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It's AICN's First Review For Best Picture Hopeful THE READER (Starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes)!

Firsters suck by macheesmo3	Aug 28th, 2008 12:14:59 AM
I hope this is good but good this seems tedious the more I hear about it
hmmm by macheesmo3	Aug 28th, 2008 12:15:47 AM
my first first and I make a typo... should be God instead of the second good
More Kate Winslet? More?! by thebearovingian	Aug 28th, 2008 12:22:32 AM
Seriously?! More Kate Winslet?! Why?! Why more Kate Winslet?! Yes, I'd sleep with her. That's not the point!
Winslet by mrbeaks	Aug 28th, 2008 12:26:50 AM
She wasn't in a movie all last year. Good to have her back.
I'll bet... by Lord John Whorfin	Aug 28th, 2008 12:35:46 AM
She's really a ghost. That's the big twist. That's my guess.
Or imaginary... by Lord John Whorfin	Aug 28th, 2008 12:36:13 AM
Either a ghost or imaginary.
Will THIS be the year Winslet finally gets her Oscar? by flickchick85	Aug 28th, 2008 12:53:12 AM
Sounds like she's got 2 good possibilities with this and Revolutionary Road. I hope so, she's long overdue. Actually, it would be great if she and Leo both got theirs (for the same movie?) this year. If they actually deserve them, of course. But when don't they anymore?
It would be ironic if she won for this after EXTRAS... by flickchick85	Aug 28th, 2008 12:56:20 AM
since she was doing a WWII flick for Oscar bait in that. "We get it, it was grim, move on."
Maybe... by Lord John Whorfin	Aug 28th, 2008 12:59:37 AM
she's aging in reverse!
Winslet by Series7	Aug 28th, 2008 01:23:10 AM
Winslet? Winslet? Winslet? Nope not coming up with anything? Who is she again? Didn't she married to Harvey Keitel?
the best editor's note ever! by The InSneider	Aug 28th, 2008 01:27:35 AM
way to go beaks! i never knewyou had it in ya. strange days fucking rocks and lenny nero is the shit! mace is one of the toughest women in movie history. juliette lewis nudity. hardly wait. sizemore, wincott, fichtner, d'onofrio, sommer, edson. skunk anasie, opening robbery sequence. running on the beach. new year's eve 2000. jeriko1. cameron is the shit. looking forward to bigelow's hurt locker.
The Informers by mrbong	Aug 28th, 2008 01:30:57 AM
why is there nothing on this site about The Informers, a film that looks like we should be hoping scores Oscars and awards?
Every time I close my eyes... by thebearovingian	Aug 28th, 2008 01:36:32 AM
I see Kate Winslet. Oh, there she is again.
I second that... by dr_buggerlugs	Aug 28th, 2008 01:41:22 AM
Strange Days utterly f'ing rules.
Ralph Fiennes never gave a GOOD performance! by DerLanghaarige	Aug 28th, 2008 02:21:52 AM
He's one of the worst actors I've ever seen!
MrBong... by TheRealMoriarty	Aug 28th, 2008 02:43:41 AM
... we actually ran a few reviews of THE INFORMERS a couple of weeks back.
And BURN AFTER READING is getting good reviews! by palimpsest	Aug 28th, 2008 02:55:06 AM
See? The Coens can do funny again!
Well, he DID admit, that he got a lot of the story confused by Wile-E	Aug 28th, 2008 03:01:00 AM
... but I get the impression that he did not even understand the setup. When he writes "Winslet (always amazing) plays a woman in WWII Germany by the name of Hanna who has an affair" that's totally wrong. While the story deals in part with WWII the main storyline (the one with the boy) starts in the late fifties. I don't think Hare and Daldry had a possibility to change the timeline since the time setting is always important in this story for it to make sense. So if he didn't even get the basic premise of the story, its no wonder he got it confused. But that also makes me doubt his quality as a reviewer.
Yep, DerLangharrige is a fucking idiot.... by TheWaqman	Aug 28th, 2008 03:01:33 AM
its officially proven now in this talkback. One of the worst actors you've ever seen? Seriously? Anyways hopefully they fix this movie up a little. It sounds too good to be ruined by shitty editing and pacing.
mention of STRANGE DAYS by Mr Gorilla	Aug 28th, 2008 03:10:53 AM
reminded me what a brilliant film it was. FIENNES was wonderful in it.
The Hours bored me stupid by newc0253	Aug 28th, 2008 03:44:35 AM
So, if the reviewer loved the Hours, I'd be willing to give this one a chance.
Yes seriously. by DerLanghaarige	Aug 28th, 2008 04:21:50 AM
I won't mention "The Avengers", because this would be unfair for everybody, but in most of his movies, he walks around with the same "can I get my paycheck now, please" look, in the rest he is overacting like Matthew Lillard (without the grimaces).
