DVD of the month THE IMITATION GAME
Te actual, real-life story of Alan Turing was utterly remarkable; an
awkward genius who was obsessively engaged in a top-secret WWII project to crack Germany’s “unbreakable” Enigma encryption system, which he achieved - against seemingly insurmountable odds - by essentially inventing the computer. He shortened the war by years, swayed its outcome in the Allies’ favour, saved millions of lives, and drew the blueprint for modern life. Yet, instead of being hailed as the hero he so obviously was, he was driven to suicide by a society which brutally criminalised his homosexuality. It’s got everything: challenge, inspiration, triumph, betrayal, tragedy, love, and damning social commentary. Why, then, is this film so thoroughly adequate?
It’s certainly not bad. Te central
Oscar-nommed performance by Bunglefunk Crumblesnatch is brilliant, and the story is as engaging as it should be. It just feels really safe. Tere are no surprises or challenges. In short, I felt I’d watched exactly the film I thought I was going to watch.
Tere are comparisons to be drawn between this film and current Hawking biopic Te Teory of Everything, which is also a British film, and also has an Oscar-nominated old Etonian acting his expensively educated tits off as a very English genius overcoming personal challenges to achieve extraordinary things. But TTOE is superior in almost every way.
So, if you only watch one hobbled- boffin flick this year, then wait for Teory…. Tere’s nothing bad about Te Imitation Game, but this lady’s not for Turing. Jay Freeman
March FILM RELEASES 06 March Still Alice Award winning drama, starring Julianne Moore as a linguistics
professor whose sudden inability to remember certain words leads to a pant-shittingly bad diagnosis. Moore’s powerful performance gives you a terrifying glimpse into the shoes of the victim.
13 MarchKill the MessengerOk, so this was actually out on the same date as Still Alice, but the only other option this weekend is yet another Liam Neeson revenge film, and I’m sorry, but fuck that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Liam as much as the next man, but go watch this excellent true story about CIA bothering reporter Gary Webb and if you still feel bad for Liam, go get Michael Collins on Blu-ray.
20 March HomeIf you think that Jim Parsons (Sheldon from the Big Bang Teory), and Rihanna sounds an unlikely pairing, then you would be right. But that’s the magic of DreamWorks as this month, the unlikely duo play an unlikely duo. One’s an alien, the other’s a little girl, and yes, I am talking about the characters – don’t be mean.
27 March Cinderella…“Sir, will you please take your penis out of that pumpkin.” “Pumpkin? Is it midnight already?” Live action Disney is back. We’ve had Lara Croft as Maleficent, and, next year, Hermione stars as Belle. But first we have Downton Abbey as Cinderella and Robb Stark as Prince Charming. It’s all there, and Kenny-B sprinkles it in fairy dust. Magic. Smiley
MarchDVD RELEASES 02 March PrideWonderful BAFTA-winning true-story of the unlikely alliance
between a group of London gay activists and a Welsh mining community during the miner’s strike. Heart-warming, hilarious, and a word for poignant that begins with aitch.
09 MarchLeviathanTis damning indictment of Putin-era Russia by Soviet auteur Andrei Zvyagintsev is as heavy and slow as its title suggests. Tankfully, it’s also as awesome. Beautifully crafted and superbly acted, it’s a modern classic of world cinema.
23 March PaddingtonFilthy immigrants come over here, eating our marmalade sandwiches, clogging up our transport systems, shitting in our woods. It’s political correctness gone mad, I tells you.
30 March Interstellar Christopher Nolan’s brain-warping, time-bending, eye-popping multidimensional masterpiece is a hugely ambitious tour-de-force, tightly constructed around a top cast on top form. McConaughey holds it together, Chastain gives it heart, and Hathaway, aha-aha, I like it. Jay Freeman
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