[star rating=”4″]
HIDDEN FIGURES. Directed by Theodore Melfi with Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner and Jim Parsons.
While Theodore Melfi’s treatment of the true story of African American mathematicians who worked at NASA during the space race is not perfect, it does a very good job at coming close. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson were young women who worked in the “coloured” section of NASA during the early 1960s. Talented all of them – brilliant, even – they were relegated to the “computer” section of the organisation. But all three rose above the restrictions of the time to excel in various departments.
Hidden Figures is set during the height of the space competition between Russia and America to see who will put a person on the moon first. It is also set during segregation, where separate bathrooms, seating on buses and use of facilities such as libraries are clearly demarcated “white” or “coloured” (a stark reminder that South Africa wasn’t the only country in the world to practice apartheid). The challenges that all three women face, not only from a race perspective but also class and gender, are made painfully clear.Their success, too, is made all the more laudable.
Hidden Figures is hardly subtle, and it also carries a whiff of white saviour-hood (Kevin Costner as a Task Group supervisor is seen as a good man because he treats Katherine Johnson as a human being. Clap clap). But the performances of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae as the trio of feisty mathematicians are what make the film. Moving, poignant and uplifting. – KAREN RUTTER
[star rating=”3.5″]
LOGAN. Directed by James Mangold with Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stuart, Richard E. Grant and Dafne Keen.
I must confess that I am a Wolverine fan, so I thoroughly enjoyed the latest Logan. It started off rather violent but thank goodness throughout the film it was not blood for blood’s sake. Rather, it was a great action movie and each scene was part of the plot. It has a real, unforced story that developed its characters naturally.
You can identify with them all, a tired Logan who is attempting to hide from his legacy and is looking after Professor X who is now very old and has seizures that are classified as a weapon of mass destruction. We are now in the near future where there are not many mutants left and both of them know that they don’t have much time left on earth. Thrown in between them is Laura, a young mutant girl who needs to get to Eden, a hideout on the Mexican border to meet other young mutants so that they can escape to safety.
It was refreshing to have ‘non computer’ generated fighting scenes; they were fluid and choreographed brilliantly. I loved Laura as a central character and her strong dominant role where she is able to fend for herself and is strikingly similar to Logan.
So, sad that this is the end of Wolverine’s 17 year journey … as well as the recognisable X man Professor X. But maybe Laura will continue in the future as the new superhero? I would hope so. INCLUDES: Director interview. – TRACEY DERRICK
[star rating=”3″]
SLEEPLESS. Directed by Baran bo Odar with Jamie Foxx, T.I., Dermot Mulroney and Michelle Monoghan.
Jamie Foxx tried his best, but I have to confess to a certain amount of sleepiness while getting through this one. The premise is fine – undercover cop risks his family and his life trying to expose a circle of corrupt colleagues. It’s just the execution of it that got a tad tedious.
It all starts with a load of cocaine that goes “missing”. Foxx is holding on to the stash, as a supposedly corrupt cop himself – but he’s using this as a double cover. So he’s got several coke dealers after him, plus he’s also got an ambitious internal affairs duo on his trail. Then in the middle of all this, his teenage son is kidnapped. Foxx is asked to swap the cocaine for his kid.
Basically, it means a lot of car chases and hand-to-hand combat, all spread out over Las Vegas where the story is set. Despite being stabbed in the stomach, shot at, rubbed in flour and generally fucked up, Foxx keeps on trucking. Endlessly. I guess the name of the movie is all about him not being able to sleep before he rescues his son. But I was so ready for bed, even before he found him. Sleepless? Not so much. – KAREN RUTTER
[star rating=”2″]
THE TICKET. Directed by Ido Fluk with Malin Akerman, Dan Stevens, Kerry Bishe and Oliver Platt.
Oh dear. Somebody ought to have told director Ido Fluk about the three second rule. The one that states if you’re directing a film, you shouldn’t stay on one image or scene for more than three seconds, or else things get boring. Clearly, he didn’t get that memo …
The Ticket is about a blind man who suddenly regains his sight. With his sight comes a new-found sense of confidence and purpose, and his life changes. He upgrades everything including his car, his house, his job and his wife. The thing is, does this make him happier? Also, is his sight permanent?
And ultimately, do we care? There’s nothing unusual about a man going through a mid-life crisis and dumping his old model wife and life. It happens with depressing regularity. As do most of the slow, “meaningful” shots in the film. The Ticket is bland and boring. You’d have to be blind not to see this. – KAREN RUTTER
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