Really fun feel-good movie that has a couple of highly impactful scenes. This being a chess movie might turn non-chess fans off but it doesn't get deep into game theory at all, but it will still delight chess players just the same.
It covers the real-life story of a young girl growing up in a Uganda slum who develops a knack for chess. Sounds simple in a nutshell but there's some really great scenes (the slumkids sleeping on the floor of a local fancy school hit me light a freight train).
Some incredible performances both from the kids as well as the two main leads, Selma's David Oyelowo plays the chess coach brilliantly (watch for his dog vs cat story) and 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'O plays the girl's mother in a super strong performance.
I found myself smiling quite a few times, it's a nice flick. Oh, and DON'T miss the credits. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a brilliant way of introducing the real people behind the characters.
Heart rating: 4.5 stars (good luck getting up from your seat without a smile)
Brain rating: 3.5 (it starts pretty slow and takes a while to get really good)