Checking Out Hidden Figures and a Mourning First Lady

As movie award season kicked off early, I decided to check out three movies over the past two days. One was a second watch of Rogue One, which became the #2 movie of 2016. To be honest, I wanted to see it just for the final scene where the plans for the Death Star were given to someone who could wind up providing hope. If you've seen the movie, you know who it was.



I also just had to take a look at Natalie Portman's portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in Jackie. However, it wasn't in midtown or downtown Reno. It was at a shopping center eight miles away that was just as luxurious as the Galaxy Theater in Sparks, but the cost was cheaper thanks to Cinemark's Tuesday discount.

It was worth the extra drive because the movie takes a different look at Jackie that surprisingly no one thought of before....how she dealt with the assassination of her husband including her grief and the planning of his funeral. In between the days after his death, the movie shows her classic tour of the White House that was televised in 1962, and an interview she has with an unnamed reporter played by Billy Crudup. Through this, we see the many faces of Jackie Kennedy:  First Lady, grieving widow, and a woman facing an uncertain future.

Portman has Jackie's breathy voice and mannerisms down pat it's really spooky, but two scenes that were done very well shows how deep Portman got in this role. The first is seeing Jackie changing her clothes several times, as if things hadn't changed, while "Camelot" was heard on the record player. The other was her extensive discussions with a priest played beautifully by John Hurt.

Peter Skarsgard was also very good as Bobby Kennedy, who tries to keep the government and her sister-in-law together. This is especially true when he suggests she march at the procession by the side of her husband's coffin. There's also a great scene where she's angry at Bobby because she wasn't told Lee Harvey Oswald was killed.

It looks like the Best Actress races, which will really get underway when the SAG Awards happen late this month, will be a showdown between Portman and Emma Stone in La La Land. What the Oscars need is a really competitive race, and this could be it.



Meanwhile, there was a movie that certain people couldn't remember at the Golden Globes. It's about the secret behind NASA's success in getting man into space:  three African-American women whose stories weren't even known until recently.

Just after I saw Hidden Figures, I overheard two men who thought it took more than 50 years to reveal the story because the women were sworn to secrecy, almost like the Bletchly code-breakers in World War II. Actually, it's just that, according to Margot Lee Shetterly (who wrote the book that became the movie), the women just did their job and didn't seek fame.

Still, the sagas of Katherine Gobel Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) should be told because it showed that women did have a role in the space race. Johnson's skill as a mathematician got her a building named after her, Vaughn helped NASA transition to computers, and Jackson became one of the first female and African-American engineers.

The movie is smart to divide the girls' stories into three pieces. They're all working moms, but Katherine tries to impress the others with her calculating skills, Vaughn goes to great lengths to figure out the new IBM system and make sure she and her fellow calculators aren't out of a job, and Jackson is determined to break the color line to have the right to take college courses in an all-white school to advance. It's great to see Mary tell a skeptical judge it's in his best interests to let her in those classes.

Some people may dismiss the movie as a cross between The Help and The Right Stuff, but co-writer and director Ted Melfi makes sure to get the story right, even talking to Johnson, and producing an inspiring movie. Henson is really good as Johnson, who is shy at first but lets her numbers do the talking. However, she does get some resentment from the guys, including Head Engineer Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons). Thanks to support from the head of the Space Task Group (Kevin Costner) and even John Glenn, she proves her worth.

There's some talk Spencer may get in the Supporting Actress race, but her role as Vaughn is too similar to her award-winning role in The Help. Henson is actually a little better, especially when she tells her boss she can't be at her desk because the building has no "colored only" restrooms. It's no wonder why it just edged Rogue One for first place last weekend.

My movie weekend

Since awards season is underway with the announcement of the Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations, that means I'm spending more time at a theater near me.
After having to wait out the less-than-worthy movies, and still regretting not seeing Toy Story 3 when I had the chance, I'm starting to put together a list of which ones to see.
As usual, I go to the bargain matinees. I'm cheap and proud of it. So what if I have to wade through semi-flooded streets to save a few bucks. So be it. That's what I did to see The Black Swan.

At least one person has said this movie is The Wrestler in a tutu, or something like that. In this case, it's a bade of honor. It's directed by Darren Aronofsky, who shows us the ugly side of stardom and what one has to do to keep up.
Remember Randy the Ram? He relied on steroids and very unhealthy habits to stay in the pro wrestling game, even if he was way past his prime.
What has that got to do with up-and-coming ballerina Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman? Actually, a lot. Even if she is moving up the ranks of her ballet company, she has to undergo a punishing physical process to stay in shape and do the routines over and over. She's up for the Swan Queen in Swan Lake, even though director Thomas Leroy, played by Seymour Cassel, isn't sure she can do it. He wants someone who can be pure and then seductive. She does get the role, but now she has to fight to keep it.
Her rival is Lily, played by Mila Kunis. Lily is a free spirit, and the first ballet dancer I've seen with a tattoo of swan feathers. It's no coincidence.

Looking at this movie, you have to see Nina's life. She may be an adult, but inside there's a scared little girl who wants to be perfect. Technique she can handle, but trying to be the white and dark swan may be too much for her. It may also be a metaphor for trying to achieve emotional maturity.
Her family life is a little scary, too. She lives with her mom Erica (Barbara Hershey) who was a dancer until she gave it up to raise Nina. She keeps Nina in a little girl world. Compare that to Randy the Ram's attempts to reconnect with his daughter. While that relationship fell apart, Nina is way too close to her mom. Both extremes wind up hurting the main characters.

When Leroy explains to his cast how his version of Swan Lake will end, I had a flashback to how The Wrestler ended. Let's just say both involve a leap of faith.
I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum, but I can Natalie Portman is incredible as Nina, the ballerina who gives everything, and maybe to much, for her career and her role as the Swan Queen. Unfortunately, it's a little too similar to how much Randy the Ram gave to wrestling, right down to the cheering of the crowd.
I also liked Kunis as Lily, She's also believable as a ballerina, as she represents the darkness Nina wishes she could embrace, but also fears.

Meanwhile, I also decided to use up a Crest Theater movie card by seeing The Fighter, about boxer Micky Ward and his brother Dicky. I'll make this short by saying Christan Bale is fantastic as Dicky, a former boxer who trains brother Mickey. Much of the drama centers around the Ward family, and how mother Alice manages Micky's career. Melissa Leo is great as Alice, but Amy Adams is a big surprise as Charlene, Micky's love interest who the family doesn't trust because she thinks Micky should take career in a new direction. This is especially true when Dicky winds up in prison. Forget Gisele or the nun she played in Doubt. Adams has real edge as Charlene. She and Leo may wind up competing for Best Supporting Actress several times this winter.

So, what's next? True Grit, for one. I'd like to see how his Rooster Cogburn matches up with John Wayne. I already think Hailee Steinfeld will be much better than Kim Darby.
But, I have a lot of over cash I have to spend: three AMC passes, 25 dollars in Fandango cash gotten at a 50 percent discount, and two e-Movie Cash tickets. The toughest part will be using the AMC passes (provided by Coke Rewards, by the way) because I live in a Cinemark town. I can use them in L-A and San Francisco, and they won't expire. I hope to use two of the AMC passes, if the Citywalk Cinema has the right movies there. Of course, that means True Grit, Tangled and (if necessary) Tron Legacy.
I'll also be in L-A when they announce the Oscar nominations. That will also influence my choices. Of course, I could also go to a DVD kiosk to get Winter's Bone, which may play a big role in the final results.
If nothing else, I'll be a more informed Oscar viewer.