Category Archives: Movies

Depth in a Superficial Story

Posted on December 8, 2016 by hessd

I want to tell you two stories today. They are related, so I don’t want to put them into separate essays. The first is just personal. It has to do with the transition my mind made from a superficial made-for-TV … Continue reading →

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Richard and Mildred Loving

Posted on November 22, 2016 by hessd

Peter Debruge in his May 16 review for Variety explains why the film Loving just didn’t have enough pop for him. In addition to the objection I am going to cite, there were other more technical criticisms that I accepted … Continue reading →

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A Man Called Ove

Posted on October 18, 2016 by hessd

The maxim that it is more blessed to give than to receive is well known and I would apply it without a second thought to director Hannes Holm’s 2015 movie A Man Called Ove. I think the movie fits the … Continue reading →

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How to be seen and heard

Posted on June 21, 2016 by hessd

Much to my surprise, I discover that I am not quite finished with the movie, The Intern. In my earlier post [“The Intern as a Theological Prop,” on March 11] I considered the whole plot and let my theological sensitivities … Continue reading →

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Depth v Breadth, the Crucial Trade-off

Posted on May 7, 2016 by hessd

I have begun to arouse a little opposition among by beloved Bookies.[1] It’s not the puns this time. They drew the line at three puns per book group meeting and I have stayed well short of the line. Usually. This … Continue reading →

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See it for yourself

Posted on April 20, 2016 by hessd

There is a moment in the new Sally Fields movie, Hello, My Name is Doris, that catches everything I want to say about the movie. This picture gives you a feeling for what Doris’s house looks like. The audience sees … Continue reading →

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Concussion

Posted on January 16, 2016 by hessd

I have seen the movie Concussion three times now. [1] And I have read the book twice. So I think it would be fair to say that I am a fan. I tend to talk about movies that I liked … Continue reading →

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Bridge of Spies

Posted on October 21, 2015 by hessd

I will establish, in what I am about to say, that I am a movie illiterate. Would that be an invidiot? I like movies a lot, but I have no training and so, no depth of understanding. However. I would … Continue reading →

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Inside Out (and Upside Down)

Posted on July 29, 2015 by hessd

“It’s a charming movie. It is also distinctly American.” That’s the assessment of Tanya Luhrmann in the New York Times recently. (See her column here.) I like that way of putting it, because all the things I disliked about the … Continue reading →

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Believing and Believing IN

Posted on July 25, 2015 by hessd

I love it when this happens. I have watched Secondhand Lions maybe half a dozen times. Some parts, probably well over a dozen times. And always there is the sense that some part of my mind is receiving some really … Continue reading →

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