Nebraska

This black and white film has some of the most colorful characters of the year.

Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) takes us to small town Missouri and Nebraska for what turns out to be big fun at the movies.

For Bruce Springsteen fans, this black and white film immediately brings to mind Springsteen’s cover art for his 1982 album Nebraska. The songs on that superb album deal with ordinary, blue collar characters that face a turning point in their lives, but it’s a dark album with little hope. I thought that’s the movie I was going to see.

Nebraska is not a bleak film at all. I laughed at something from every character in this film: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Stacy Keach, June Squibb and a collection of folks that are surely the real thing.

Simply put:  It’s a touching film that should not be overlooked.

Award potential: Bruuuuuuuuuce! A career performance by Bruce Dern (Coming Home,The Great Gatsby) destined to nominated and a front runner to win. The movie and June Squibb might get an Oscar nomination too.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.