Movie review: 'Imitation Game' a strong Oscar darkhorse

(9 out of 10 stars)

(114 minutes. Rated PG-13 for sexual references, mature thematic material, and historical smoking)

The dark horse for this year’s winner of Best Picture, sitting solidly behind “Boyhood” and “Birdman,” is a wonderful film titled “The Imitation Game.”  Set during the early days of World War II, the story tells us about famed British computer pioneer Alan Turing and his triumph of building a machine that deciphered the Nazi’s Enigma military encryption machine and helped hasten the end of the war.

If I may boldly say, this movie is everything that a movie should be. It offers a compelling and little-known story and shines light on how truly significant Mr. Turing’s contributions were to the Allied victory in World War II. The acting was near flawless, the cinematography by Oscar Faura was neat and seamless, the production values were smart, and the writing was as strong and captivating as Hollywood has offered up in some time.

Based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges, and adapted to the screen by wunderkind Graham Moore, the film centers around Mr. Turing’s near-OCD drive to defeat the Nazi’s encryption machine, while entwining two fascinating subplots   ̶one flash-backward and one flash-forward stories   ̶ that give us heart-breaking insight to the tragedy that was Mr. Turing’s life.

Renowned British actor Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Turing and rightfully deserves his Best Actor nomination. One of the more remarkable aspects of the writing is that it provides not only considerable depth of understanding of Turing’s genius, but breadth of character as well, and Cumberbatch skillfully entwines himself into the role and gives a performance worthy of all the critical praise. 

Trying to juggle the social struggles that most geniuses encounter, his ability to think on levels that most mortal men cannot gather and pushing the secrets of his sexuality into the dark, Cumberbatch’s Turing is as complex and as fascinating of a character to hit the silver screen in some time. Let us just go ahead and give Cumberbatch the statue right now; he is that good.

Opposite Cumberbatch is Keira Knightley as Turing’s pseudo-love interest. I have always been impressed with Knightley’s chops as an actress, and her work here stands toe-to-toe with her male counterpart.  I hope her strong performance will allow her to escape the “Pirates of the Caribbean” shackles and step into the Jennifer Lawrence-type roles of which she is worthy.

The supporting cast was just as strong, highlighted by Matthew Goode, and Allen Leech of “Downton Abbey” fame (the work the “Downton Abbey” cast has coming in the next year is ridiculous already).  The standout of the crowd is Alex Lawther, who plays Turing as a 13 year-old in the aforementioned flashbacks. His innocence and the range of emotions he expresses in these falling-in-love, coming-of-age scenes is heart-warming and heart-breaking all at once.

If the film fails at all, it is in some degree with explaining how Turing’s machine, named Christopher (which the movie explains well) came to work. The middle part of the movie briefly muddles in failing to explain how Turing goes from building his machine to actually making it work. We see repeated manipulations of the machine and, several scenes later, it just takes off and goes. Hollywood should know after the box-office success of “Interstellar” that audiences can buy into the science of matters, and these types of detailed explanations are not necessarily over audience’s heads. This would have given the film a much added degree of tension as it reached its climax.

“The Imitation Game” has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Achievement in Directing by Norwegian Morten Tyldum. In his first real foray into American cinema, Tyldum certainly has made a splash and should be commended for how tightly this film is edited (in conjunction with editor William Goldenberg) and the performances that he got out of each of his actors.

Any person interested in history, such as myself, should be ashamed how little they knew about Turing and his rather amazing contributions to mankind. Not only did his work end World War II early and thus saved tens of thousands of lives, but he is the forefather of modern-day computers. There are some who suggest Steve Jobs’ Apple is named after Turing’s work (Jobs denied it while alive). It is not difficult to say we owe him much.

With any good work of dramatic art, in whatever form it takes, it should challenge what each of us think and know about our human condition. In this particular film, it shined a spotlight on a dark part of our collective history and, yes, it is still necessary and relevant because, as the saying goes, if we fail to remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

In the end, aside from the insight we gain of Turing’s too brief life, we are presented with several moral dilemmas and the films asks us what we would do if presented with similar situations. More sadly, we also endure utter distaste at humanity’s historical (and ongoing?) ignorance and our ability for injustice against our fellow man. 

These themes are still pertinent today, and why this was an important film to make and, more important, for everyone to see.

