Hidden Figures, 3.5 Stars

Taraji P. Henson

I liked this movie a lot. It is my hope for this year's Best Picture Oscar, but I don't think the Academy is ready to reward it that way. (See La La Land review.)

It is a compelling story about the space race in the 1960's that, for the most part, moves along well (it seems to falter when personal background stories are being told).

The casting is superb and the acting is excellent: Taraji P. Henson (Benjamin Button) and Janelle Monae (new to me) dominate their scenes and, along with Octavia Spencer (The Help), are the focal points who drive the movie. Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) surprised me with his range, while Kevin Costner (McFarland USA) played his more recent 'congenial' persona.

I highly recommend this and look forward to seeing it again.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 3.5 Stars

If you like the Star Wars (SW) franchise, you'll enjoy this movie. (I did.)

It fills in some background between Episodes III and IV about how the Rebellion got hold of the design plans of the Death Star.

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and Diego Luna (new to me) are good, 'one-off' additions to the SW series and give assertive performances. The strong supporting cast includes Mads Mikkelsen (see my Doctor Strange review) and Alan Tudyk (A Knight's Tale) as the voice of K-2SO.

The story is good and moves along, sometimes at a frenetic pace. I would see it again.

The Man Who Knew Infinity, 3.0 Stars

This is a somewhat obscure film that some friends introduced us to on Netflix. I'm not sure if it was in my local theatres and might have only had a short run elsewhere. It didn't get great reviews (according to Rotten Tomatoes).

The story is about a brilliant Indian mathematician around the time of the First World War who travels to Oxford, England (these facts may explain the lukewarm reception it received). I like math and I also liked this movie very much.

The cast is led by Jeremy Irons (The French Lieutenant's Woman, 1981) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), who dominate every scene they are in. It also introduces Devika Bhise, who displays a good range of emotions.

It is an interesting, engaging story and I recommend it.