MOVIES
PAGE 20 • GO! MAGAZINE
Thursday, June 24, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn
20th Century Fox
Taraji P. Henson in a scene from “Hidden Figures” (2016).
Continued from previous page
“Apollo 11” (2019) — The documentary
utilizes archival footage from the actual
Apollo 11 mission as well as interviews with
some modern reenactments with actual
mission tapes played over them to propel
the incredible journey of Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins as they
made their way to the moon. Released in
time for the 50th anniversary of the mission,
it is awe-inspiring to watch and understand
all these years later. Stream it on Hulu or
rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google
Play, Vudu or YouTube.
“Apollo 13” (1995) — There really is no
beating this classic dramatization of the real
events that took place for the astronauts
aboard the Odyssey capsule. With great
performances from Tom Hanks as leader
of the crew Jim Lovell, Bill Paxton as Fred
Haise and Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert,
the film continues to shine because of the
great care the filmmakers seemed to have
taken to tell the story as honestly as they
could. Stream it on Starz or rent it on Ama-
zon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or
YouTube.
“The Dish” (2000) — While this quirky
Australian historical dramedy doesn’t actu-
ally go to the moon, it’s all about getting the
moon down to Earth, well, a signal from
the moon at least. Based on a true story of
how one radio telescope in rural Australia
was used to transmit the signal of the Ea-
gle’s landing on the lunar surface to the rest
of the world. Not only is it science-y but the
film also pokes fun at the divides between
Americans and Aussies all with one of the
most culturally significant events in mod-
ern history about to take place. The film
is unfortunately not available to stream or
rent online, but the Deschutes Public Li-
brary has a couple copies available to check
out.
“Hidden Figures” (2016) — I’ve lost count
as to how many times I’ve mentioned this
movie, but here it is again. It is definitely a
simplified version of events, but it is the core
story of three of the Black female mathe-
maticians who helped get the Mercury pro-
gram off the ground and, more importantly,
back home again. Stream it on Disney+ or
rent it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google
Play, Vudu or YouTube.
“Moon” (2009) — The quiet sci-fi film
takes place in the not-too-distant future
where the world’s energy needs are met by
mining the moon for helium. One of these
miners, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), is near-
ing the end of his three-year contract and
is anticipating going home when he begins
experiencing hallucinations and things that
just aren’t quite right. With a dash of mys-
tery added into this claustrophobic Duncan
Jones drama, “Moon” sends its audience to
the dark side of the moon and of the eth-
ics of corporations. Stream it for free (with
ads) on Tubi or Pluto TV or rent it on Ama-
zon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or
YouTube.
“Woman in the Moon” (1929) — The
German silent film directed by Fritz Lange
and written by Thea von Harbou got a sur-
prising (for the year of its release) number
of things right in its depiction of space travel
including the countdown clock, launchpad,
multistage orbital rockets and foot straps
used to restrain the crew during times of
zero gravity. Now, it also thought that there
was a breathable atmosphere on the moon
and that gravity would be the same, but
you can’t be right all the time. Stream it on
Kanopy or find it on YouTube.
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Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com