The Imitation Game

"Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

Third and final film to complete our three-film marathon saw us sitting down to watch 'The Imitation Game'. Being a real sucker for films based on true stories, I was quite intrigued to see what this movie had to offer.

'The Imitation Game' is a British/American thriller based on the life of mathematician Allen Turing portrayed here by Benedict Cumberbatch. Turing has been hired by the government to find a way to crack Nazi German messages encrypted by 'Enigma'. This being an almost impossible task, the main problem is that the code changes daily and there are millions of different combinations. Turing, along with a group of other scholars, must race against the clock each day to find a way to understand these messages. Turing believes he can create a machine which will crack the daily code and help allies to understand German moves to end WW2. With insight into Turing's past, it becomes evident as to why he is so determined to create this code-cracking machine.

After all the hype and recommendations I was expecting this movie to be outstanding. To a degree, this was the case. The acting is almost flawless with another fab performance from Cumberbatch and a near perfect performance from Knightley. The rest of the cast were solid and the young actors were as great as you would hope from a Hollywood Blockbuster. I was expecting the film to concentrate on the task at hand of cracking the Nazi code but so often we almost get there and we are given scenes of Turing's life at the time along with flashbacks from his school days. The scenes were dramatic and moving with a particularly powerful final scene which did bring a tear to my eye. My problem with this film, as is the case with a lot of films these days, is that it was too drawn out. I just wanted to get back to the main plot without all these deviations. Also the main point of the film is actually not about this group of scholars trying to break 'Enigma' but more focussed on Turing's life. Maybe I have had enough of these 'it was awful to be gay back then' films. This for me is where 'The Imitation Game' loses points, otherwise an amazing film with moving scenes and Oscar-worthy performances.

7/10 for 'The Imitation Game'. Some may think that's harsh but I just feel it was 20 minutes too long.

Black Sea

"What happens when one of them figures out that their share gets bigger when there are less people to share it with?"

Three film Saturday was on the cards. We were in desperate need of some movie time so we decided to see 'Black Sea' to start our movie marathon!

'Black Sea' is a 2014 British Thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald starring Jude Law as the main character Captain Robinson. Having been made redundant, Robinson, along with some of his former co-workers decide to investigate a missing submarine filled with millions of pounds worth of Nazi gold. With the backing of an investor the hunt gets underway. Joining Robinson and his former colleagues are a team of Russians and a young homeless guy brought on board by Robinson in a bid to help him out. As the submarine goes further and further into darkness as does the cabin-fevered crew who don't quite agree that everyone deserves a fair share of the potential gold. 

I found this movie quite thrilling actually. The production team did a marvellous job by making you feel as if you were actually in deep water yourself. I found at times feeling like I couldn't breathe, which is the sign of any good film that it controls you so much you lose your senses. One down side is that I feel the budget was tight as there weren't so many great shots of the actual submarine. Still, the film was scored perfectly, something I cannot fault. The plot was well thought out with minor side stories but main focus on the task at hand which is always a winner for me. I did feel the film lagging at points which meant it probably could have been shortened a tad. The acting was almost spot on. It was strange to see Jude Law but hear a Scottish accent coming out of him but I got used it after a while. Great film, shame about the pace and production value.

A solid 7/10 for 'Black Sea' placing it at number 32 of 67 films so far in my almost complete 2014 League Table.
 

Fury



To finish our two film Saturday afternoon, Mr B and I went to see 'Fury'. Not my usual type of film but did it convert me...

'Fury' is an American war film set during World War II. It's 1945; allies are making their final push through Nazi Germany. The film follows Norman, an army typist thrown into the battlefield to take over as assistant driver/gunner on board the tank known as 'Fury'. This tank is commanded by 'Wardaddy' (played by Brad Pitt) and his fellow band of soldiers. Norman has never seen the inside of tank let alone driven one. As the film progresses you see how little Norman knows about war on the front line, but with no time to lose he must learn as the tank advances into the final stage of this war.

 

Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) really acts his ass off in the role of Norman. This is easily the best acting we have seen from this young future megastar. Brad Pitt is solid as usual, although I can't help never being that impressed by him. The rest of the crew provide the vulgar and humorous side of how these men could have been. Shia LaBeouf could have been a cardboard cut-out for most of this film. He had a couple of glassy-eyed moments but other than that we could have easily lost him. The plot of the film isn't necessary anything amazing but that could just be my minor disinterest of war films. Also I didn't get the feeling that these men were close like family which is what I'm sure was intended. There are some great shots, superb explosions and laser-like shooting scenes which, with the acting of most of the cast, make this film a worthy watch.