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 2011: Best Picture Roundup
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 5, 2011
Oscar 2011 has a superb set of ten Best Picture nominees. Aside from certain content awareness advisories for most of the films, I can, without reservation, say that all ten are are worth seeing. This means that there are really none of them that are …more »»
Oscar 2012: Best Picture Roundup
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 9, 2012
All nine Oscar 2012 Best Picture nominations are strong thematically, exploring important questions of the heart. Most are also very well made, and I had to struggle to keep my top tier list small. To the concerns of some conservative viewers, who complain …more »»
Oscar 2013: Best Picture Roundup
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 25, 2013
2013’s Oscar nominations are a diverse set
It’s a quite diverse collection of films that the Academy has singled out for Oscar 2013 Best Picture nomination. Only two are similar enough in their style, theme, and content to feel like they might fit into the same category: …more »»
127 Hours (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 1, 2010
127 Hours is an intense but important film. As basically a one-man show (with flashbacks involving additional characters), it provides an in-depth exploration of a person left alone with …more »»
Amour (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 23, 2013
Intimate and conflicted, tender and raw, Amour explores an elderly couple’s struggle with the hardships of sudden disability. Considering the whole of the film, it is bold on director Michael Haneke’s part to choose …more »»
Argo (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — November 3, 2012
Argo succeeds quite well as an action-suspense film, with excellent storytelling and filmcraft. Beyond that, it admirably touches on issues of trust, loyalty, and the difficulty of …more »»
The Artist (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 1, 2012
The Artist is a silent film like few others — perhaps unlike any other. Simultaneously staying true to the genre and playing with it, director Michel Hazanavicius creatively employs silent film as one element of great storytelling and filmcraft — and manages to do so without falling into …more »»
Avatar (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 15, 2010
To 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 »»
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — September 10, 2012
In 2011, The Tree of Life was the notable “alternate type” of film experience. For 2012, it’s Beasts of the Southern Wild — and it’s a good thing in both cases. …more »»
Black Swan (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 19, 2010
Black Swan is dark, difficult, nuanced, intense, and strong. Searching the performer’s heart, the film finds joy and confusion, confidence and fear, passion and reserve, freedom and bondage, competitiveness and timidness. At the same time, Black Swan …more »»
The Blind Side (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 20, 2010
As 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 »»
The Descendants (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 16, 2011
Witty and gentle, unfolding at a closely measured pace, The Descendants moves through a chaotic but in the end lovely cohort of relationships wrestling with misdeeds, transgressions, wounds, and flaws, mixing tenderness and aggravation to explore how we might find heart in the middle …more »»
District 9 (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 19, 2010
District 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 »»
Django Unchained (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 29, 2012
Slavery was (and is) a horrible thing, and Django Unchained explores 1800s USA slavery with unblinking intensity, insightful juxtapositions, and indulgent relish. It’s this last bit that …more »»
