Hidden Figures

— It’s hard to find anything negative about this film. It’s a period piece with wonderful characters crafted from a real-life, fascinating story, and everything just looks good—the pictures are pretty, the costumes are perfect, and the sky is blue. As much as anything, it’s a crowd pleaser that can’t help but leave viewers wondering how such a thread in our recent history could have been hidden. Assuming the basic facts are true, it’s an example of the rewriting of history by omission, delaying a generation of women and blacks additional role models, and if this story was withheld, what others? It's definitely a film to see.

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[2016. 127 min. Directed by Theodore Melfi. Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons.]
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/movies/hidden-figures-review.html

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

— I didn’t run out to see “Rogue One” as soon as it hit theaters but now, after the rush and seeing it in a half-empty IMAX theater, I was surprised by how well it worked. It certainly has action and clever bits of humor here and there. It has some decent characters including a heroine Princess/General Leia would be proud of. It walked an interesting line as a standalone story that still has a few threads to the “Star Wars” franchise. It started quickly, jumping around the solar system and making me feel like I was on amphetamines and introducing a pretty large cast of characters. I was a little disappointed that eliminating the death star was the focus yet again, but that was a minor hiccup and didn’t detract much from the overall experience. I think anyone who casually liked the “Star Wars” films will like “Rogue One”. I did and I feel better about the “standalone film” concept now.

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[2016. 133 min. Directed by Gareth Edwards. Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, and Donnie Yen.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-2016

Fences

— August Wilson’s play makes for a good film under Denzel Washington’s loving hand. The only problem is that it knows its own importance and, while watching the film, recent events are hard to shake and “Black Lives Matter” looms in the background, skewing the play's perspective. It’s also still more a filmed stage play than a bona fide film in spite a Hollywood budget and 360-degree camera shots to show off great interior sets. The dialogue feels like stage dialogue too—not many quiet conversations or much subtlety as the actors seem to be projecting their voices, amplifying the dialogue for a theater audience instead of conversing among themselves while being filmed. That’s not to say the acting isn't very good; Viola Davis' performance stands out. It’s hard not to appreciate August Wilson’s words and this is a good rendition that I’d recommend seeing.

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[2016. 139 min. Directed by Denzel Washington. Starring Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, and Jovan Adepo.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fences-2016