paulwaidelich

Having lived through the Nixon years, I was hoping for a more complete All The Presidents Men. Knowing now the name of Deep Throat, I was looking for cinematic greatness (or at least some entertainment) in the retelling of this important story. The historical accuracy was my only reward. Mark Felt is a movie worth watching, but as a documentary and not as a compelling movie. The Nixon years were a time when a ruthless, suspicious, narcissistic psychopath looked to consolidate the power of the presidency and move our nation towards an imperial democracy. Anyone see any possible parallels to current events? Mark Felt as a man belongs on a short list of patriots who stepped up at a critical moment in American history, much like Patrick Henry or (more controversially) Edward Snowden. Instead, we got a historically accurate but dramatically deficient movie that will be quickly forgotten. Like most reviewers on IMDB, I am ignorant of how movies are truly made. I cannot say who bears responsibility for making this an average film. The director? The writer? Liam Neeson leads an able cast and does a good job. The true story was an emotional cliffhanger, with the stakes being the highest since the Civil War. Nixon was a man elected president who wanted to become a dictator. Mark Felt and the Washington Post took him on almost singlehandedly, and saved the Constitution. This story needs to be retold. Mark Felt, The Man Who Brought Down the White House, doesn't come close to capturing the real life drama and importance of this OMG moment in our nation's history.

In thoughtful movies that rely on dialog and story rather than CGI, sex and violence, there's an opportunity to craft meaningful character studies. The Better Angels forgoes the flash, even filming in black and white. The problem is, they didn't develop any characters. Particularly young Lincoln. Nothing happens. No one changes, except maybe Lincoln's father a little. The viewer slogs through the boredom of frontier life without any insight into young Lincoln. I don't need to see people shot, stabbed and punched. I don't need to see gratuitous sex or colorful explosions, flashy costumes or lively music. But if you're going to make a movie about an historical character, there has to be a story told that shapes the boy into a man. This movie is little more than a black and white home movie where NOTHING happens. Four stars is probably generous.

When we see black people in movies, most of the time the women are loose and the men carry guns. How refreshing to see Hidden Figures, a story of women who happen to be black reaching their potentials. The three main characters suffer double prejudice as both black and women. They are wives and mothers, the products of black families who fought to get them educated. The results helped put John Glenn in space. One of the daughters wrote the book. This is a story about more than three women. It's a success story that belongs to their families as well.

I remember my father, who was an aerodynamical and thermodynamical engineer in this same era. He would come home and brag that he had reserved an hour with his companies IBM mainframe. Other Dads brought their sons toys and sweets. He'd bring me home those IBM punch cards. The movie got that part right. The advanced technology that was so amazing then is only fit for museums. We possess more calculating power in our cell phones than the entire NASA system that put a man in space. It was all done by people using math, engineers and mathematicians like these 3 amazing women.

Like classic movies, Hidden Figures doesn't have any CGI. Not a shot is fired. Not a punch was thrown. It's simply a great story, well- researched with great characters. Props to everyone involved. If you have a collection of movies, this one is a keeper. Hidden Figures will still be a good movie long after we've forgotten flashier popcorn flicks. There's no substitute for a great script.