posted February 22, 2009 10:06 PM         

thank god somebody made a short riser instead of the interminable stairs!

posted February 22, 2009 10:13 PM         

Meta, I thought Ralph was fine. Almost anyone probably would have been fine in that role. I just noticed that the actor playing young Mike vaguely resembled Val Kilmer.

posted February 23, 2009 12:04 AM         

quote:

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Ok, I saw The Reader today. Kate Winslet didn't act half as much in that film as she did in Revolutionary Road in my opinion, so if she's to get an award I'd prefer it to be for RR.

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I am sorry but I truly disagree with you, Kate carried herself through that entire film in The Reader-- It was a unique performance and extremely touching. I also loved her in Revolutionary Road, but she was brilliant in the Reader. It all depends on everyone's opinions, though. And I didn't care for any of the performances in the Dark Night, only Heath Ledger's

And, my predictions were all correct, they all won!

quote:

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silverstone
Moderator

Posts: 3317
From:
Registered: Mar 2006
posted February 19, 2009 02:30 AM I just finished watching most of the movies nominated this year.

Any thoughts on who will take the oscar this year? I have not seen them all, but from what I've seen here's my take:

Best Actress: Kate Winslet in the Reader, but I just watched Angelina in Changeling, and it was a great performance, so I am not sure, but my gut tells me Angelina. I do think is time for Kate Winslet to win, she is a great actress, also, and deserves it. Angelina already won some time ago for Supporting actress in Girl Interrupted

Best Suppoting actress: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Christina Barcelona

Best Actor: Sean Penn in Milk

Best Supporting Actor: Heath ledger in Dark Night or Michael Shannon, Supporting actor in Revolutionary Road, but my money is on Heath Ledger.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Stephen Dauldry for the Reader, but I doubt he'll win, most likely it will go to Slumdog Millionaire

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posted February 23, 2009 01:29 PM         

Everyone at the parties here in Hollywood just loved the new change... having the recipients of Oscars in the past present to the new nominees... VERY MOVING... very heart felt...

I don't think there was one dry eye when Heath Ledgers family accepted his Oscar...

The only thumbs down I heard from people was the long dance routine with Beyonce .. because too many people felt it didn't really focus on the Oscar music... but hey.. it is "entertainment"...

posted February 23, 2009 04:44 PM         

I agree with you, it was really great the way they presented the awards this year, very moving.

I really commend Maryl Streep and Amy Adams in Doubt-- they were also wonderful-- did you see the ending of Doubt? The end of Maryl's last scene, and really the end of the movie, makes you shake. It was a great ending. And I didn't know Hugh was such a great dancer. Beyonce was great with him.

posted February 23, 2009 05:19 PM         

The Spanish girl got it!
Yay, Yay, Yay
(she is so beautiful)

Best Suppoting actress: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Christina Barcelona

I don't really watch Woody Allen movies so I probably won't see this but I highly recomend "Volver" if anyone is interested in a good Penelope Cruz movie.

posted February 24, 2009 08:34 PM         

I haven't viewed the movie Doubt yet...
it is on my to do list!

I"ll remember what you said above...
when I do view it...

posted February 27, 2009 01:10 PM         

This is my list, based on nothing but the work.

Take it from a movie lover with unassailable taste.

Best Picture -- "Slumdog Millionaire"

Best Director -- Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire"

Best Actor -- Mickey Rourke for "The Wrestler"

Best Actress -- Meryl Streep for "Doubt"

Best Supporting Actor -- Heath Ledger for "Dark Knight"

Best Supporting Actress - Viola Davis for "Doubt"

Best Original Screenplay -- David Mamet for "Redbelt"

Best Adapted Screeplay -- John Patrick Shanley (from his play) for "Doubt"

posted March 01, 2009 03:36 PM         

As for the Reader, Acoustic. I am not going to say that Revolutionary was an awful movie. I really enjoyed it and felt she did a great job. However, it reminded me of "If these walls can talk?" We have seen this before in a performance... In the Reader, much of the scenes expected for Kate to deliver emotion with "no words," in which she completely captures the audience. An example of this is in the court room or when she is in bed with the young guy. This was a woman so difficult to understand at first, but as the movie unravels, we get to understand her, because we understand her secret, which is a major element in the movie, and the irony behind it. Again, it is much more difficult to play a former concentration camp guard with a hidden secret, who we have to understand to empathize with her, or not, than a wife who is unhappy, in Revolutionary Road.

