Tag: Historic

REVIEW: While Predictable, ‘Hidden Figures’ Is A Solid Look At An Important True Story

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the space race of decades past has many inspiring stories of brilliant people, so it’s always a treat when Hollywood visits the subject.

“Hidden Figures” is another such feature. The picture tells the story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), three women who worked at NASA in the early 1960s in a unit dedicated to all the math for the agency.

Because their work was all about calculations, they were even called computers at the time. As their skills are called upon, though, Katherine is brought into a special task force for NASA’s latest mission, Mary is brought into an engineering unit and Dorothy, meanwhile, works to advance her role as the supervisor of her group. While this is happening, the three women have to face discrimination while also dealing with immense pressure as their work is key to bringing astronauts home safely.

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REVIEW: Despite A Poor Main Character, ‘Patriots Day’ Remains A Compelling Cinematic Look At A Horrific Moment

Director Peter Berg takes audiences behind the scenes of the Boston Marathon bombing from multiple viewpoints in “Patriots Day.”

While the picture does explore many of the people who were at the bombing and its immediate aftermath, such as Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), the film largely takes place through the eyes of Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg).

Saunders, who’s a fictional character made to represent Boston police officers, is a sergeant with the department and much of his story revolves around tracking down the two terrorists responsible.

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REVIEW: Superb Acting From Portman Creates A Haunting Portrait Of American Tragedy In ‘Jackie’

Pablo Larrain directs and Natalie Portman stars as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in this in depth look at one of America’s darkest days and the aftermath.

The picture largely takes place in the days after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, but other time periods are explored, too. While a majority of the picture shows Jackie planning the funeral in the days after the assassination as well her conversations about the events with others, the movie also shows the First Lady’s famous TV tour of the White House and when the Kennedys first arrived in Texas.

As the film unravels, it explores Jackie needing to be a mother, continue being a public figure and take efforts to preserve her husbands legacy.

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REVIEW: ‘Loving’ Lives Up To Its Title Thanks To Heartfelt Lead Performances

The strength and conviction of a couple’s love is put on full display in “Loving.”

The picture tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, two residents of Virginia who were married in Washington D.C. However, because of Virginia state laws, their marriage was not just declared void because it was interracial, they were also put in jail.

The result was a nearly decade long legal battle that eventually found its way in front of the United States Supreme Court. The majority of the flick, though, is spent with Richard and Mildred, who make the best of their situation in any way they can. Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Loving’ Lives Up To Its Title Thanks To Heartfelt Lead Performances”

REVIEW: ‘Deepwater Horizon’ Is Worth A Watch Thanks To Its Immersive Intensity

The start of America’s worst oil disaster is brought to the big screen in “Deepwater Horizon,” directed by Peter Berg, who previously helmed “Lone Survivor.”

Much of the film takes place on the now infamous drilling rig and while many true-to-life characters are featured, the movie mainly focuses on Mike Williams, played by Mark Wahlberg. After the initial setup, showing Williams’ home and family life, the movie picks up with him going back to the rig with his coworkers Andrea (Gina Rodriguez) and Jimmy (Kurt Russell).

Once the characters are on the rig, the film documents how the disaster of Deepwater Horizon unfolded, from the BP company skipping on safety checks to the eventual explosions and finally the evacuation of the rig.

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REVIEW: Suspenseful Filmmaking And Great Performances Help ‘Sully’ Soar

Clint Eastwood’s directing chops are once again on display here in “Sully,” making for some of the most tense movie sequences put to screen so far in 2016.

This picture follows the story of Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), a pilot who landed a commercial airliner on the Hudson River in January 2009. The film picks up in the immediate aftermath of the landing, with Sully still in New York City and meeting with safety and transportation officials for a review of what happened.

As the days go on, the movie explores Sully’s reaction to his sudden fame, his questioning of whether or not he did the right thing and his response to panels of flight officials who are investigating the landing.

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REVIEW: ‘The Finest Hours’ Is Worth A Watch Thanks To The Thrills

“The Finest Hours” takes audiences back to the days of the 1950s and follows the story of U.S. Coast Guard Officer Bernie Webber (played by Chris Pine) who is stationed on the coast of Massachusetts. The film’s main conflict comes when an oil tanker gets torn in half by a monster blizzard in the Atlantic Ocean resulting in Webber and a Coast Guard crew having to make a daring rescue.

Meanwhile, aboard the remaining section of the tanker, Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) is part of the crew that has to keep the ship afloat until help arrives.

The rescue-centric film is based on the true story of the actual Coast Guard mission and the flick certainly does capture a lot of intensity by portraying the grand moments of the epic tale. When the SS Pendleton is torn apart, the film breathtakingly displays the gravity of the situation.

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Trumbo movie review

Director:

  • Jay Roach

Cast:

  • Bryan Cranston
  • Diane Lane
  • Helen Mirren
  • Louis C.K.
  • Roger Bart
  • John Goodman
  • Rated: R

Bryan Cranston plays the title character and legendary Oscar winning screenwriter in “Trumbo” which picks up with the lives of the protagonists just as the Red Scare is starting to pick up.

The fear of communism is on full display in the movie and one of the targets of that fear is Dalton Trumbo as well as other Hollywood writers. The film documents this struggle with the Red Scare, mainly through Trumbo’s perspective, featuring how they had to go to jail and were even blacklisted from working in the film industry.

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The Danish Girl review

Director:

  • Tom Hooper

Cast:

  • Alicia Vikander
  • Eddie Redmayne
  • Matthias Schoenaerts
  • Rated: R

“The Danish Girl” is a film inspired by the true story of the first sex reassignment surgery patient, a transgender woman named Lili Elbe. The film begins in the 1920s, and shows how Lili (Redmayne) was originally Einar Wegener, an artist living in Denmark with his wife and fellow painter Gerda (Vikander).

Toward the beginning of the film, Einar fills in for a model that was absent for a painting Gerda was working on, which forces him to wear women’s clothing. In doing so, Einar realizes something that he’s really known his whole life, that his gender identity is actually that of a woman. The rest of the film follows the story of how the protagonist became Lili Elbe.

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REVIEW: ‘Brooklyn’

Director:

  • John Crowley

Cast:

  • Saoirse Ronan
  • Jim Broadbent
  • Julie Walters
  • Emory Cohen
  • Fiona Glascott
  • Rated: PG-13

“Brooklyn” follows the story of a young Irish woman named Eilis (Ronan), who gets a great opportunity to leave her homeland and travel to New York. While this does lead to a heartbreaking experience for her since she has to leave her mother and sister behind, her arrival in Brooklyn does offer some life changing moments.

As she begins to work at a new job and live at a boarding house, Eilis also meets a young man named Tony (Cohen). The two hit it off quickly and develop a strong relationship. Problems start to arise, though, when tragedy occurs in Ireland that may pull Eilis away from her new life in the states.

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