Go see it at the Carmike before it runs out of Peoria.

I give this film 9 out of 10 stars.

United Way campaign achieved more growth in 2014

Contributions totaling $11.37 million were raised in the Heart of Illinois United Way’s 2-14 campaign, a 5.2 percent increase over 2013 as the annual campaign continues to grow each year.

"Because of the generosity, compassion and support of the thousands of people in the Peoria region, the Heart of Illinois United Way's annual campaign continues to achieve unprecedented growth. By supporting the United Way, individuals and organizations know they are changing lives and making a positive impact in our community,” said Michael Stephan, HOIUW president.

Each year, more than 300 local companies and organizations participate in the annual campaign. In 2014, a $280,000 Challenge Grant, sponsored by Caterpillar, CEFCU, Federal Companies and UnityPoint Health – Methodist/Proctor, matched new or increased contributions expanding the Heart of Illinois United Way's base of support. For this past campaign, there were 18 new corporate gifts, 10 new employee campaigns, and 67 organizations increased their contributions to the United Way by 10 percent or more, the organization said in a news release.

Over the last five years, the campaign has increased 32 percent and over the last 10 years, 83 percent. “Achieving a 5.2 percent increase in 2014 is a result of the hard work and effort put forth by all of our volunteers, as well as the unwavering support of so many donors in our community who want to help others," Stephan said.

The Best in Class Award, which is based on employee participation in the workplace campaign, per capita giving and overall percent increase in contributions with a total maximum score of 300 points,  recognizes a local organization who continuously demonstrates campaign excellence from year to year. The 2014 Best in Class Award winner is Illinois Mutual.

The Campaign Achievement Award recognizes a campaign that had the largest percentage increase in employee participation from 2013 to 2014. The 2014 Campaign Achievement Award winner is Morton Unit School District #709 with a 267 percent increase in donor participation.

The Heart of Illinois United Way changes lives and improves our community by mobilizing people and resources to positively impact the areas of education, income and health for the people of central Illinois.

With 45 partner agencies, the Heart of Illinois United Way supports critical health and social service needs, helping more than 100,000 people each year throughout Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Marshall, Stark and Putnam counties.

Every three years, the Heart of Illinois United Way partners with Bradley University to provide a comprehensive assessment of the education, income and health needs of the people of central Illinois. Data from the 2014 Community Assessment illustrates the continued need for Heart of Illinois United Way funded programs.

• In the Peoria region, there are 24 area school districts with more than one-third of its students in the low-income bracket - a 33 percent increase since 2010.

• 26.7 percent of schools in the Peoria region are at or below the state average for third-grade reading performance.           

• More than one-third of the Peoria region’s population is considered obese - far higher than the state average.            

• Poverty rates increased for all types of households in the Peoria region from 2009 to 2012. Poverty rates are higher in households with children under 18, and increasing among those over the age of 65.

Spring 2015 will be the first year of a new three-year grant cycle. Approximately 100 Heart of Illinois United Way volunteers will make funding decisions based upon how well the proposed grants address the critical needs identified in the 2014 Community Assessment.

The programs and initiatives supported by the Heart of Illinois United Way continually secure positive outcomes.

A few of highlights include:

Outcomes from Heart of Illinois United Way Funded Education-Related Programs

• 85 percent of children in the Success By 6 program significantly increased reading comprehension

• More than 90 percent of low-income K-4th grade students achieved grade-level success in reading and math

• Teens at risk of academic failure improved their reading skills by 84 percent and life skills by 96 percent

Outcomes from Heart of Illinois United Way Funded Income-Related Programs

• 83 percent of people with developmental disabilities were able to find employment and stay employed

• 75 percent of individuals and families in shelters are now in permanent, affordable housing

• 97 percent of seniors remained in their own homes because of home-delivered meals

Outcomes from Heart of Illinois United Way Funded Health-Related Programs

• Students improved their physical fitness by 70 percent and reduced future health risks

• 96 percent of blind or low-vision people improved their overall health and safety

• 91 percent of 3rd grade students improved their dental health habits

Movie review: 'Imitation Game' a strong Oscar darkhorse

(9 out of 10 stars)

(114 minutes. Rated PG-13 for sexual references, mature thematic material, and historical smoking)

The dark horse for this year’s winner of Best Picture, sitting solidly behind “Boyhood” and “Birdman,” is a wonderful film titled “The Imitation Game.”  Set during the early days of World War II, the story tells us about famed British computer pioneer Alan Turing and his triumph of building a machine that deciphered the Nazi’s Enigma military encryption machine and helped hasten the end of the war.

