The Imitation Game Does Its Service

I liked The Imitation Game. It was good enough. With a subject like Alan Turing, one could easily have fallen down any number of rabbit holes. But I felt like these guys figured out how to walk that thin line and managed to cover everything they could, really give it all its' due.

The Imitation Game is the true story of how Alan Turing created the first computer, helped bring an early end to the second world war, and still managed to alienate the entire British legal system in the process. Given that it was, until very recently, kept top secret, I don't think I have to say "this isn't an easy story to tell."

Morten Tyldum (director) managed to pull a lot of positives out of a cast that was almost too big for its' own good. Often I find somebody will drop the ball when there are too many names in one picture, yet I felt almost everyone held up their own end rather nicely. Benedict Cumberbatch, who seems to be in just about everything these days, gives an excellent performance as Turing. This is another strange character for him... the kind he usually excels at. An incredible mind that has difficulty using the body its in... has difficulty understanding other people... or perhaps is just to busy with THE IDEA to let other people in or succumb to society's expectations. Turing's an amazing character, and Cumberbatch does him justice. Keira Knightley does a fine job as Joan Clarke as well... though I hate to be the guy who says she's too model-esque for the part. Regardless, she makes herself believable in the role. Matthew Goode and Allen Leech were also great casting choices. Though I did feel a little taken out of the movie by Charles Dance's performance. He just felt too "larger than life" for what this production was.

The science of it all gets a pretty good breakdown, which I enjoyed. Most movies of this variety try desperately to get around having to explain the science in lieu of social interaction, but The Imitation Game doesn't pull that punch. The computer is cool to look at, and the codes aspect is kind of fun. And let's not ignore that wonderful score by Alexandre Desplat! It's so refreshing to hear a score I can actually hum... (looking at you Interstellar).

But for all its' positives, I can't help but feel I won't be talking about this movie a year from today... it won't even be on my mind. Certainly, the story it manages to tell will stick around... Alan Turing is a name to remember, and the history of computers I'm sure will be more greatly delved into in the coming years. The film itself just doesn't feel like it's all that memorable. It does its service to an incredible mind... but then just sort of fades away.

Dracula Untold: I Weep For Universal's Monster Project

Dracula Untold is supposed to be the beginning of a new line of Universal Monster movies. I say "supposed to" because this flick destroys all confidence I had in anything of quality coming out of that stream.

Dracula Untold tries to tell the story of Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) after his years at war. He comes home and soon learns that Mehmed (Dominic Cooper), his emperor wishes to force all of the young boys of his country to join his army. Well that ain't cool. So Vlad seeks out a power that will help him to take on an army that is far too massive for his own meager forces.

This movie's biggest issues come out of a lack of pacing and purpose. If this is truly to be an origin story it needs to start earlier to get us involved in the world. I would love a sprawling Vlad the Impaler war epic that returns back home for its third act... But studios don't know how to make that kind of movie anymore because they're too invested in common tropes. The kind they think get larger appeal from audiences, but really just dumb down movies until they become rather easily forgotten in the annuls of history. Dracula Untold eschews a meaningful first act thus forcing onto us several annoyingly useless plot points that could have been avoided had the film not been in serious jeopardy of coming in under its necessary run-time. 92 minutes for an epic Dracula origin story? Are you kidding me??

This flick does however host a number of very bright up and coming actors. Luke Evans is a really solid choice for the role of Dracula and does his damnedest to make this script sound somewhat meaningful. Likewise, Sarah Gadon has been proving herself of late. Her performance in Belle earlier this year definitely outshines this outing, but she still affords the role of Mirena far more quality than the script deserves. The greatest disappointment here is Dominic Cooper. I have enjoyed him in one or two films, but this cheeky Mehmed comes across as meh as the character's name. Easily one of his most forgettable roles to date. I like Charles Dance, and for a moment he pulled this movie away from its more tedious segments almost proving there is life after Game of Thrones...

But the ending left my jaw on the floor. That Universal thought this conclusion made any sort of sense or was at all good enough to start a massive serialized franchise bewilders me to no end. Dracula Untold is a failed experiment. It's abominable that a studio intends to make more productions of lacking quality like this or could ever set out to make something of this mediocre quality in the first place. Long gone are the days of David Lean, and with them, that epic quality that used to make films of an older world great. I'd love to see a Vlad the Impaler movie in the epic style of Lawrence of Arabia. I'd love to see that much effort put into the production. But this crap will not sate my appetite for good movies. It won't even come close.