The Case for Imitation

Benedict Cumberbatch.

That name evokes a lot of imagery.  Intensity, aloofness, clipped vowels.

Alan Turing.

That name has come to mean a lot more in the years since WW2, knowing as we do now his pivotal role in creating a calculating engine, a computer, to crack the Nazi Enigma code and assist the Allies in wining the war.

The Imitation Game throws the two together, Cumberbatch bringing all of his evocations to the mathematical genius that was Turing, and together they make a gripping and ultimately tragic figure.

The cast list for this film is as impressive as you would imagine, with Keira Knightly and her almighty jaw playing Alan’s love interest, Mark Strong the cool head of British Intelligence and the always magnificent Charles Dance channelling his inner Tyrion Lannister and reducing most men to quivering wrecks under his icy blue gaze.

For me, the film lost quite a bit when Dance’s Commander disappears from the film, as the story goes past the initial attempts to create the machine that would crack the Nazi code to the results of that incredible feat and its impact on the course of the war.  The film too is more interested in telling the tale leading up to the remarkable invention, though Turing’s formative and final years are also revealed in between all the stiff upper lip World War Two action.

The performances aside, the story itself is told in a fairly predictable and unimaginative way.  Its all done very well of course, its just that the usual conflicts arrive at the usual time with the usual coincidences which might or might not have been true (mainly with the minor characters; I imagine the major ones were kept pretty faithful to the reality).  Its all kept above the mediocre by those performances and the truly interesting story of the Turing and what happened to him before, after and during the War.

The real shame comes at the end credits when all the “and what happened next” comes up and so much is left unsaid: what happened to some of the other characters on Turing’s team?  What happened to the policemen who were investigating him?  Why was Turing honoured only just before the film was made?  A film that sheds such light on such an incredible man leaves so many other questions unanswered, though the packed Readings Cinema crowd with whom I shared the experience didn’t really seem to care.

Verdict: The Imitation Game has its ups and downs and the goes down even lower as Turing “wins” the war and then loses the battle.  It’s another great Cumberbatch performance, and the rest of the cast are amazing too, bringing a lot more grip to an otherwise middling film about a fascinating person.  7 Christophers out of 10.

The Case for the Hobbit - 3 in 1

So, the end is in sight.  In High Frame Resolution and in 3D as well. 

On the HFR – I am not convinced as while the image is sharper, it also seems to make everything look more fake.  As to the 3D, its rare I notice 3D after the first few minutes (except Hercules – well done the Rock!) and while there are some definite “3D moments”, I forgot about it for most of the film.

Technically, the film is amazing and beautiful after a fashion.  It looks almost more computer game than live action, which is both an achievement and a disappointment. 

As a film, on a level other than as a visual (and audio) spectacular, the third Hobbit film feels pretty flat.  Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins does what he can with a character cast adrift from anything that might make him likeable..  The many dwarves (now basically interchangeable apart from the tall one and the handsome one) likewise tend to talk at rather than with others, sometimes in slow motion and with extra bass for added tedium.  Gandalf (Ian McKellan), away for a bit but back for the final battle, doesn’t really have a lot to say or do either, though this probably has more to with the source material than a determination to sideline him  The Bowman, trying to save the town from the Desolation of Smaug, becomes the main hero of the first part of the film and then basically vanishes once the Elves arrive and the five armies start battling each other – presumably he ends up happily with his family rather than slain by the evil hordes.

Besides the characters cast adrift, there are the missteps too: the snivelling lackey in the second film becomes the wildly unfunny comic relief in this film and it’s a complete mystery why he seems to have more screen time than… well, anyone.  Billy Connelly shows up as a shouty dwarf, and what should be an amusingly unhinged turn as a belligerent general is obscured by some glaringly disturbing CGI that does obscene and unforgivable things to the man’s face.  And some cameos from the Lord of the Rings series hint at a better story elsewhere, and leave taking that with them.  

But then, the film really is about fighting and there is a lot of that.  Its all amazingly done, with swirling shots and incredible backdrops and death defying acrobatics and it all feels incredibly fake and almost completely unengaging, unlike the battles in Return of the King.  Legolas, looking older than ever, gets to do more ridiculously naff jumpy leapy things and is never in any real danger even though his presence dominates a lot of the fighting scenes.  I have to admit that I liked the big showdown between the big bad and the big (well, ish) good, though I had hoped it would have ended before it did and in a less… conventional fashion – probably again a book issue rather than a fault of the writers.

