Roeper's Movie Reviews: 'Jackie', 'Miss Sloane', 'Office Christmas Party'

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Over the last half-century there have been hundreds of movies, TV series and specials about the assassination of JFK-but very only a very few have focused on the First Lady, Jacqueline.

SEE IT! Natalie Portman is a lock for an Oscar nomination for her exquisite, uncanny and unnerving work in "Jackie."

Most of the film is about the hours, days and weeks of November and December, 1963.

This is a beautifully photographed film that perfectly captures the era.

At times the material goes from melodrama to borderline camp, but Portman's amazing performance carries the day.

SEE IT! Another of my favorites, Jessica Chastain, is also in the conversation for Best Actress for her work as "Miss Sloane."

This is a very different, completely fictional take on Washington politics.

Chastain delivers an old-fashioned, bigger than life, movie star performance as a ruthless lobbyist who takes on the gun lobby.

While not quite in the same league as classic political thrillers such as "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor," this is still a consistently entertaining, fast-paced ride with some pretty nifty twists and a great supporting cast.

SKIP IT! And finally, a downtown Chicago tech firm tries to stave off massive layoffs by wooing a client with the ultimate "Office Christmas Party."

Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller and Olivia Munn team up to throw the bash, while Jennifer Aniston's Mean Girl Boss tries to shut it down.

As is the case with most movies about crazy parties, the actors have to do a lot of yelling and guzzling and physical comedy-and much of it falls flat. SNL's Kate McKinnon and a few other supporting players pick up a few laughs here and there, but this is forced, flat, crude and lewd and unfunny.

And guys, like "Bad Moms," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," "Barbershop: the Next Cut" and "Bad Santa 2," this is another Chicago-set comedy from 2016 that was filmed mostly elsewhere.

But we do get multiple nice shots of the orange Calder "flamingo" statue and lots of talk about how cold it is.