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Blu-Ray review: 'The Reader'
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The Reader/2008
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes
The Plot: A young German "kid" (David Kross) pops his cherry with a sexy Nazi war criminal (Winslet). Ilse Koch she is not - but she's no Dorothy Parker either. When she's finally caught for her war crimes he alone holds a secret that may mean the difference between her freedom and a life of working in the prison laundry.
The Good: The one salient thought I had coursing through my being as I watched The Reader for the first time was "how in the world do I tackle a review for this film?" It would be like tackling your grandmother. Maybe not in the literal "shoulder-checking" meaning of the term, but to try and write a review based on her - which isn't so easy.
The Reader is a film not a movie. Even better it's a strongly European film. There's no -fin- at the ending, but there's an ass-load of nudity, reflection, guilt, emotionally haunted players, and the sweet specter of death waiting in the wings to snatch the troubled souls from their whimpery, wandering, wayward corporeal shells...
So what's so good about that? Well the performances are top tier. Quiet though they may be. Winslet absolutely nails the German species. The language, the stern bearing, the formidable sexual prowess. She's great in The Reader - she's better in Revolutionary Road - but she's great in The Reader. Ralph Fiennes pretty much disappears into his role, just like he always does. It's the same face we've seen before, but a new man behind those eyes we haven't met just yet. He's good. But isn't he always good?
The Bad: It's arid and sophisticated. So if you're a Spumante drinker you may not be ready for a Brut this dry. On the cheap side of things I liked Kate Winslet much more when she had 20 extra pounds on that frame. She spends much of her time in The Reader in her birthday suit, and she's got a bit too bony lately for my "tastes". I'm a Mix-a-Lot man - I like em' round and juicy. My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hon. How's that for American class and sophistication?
The Ugly: No, this really isn't an "Ugly-worthy" movie...
The Verdict: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It wasn't the best Pumpkins record though it tried its bloody damnedest to be. (Siamese Dream, you will always have my heart...) It's also the mood and theme of The Reader - a movie that wasn't the best movie of 2008 though it tried its bloody damnedest to be. If someone asks me today if I liked the film - I'd whole-heartedly say yes to the question. And three seconds later I'd admit that I'd never recommend the movie to anyone that I knew...
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