CHILDREN OF STRANGE FUCKING DAYS! by Iowa Snot Client	Aug 28th, 2008 04:35:03 AM
Finnes + Angela Bassett = crazy delicious. Can I just rewatch End of the Affair instead of seeing this? I saw minutes of The Hours and it felt like days.
Loreal does not exist in this dojo by Cobra--Kai	Aug 28th, 2008 05:09:12 AM
Never before has a review got me curious about seeing a film just to see how bad someones make-up is...
"...reviewer has a problem with Hare..." by thinboyslim.	Aug 28th, 2008 05:35:28 AM
no beaks, it sounds like you have a problem with the reviewer. what's up with sliding in that line about Fiennes in Strange Days??
Strange Days would have been great but for Angela Basset by dr sauch	Aug 28th, 2008 07:28:50 AM
How did she ever get work!? Its ALWAYS an exasperated character!!! All she can do is act pissed off, and not in a cool 'tough' way, in an obnoxious 'yelling at the bank teller while the line stretches out the door on a hot day' kind of way. I hate Angela Basset. She scars otherwise great movies.
Kidman - reprieve not snag by filmcoyote	Aug 28th, 2008 07:38:07 AM
i don't think Kidman having to drop out is a snag. Losing Kidman and gaining Winslet will get me to see this movie. I can't stand plastic-faced Kidman. Any movie that has a chance to drop Kidman for someone else should consider itself better off
I'll bet: The twist is, she's seducing her own son by V'Shael	Aug 28th, 2008 08:35:41 AM
Hence the massive age difference. And someone may be able to call a Nazi a legitimate mother-fscker on the screen.
I like Glass' score for The Hours. by Knuckleduster	Aug 28th, 2008 08:50:25 AM
It's pretty.
I was at this screening by fs20rh	Aug 28th, 2008 08:56:32 AM
I was at this screening as well and agree with some of what the reviewer has mentioned although I didn't really have a problem with her make up. My biggest complaint was that the ending is just absolutely horrible and really inexcusable, but also that the beginning portion of the film feels unfocused and the audience doesn't really understand what story this movie is trying to tell. I feel like the movie doesn't really begin until about halfway in and Kate Winslet's character leaves. I'd also like to just say that Winslet is wonderful as always(of course lately I feel like I'm always watching her have sex in every movie she is in and she has a lot in this movie), but Ralph Fiennes and Winslet have ONE scene together in the whole film and I think there's something to be said about his ability to really capture all the years of history and absolute heartbreak between these 2 people in a scene that couldn't have been more than 5 minutes. Really solid performances all around, but a very unfocused and disjointed film. They said it's a rough cut, but I don't really know what they could do to help it because it seems like the problems lie in the script.
just another note by fs20rh	Aug 28th, 2008 08:59:59 AM
I said the problems are with the script, but as I have never read the book this is based on the flaw might be in the source material. There is a lot going on in this movie that I really like and will give audiences a lot to talk about and there is a moment late in the film that moved me tremendously, but I wish that level of storytelling could have carried through the whole film.
Whatever happened to Joseph Finnes by BobParr	Aug 28th, 2008 09:27:09 AM
The guy was the next big thing 10 years ago after SHAKESPEAR and then he virtually disappeared. I just read his IMBD and most of his movies are so obscure.
Kate Winslet is this generation's Paul Newman (almost) by BobParr	Aug 28th, 2008 09:31:03 AM
She's not as good Newman but she is an amazing actress who gets nominated and overlooked all of the time. I guess Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman are better than her according to Hollywood. She will probably get an Oscar when she's way past her prime for some mediocre COLOR OF MONEY type of bullshit role.
angela basset... by dingus khan	Aug 28th, 2008 09:43:18 AM
...is a yale educated actress. and, yes, her ability is still questionable. strange days was really, very good. remember when ralph fiennes did 'maid in manhattan?' what the fuck was that about?
I liked Ralph in "Land of the Blind" by Ultron ver 2.0	Aug 28th, 2008 09:53:04 AM
Great movie, really fucked up/tragic turn of events in the story.
Angela Basset should have been Ororo in the X-men films... by akiraclass	Aug 28th, 2008 10:01:35 AM
...and Julianne Moore should have been Invisible Girl in the FF films (if they were any good).
Winslet is this generation's Newman? by Plathismo	Aug 28th, 2008 10:06:26 AM
An interesting comparison, BobParr, but I never wanted to have sex with Paul Newman. Not even 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof'-era Newman. My mother did, though. Anyhow, I agree the Kidman/Winslet swap was not a downward move, and not a lateral move, but a step up...at least pulchritudinally. Kidman's done something to her face that has rendered her smile just this side of hideous. Whether it's excessive botox or surgery I couldn't say, but it's unsettling. A pity, too, because as a recent re-viewing of 'Eyes Wide Shut' attests, she was gorgeous back in the day.
