Review: "The Imitation Game" Tries to Be Important in Safe and Uninteresting Ways

Benedict Cumberbatch

One of the reasons that World War II has remained such a prominent subject in film culture is because of the massive scope that it encapsulates. Beyond the war and killing Adolf Hitler, it was about putting aside differences to do so. With stories ranging this year from The Monuments Men to Unbroken, the diversity continues to intrigue in director Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game, which focuses on scientist Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) as he literally cracks the code on the Nazis. For a story with a complex core, it is unfortunate that so much of the layers above it feel too conventional

Review: "Stoker" is an Eerily Wonderful Coming of Age Story

Mia Wasikowska

With the unfortunate revelation that there isn't any movie even worthy of speculating Oscar Buzz this week, I have decided to finally write a review for director Chan-wook Park's Stoker, a film that I heavily have endorsed on this blog, but never have specified why. It is a marvelous film, and one that is bizarre enough to not be considered for some sort of award. This is notably thanks to Park, whose catalog includes the much buzzed about and easily deserved praise for Oldboy. In his English-language debut, he tackles a coming of age story in one of the weirdest, most surreal ways possible. What makes his approach more authentic than any of his competitors?