Off-Topic: Going for the Gold (Part Two)

Once again, I return to you with a post that has almost nothing to do with foreign steamy romance. (I do have my pick for Best Foreign Film here, so that’s got to count for something.) But before I get to my predictions, I thought I’d throw this question out there—do the Academy Awards still matter? Sure, the poster tells us that they’re “the biggest movie event of the year”—and I guess that’s pretty much true. But what do they actually mean, and are we still as entranced by the results? I’m actually asking here, and not only because I want to know if my goal of watching every single film nominated (I failed) has been for naught. Am I blindly following that golden idol, or are the Academy Awards—despite the snubs and questionable nominees—still going strong?

But enough about that. Let’s just pretend that they’re vitally important for the sake of this post.

Off-Topic: Going for the Gold (Part One)

Don’t be alarmed by the following ad—

I’m sure this year’s Oscars will be as dull as ever, though kudos to whomever compiled that montage and made it look as though Feb. 22 will feature the most exciting three four hours of all time. Jon Stewart‘s not even hosting. On the other hand, Hugh Jackman may actually sing, which might make things worthwhile. Not to mention the fact that he’s chock full of adamantium. But anyway, now that I’ve seen most of the worthy (and not-so-worthy) Academy Award nominees, I figured it was time for my Oscars predictions post. What does this have to do with foreign steamy romance? Um, nothing. However, this is a film blog and I’m a critic—did you really think I could restrain myself?

State of the Foreign Steamy Romance

Hello, loyal readers! (Do I have any loyal readers?) Rest assured I have not abandoned this blog. The temporary hiatus is a little bit writer’s block, and a lotta bit sore throat from hell. (Seriously, my throat may be possessed by a demon.) Anyway, in order to keep you interested, here’s a look at what I’m going to post about in the near future:

• My thoughts on Revanche, one of the Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Film.
• Revisiting The Reader, also an Academy Award nominee. This time, there will be screencaps. (Including David Kross‘s penis, since that’s the only reason anyone checks this blog.)
• I’m Netflixing Anatomie de l’enfer, so expect some reflections on that soon.
• I found a copy of Dream Boy, which may or may not be garbage. But hey, it’s German.
• Possibly more Mickey Rourke. Can you ever have enough?
• Oscar predictions! Not that they have anything to do with foreign steamy romance.
• Did I mention David Kross full-frontal nudity. (This is how I get all my page views. I’m not even kidding.)

Anyway, bear with me! To keep you sated, here’s the final scene from Les chansons d’amour. Obviously there are spoilers. Obviously you should watch it anyway.

Anything else you want me to post about? Let me know in the comments.

Page to Screen: Speed Reading

The Reader (2008) is as good a choice as any with which to unveil my new, oh-so-cleverly named feature, Page to Screen, wherein I look at foreign steamy romance films that started out as foreign steamy romance books. The Reader isn’t quite foreign, although it does take place in Germany, and it’s not so much a romance either. But it is a story about reading—at least, in part. And that seemed to tie things together nicely.

First things first: the book is better than the movie. Shocking, right? I mean, that’s generally the rule with literary source material, and The Reader is a particularly good source. The film is solid but it’s lacking overall. Although the book is a quick read (I think I polished it off in a couple of hours), the film is notably rushed. It feels, paradoxically, slow-moving, but it speeds past those moments that give the book its lasting impression. Separately, it underdevelops the character of Michael, though that doesn’t exactly fall under this blog’s purview. I’ll stick to the steamy romance for the time being, with all due respect to the fact that there’s Nazism and underage sex involved.

Warning: minor spoilers for The Reader.