The Imitation Game,
directed by Morten Tyldum
(PG-13, 114 minutes)
If you enjoy the super-sleuth that Benedict Cumberbatch portrays in BBC America's Sherlock, you'll feel right at home with The Imitation Game's Alan Turing. That's because Sherlock and Turing, also played by Cumberbatch, are practically the same -- abrupt, hyper-focused, insensitive to others, and likely high-ranking on the autism spectrum.
Like Sherlock, Turing has an air of arrogance in this riveting based-on-reality drama about a game-changing math whiz who bullies his way into Bletchley Park, headquarters of Britain's World War II code-breaking efforts. After outwitting his superiors and condescending mightily to other Brits with brains, the disagreeable but undeniably talented Turing proceeds to construct the forerunner of modern computers in order to hack his way into Germany's formidable Enigma cypher machine, paving the way to an Allied victory.
Despite his amazing achievement, Turing's life takes a nasty turn when, in 1953, he's arrested on charges of indecency, which leads to a disastrous conviction on charges of homosexuality. Nobody knew who he was. And nobody cared. Eventually, neither did he.
Making it work is Cumberbatch's job. And he's superb at it, being well schooled in the art of making a difficult, curmudgeonly character likable. Turing is disliked and envied by his code-breaking team, which includes elegant Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), and is supervised by imperious military authority Commander Denniston (Charles Dance), whose lack of collegiality concerning Turing's work knows no bounds.
The closest Turing comes to finding a friend is in Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley, too glamorous for the role), another numbers-oriented high achiever who has to pass herself off as clerical help to escape her protective parents and get a position on the prestigious but secret all-male team.
Exciting, fast-paced, beautifully photographed and often enthralling, The Imitation Game is also a riveting social commentary on sexism and sexuality.
Blu-ray and DVD special features include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and commentary by the filmmakers.
Interstellar (PG-13, 169 minutes) Interstellar requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Ambitious and wonderfully realized, it's a time-travel tale dressed up with lots of chalkboard theories about a guy who has made his way into the future and is sending signals back to his daughter in the past, which, from the point of view of a fifth-dimensional being, is an ever-present now. Got that?
Despite this lofty concept, it's not profound. But Interstellar is neither unintelligent or emotionally dumb. It's a movie that invites consideration and wonder. There's a certain clumsiness to Christopher Nolan's longest and most personal film, a kind of earnest self-seriousness that opens it to parody and snark. But at its center beats a human heart.
The film is set in an unspecified future that, thanks to mankind's abuses, is near the end of the increasingly infertile earth's livability. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA engineer who's called upon to travel beyond our galaxy to seek a new home for the planet's billions of surviving residents. To do so, he'll have to leave his young children Murph and Tom behind, and there's no guarantee that he'll make it back to see them again. But the alternative is certain doom. So off he goes in a small craft that also contains scientists Brand (Anne Hathaway), Doyle (Wes Bentley) and Romilly (David Gyasi), along with comedic computer TARS, heading toward the outer rings of Saturn, with no real plan on what to do if and when they get there.
Dwelling on the logic and invented-to-fit-the-situation science of this sort of project is pointless; it's far better to concentrate on the glowing visuals, the intriguing story, and the humanity, which Nolan gets right. It's too long, but hey, there's an endless frontier to be explored here.
With Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck. Blu-ray bonus features include three hours of behind-the-scenes content.
Wild (R, 115 minutes) Reese Witherspoon is unglamorous and strong in the role of Cheryl Strayed, an unexceptional and initially unimpressive young woman who, when faced with the dissolution of her marriage, the death of her mother, and a general slipping-down life, chooses a radically unconventional method of coping with her problems. She decides to hike the wildly beautiful and ultra-challenging 1,000-plus miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone except for the occasional fellow hiker (some friendly, some not) and thoughts of changing the direction her life is taking. With Thomas Sadowski, Gaby Hoffmann, W. Earl Brown, Laura Dern; directed by Jean-Marc Vallee.
The Rewrite (unrated, 106 minutes) A passable romantic comedy that benefits from an impressive cast, including a starring role by Hugh Grant. He plays obnoxious one-time Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Keith Michaels who, following a post-award lineup of mediocre screenplays, descends to teaching screenwriting classes at a faraway university in upstate New York. There he finds his uninspired approach to his new career changes when he gets acquainted with Holly (Marisa Tomei), an enthusiastic student who's a single mother working two jobs to earn her degree. With Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Annie Q; directed by Marc Lawrence.
Wild Card (R, 92 minutes) This mediocre, pokey actioner stars Jason Statham as -- what else? -- thug-for-hire Nick Wild, who, despite appearing to be bored and tired, is in hot pursuit of a gang leader who's responsible for beating his friend. With Sofia Vergara, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche, Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia; directed by Simon West.
MovieStyle on 04/03/2015