The Bearded Trio

MOLLY'S GAME Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner,  Michael Cera, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp Based on the book by Molly Bloom Written for the Screen and Directed by Aaron Sorkin Reviewed by Patrick & Paul Gibbs  Out of four The story of Molly Bloom is a story about resilience in the face of obstacles. It's also a story about stubbornness, pride, fragile egos, scheming and money. In short, it has almost everything that writer Aaron Sorkin would need to create a film that fits his signature brand of very clever (sometimes too clever) dialogue and character study set against a colorful backdrop.  Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) preparing for a downhill run. (Image Courtesy STX Films) Bloom (playe here by Jessica Chastain) was charged in April of 2013 with running a high-stakes poker game that originated out of the Viper Room in Los Angeles and attracted wealthy individuals, sports figures and Hollywood celebrities, and j...

HIDDEN FIGURES Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spence, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Jim Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Kimberly Quinn, Glen Powell, Olek Krupa Based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi Directed by Theodore Melfi Reviewed by Paul & Patrick Gibbs Out of Four When a film is labeled as "important", to a fair portion of the viewing audience that translates into "boring".  And when a film can be described as a "feel-good movie", another section of the audience dismisses it as formulaic and maipulative. In either case, jumping to these kind of conclusions with Hidden Figures is a mistake: director Theodore Melfi and his cast have created a smart, engaging film that entertains at the same time that it illuminates a chapter of American history known to far too few of us, the story of black women who worked at NASA during the days of Project Mercury. ...