Review: Timbuktu

Not far from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, now ruled by the religious fundamentalists, proud cattle herder Kidane (Ibrahim Ahmed aka Pino) lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife Satima (Toulou Kiki), his daughter Toya (Layla Walet Mohamed), and Issan (Mehdi Ag Mohamed), their twelve-year-old shepherd. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists determined to control their faith. Music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned.

The women have become shadows but resist with dignity. Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences. Kidane and his family are being spared the chaos that prevails in Timbuktu. But their destiny changes abruptly in this stunningly rendered film from a master of world cinema

Wild Tales: Review

Six apocalyptic Argentine stories of revenge combine in this hugely enjoyable and extreme anthology. Ordinary people provoked into acts of madness are the theme of Wild Tales, an Oscar-nominated extreme satire about modern life by Argentinian writer/director Damián Szifrón. With the darkest of humor, it graphically illustrates what happens when the stress of 21st century living causes regular citizens to “go postal.” The aptly named Wild Tales, a Best Foreign Language Film nominee at the most recent Academy Awards, is produced by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, whose own films frequently approach social meltdowns in a slapstick vein. Szifrón’s movie, a portmanteau of six distinct stories, also provokes shocked laughter, as it did at its Cannes world premiere last May and at TIFF last September. You almost feel guilty for laughing.

The Imitation Game: review

A truly excellent film and definitely Ocsar worthy material for both the film and the actors. The entire cast are amazing.

As Cumberbatch says near the start of the film “are you paying attention”. You should pay attention, Alan Turing deserves your attention, his story deserves to be told.

The film switches between the drive of the team of code breakers to solve the Enigma code, young Alan Turing and the events after the war that destroyed his life. 

It is truly heartbreaking in places, and Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as Alan Turing is outstanding. He really deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance.

I know some wanted a more in depth and in detail look at Alan Turing’s life and have commented frequently that this does no focus enough on his sexuality or the events after the war.

In this case I think less is more, this film highlights the man and the mind. It shows us the genius that was destroyed by a society that was seriously homophobic. It brings to life the man behind the facts and we laugh at his interactions with his fellow code breakers and cheer as he proves his theories and our hearts break as we watch him try to cope after his court case.