If I may boldly say, this movie is everything that a movie should be. It offers a compelling and little-known story and shines light on how truly significant Mr. Turing’s contributions were to the Allied victory in World War II. The acting was near flawless, the cinematography by Oscar Faura was neat and seamless, the production values were smart, and the writing was as strong and captivating as Hollywood has offered up in some time.

Based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges, and adapted to the screen by wunderkind Graham Moore, the film centers around Mr. Turing’s near-OCD drive to defeat the Nazi’s encryption machine, while entwining two fascinating subplots   ̶one flash-backward and one flash-forward stories   ̶ that give us heart-breaking insight to the tragedy that was Mr. Turing’s life.

Renowned British actor Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Turing and rightfully deserves his Best Actor nomination. One of the more remarkable aspects of the writing is that it provides not only considerable depth of understanding of Turing’s genius, but breadth of character as well, and Cumberbatch skillfully entwines himself into the role and gives a performance worthy of all the critical praise. 

Trying to juggle the social struggles that most geniuses encounter, his ability to think on levels that most mortal men cannot gather and pushing the secrets of his sexuality into the dark, Cumberbatch’s Turing is as complex and as fascinating of a character to hit the silver screen in some time. Let us just go ahead and give Cumberbatch the statue right now; he is that good.

Opposite Cumberbatch is Keira Knightley as Turing’s pseudo-love interest. I have always been impressed with Knightley’s chops as an actress, and her work here stands toe-to-toe with her male counterpart.  I hope her strong performance will allow her to escape the “Pirates of the Caribbean” shackles and step into the Jennifer Lawrence-type roles of which she is worthy.

The supporting cast was just as strong, highlighted by Matthew Goode, and Allen Leech of “Downton Abbey” fame (the work the “Downton Abbey” cast has coming in the next year is ridiculous already).  The standout of the crowd is Alex Lawther, who plays Turing as a 13 year-old in the aforementioned flashbacks. His innocence and the range of emotions he expresses in these falling-in-love, coming-of-age scenes is heart-warming and heart-breaking all at once.

If the film fails at all, it is in some degree with explaining how Turing’s machine, named Christopher (which the movie explains well) came to work. The middle part of the movie briefly muddles in failing to explain how Turing goes from building his machine to actually making it work. We see repeated manipulations of the machine and, several scenes later, it just takes off and goes. Hollywood should know after the box-office success of “Interstellar” that audiences can buy into the science of matters, and these types of detailed explanations are not necessarily over audience’s heads. This would have given the film a much added degree of tension as it reached its climax.

“The Imitation Game” has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Achievement in Directing by Norwegian Morten Tyldum. In his first real foray into American cinema, Tyldum certainly has made a splash and should be commended for how tightly this film is edited (in conjunction with editor William Goldenberg) and the performances that he got out of each of his actors.

Any person interested in history, such as myself, should be ashamed how little they knew about Turing and his rather amazing contributions to mankind. Not only did his work end World War II early and thus saved tens of thousands of lives, but he is the forefather of modern-day computers. There are some who suggest Steve Jobs’ Apple is named after Turing’s work (Jobs denied it while alive). It is not difficult to say we owe him much.

With any good work of dramatic art, in whatever form it takes, it should challenge what each of us think and know about our human condition. In this particular film, it shined a spotlight on a dark part of our collective history and, yes, it is still necessary and relevant because, as the saying goes, if we fail to remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it.

In the end, aside from the insight we gain of Turing’s too brief life, we are presented with several moral dilemmas and the films asks us what we would do if presented with similar situations. More sadly, we also endure utter distaste at humanity’s historical (and ongoing?) ignorance and our ability for injustice against our fellow man. 

These themes are still pertinent today, and why this was an important film to make and, more important, for everyone to see.

Go see it at the Carmike before it runs out of Peoria.

I give this film 9 out of 10 stars.

FrizziToon: Who will you hug today?