In brief: The Reader

Bogged down by a source book that, presumably, digs deeper than the movie. Here are just a few sketches of characters and many montage-scenes that probably filled pages. Again, just like Revolutionary Road, Winslet gets some nominations and awards for repeating the same few, melancholy notes over the course of a feature film. Also baffling is her Golden Globe win for her role as "supporting," when the Academy acknowledges that she was the lead actress in the film (which she certainly was).

But as mentioned, the film crosses over a few time periods and only lets a few characters talk from each, and the narrative feels simultaneously overstuffed and threadbare. There are equal, scant story parts of an affair, a trial, some nostalgia, WWII dredging, coming-of-age-ness, and obligatory Kate Winslet nudity.

Also, if exactly 76% of the musical score was removed, the film would be precisely 43% better.

Good luck at best picture. I haven't seen Benjamin Button yet, but with the top honors of the Golden Globes, Producers Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and completely-unwarranted hype surrounding it, Slumdog Millionaire - a film I found equally lukewarm and only entertaining enough to prevent snores - will probably win everything worth winning. (At least it's not The Dark fucking Knight.)