MOVIES: SISTERHOOD OF WHIZ WOMEN BEHIND NASA’S SPACE LAUNCH IN “HIDDEN FIGURES”

Prepare for a soaring, inspiring and mentally-challenging ride in the Oscar-nominated movie “Hidden Figures” starring Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae, Jim Parsons and Kirsten Dunst.

At last, the story of a visionary trio of women who crossed gender, race and professional lines on their way to pioneering cosmic travel comes to the screen in “Hidden Figures” that uncovers the incredible, untold yet true story of a brilliant group of women who changed the foundations of the country for the better -- by aiming for the stars.  The film recounts the vital history of an elite team of black female mathematicians at NASA who helped win the all-out space race against America’s rivals in the Soviet Union and, at the same time, sent the quest for equal rights and opportunity rocketing forwards.

Katherine G. Johnson (played by Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monae), the chance to use their knowledge, passion and skills opened up just as the demands of their work in NASA.  Whenever NASA is in need of numbers, they call on their team to solve all mathematical problems being faced at such time.  Director Theodore Melfi explains:  “For NASA, at that moment in time, brains were more important than race or sex.  These were brilliant women who could do the math they needed, who were hungry for a chance, who really wanted the opportunity to change their lives – so who else were they going to turn to?”

MOVIES: HISTORY’S GREATEST “HIDDEN FIGURES” BEHIND THE APOLLO MISSIONS

Everyone knows about the Apollo missions.  We can all immediately list the bold male astronauts who took those first giant steps for humankind in space:  John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Neil Armstrong.  Yet, remarkably, Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson’s are names not taught in school or even known to most people -- even though their daring, smarts and powerful roles as NASA’s ingenious “human computers” were indispensable to advances that allowed for human space flight.  These women are the unsung and unlikely heroes of the space race –female mathematicians who blazed multiple trails, trails towards greater diversity in science, equality in America, for human mathematical achievement and to launch John Glenn into mesmerizing orbit at more than 17, 000 miles per hour as he circled three times around the globe in space.
             
“Hidden Figures” uncovers the incredible, untold yet true story of a brilliant group of women who changed the foundations of the country for the better -- by aiming for the stars.  The film recounts the vital history of an elite team of black female mathematicians at NASA who helped win the all-out space race against America’s rivals in the Soviet Union and, at the same time, sent the quest for equal rights and opportunity rocketing forwards.

At last, the story of a visionary trio of women who crossed gender, race and professional lines on their way to pioneering cosmic travel comes to the screen starring Oscar®-nominee Taraji P. Henson (Empire, Benjamin Button, Hustle And Flow), Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer (Allegiant, Fruitvale Station, The Help), singer Janelle Monáe making her motion picture debut and two time Oscar® winner Kevin Costner (Black Or White, Field Of Dreams, Dancing With Wolves).

MOVIES: KEVIN COSTNER BREAKS CHAINS OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE HIGHLY-INSPIRING “HIDDEN FIGURES”

The legendary Oscar winning actor Kevin Costner stars in the highly-inspiring movie based on the lives of real women who dared the odds in “Hidden Figures” along with Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominated Taraji P. Henson, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Grammy nominated Janelle Monáe , Golden Globe nominee Kirsten Dunst and Jim Parsons with a powerful score from multiple Grammy winning musician/composer Pharrell Williams.

In “Hidden Figures” Costner plays the head of NASA’s Space Task Group, (the fictional) Al Harrison, who needs the best possible mathematicians regardless of gender or race.  Harrison wants Katherine Johnson (Henson) to work on John Glenn’s mission, because she has the skills needed to calculate the astronaut’s trajectory, which entails writing new formulas, making sure Glenn returns to Earth safely. As the movie unfolds, we discover that although Johnson is working on the mission, she is given little credit and is hamstrung in her endeavors because of endemic prejudice.

During the turbulent 60s, battling discrimination at home and in the workplace, Katherine Johnson, (Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominated Taraji P. Henson) Dorothy Vaughan (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Grammy nominated Janelle Monáe), all stellar mathematicians, were undeterred in their pursuit of academic excellence. Instrumental in helping America to eventually win the space race, they broke down barriers, laying the groundwork for future generations.  

Movie Review: CRIMINAL

You might think of it as an updated take on the 90's science thriller films 'Face Off' and 'Unforgettable', in 2016's 'Criminal', Ryan Reynolds is Bill Pope, a CIA Agent, with integral information -only he knows. When Pope is killed in the line of duty, division head - Gary Oldman resorts to unorthodox means by reaching out to Tommy Lee Jones' Dr. Franks a neuroscientist specializing on memory transfer. A different character from his usual tough guy roles. 

Dr. Franks helps extract Bill Pope's memories and transfer them to another human being. Problem is, the ideal candidate for the memory transfer is a Neanderthal-like Kevin Costner, who plays Jericho Stelwart who has spent most of his life in prison, thanks in part to his undeveloped frontal lobe, which was damaged as a child. This rare brain damage has robbed him of the capacity to differentiate right from wrong, making him live of life of violence and eventually spending half of it in prison. 

Jericho can't comprehend emotions and when he is suddenly given Bill Pope's memories he starts experiencing things for the first time. 

While the threat of an imminent world war is peering at the corner, Jericho wrestles with memories of Bill Pope's wife, Jill (Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot) and his daughter Emma. 

Can Jericho finish Bill's mission in time? And how does a cruel hard man-who has no idea or experience on love and family do when he is suddenly handed memories of a beautiful family he loves but does not belong to? 

The greatest strength of the film is how the audiences cheered on a hardened Jericho, whose brute, child like actions becomes almost amusing when he is suddenly bestowed with skills and memories of a CIA agent. 

The film effectively combines elements of action and suspence with some emotional highs. Kevin Costner's rough and gruff Jericho will charm audiences as they cheer on the bad guy turned good. 

While the movie was surprisingly enjoyable for audiences, it doesn't offer anything new along this story line which has already been explored. I think they could have chosen a better title for it too. 

6 out of 10. “Criminal” opens in cinemas this April 13 from OctoArts Films International.