I often find myself slightly dubious of “important” movies.  You know the type — big, epic movies with SOMETHING TO SAY, that have a habit of coming out late in December in order to be best positioned for maximum Oscar hype.  It is especially difficult to think abo

Please note:  While I have kept the following review of The Reader as spoiler-free as possible, it does contain some substantial discussion of the film’s story-line.  Those of you who wish to know as little as possible about the movie before seeing it should proceed with cauti