As Kate Winslet said, "I didn't understand her and could not empathize with her, until I realized she had a secret, which was what affected her in her life."

posted March 02, 2009 08:48 PM         

" 'The Reader' dared to be different.Kate Winslet's portrayal of Hanna Schmitz is bold, coherent and seductive. Toward the end of the movie a stately Jewess (Lena Olin) shows up to shame the hero (Ralph Fiennes) and, implicitly, the audience for giving their hearts to a Nazi exterminator. But it's too late, since the character and the actress have earned our fascination from the outset. Hanna is bitter, magnetic and cursed with an acute moral ignorance. Winslet's is arguably the year's finest, leading or supporting role, male or female The film isn't so much about the Holocaust, but rather the affect that the Holocaust has on one woman and the boy that loves her. It's about secrets coming back to find us out and decisions we make that change our lives forever.

Kate Winslet's character isn't overtly sorry for her past, no, not early in the film anyway, but viewers may believe she becomes so later, especially when she does something that may be perceived as punishing herself. The uncertainty makes "The Reader" all the more fascinating as a drama. A beautifully poignant debate on law, ethics and coming to terms with the crimes of the past committed by those still around you, THE READER makes for compelling viewing. Aside from Winslet’s performance, which captures the cold reality of the existence of an SS bureaucrat with chilling believability, David Kross exudes the exuberance and precocious emotional awareness of young Michael Berg with a deft capability I could never have anticipated and Ralph Fiennes is absolutely superb as the older Michael Berg who is to visit the ageing Schmitz in a bid to exorcise his own demons.

Her response is, "What would you have done?" She saw her work as an SS guard as excuse enough to do such a thing. She was tasked with a particular item and she made sure it was carried out. As monstrous as that is, there is a troubling logic behind it that makes you more curious than enraged. Just the idea of the mindset of someone to think like that is engaging. What could cause someone to think that murder was acceptable, especially on such a large scale? That seems to be what a lot of the characters in the film are trying to figure out. The students and the professor are trying to understand what could drive these people to do what they did. It's the insatiable desire to know and to understand that drives them. But sometimes you have to accept that there is no rational explanation. There are leaders and there are followers. In this case, the followers did so blindly with no remorse for their actions and no second thoughts. They were taught to do their jobs and they did just that. And keep in mind that a lot of these people could have been killed if they didn't do what they were told. That is not attempting to justify anything, but there are circumstances that a lot of people don't take into consideration when laying blame on certain people. "The Reader" doesn't ever try and justify these actions, but it does attempt to paint them in different lights.

The performances are riveting, especially Kate Winslet's brilliant turn as Hanna. What she does with this role is incredible. When we first meet her, we don't quite know what to think. She seems loving enough, but she has this cold and calculated way about her. She seems to genuinely love Michael, but she has no problem reminding him that she could drop him any time she wanted. Later, we see Hanna as a monster - a cold and calculated monster who has no regrets for what she did - on the surface. What brings things into perspective is a secret that Hanna has been harboring - a secret that she thinks is even worse than these horrible acts she has committed. These days, it seems rather bizarre to think of something so small as such a terrible thing, but to Hanna it was embarrassing and could never be revealed. Winslet gives her second stellar performance of the year in this role and deserves accolades for it. David Kross is also exceptional as Michael, matching Winslet step for step and baring himself just like she does in a very open and very honest way. The both of them spend most of their time together nude and we never feel like they are being exploited or that they are being taken advantage of by the director. That's probably because the director is Stephen Daldry, the brilliant filmmaker responsible for "Billy Elliot" and "The Hours".

In a year with so many films about the Holocaust, it was nice to see one tackle the subject matter in a more intellectual way, a film that tries to get to the bottom of what caused the Holocaust rather than focus on the aftermath. If we can get to the bottom of what made those people do what they did, we might be better able to prevent it from happening again. "The Reader" dares to ask those questions and it dares to explore new territory with a subject matter that most thought could go no further cinematically. It really is a remarkable role.
http://www.moviesmademe.com/movie/review/2000