Really Surprised!

One of the best films i have seen

A different way of telling a story

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory) makes a first movie and gets beaten up in NASA mission by our protagonist, thats a first. I could see him twitching with pain when Katherine Johnson, erases the black board (no pun intended it is black board not white board) and rewrites the formulas for John Glen's pod re-entry, unfortunately Penny was not there to console him. The review Hidden Figures is a wonderful uplifting story of three African American ladies during segregation, making it to the top in NASA space mission. The bubbly, Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) who wants to be an aeronautical engineer in the white mans world, men watch her struggle through a observatory window when her heel gets stuck on the launch pad. The senior, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) who is managing a colored computers - literal meaning is a black women employed for computing. The genius of the trio is Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) who is calculating rocket's trajectory and re-entry crossing odds with Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons famously known as Sheldon Cooper). The movie is fairly star studded, Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) is head of the launch mission who at first is very skeptical of the Katherine's math abilities, he is a fantastic scientist with great leadership skills, but his human side is revealed when he discovers that Katherine took half hour breaks on a critical mission days just to learn that she had to walk half a mile (rain or shine) to relieve herself in the colored bathrooms. Takes a sledge hammer and shatters the signs of color of the facility and declares "There are no colors here at NASA, we are all one color". In the other building Dorothy updates her staff with coding (FORTRAN) so that they don't become obsolete on the installation of IBM supercomputers in the building, in the interim gains the much anticipated respect from her supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst). Mary breaks the barrier to be the first women to go to a College for White only through a court order. The icing on the cake is when management decides to take off Katherine from the mission control since all the calculations can be done by IBM computers, John Glenn personally orders to get Katherine to verify the calculations done by the computer. She oversees safe re-entry of John Glen in the Mission Control room filled with White people (I mean all men dressed in white shirts), with Katherine in a bright colored dress. She later goes on to supervise the Apollo 11 launch, mission to moon. The movie is a pleasant watch, very well directed by Theodore Melfi, a must watch for all children.

A film about African-American mathematicians working at NASA in the 1960s who were critical to the USA's success in the Space Race. There are critics who've said that the film is a little heavy-handed in reminding the audience of the institutional culture which worked against women and African Americans at that time. But, it's a film intending to appeal to common sense, the difficulties people face, and by its style - create an emotional response. If it feels heavy-handed then be reminded that this isn't a documentary about NASA; it isn't a film about African American political activists; it's a film with a theme - people work hard toward a common goal but are let down by ignorant people on the same side. It's a film with big scope and big heart and strong central performances. It's also an interesting story and faithful to the real people and true events. There is an air of self-satisfaction, and it is straightforward and without any surprises, and there is an unfinished element to the ending, but it is enjoyable and it's at the better end of a long series of quasi-hagiographic movies made over the last decade.

Wanted to see as many 2016 films as possible, especially those that won or were nominated for the big awards. 'Hidden Figures' also had the further interest on being based on an incredible true story, with just as incredible people, set during a very interesting and still hard-hitting period of history.'Hidden Figures' was one of the best-received films of the year critically and it is not hard to see why. Not saying that it's perfect or one of my favourites of all time, and it won't work, and has not worked, for everybody. Can definitely see the criticisms directed against it, or at least a few of them. There are a lot of exceptional elements here too that make it an illuminating and entertaining film that is hard to dislike regardless of any factual inaccuracies and distortions. The film is very well made, beautifully shot with the 60s setting recreated and evoked expertly. The direction keeps things moving while giving some breathing space, allowing the character interaction and situations to shine through (and shine through they do) and making the most of the story and period. The music is a dynamic fit. Particularly good here are the performances, with Octavia Spencer and especially Taraji P. Henson giving two of the year's best performances. Kirsten Dunst is given her meatiest material in years and her performance is one of her best, likewise with Kevin Costner. The three lead characters are ones you root for all the way, ones you laugh with, are moved by and are inspired by. Katherine in particular. Much of the script sparkles in sharpness, wit and insight. Parts are amusingly absurd which provides a levity that stops the film from becoming overly-serious. Parts make one reach for the tissues. Parts make one angry in a way that is appropriate. And throughout a great job is done honouring these characters while not making them complete saints. Not everything works. The colleague characters, though acted very well, are nowhere near as interesting or well developed. They are instead too one-dimensional and pat, with only Costner's character showing a glimpse of any kind of an open mind. It does get a little heavy-handed, a hard trap to avoid with the subject matter and period and credit is due not trivialising segregation. Especially true in most of the characterisation being too neat, parts that are a little preachy and the coloured bathroom running gag getting a little repetitive. Personally wouldn't call 'Hidden Figures' offensive, more that subtlety isn't a strong suit.Overall, very well done, not a film to remain hidden and does inspire to read more about the story, the characters and the period. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I'm sure many of you didn't know who Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan or Mary Jackson were before watching this. And now that you have watched it, you've come out fully informed right? Thus, this historically significant event during the space race of the 60s has done its job, with excellence might I add. The three coloured women mentioned above were all working for NASA in different departments. Using their intellect and self-determination, they must overcome the obstacles of Virginia's enforced segregation policy in order to achieve their maximum potential in their careers. Immediately I was drawn in by the chemistry of our three leading ladies. Henson, Spencer and Monáe did not succumb to the typical role of playing a minority. No no, they embraced the chance to showcase the power, confidence and, most importantly, sass that coloured women took pride in. It's about standing up to the conformities of 60s America, not just laying down on your back because a white man told you to! It gives me great pleasure to see films like this that present equality and the requirement of teamwork regardless of gender, race etc. still being produced today. The narrative beautifully blends the intellectual assignments of NASA with petty racial segregating amenities. One coloured women's bathroom? A kettle just for coloured folk? It's outrageous that disgusting actions like those actually happened. This is why we need films like this, to ensure we never regress to such a primal state of mind in society. For that, this film succeeds. Always brought a smug smile to my face when any of these characters show off and solve a fiendishly difficult calculation that the other employees could not answer. The script allows these characters to be developed by portraying their personal lives as well. It is a bloated subject where certain areas are underdeveloped like the family lives and the new flourishing romance. However, an important and well crafted film.