Engaging, heart-wrenching, real, and strong, Precious delves deeply into dark places where our need for love collides with poverty — poverty of money, of spirit, of love, and of character. In the midst of the collision …more »»
Film Talks: Most Recent
An Education (2009)
February 8, 2010 by Randy Heffner Quick talkFunny, 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 »»
The Road (2009)
January 20, 2010 by Randy Heffner Quick talkSet in a bleak and barren post-apocalyptic world, The Road intensely and insightfully explores the nature of goodness, hope, and love. How dark can your world get before you lose hope? At what point …more »»
The Lovely Bones (2009)
January 20, 2010 by Randy Heffner Quick talkThe Lovely Bones is a murder non-mystery. By telling us at the start that Susie Salmon was murdered and near the start who did it, the film turns the focus to the lives and relationships …more »»
Batman Begins (2005)
January 17, 2010 by Randy Heffner Before viewing talk // After viewing talkBatman Begins is an superb example of what excellent screenwriting and directing can do for a familiar story. Batman can easily be (and has been) produced with simple action and black-and-white morality. Christopher Nolan …more »»
Avatar (2009)
January 15, 2010 by Randy Heffner Quick talkTo 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 »»
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
December 3, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkHotel 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 Ice Storm (1997)
November 12, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkThe 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 »»
The Savages (2007)
November 8, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkThe Savages is an unvarnished exploration of family dysfunction and reunion between a father, a brother, and a sister. There are many insightful moments that well capture tenderness, animosity, mistrust, self-hiding, caring, …more »»
Doubt (2008)
November 6, 2009 by Randy Heffner Before viewing talk // After viewing talkThe simple title Doubt captures the film’s exploration well. The story deals with certainty and doubt around certain events, but the film evokes an exploration of doubt that runs deeper than the story. But, whether one engages at the story level or …more »»
The Spitfire Grill (1996)
October 31, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkPerhaps it is well-worn to say that a person coming out of prison has paid their debt to society, yet how do we really know that their character is changed? How should we behave until we do know? The Spitfire Grill starts with such questions, but …more »»
The Adventures of Milo and Otus (1989)
October 31, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkThe 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 »»
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
October 14, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkRachel Getting Married is in many ways a hard film to watch because of the numerous angles on family and personal dysfunction that it explores. The film has a unedited-home-video style and meditative tone that one must go with or the film will feel overly long. Still, for …more »»
Gran Torino (2008)
October 7, 2009 by Randy Heffner Before viewing talk // After viewing talk // Backstory talkOne could say that Gran Torino explores racism, but really racism is almost a red herring in the film’s exploration of alienation, sacrifice, caring, gratitude, and giving. Some praise the film, and some have derided …more »»
Surrogates (2009)
September 28, 2009 by Randy Heffner Quick talkSurrogates is an interesting mix of science fiction, action, and crime genres with a bit of the romantic as well. I’d like to say that it explores our struggle to be authentic humans, but …more »»
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