The Reader

The Reader (Rated R)
Gavin Grade: D+
Seriously?  This is what Kate Winslet won her Oscar for?  When you compare this review to the review for “Revolutionary Road,” you’d think that I just have it in for Kate Winslet, but that’s not true.  It’s just that she chooses to do painfully average movies.  When people who make fun of “Oscar” movies make fun of “Oscar” movies, this is the kind of movie that proves them right.  It’s about weird sex, lots of crying, The Holocaust, different time periods, people with accents and lots of nudity.  Speaking of nudity, I feel like I’ve seen more of Kate Winslet than her own husband.  For the first half hour of the movie, there’s only two scenes where she’s NOT naked.  Why?  Because she’s involved in a wacky, and gross affair with a 15-year-old boy that develops completely out of nowhere.  The second half of the movie is actually quite good.  It turns into a semi-compelling story of Holocaust justice and questionable redemption, but if this was a DVD I would’ve shut it off long before it got to that point.  The first half is nothing but scenes between her and newcomer, David Kross, which seem as if they’re more of a montage of randomness that make no sense, confuses the audience and gives the impression that we’re watching a Cliff’s Notes version of what happened.  The reason why that’s so bad is because we don’t feel for the characters at all.  Not to mention the fact that plot lines are brought up with no prompting and no resolution.  It really makes me wonder why this was even up for Best Picture.  So if feeling “arty” and a little pretentious at the movies is your thing, or if seeing Kate’s giant nipples and an 18-year-old’s penis is your thing; than this is your movie.  If it’s not, then I’d go see any of the other Oscar movies this year instead…you’ll enjoy them more.