost-there-girl. You wanna grow up but the kid in you just wouldn't let you.

Age 15: Boys. Just the guys in posters would melt our hearts. The one with swoosh hair, to be specific. Yet, in reality we just couldn't stand being around boys. They're just mean..I think. We chose to stick with the poster boys, they're just perrrrfect! Celebrated the Moffters birthday at Block E's staircase. =) The kid in you is growing up, I think.

Age 16: The hormones kicked in. Weird feelings toward 'reality' boys. Even chose names for the children. Calculators became our 'cellphone' in class. Secret feelings shared with fellow friends, something they'd understand. Parents still don't get you. You wanted to be treated as adults but no one took you seriously. Confusing phase here. Not a girl, yet not a woman..

Age 17: Maybe we have sorted things out a little. How to deal with the moodswings, Nick Carter has a girlfriend (That bastard! Haha!), scared of the outside world. Parents try to be 'bestfriends' at this stage.

After 9 years leaving college life/boarding school, surprisingly I still have that sentiment of sharing my problems/secrets with my circle of friends. Habits die hard, huh? Like yesterday, we were sitting in Farhan's room while waiting for Asar prayers and the next thing we know, Fozz, Nadz, Natt and I were having these 'Oprah Session' where we just look back on our relationships with guys in the past 9 years. What happened for the past 9 years, our crush, our first love, our almost-love, love-life-gone-psycho, heartbreaks and all those stuff. Then I realized, whatever happened, no matter how complicated the relationship go, how sour it turned out or how sweet it was, these are the people who were there when it all happened; shoulder to cry on, ears for listening, the walls for anger and hands to hold on to for the past 14 years.

Thanks babes. Appreciate you guys in my life.

Do you remember your life when you were 14-16? Was it as mental? Hahah..

• Sour Cherry- The Kills
• Faster Kill Pussycat- Paul Oakenfold
• Decode- Paramore
• Dibalik Awan- Peterpan (the beat buatkan lari x beng2..haha!)
• Spotlight- Mute Math
  

Jiwang

• Never Think- Rob Pattinson
• Yang Terdalam- Peterpan
• All Lifehouse songs
• Almost Lover- A Fine Frenzy
  

Stressed

• Sour Cherry- The Kills
• Rehab- Rihanna
• So What- Pink
• 7 Things- Miley Cyrus
• One Week of Danger- The Virgins
• If You Seek Amy- Britney Spears (nak gelak..)

How about you? What song makes you keep on going?