Overall, the film is incredible, amazing, and utterly underwhelming.  I thought there may have been a smattering of applause once the film concluded, as there sometimes is for these “event” films, but people just packed up and wandered off, no one seeming too blown away by what they had seen.  As one person said to me afterwards, “It has ended and I felt I had to see them all”.  And it did kind of feel that way too, more as a chore than a real pleasure.  Which is a total shame.  No need to buy these on DVD – I would rather go back to the Lord of the Rings methinks and remember the glory days.

Verdict: The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies was the ending and thank heaven for that.  Remarkable in so many ways and yet not really a particularly enjoyable film, there are flashes of brilliance and excitement that are quickly buried beneath layers of CGI and the underlying feeling that the writers just wanted to get it finished and have finally got there.  3 Armies out of 5.

The Case for Nightcrawling

Jake Gyllenhaal plays creepy disturbingly well.  When he gets thin, his big eyes look hollow, his wide mouth looks sinister, his intense stare looks… well, intense.  And all of these physical attributes, along side his robotic like delivery and focussed attention means he plays the amoral and psychotic Lou Bloom, a Nightcrawler, perfectly.

Lou is a petty thief who is incredibly smart but lacks a lot of social skills.  Then he discovers the world of L.A. crime journalism, chasing after accidents and murders with his video camera so he can sell his footage to the competitive local news networks.  It is grisly and almost inhuman, but the work can be lucrative, and so with his lack of boundaries and ethics, and with the assistance of a local morning news producer (a deliberately fading beauty in the gorgeous Rene Russo), he quickly becomes the man with the best gory crime footage in town. 

You never feel bad for Lou, which is great considering how repugnant what he is and what he does is shown to be.  But he is completely compelling, thanks to Gyllenhaal’s skill and a story which shows the world through his manic eyes.  

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but it’s a descent into depravity and manipulation and it is really good. 

It is a shame then that there were literally only about 5 of us in the main cinema of the Penthouse to enjoy it.  It was a nice day, and I know it was showing at some other screens in town, but really, how can the Paramount survive with attendance like that?  Fingers crossed it keeps its head above water.

But enough of that.

Verdict:  Nightcrawler was an intense and gripping thriller and totally worth watching.  It’s a pity it seems to have passed most cinemagoers by.  4 video cameras out of 5.

The Case for Partly Sating the Hunger

Once again, another third book in a trilogy has been broken into two (cleft in twain?) to stretch out the movie revenue in a successful franchise.  But this time, with the Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1, it may actually work.

Why?  Well, for fans of the books, the finale is seen as the weakest in the link.  I tend to think its because the final book tells the story of revolution in Panem, and as the books are told first person from Katniss’s point of view, its hard to really experience all the disparate events that this might entail.

The movie though is not tied down to a first person point of view.  The film can go and see President Snow (the grippingly evil Donald Sutherland, just awesome) and what vile machinations he is up to; it can follow handsome Edward/Gael (Liam Hemsworth) as he does brave and manly things without needing to hang on to Katniss’s (the always incredible Jennifer Lawrence – can she be more perfect?) leather pants; it can show Jacob/Peter (Josh Hutchison) and his story in the Capitol; and it can show Julianne Moore and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Elizabeth Banks and all the other actors and their characters and really give us that overall picture of how things are changing.

That it doesn’t though is what makes the film a bit slow and feel very much like a placeholder.  Watching Lawrence is never a chore, but her change from Victor to Rebel Inspiration is slow and a bit tedious.  Without the Hunger Games making Katniss act the heroine, the film shows that she is less a force for good but more a canvas on which others put their hopes and dreams, with the occasional profound act to get you on her side.

That is not to say the story is bad.  The bigger world is painted (even if it doesn’t always make a huge amount of sense to me) and the rebellion spreads, including an interesting “bomb the dam” scene that had me bamboozled as to how anyone was able to successfully place bombs and who would have actually survived afterwards.  At any rate, the actors (if not the story) are enough to propel you through to the end, where the inevitable cliff hanger gets your ready for part two.  A year away.  Huh.

Verdict: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1 is a long title on a longish film that throws a little bit of action and character development in amongst a whole lot of padding.  While it is an okay film, here is hoping Part 2 really lifts the Game.  May the odds be ever in its favour.  3 out of 5 explosive arrows.