Empire may be on hiatus, but Taraji P. Henson is currently ruling the box office. She stars as brilliant NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in the film Hidden Figures, which has topped the Hollywood box office for two weeks, beating films like Live By Night (starring Ben Affleck) and Oscar-favorite La La Land.
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| Hidden Figures Taraji P. Henson |
Hidden Figures is the first film starring multiple female leads to top the box office since 2011’s The Help, so the film has made history while telling an inspirational often-untold story from actual history.
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Hidden Figures follows Katherine, along with her colleagues: aspiring engineer Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) and aspiring supervisor Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) as they try to overcome the obstacles society has put in their path in 1961 as women of color. It’s a movie that will have you tearing up from happiness by the end. Yes, it’s that good. Seriously, from the opening scene, I was hooked. The film both reminds us how far we have come, but also how much sadly hasn’t changed (especially in light of the upcoming presidential inauguration).
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For those used to watching Henson as Cookie Lyon, Katherine is a much different character for her. As Katherine, Henson is earnest, bites her tongue, and is forced to prove herself to Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) and Paul Stafford (played by Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons), but she does get to express her inner Cookie in a scene in the middle of the movie that’ll have you cheering.
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With Oscar buzz building, Hidden Figures is definitely a must-see movie this awards season.