Change Your Image
cchonore
Reviews
The Imitation Game (2014)
the mind of a genius.
This film takes the viewer inside the mind of a genius. In this case the genius is in the area of mathematical probability and a fascination with codes and patterns. Alan Turing has been hailed as the father of modern computer science. This film tells his story, and that of a major allied victory during WWII, that victory being the dismantling of the German Enigma code system, considered unbreakable.
As a whole, the film works well. Benedict Cumberbatch does an outstanding job in taking the viewer into the mind of Alan Turing. Very Spocklike in his devotion to the job at hand, his portrayal of the eccentricities and oddities which put Turing at odds with his colleagues was excellent. Very much the loner in the middle of these geeks, Turing sets about solving the problem with the very efficiency of the machine he creates.
**spoiler alert**
I had a couple of problems historically. After the ENIGMA code is cracked, Turing advises not to tell anyone of the impending danger to a British cargo convoy directly in the path of German U boats because it would be a tipoff to the Germans that the code had been broken. This has been alleged, but NEVER Proved. The film implies that this incident was true. IN reality, the alleged decision not to go with critical information at the outset was Winston Churchill's. I am not sure why this movie put that incident in, but it did provide some drama as one of Turing's colleagues has a brother serving on one of the convoy ships.
Secondly, the Poles actually had broken the enigma code, but it was a comparatively crude setup, Turing's machine made the process more efficient.
The film was a nail biter all the way though. We see the typical set up of genius versus the system with the system going by the book, and in so doing trying to handcuff Turing all the way. Such was the way in part with Oppenheimer and the powers that be in developing the atomic bomb across the pond in America.
By all accounts, Cumberbatch perfectly portrayed all the parts of this troubled genius, even to his personal life.
Well worth seeing along with Fat Man and Little Boy for an accurate portrayal of genius on both sides of the Atlantic.
M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (1983)
a series finale to end them all
One point of trivia about this episode that bears mentioning here. During the initial broadcast on the west coast, the storm battered San Fransisco bay area lost power about half way through the episode. It was rebroadcast later on and thus became the only finale in television history to have two "initial" broadcasts (owing to the fact that the second half had not been seen the first time...).
the series struck a chord with me as a whole for quality television writing and acting. The drama was a bit over the top in this ending, but you knew it had to come out all right. I can't write any more without giving up spoilers but it is worth seeing, Much more thoughtful and memorable than other endings, (DALLAS comes to mind...).
The Shootist (1976)
The end of one era and the dawn of a new one
First of all, everyone knows it was John Wayne's last movie (and also the last for some of the others in the cast as well). But this movie is more about the end of one era, the Victorian era in the American West, and the beginning of a new modern era. This film was an excellent representation of this concept. John Wayne, as the title might suggest, stands with one foot in an earlier time, and another in the first year of the twentieth century. The film has magnificent imagery. The characters are completely believable, with only John Carradine bowing to inevitable type casting. Ron Howard is compelling as the representation for the hope of the future, understanding that Wayne is really a living legend, and it's time for legends to become that.
This was a fitting conclusion for Wayne. The character of J.B. Books could not really have been portrayed by anyone else. Wayne gave the role what it needed, a conclusion to a career. Geroge C. Scott was in line for the role, but Wayne campaigned long and hard to get it.
A must see for all Wayne fans.
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
a delightfully cynical yet melancholy look at an old friend
Sherlock Holmes is only human, after all. Veteran Director Billy Wilder takes a good long look at Holmes, the human. Sherlock Holmes is not the great superhero that Watson makes him out to be.. He is flawed and human, and proves it here! Holmes takes on a case based more on Watson's literary reputation rather than his own, and solves the case without all the sensationalism and shows us his human side. The supporting cast is first rate, especially the party animal Watson! a pre-shakespearean (except for Romeo and Juliet) Robert Stephens is an immensely likable self-deprecating, vulnerable Holmes. I like this Sherlock! Gone is the cold calculating machine of Rathbone, this Holmes is vulnerable, open to the possibility of love, wherever it may be found, and definitely humbled by the egotistical Mycroft (an excellent Christopher Lee). Holmes saves the day, and really shows that, in fact, he is no better or worse than anyone else, and wholly undeserving of Watson's exaggerated reports! I would love to see the lost footage from this movie... a director's cut a la "A touch of Evil", perhaps?
Independence Day (1996)
one of the worst adaptations (yes it was an adaptation) that I have ever seen
OK for all you literature buffs out there...no one gets it that this abysmal movie is an adaptation of H.G. Welles' "War Of The Worlds". I read in a magazine that the "original" idea for this movie was discussed at lunch in some restaurant somewhere. No where in the credits does Wells ever get credit for the original plot for this movie.
In my opinion it is out and out plagiarism right down to the *here be spoilers* computer virus that "infects" the flying saucers.
For that reason I give this movie a 1. I have never seen so much pontificating pretentious hyperbole masking as entertainment. sorry folks, but the book is much better. Read it sometime.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000)
a very good adaptation
I have seen all of the reviews of this program. First let me say that the original story was NOT a single unit, but was rather run in serial form like a study in scarlet and the sign of four. Any attempts to compare a single flowing movie to an original in serial form is like comparing apples to oranges. This film couldn't possibly be made as presented in serial form.
Next, the character of Holmes is, in the opinion of this dedicated Sherlockian, spot on. Of course Mr. Frewer portrayed him as a bombastic clown, a bull in a china shop, and somewhat clownish. Go back and read the stories! Holmes comes across in the canon as a bull in a china shop. Of all the classic screen portrayals of Holmes, none really got that aspect of Holmes until Frewer's interpretation. Christopher plummer comes close (murder by decree, in a couple of scenes) and Peter Cushing (the chess game at the beginning of the Hammer "hound") and on occasion, Jeremy Brett.
I truly believe that as written, Holmes had a condition that is now known as Asperger's syndrome. (Google this for more information.) I believe this because I have been diagnosed with it. Where Watson sees a bucolic country scene, Holmes sees a perfect opportunity for murder.(Aspergians quite often see the same things as other people, but in a different light...) He focuses to the extreme completely oblivious to to those around him. He bounds over furniture, rudely interrupts people, has very little social skills, but also has one of the keenest minds in literature. (All of these traits are seen in Asperger's people.) No wonder Lestrade hates him!
Frewer brings out all of these components of Holmes in high degree here! So for those of you who misunderstand Frewer's character here, Bravo! You are only normal. I hope Mr. Frewer takes your misunderstandings as a compliment. That means he did his job as an actor! Kudos to him for understanding an often overlooked aspect of Holmes' personality! As to content, the original tale in serialized form captialized on suspense, and timing. I am not quite sure this story would truly worked if published as a whole. (I got the most out of it by buying it in strand magazine facsimile, and closing it when seeing the title page of the next installment and then reading again later, and so on...). The events as described by Conan Doyle are all there, and the age of Henry is unknown anyway, so he could reasonably be played by any person of undetermined age. The fellow here does a fine job in my opinion, as does Watson, who seems a bit older than Holmes, but does a masterful job keeping Holmes' impulsiveness in check.