Molly's Game

Molly’s Game                                                                                                                January 20, 2018

This movie is a patch work of scenes from Molly Bloom’s life. From little Molly learning how to ski, to an Olympic skier, to a novice poker manager, to a high stakes poker entrepreneur, to a felon. These scenes are managed through flash backs but make the narration awkward. The problem with this segmentation is it limits character development. Michael Cera (whose acting is best described as warm milk on a warm day) is Player X in a key poker sequence. The relationship with Molly could have been good or bad, but was equivocal because the scene ended

.

Molly, played by Jessica Chastain, is an Olympian skier who suffers a career ending accident. She takes a gap year on her way to law school which lasts about ten years. She becomes an entrepreneur of a high stakes poker attracting film celebrities, athletes and Wall Street titans. Pots are in the hundreds of thousands. The film feels like a docudrama. A lexicon of poker terms are explained  and are quickly forgotten. Little poker cards float in the air displaying winning and losing hand. Like a docudrama Chastain practically narrates the entire movie.

Chastain’s roles vary from rebellious daughter to damaged athlete to a high stakes poker entrepreneur. She gives a good performance, but the material limits her scope. This film lacks pathos. The film’s moral imperative is not whether to publish the Pentagon papers or to seek revenge for a murdered daughter, but to keep Molly in the game and out of prison. The tawdriness of the film is like a gossip magazine.

The two strongest interactions are Chastain with her father and her lawyer. Kevin Costner plays her father as a hard driving perfectionist, whose unyielding parenting drives her away. Costner plays the role cold and detached, not a stretch for him.

 The best scenes are with her lawyer played by Idris Elba. Their interaction is spirted and heated. He is a reluctant lawyer and she an unsympathetic client. The exchange is compelling because he strips her down to the essential and she is vulnerable and needs his help. They have good chemistry.

This is not a movie about pulling yourself out of poverty by your boot straps, but rather balancing yourself on stiletto heels wearing a skin tight mini dress. This movie is more voyeuristic than dramatic. Rather than a must see movie it is at best a nice to see movie.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures 

                                                                                           January 7, 2017

What a joyous and uplifting movie; but this is not a Disney movie. The movie tackles hard topics like racism, segregation and sex discrimination.

 This is a true story about three African-Americans mathematicians who worked on the space program at NASA Langley field Virginia in the 1960’s.They are: Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson-mathematical genius , Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, IBM programmer, Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, engineer.

This movie is referred to as a biographical comedy-drama film. It is humorous but certain parts are serious and historic. It never occurred to me there was discrimination NASA, but why not? It was in Virginia in the 1960’s where discrimination was accepted.   Mathematicians were called computers. These ladies were referred to as the colored computers. 

Henson is outstanding in her role. She could be submissive and stay in her place to advance but she had the courage to confront prejudice. She had to wrestle respect from her co-workers and bosses.  Her advantage was her mathematical genius, she even impressed the astronauts.  

Spencer was the over worked supervisor without a title or appropriate pay. In a quiet and relentless manner, she became the first Afro-American IBM programmer. She surreptitiously learning Fortran on her own. Spencer’s outward calmness underlies her tenacity and intelligence.

Monae was the squeaky wheel. Of the three she pushed the boundaries using moxie and her beauty. Through hard work and undiscouraged she became an engineer.

Kevin Costner played the director of the Space Task Group. Seemingly oblivious to racism until he needed his colored computers. He played a hardened bureaucrat with a heart deeply buried in his chest. Jim Parsons played the peevish head mathematician who was a racist and misogynistic. At every turn, he put up obstacles which Henson knocked down.

This movie is the flip side of The Right Stuff. These women boosted the space program with their No. 2 pencils. Hidden Figures shines a much need light on a neglected part of our history. Stick round for the credit roll to see the real-life people.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Now that the Oscar nomination season is behind us we can enjoy films with mindless violence and gratuitous sex. Regrettably this was not one of those films. There was more action than mindless violence with the exception of the opening scene which gave false hope of mayhem. The only sexy thing in the movie was Kiara Knightly. She is very attractive, but a pole dancer she ain’t.

The plot is somewhat complex, but thankfully there are enough bullets and explosions that your grasp of high finance does not strain your brain. The arch Russian enemy is played by Kenneth Branagh (he also directed). He typically plays a sophisticated Englishman with a public school accent. He tries hard to look menacing but with his pudgy London tanned face, he is not convincing.

Chris Pine (Star Trek/Captain Kirk) is the prequel Jack Ryan. He sports his signature cockiness. As with the other Jack Ryans (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck) he uses his analytic prowess to source out clues. The ladies will not be disappointed.

Kevin Costner is reviving his movie career. He is the CIA handler who recruits Jack Ryan.  Costner always plays his roles with his trade mark cool confidence and this works well for him here.  In this film he supplements his confidence with a sniper rifle and deadly aim. There is a sort father son relationship between Costner and Pine, but Costner early recognizes Ryan’s analytical skills.

Kiara Knightly is Ryan’s fiancé. Not to give away any spoiler details she gets into the mix because of plot necessity. She plays the strong wily female with a dash of moxie. She does a good job but this role was a cake walk for her.

The plot involves high finance so you have to pay attention in the beginning. Mercifully the rest of the movie racks up body counts and there is some impressive pyrotechnics. The movie has a pacing problem, between finding clues and action. The film is more of like a caffeine buzz rather than an adrenaline rush. The two main locations are Moscow and Manhattan (it is fun seeing some of the old buildings). This is a nice winter movie, but if it is too cold stay home and wait for Netflix in the mail.