The Book Thief - My Review

With my garage done I focused on the front of my house. There is a lot of trim on the front so I knew it would take me a while to get it all taped off.  And as expected I manged to get everything taped off before I had to leave for some evening plans.

Today I was heading out to Hollywood to see a pre-release screening of a new movie called The Book Thief. My friend Jes was joining me so I stopped by her place in North Hollywood and picked her up. We got to the theater area with a few hours to spare so we looked for a local place to eat dinner. After walking a few blocks in the opposite direction we didn't find anywhere to eat.We then headed back to the theater area and right next store was this bar/restaurant. The prices were decent and it seemed to be the only place around. And it just so happened that food was very tasty.

After dinner we went next door to the theater. The screening was happening at the Saban Theatre. The Saban Theatre is an historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure designed by architect S. Charles Lee and is considered a classic Los Angeles landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012. The theatre opened as the Fox Wilshire Theatre on September 19, 1930 and for several decades was one of 20th Century Fox's premiere theaters, serving as a movie palace until a 1981 renovation converted it into a stage venue. It is now regularly used as a live performance venue for comedy, music, television, film shoots, screenings, and community intercultural events such as the Paley Television Festival.

Once I walked in I remembered being in this theatre before. And at the time I couldn't remember what I was in there for but it may have been for one of the Paley Festival Events. The theatre is gorgeous from the lobby to the main theatre. PGA (Producer's Guild of America) is currently trying to establish this theater as the "main" theater for all our movie screenings... which would be awesome.

We sat down and after a brief introduction the movie started. I had not heard of The Book Thief before I got the invitation. Here's a brief synopsis of the book. The Book Thief is a novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. Narrated by Death, the book is set in Nazi Germany, a place and time when the narrator notes he was extremely busy. It describes a young girl's relationship with her foster parents, the other residents of their neighborhood, and a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in her home during the escalation of World War II. First published in 2005, the book has won numerous awards and was listed on the The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks.

Now 20th Century Fox turned it into a movie. The Book Thief tells the story of an extraordinary, spirited young girl sent to live with a foster family in WWII Germany. Intrigued by the only book she brought with her, she begins collecting books as she finds them. With the help of her new parents and a secret guest under the stairs, she learns to read and creates a magical world that inspires them all.

Here's my review: This was an amazing movie. If I had one word to describe it, it would be "BEAUTIFUL" The story is heart warming and heart wrenching, and the acting is incredible. I found it very interesting that we are seeing the beginnings World War II through the eyes of the Germans. I can't go into great detail here as I don't want to spoil anything. All I will say is if you get a chance to see this movie, please do so. It's defiantly going to be an Oscar contender. I give The Book Thief a solid A

After the movie there was a Q&A with the author of the book, two producers and the young star of the movie Sofia Nelisse. The panel had some very interesting and entertaining stories about how this movie was made. Sofia was adorable, she's a typical teenager. It was nice way to end the evening.