All ten of the 2010 Oscar Best Picture nominees are worth seeing, but for some, I recommend watching them only for specific reasons or under certain conditions. Three rise above the lot as particularly excellent films — …more »»
Film Talks: Quick talks
Oscar 2010: Best Picture Roundup
by Randy HeffnerThe Adventures of Milo and Otus (1989)
by Randy HeffnerThe Adventures of Milo and Otus is a delightfully narrated, live-action animal flick — and clever enough to be worth adults’ time, not just children. In the film’s friendship between a cat and a dog, we see …more »»
Avatar (2009)
by Randy HeffnerTo a large degree, the environmental morality play contained in Avatar is painted in broad and simple strokes. Still, there is something compelling in the film’s embodiment of connection to and respect for the land. …more »»
The Blind Side (2009)
by Randy HeffnerAs a true story, the strength of The Blind Side is that it could have been embellished oh so much, but it was not. I suspect that no film adaptation of a true story is ever 100% factual, and I expect that’s the case …more »»
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
by Randy HeffnerSmart, funny, satirical, and engaging in its exploration of art and artists, Bullets Over Broadway is an excellent piece of work by director Woody Allen. Centering around the funding, preparation, and staging of a Broadway play, the film …more »»
Cold Souls (2009)
by Randy HeffnerCold Souls is great as a light yet insightful exploration of the nature of the soul and its relationship to us as humans. Paul Giamatti is rehearsing for the lead in Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya. The problem is, …more »»
District 9 (2009)
by Randy HeffnerDistrict 9 finds a compassionate — and violent — angle from which to explore shallow and ugly prejudice. As it pits the supposed goodness and wisdom of “the authorities” against the supposed brainlessness and vulgarity of …more »»
The Doorpost Film Project (2009)
by Randy HeffnerThe Doorpost Film Project runs an annual short film competition. It runs in two rounds. The top ten entrants from the first round receive a small budget to produce a film for the final round. The Doorpost’s 2009 final films include some excellent and impactful work. The films explored …more »»
The Doorpost Film Project (2010)
by Randy HeffnerThe Doorpost Film Project runs an annual short film competition. For 2010, it’s in three rounds. Based on their first round submissions, 21 filmmakers were selected to compete in the second round. Each of the 21 submits a script, five of which are chosen to …more »»
An Education (2009)
by Randy HeffnerFunny, clever, poignant, painful, and redemptive, An Education puts us in the position of a teenage British school girl finding direction in life. If being serious about life is important, where is the place …more »»
Good Bye Solo (2009)
by Randy HeffnerA momentary acquaintance is most times just that: momentary. The beauty in Good Bye Solo arises from a quick, sharp moment of insight leads one character, driven by his depth of concern for other people, to relentlessly …more »»
Grace is Gone (2007)
by Randy HeffnerIt is superficial to say that it’s heart-wrenching to lose a loved one in war — that is, unless you can say it the way that Grace is Gone says it. In the film, we live through a father’s shock at the death of Grace, his wife and the mother of his two preteen daughters. Why, you may well ask, …more »»
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
by Randy HeffnerHotel Rwanda asks whether we will do what we can to address the darkness around us. For 100 days in 1994, the world watched the horror of the Rwandan genocide and took no action. Through the eyes of a hotel manager …more »»
The Hurt Locker (2009)
by Randy HeffnerThree quite different men; three different experiences of war. The Hurt Locker takes us inside a fictional Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team — a bomb squad — in Iraq. I can understand complaints from …more »»
The Ice Storm (1997)
by Randy HeffnerThe ending of The Ice Storm is an impactful moment of character development, and the rest of the film contributes much toward that moment’s impact. However, there is much in the film’s path of exploration that tends to dwell on relational dysfunction in a …more »»
RSS
Atom