The Imitation Game

PG-13
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Jack Bannon and Mark Strong
Running Time: 1 Hour and 54 Minutes

I was somewhat intrigued and curious about seeing this movie. I knew it was historical and based on the true story of Alan Mathison Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch). He was a young man at the ripe old age of 27 who invented "The Enigma" code to break the German War code. He was what some people might call a genius and that in and of itself caused people to doubt and question his motives. He was a British pioneering computer scientist, a mathematician, cryptanalyst, a marathon and ultra distance runner. He was also a very tortured soul!
This movie takes place during World War II during the height of the Nazi occupation. Winston Churchill is desperate to find a way to undermine and crack the Nazi code, one of the most difficult codes in all of history!
When Turing is called upon to work for the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, the codebreaking centre in England, he is up against a lot of opposition. The superiors doubt his ability and his motives. They feel that he is only working for his own self aggrandisement.
He is chosen as the leader of Hut 8 and works tirelessly to perfect his computer. When he is finally successful, there is much celebration and he receives many accolades for his pioneering expertise!
He lives a very sad and lonely life and is somewhat removed from regular society. He meets the beautiful and very intelligent Miss Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) whom he hires to work with the other Hut 8 high achievers. They develop a close but unusual relationship and eventually marry. Turing is a devout homosexual and still marries her for social acceptance. He struggled mightily during his schoolboy years to fit in with the other young men. He is however befriended by a dear friend, Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon) whom he has a very close relationship with.
Sir Winston Churchill credits Turing with shortening the War by two to four years by inventing "The Enigma" code computer and thereby saving many lives!
Many people refer to Alan Turing as the father of computers!
This truly is a great spy-thriller! I genuinely feel that it has been overlooked with all of the emphasis on the other "The" movie release for Christmas 2014, "The Interview".  Benedict Cumberbatch was incredible as Turing, he did an outstanding job!
If you want to be taken into history and enveloped into the action, this is definitely the movie for you!
Parents be advised: There are a lot of war action sequences and some violence. Mild profanity and very blatant homosexuality, which Turing openly discusses. I would leave the children 14 and under home, however the History is fascinating!
I am giving "The Imitation Game", four bags of popcorn.

Into The Woods

PG
Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp,
 Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone
Running Time: 2 Hours and 4 Minutes

Wow! I was so impressed with this movie I really don't know where to start! This story is based on the Broadway musical of the same name.
It is based on several classic tales from the infamous Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
They include: Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk.
It is the story of a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) who are unable to start a family because a very wicked witch (Meryl Streep) has put a evil curse on them!
The story plays out with several beloved fairy tale characters coming to life, Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), The Big Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone) and Cinderella's Prince (Chris Pine).
The witch has set an ultimatum to the young baker and his bride to acquire several things or objects to break the evil curse. Once they are able to obtain every single one of these things, she will willingly overturn the dreaded curse.
She has her own reasons for wanting the curse to be lifted as well.
This is a story told by singing and a lot of music, which I generally do not enjoy. But, boy oh boy was I surprised! I immediately fell in love with the music and the singing. All of the characters were in stellar form and they all did a spectacular job! Meryl Streep was incredible and I absolutely loved her voice!
I was also very impressed with a young lady, Lilla Crawford who plays Little Red Riding Hood, her voice is magnificent!
I enjoyed the story and the music so much, that I really did not want the movie to end! I will definitely go and see this again. I will also be obtaining the soundtrack.
Parents be advised: This is a magical movie, but it has some dark and scary moments in it as well. Also, there was a really strange encounter between The Prince and the Baker's wife which was completely random and very unexpected! I would recommend this movie for children ten and over.
I am giving "Into The Woods" four bags of popcorn.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

PG-13
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Running Time: 2 Hours and 24 Minutes

This is the final installment of "The Hobbit" series. Always a bittersweet moment and a realization that all things must come to an end!
Make sure you study up on the previous two installments of Peter Jackson's"Hobbit" trilogy before you go and see this one.
"The Battle of the Five Armies" throws viewers right into the thick of the battle with Smaug (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) that was left unfinished at the end of the previous film. The heavy action will leave audiences hooked, but the plot and character development in this film rely almost too heavily on the previous films. As a Tolkien fan, I have enjoyed this trilogy and found this series to be very fun.
However, Peter Jackson has not recreated the magic of "Return of the King" with this movie. This one does provide some great links between the Hobbit trilogy and the subsequent "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and will still find a place in movie lovers and Tolkien fan's movie collections.
Parents be advised: This movie is constantly showing some sort of battle scene, some mild and some more violent. It was very dark and serious! I would recommend this movie for children age 10 and over.
I am giving "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" three bags of popcorn.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

PG-13
Starring: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Maria Valverde, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley
Running Time: 2 Hours and 30 Minutes

This is the classic and timeless Bible story of Moses and his epic adventure to free 600,000 Hebrew slaves from the wrath of the almighty Pharaoh Ramses.
This rendition under the direction of Ridley Scott is similar, but yet very different from the 1956 Cecile B. DeMille "The Ten Commandments" version we have all grown up with.
With the state of the art computer generated graphics, it puts a totally different spin on the story. Christian Bale gave a very good and solid performance as Moses in the first half of the movie. I felt like he got a bit weaker and a little confused towards the end. The epic parting of the Red Sea was completely different and I was underwhelmed with this one. I have always been so impressed with the DeMille version that it was always completely magical to me!
The scenes when he talked to God were unusual to me as well. Ramses was played by the actor Joel Edgerton and he gave a strong and commanding performance as the Pharaoh.
I really enjoyed this movie and I would highly recommend it, just realize it is the same story with a different twist with incredible graphics. It is long at two and a half hours, but worth the time you invest in it.
Parents be advised: There is a lot of Biblical violence which consists of plaques, pestilence, famine, large alligators and frogs, many frogs! It also deals with the deaths of the first-born Egyptian sons which was heart-breaking to watch!
This is rated PG-13, I would recommend this movie for children ages 13 and over.
I am giving "Exodus: Gods and Kings" three bags of popcorn.