Jan 6 2017

Hidden Figures

At a time when the United States was still segregated, a team of African-American women with a great aptitude for mathematics, engineering and science would help make history with NASA as the nation set plans in motion to put a man into space. Racing against the Soviet Union would prove impossible without the help of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe), this is their story. Directed by Theodore Melfi, this uplifting and true story shines the light on a bittersweet moment in U.S. history to show a series of positive first steps in an empowering and humbling recounting of events. While the film does seem to run into some uneven pacing issues it’s the ensemble that makes this film sing and remind the audience that even in the darkness there can still be light. This is exactly the feel good film our divided nation needs right now. Hidden Figures is rated PG.


Jan 6 2017

Silence

By the 1600’s Catholicism had made it’s way to Japan only to be met with great resistance by ironically fierce and fearful Buddhists, followers of Christianity were persecuted and in many cases executed. Upon hearing that their mentor, Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), had turned his back on the church in Japan, two young Jesuits, Rodrigues and Garrpe ( Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) would find themselves in search of the truth, traveling to the same country in search of answers and to spread the word. Directed by and partially written by Martin Scorsese this slow burning historical tour of early Japan sits perfectly on the shelf with Scorsese’s other masterpieces, perhaps naturally and most directly The Last Temptation of Christ, paralleling countless acts of Christ and asking what is faith, where does faith come from, and what of martyrs? Beautifully shot and edited Scorsese creates a visually compelling and graphic feast and with well thought out performances from the ensemble there’s a lot to appreciate; perhaps the biggest question that looms will be, who is this film aimed at? Additionally, with a run time of 2 hours and 41 minutes it probably doesn’t hurt to remind viewers, Scorsese doesn’t make short films, get used to it and prepare to suffer for the art. Silence is rated R.