The Reader

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: December 10, 2008

DVD Release Date: April 14, 2009

Plot 411: A teen's brief affair with an older woman has serious repercussions throughout his life.

Review: Young Michael (David Kross) falls in love with an older woman and has a summer affair during which he falls in love with Hanna (Kate Winslet). She leaves him abruptly and he's heartbroken. Years later, as a law student, Michael sits in on a trial about Nazi war crimes and discovers that Hanna took part in the slaughter of many Jews. The disparity between the woman he knew and the one who took part in these crimes against humanity tears him apart inside. As an adult, Michael (Ralph Fiennes) records himself reading various books and sends them to Hanna. He suffers in a quiet battle with himself because he doesn't know whether he should love her for her previous actions or hate her for her more recent ones. This juxtaposition he feels between emotion and logic is also clouded by the fact that he was young and in the throes of his first love affair. Her impact on him, even before he knew of her Nazi involvement, is deep and he has issues with expressing himself to people, commitment and love in general. The movie leaves you feeling uncomfortable and also questioning what you'd do if you were in Michael's shoes. I felt a bit sorry for Hanna despite her participation in something so horrible. I think a lot of people who lived during that time could relate to her predicament. The aging process that Winslet endured for this role was pretty authentic looking. I thought Kross did a great job in the beginning part of the film, especially for being a relatively new actor and having to be naked in a bunch of scenes.

Watch It: For a movie that'll leave you questioning yourself and your beliefs and a little uncomfortable.

Skip It: If you aren't into the artsy nude scenes or the age difference between Winslet and Kross creeps you out. Their love is actually quite moving, especially from his point of view. However, there was a lot of nakedness (but done in a classy way mind you).

Religulous

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: October 3, 2008

DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009

Plot 411: Bill Maher travels the world and questions religion in all its forms.

Review: Bill Maher is pretty irreverent in this documentary that takes him around the world. He interviews people from different religions - Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Mormans, etc. - and asks them about their beliefs. He questions the role of religion and its place in an educated and logical society. Most of it is pretty funny if you don't take relgion too seriously. However, if you're a conservative anything, you'll probably be deeply offended. I found it interesting that Maher is half Jewish and half Catholic but one of the biggest skeptics and doubters out there. It seems that most people who are religious early in life are the biggest skeptics in adulthood. The doc showed that all religions are pretty whack and basically used by people to accomplish their own ends or explain the unexplainable. The fact that so many people can believe completely in any one thing is pretty amazing, if that one thing is not religion. If it is religion, no one questions the illogical nature of it all. Weird.

Watch It: For an extended comedy routine that pokes fun at practically everyone, especially fanatics.

Skip It: If you're quite fine being devout to any particular religion. Many of y'all don't have a great sense of humor.

He's Just Not That Into You

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: February 6, 2009

DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009

Plot 411: A vignette of the lives of 20- and 30-somethings as they bumble through life and love.

Review: When this one came out in theaters, I wasn't really motivated to go watch it. However, it actually turned out better than I expected. First off, the ensemble cast allowed the movie to portray different personality types. Admittedly, they weren't vastly different from each other - all mostly middle to upper class professional types - but their take on love and where they were on their journey made it so everyone in the audience could relate to someone. Secondly, even at the end of the movie, when there's usually a distinct division between the good guy and bad guy, I still empathized with all the characters. I don't know whether that was a good one on the part of the cast and crew or if it says something horrible about me. Anyway, without giving too much away, the movie enlisted the use of the following character types: 1) a girl dying for her long-time boyfriend to pop the question; 2) a guy who truly doesn't believe in marriage; 3) a girl with the picture-perfect married life; 4) a married guy who is tempted by forbidden fruit; 5) a girl desperate for love in all the wrong places; 6) a guy who prefers to handle love with rubber gloves and a sterilized mask; 7) a girl who can't meet anyone the traditional way (ie. face to face); 8) a guy in love with a girl who is in love with another guy; and 9) a girl who's found "the one," except he's completely married. There might even be others but if you can't relate to at least one of these archetypes something is definitely wrong with you. What I assumed was a regular rom com actually turned into something quite like a documentary on dating. What I learned is that people are not inherently bad and don't really want to hurt others. They're just terribly, terribly confused that's all. Confusion leads to certain decisions, then actions that are either good or bad. These actions lead to other problems and the cycle continues. In the end, people are just trying to find a way to be happy. The cavalcade of stars in this movie include Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connolly, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston, and Jennifer Connolly.

Watch It: For a National Geographic look at today's dating scene.

Skip It: If you prefer to get out there and experience it yourself rather than play the Wii-version.