Funny, 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 »»
Film Talks Tagged ‘Oscar nomination’
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 29, 2012
A father’s unique and creative care for his son, which is at the center of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, carries profound power of hope and healing — even when the father can’t be there. The film embodies this power strongly in its …more »»
The Fighter (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 28, 2010
While it’s true that The Fighter tells a familiar sounding story — boxer overcomes odds — still it finds important underexplored territory. Mixing scenes of trust, betrayal, family pressure, family pride, manipulation, forgiveness, fear, failure, …more »»
The Help (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 7, 2012
Curiously, The Help works as a film — it can reach inside and grab us, sending us away as better people with deeper hearts to resist thinking ourselves superior. I say “curiously” because it has a major filmcraft weakness that doesn’t seem to …more »»
Hugo (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 2, 2012
Have you thought of the world as a machine? For me, the question carries connotations of a cold, heartless world of isolation and exploitation. Embedded within Hugo’s exploration of other matters of the heart, the film uniquely explores “machine nature” from …more »»
The Hurt Locker (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 17, 2010
Three 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 »»
Inception (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — July 28, 2010
What do you remember? Or, was it in a dream? Do you have reality straight in your mind? In your subconscious? The confluence of such questions is the space Inception perceptively explores. Part of the genius of Christopher Nolan’s writing and directing is …more »»
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 20, 2010
If 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 »»
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 20, 2010
Although some will immediately focus on the fact that The Kids Are All Right depicts a family headed by two married lesbians, I want to set that aside and consider the merits of the film on other concerns. Many of the questions the film explores are …more »»
The King’s Speech (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 5, 2011
The pace and energy of The King’s Speech is driven by characters and their relationships, not by events and action. On the surface, the film is about a powerful man overcoming a personal weakness, but what’s more important …more »»
Les Misérables (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 3, 2013
With intense performances, marvelous (not perfect) singing, excellent staging, and more, Les Misérables delivers strongly on Victor Hugo’s classic novel — and does itself proud in comparison to the stage production from which the …more »»
Life of Pi (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 18, 2012
Whether your belief system is atheist, agnostic, or theist, Life of Pi has something important for you. Whenever a film is adapted from a book, there’s always the question of comparison between the two. With Pi, this question is not simply …more »»
Lincoln (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 11, 2012
Midnight in Paris (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 31, 2012
As is Woody Allen’s tendency with his films, the delightful Midnight in Paris is definitely about something. This time it’s nostalgia. Also like many of his films, which lean heavily toward having characters tell you what the film is about, so does this one — but somehow, it doesn’t come off as overbearing as usual. And that is …more »»
Moneyball (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 3, 2012
As an underdog tale of courage and risk-taking, Moneyball succeeds very well. Even more, it succeeds as an exploration of loyalty and self-interest. Being set in the “national pastime” world of baseball lends the film some popular intrigue, and being loosely based on …more »»
