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 Tagged ‘Oscar nomination’
Oscar 2010: Best Picture Roundup
by Randy Heffner — February 25, 2010Avatar (2009)
by Randy Heffner — January 15, 2010To 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 Heffner — February 20, 2010As 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 »»
District 9 (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 19, 2010District 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 »»
An Education (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 8, 2010Funny, 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 Hurt Locker (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 17, 2010Three 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 »»
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 20, 2010If you take pleasure in revenge and you choose to go on taking pleasure in it, Inglourious Basterds will give you plenty to feed your pleasure. I don’t want that to be me, yet there is truth in what the film …more »»
Precious (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 16, 2010Engaging, 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 »»
A Serious Man (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 22, 2010Have you had those times when nothing in life seems to fit? Times that you want the formula for how things work so you can try to fix them? A Serious Man is about that. But there’s more: watching the film puts you in that …more »»
Up (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 20, 2010Charming, fun, and rich, Up takes us on an eventful animated ride watching the late-in-life transformation of Carl Fredricksen. Although the questions explored by the film are not particularly deep, Up’s creative coup …more »»
Up in the Air (2009)
by Randy Heffner — February 18, 2010What if your job had you on the road 322 days a year…traveling alone? What if you spent most of those days firing people? Starting with this bleak relational backdrop, Up in the Air explores hope, stability, …more »»
