By Roger Costa
HIDDEN FIGURES
Funny, moving and inspiring, Theodore Melfi’s Golden Globe nominated comedy, recounts the brilliant minds of three African-American women who defied society and prejudice, as they accomplished strategies to launch rockets and men into space working for NASA in early 1960’s. Director Melfi had practiced the blends of comedy and social issues in “St. Vincent” and here (his third feature length film) he reaches over-the-top results that could easily highlight him as an authentic storyteller who understands the limits and importance of entertaining and making a social statement, while addressing the conflicts of a real-life story. The screenplay is simply fresh, uplifting and delicate, exploring the aspirations, talents and obstacles faced by these women, as they fight for respect and equal opportunities. They prove the system’s wrong and unjust as they gradually improve their talents for NASA’s advanced benefits, becoming the company’s most essential employees. The trio of performers are fabulous, Taraji P. Henson as a widow wondering whether life holds a better future, Janelle Monae as the flirtatious ahead-of-her-time outspoken engineer, and Octavia Spencer as the hard-working supervisor who won’t be granted her deserved title. All three give compelling performances with incredible balance between despair, uncertainty, fear, debauchery and sensuality, and Spencer once again carries remarkable lines- who can honestly forget her infamous lines from her Oscar-winning performance in “The Help”? She is up for a Golden Globe next Sunday in the Supporting Actress category, along with Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch for their Original Score. Kevin Costner plays an important key to the ladies’ accomplishments as the boss who’s touched by their racial dilemmas. Coherent and sensitive, it’s a highly recommended family movie event about finding justice and harmony as well as the struggle for reasonable success that keeps us moving forward.
FENCES
Denzel Washinton is undeniably one of the top contenders for the Oscars race as he directs and gives a phenomenal, furiously breathtaking leading performance in this adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play. But the film is not just a one-man-show; it belongs also to Viola Davis, playing the decisive role of his wife. She is also on the top of the list named the best in many circles, including winning the Critics Choice Award. Entirely centered around the disturbance happening inside the family’s house, their raw emotions, such as anguish and regrets, Denzel explores his character’s temperamental and explosive connection with each member of the family, his oldest estranged son, the younger and his precocious aspirations, a longtime friend and partner at work, his mentally ill and uncontrollable brother, and essentially his wife, who’s been enduring him and everyone else around, as the strongest, most-reasonable and supportive person in the field of troubles. As a director, Denzel conceived a coherent drama that carefully and honestly depicts usual topics of a dysfunctional family in need of freedom and forgiveness. Despite sometimes the theatrical atmosphere and long takes could turn it into a boredom, the players hold on the audience with limitless reasons to make it creditable with ravishing personifications.
PASSENGERS
Chris Pratt is space-alone when he accidentally wakes up during a 100-year-plus trip from Earth to a new planet. Lonely and bored, he debates whether to wake someone else up, and eventually dares to force to his company, no-one less than America’s sweetheart Jennifer Lawrence. Once together, they will make the best of it, while trying to survive the long years; Astonishingly designed with exuberant futuristic scenarios and innovative effects, Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum’s romantic sci-fi suffers from both originality and content: nothing really intrigues, nothing is happening up there, there are no conflicts or expectations. So what’s left? The sex-appeal and sparkling chemistry between the pair, whose attributes, curves, and butts are arduously exploited. That doesn’t save it from emptiness.
ASSASSIN’S CREED
An ensemble of fantastic performers waste their precious talents in this adaptation of a popular video-game. Michael Fassbender is courageous enough to accept exchanging ridiculous and repetitive lines with Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons. The dialogues are whether too plain, too sadistic or simply non-sense. The blend of modern ultra tech and ancient visuals, promote stunning chaotic sequences of chases and battles through time-travelling, resulting in a satisfying experience for fans of the game. The story presents the program developed by a scientist that allows Fassbender to travel in time and embody an ancient warrior searching for “the apple of Eden”- the fruit would give control over people’s minds(!) Despite the total disaster, it’s curious to check out Fassbender’s latest fighting skills, as well as observing how elegant Marion is, even when it’s obvious she’s pretending to be ‘cool’ with some unbearably laughable lines.
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