Strange Days was the best Gibson Cyberpunk Book by DKT	Aug 28th, 2008 10:36:36 AM
That William Gibson never wrote. Seriously, that movie rocked and is so underappreciated.
dr sauch- exactly by Heckles	Aug 28th, 2008 10:57:20 AM
I was thinking the same thing. Strange Days is really underrated. Might have to check that flick again.
What's with the make-up thing..? by Aeghast	Aug 28th, 2008 11:04:25 AM
Is the character......deformed or something?
I keep forgetting... by DarthFloyd	Aug 28th, 2008 12:53:22 PM
With the end of the summer, the I-Want-An-Award films start spreading. Some think of it as the artistic time in film, I find it's the perfect time to catch up on other hobbies. If I want to watch people suffer through grittienss of real life, I'll watch my co-workers more.
TheRealMoriarty by mrbong	Aug 28th, 2008 01:34:26 PM
oops, sorry. with the large amounts of foul language this site tends to get blocked at my office (yeah, i know, i am just as guilty) so i don't always get to read the stuff. will see if i can search for it, or will someone take pity on a BEE junkie and hand me the link?
Fiennes by mrbong	Aug 28th, 2008 01:38:49 PM
can't think of a bad performance, really. no fan of Strange Days, but his performance was probably enough to get me through to the end, now that i think about it. he was great in the (shall we say strange) film Spider, and awesome as The Tooth Fairy. as for Ms Winslet, same story really. can't think of a bad performance. nice one if both get awards and that, but please, only for actual worthy performances and not "well, they are good and we haven't given them an award ever (or for a while), so the winner is......."
is kate nake? by El Borak	Aug 28th, 2008 02:45:24 PM
that's all i care about.
Fiennes and Kate by oisin5199	Aug 28th, 2008 02:51:46 PM
Okay, first, Kate is a goddess among women and SHE's never given a bad performance. Fiennes on the other hand comes off extremely wooden. I think he's very boring as a performer. The only thing I remember really liking him in was Cronenberg's Spider. And his Voldemort? Come on. His brother, Joseph, however, is a much more dynamic actor and I wish he was in more films.
Fiennes is an acting god by Maceox	Aug 28th, 2008 06:35:30 PM
in Shindler's List. One of the great movie monsters of all time.
Also Quiz show by Maceox	Aug 28th, 2008 06:37:32 PM
The English Patient, Spider, The Constant Gardener. C'mon give the man some love.
The book by AnnaBlume	Aug 29th, 2008 03:56:27 AM
I've read the book twice now and, while I didn't really care for it the first time around, when I read it the second time (about 10 years later), I thought it was absolutely fantastic. This combined with the talent involved makes me really hopeful for the film. I do wonder why fs20rh found the ending to be "just absolutely horrible and really inexcusable"... I'm glad the reviewer liked David Kross's performance so much though. I've seen him before in "Knallhart" ("Tough Enough") and thought he was fantastic and I'm REALLY looking forward to a German fantasy film that's going to be released really soon: "Krabat". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt07 72181/
SPOILER ALERT ( Why i didn't like the ending) by fs20rh	Aug 29th, 2008 09:06:11 AM
As I said I have never read the book, but the movie ends with Ralph Fiennes taking his daughter to Hanna Schmitz's grave, telling his daughter that he has a surprise for her. His daughter asks who she was and Ralph Fiennes begins to say something and just as he is saying "She was... the movie just stops, the screen goes black and after a few seconds the "THE READER" comes up on the screen. It just was so jarring in context with the rest of the film and kind of went along with what my friend and I both felt was just a very unfocused and unclear script. The way the whole ending was constructed was something i would have expected from M.Night Shyamalan not Stephen Daldry and not in a dramatic film, just didn't fit and nothing that had occured up to that point allowed the audience to understand what the ending was trying to say. It was just incredibly jarring and really hurt what had become about 2/3rds through a really moving love story Just my feelings on it and I'm sure other people may think the complete opposite. I plan on picking the book up either today or tomorrow because I'm really intrigued by this fascinating story and want to experience it the way it was intended But like i said before the performances all around are really wonderful, kate winslet says more with her silences than half the actresses today say with dialogue. There are glimpses of brilliance, but the script just can't decide what is the real story here. hope that explains it lol
"Couldn't give a fuck about the Holocaust" by Zeldas	Aug 29th, 2008 08:01:23 PM
Kate Winslet should be in every movie. I have a major girl crush on her. AND I know I can't be the only one who thinks The English Patient sucks nutz (don't even get me started on The Hours). Fiennes sucks in it (although he was great in In Bruges and Strange Days). The only good things about that movie are Juliette Binoche's scenes. But I'll see The Reader because of Winslet. "Playin a mental . . . that's another way to get an Oscar."

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It's AICN's First Review For Best Picture Hopeful THE READER (Starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes)!

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