(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

Lion is a feel good story that will get you emotional with it’s amazing story!!!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Another movie with some Oscar hype. For this one it reminded of the Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire. I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire because not only it showed the culture of India, but also the struggles in the poorest places in that country. I thought for Lion it would be too basic, but with all the buzz in the upcoming Oscars, maybe they will give a different angle. As usual, this is why you give it a chance.

What I Like: When you watch this film, and don’t get emotional (not necessarily crying). then you’re not human. It is a feel good story about a five year old Indian boy who gets lost and separated from his family, and his journey on how he survives alone, getting adopted by an Australian couple, and his emotional searching to find his family again. Dev Patel who plays Saroo Brierley was superb. His emotion in this role was captured tremendously, and you really feel for him as he struggles through depression on trying to find his real family. That last scene where he finally reunites with his real mother almost put a tear in my eye. It is that emotionally good. I enjoyed how this film, like Slumdog Millionaire, also captures a different culture of living in the slums of India, and yet, how happy these people still live with next to nothing.

The So So: Before I watched it, I thought it would be too typical of a lost and found movie, but as I was watching it, I realized how unique this lost and found experience really is. For this story, you see Saroo actually living a good normal life with his adoptive parents, but yet, always thinks about how crushed his blood family is not knowing if he is still alive. The whole search of using Google Earth to actually find them, and how obsessed he was during that process is astonishing. Just when I thought it was about to get cliched, I thought he will meet all his family that he lost, but I though realistically his mom would pass away and he meets with his brother. However, it was the other way around where his brother passed away, and his mom is still alive. That right there really packs a lot of emotion and hope in the deepest way.

What I Didn’t Like: There were some parts where I wished it explained better. Like when kid Saroo had a place to stay with a woman named Noor, and what were their plans to using him, and why Saroo ran away. Wasn’t to sure of that. Also, I wished they dug deeper with his relationship with his other adoptive brother, Mantosh played by Divian Ladwa. Mantosh was clearly unstable from day one they adopted him, but why as an adult he is so disconnected from his adoptive family? What is his mental condition? Why does he cause hurt to his adoptive mother that made Saroo resent him sometimes? I wish they dug deeper in that relationship.

Overall: It is a feel good movie that packs a great emotional punch. I can see why it has a lot of Oscar hype. I don’t think it will win anything, but I still recommend people to watch if you want something uplifting. As I said before, if you don’t get emotional watching it, something is really wrong with you!!!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

(Sidenote: Florence Foster Jenkins- This was an interesting true story about “singer” Florence Foster Jenkins and her horrific opera voice that seems to attract people but not in a good way. At first, it was hilarious hearing that horrendous voice, but it got to a point where it got annoying. I also enjoyed seeing Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg as people lying to her that she has a great voice, and covering up any type of negativity towards her.I do give props to Meryl Streep playing the so called singer, and actually singing that bad. However, as a movie in general, you do need earplugs because, you have to endure that terrible voice which may be asking for too much endurance!!!
Rating: 3 Stars)