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 Tagged ‘Oscar nomination’
A Serious Man (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 22, 2010
Have 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 »»
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 15, 2012
Off-beat, witty, and creatively dysfunctional, Silver Linings Playbook explores the craziness that underlies our lives. Whether it’s obsessive attachments or odd superstitions or poor social skills or …more »»
The Social Network (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — November 30, 2010
It’s a engaging tale, The Social Network, and well-told: Jilted lover thinks of revenge, scramble for a good business idea, corporate intrigue, broken relationships. It all could be quite stereotypical, and …more »»
Toy Story 3 (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 18, 2010
Dodging the dangers of sequeldom, Toy Story 3 is plain fun to watch as it takes us through a familiar landscape of toys and joys and tears and fears. We know, from the first two films in the series, most of the characters and the general territory of …more »»
The Tree of Life (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — June 21, 2011
I’ll say upfront that I find The Tree of Life to be very much worth the time. I’ll also say that it is the type of enigmatic and obscure exploration of life that demands viewers to be highly engaged and to reserve judgment. With any film, …more »»
True Grit (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — December 31, 2010
In True Grit, the Coen brothers have created an engaging portrayal with themes of honor and expedience, justice and revenge, age and experience, and, well, okay I’ll say it: grit and determination. I’ll leave to others comparisons with the 1969 John Wayne version and …more »»
Up (2009)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 20, 2010
Charming, 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)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — February 18, 2010
What 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 »»
War Horse (2011)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 28, 2012
About the story in War Horse, a strict realist would say, “Yeah, right. How likely is that?” I hold to the old adage “truth is stranger than fiction” — or even Jack Johnson’s “fact and fiction work as a team.” But, I do have reservations about the …more »»
Winter’s Bone (2010)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — November 14, 2010
The opening of Winter’s Bone is exquisitely crafted to draw us slowly in from the lightness of country children playing on a trampoline to the core tension of the story. The contrast lends great effect …more »»
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
(Before viewing)
by Randy Heffner — January 15, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty is tense, tight, and deep into the uncertainties and risks of intelligence work in a post-9/11, terror-ridden world. Indeed, the film’s exploration begins and ends with that fact: that our world is …more »»
