Thumbs up squared.

I was already bored by 8:30am this morning so I got online to book tickets to two other movies I wanted to see. I used the last of my pumpkin carving prize plus a couple extra bucks, and I almost didn't see the first one because I almost didn't find the super secret holiday mall entrance. As I was composing an angry "Fandango why did you lie to me all these $%^&# doors are bolted shut there is no way this theater is open today" email in my head, I found the magic door. Merry Christmas indeed!

Both movies were amazing in their own special way and I am ending this crazy slightly lonely Christmas day in a much better mood because of them both.

Slumdog Millionaire: It's ultimately a love story. (Yes, I am recommending yet another love story. I think I'm going soft in my old age.) But it's also a story about survival and family and the "ties that bond," so to speak. The kids who played younger and youngest Salim and Jamal were four of the most amazing child actors I have ever, ever seen. My heart hurt for them - the actors, not the characters - because many of their scenes were so very intense. The older Salim and Jamal were fantastic too, and the total high at the end (when the credits start rolling) was perfect. I need to queue some Bollywood immediately. Any recommendations?

Frost/Nixon: Absolutely stellar performances by everyone. And I mean everyone. It could not have been any more perfectly cast. And also? I did not expect this movie to be funny. I expected to walk out of it hating the former Prez even more than I already do. Like with W., that was not the case. Damn you, Hollywood. Damn you! If I turn into a Republican, I am totally blaming you.