2015 OSCARS: The List Of Winners

Below is the list of winners from the 87th Academy Awards. In the Top 8 categories I predicted 7 of 8 correctly, and happily in the other category (Adapted Screenplay), the movie I wanted to win was The Imitation Game and it did! I thought Whiplash would be the surprise win in this category; Whiplash did win two surprise Oscars (editing and sound mixing).

Happily, the openly gay Graham Moore won for writing an excellent adaptation of openly gay Andrew Hodges' book about gay icon Alan Turing.

Best picture: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Actor: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything.”
Actress: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice.”
Supporting actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash.”
Supporting actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood.”
Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Foreign language film: “Ida.”
Adapted screenplay: Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game.”
Original screenplay: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Animated feature film: “Big Hero 6.”
Production design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Cinematography: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Sound mixing: “Whiplash.”
Sound editing: “American Sniper.”
Original score: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Original song: “Glory” from “Selma.”
Costume design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Documentary feature: “CitizenFour.”
Documentary (short subject): “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.”
Film editing: “Whiplash.”
Makeup and hairstyling: “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Animated short film: “Feast.”
Live action short film: “The Phone Call.”
Visual effects: “Interstellar.”

I'm glad that my favorite movie of the year, Interstellar won an Oscar (the same visual effects team also won for Inception which was also my favorite movie that year). Even though I confess I still have not seen Boyhood, I am not a fan of Birdman, I think it is simply Oscar bait. I would have preferred The Imitation Game or The Grand Budapest Hotel take the top honor.

Anyway, I am glad that for the second year in a row, a Latino man won Best Director, so diversity is still making an impact on the primarily lily-white Hollywood elite. Speaking of lily-white, who knew that Neil Patrick Harris was so pale?

FILM REVIEW: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game is the cinematic adaptation of Andrew Hodges' Alan Turing: The Enigma,            a biography of the British mathematical prodigy who was primarily responsible for breaking the supposedly unbreakable Enigma code used by the Germans in World War II, thus shortening the war and saving millions of lives. Turing was also a gay man and he was persecuted by his government after the war when his sexual orientation became known to the authorities, forced to undergo hormonal treatment and eventually he died (presumably by his own hand, intentionally) at the tender age of 41. Turing is played in the film by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, Sherlock, August: Osage County). Cumberbatch's main co-star in the film is Keira Knightley.

The film is divided into three time lines: one thread takes place between the Great Wars when Alan Turing is attending a private boys' boarding school where the shy, awkward Alan is tormented by most of the boys but feels an intense bond with another boy named Christopher. Another thread (the main one) takes place at the height of World War II when Britain is slowly being starved to death by the Axis forces' blockade and survival will only occur if some way can be found to crack the German's Enigma code. The third thread takes place in the early 1950's during the early Cold War era when homosexuality was not only considered a taboo in British society but also treated by authorities as a dangerous perversion which should be criminalized.

The screenplay deftly cuts between the three threads to maximize the dramatic effect of each. The vast majority of screen time is spent on the World War II events, which are absolutely enthralling because even though we know The Good Guys win the war, we don't know the details of how they won.

This thread is also the best part of the film because it involves the most interaction between the heavy-hitting actors in the film: Cumberbatch and Knightley (of course) and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Matthew Goode (The Good Wide) and Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty). However, Cumberbatch is clearly the lead actor and is almost every scene of the film (except the boarding school scenes, of course).

This is a very good thing, because Cumberbatch is mesmerizing to watch, depicting Turing as a mathematical genius who is clearly somewhere on the Asperger spectrum with his difficulty in connecting with other humans, even other people who are also extremely intelligent and accomplished puzzle solvers. Even though Turing is a genius, he can't break the Enigma code by himself, and the story of how the team at Bletchley Park was able to achieve the impossible by working together is extremely compelling.

The fact that after the war everyone who was involved in the Bletchley Park project was sworn to secrecy and how Turing was mistreated by his government because of society's bigoted beliefs about his sexuality are heartbreaking and elevate The Imitation Game far above mere entertainment.

Title: The Imitation Game.
Director: Morten Tyldum.
Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking.
Release Date: December 25, 2014.
Viewing Date: December 26, 2014.

Writing: A.
Acting: A+.
Visuals: A-.
Impact: A+.

Overall Grade: A (4.083/4.0).

WATCH: Trailer for Alan Turing Drama The Imitation Game Starring Benedict Cumberbatch

There's finally going to be a big Hollywood movie about gay icon Alan Turing released this year. It's called The Imitation Game and it stars Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC's Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness). The trailer is out now. The film will be released November 21, 2014.

Marriage Equality Begins In England and Wales!

Marriages have begun in England and Wales as of midnight on March 29th. Prime Minister David Cameron celebrates by writing in the nation's preeminent LGBT periodical, Pink News:

This weekend is an important moment for our country. For the first time, the couples getting married won’t just include men and women – but men and men; and women and women. After all the campaigning – not least by readers of PinkNews – we will at last have equal marriage in our country. Put simply, in Britain it will no longer matter whether you are straight or gay – the State will recognise your relationship as equal. 

This is something that has been very important to me. I have been so lucky to find the most incredible lifelong partner in Sam and our marriage has been a very special part of the commitment we have made to each other. Of course any marriage takes work, requires patience and understanding, give and take – but what it gives back in terms of love, support, stability and happiness is immeasurable. That is not something that the State should ever deny someone on the basis of their sexuality. When people’s love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change. 

The introduction of same-sex civil marriage says something about the sort of country we are. It says we are a country that will continue to honour its proud traditions of respect, tolerance and equal worth. It also sends a powerful message to young people growing up who are uncertain about their sexuality. It clearly says ‘you are equal’ whether straight or gay. That is so important in trying to create an environment where people are no longer bullied because of their sexuality – and where they can realise their potential, whether as a great mathematician like Alan Turing, a star of stage and screen like Sir Ian McKellen or a wonderful journalist and presenter like Clare Balding.

Congratulations, Britannia!

QUEER QUOTE: Queen Elizabeth Pardons Alan Turing

Great news! Openly gay genius Alan Turing, widely regarded as the Father of Computer Science, World War II hero for breaking the German's code, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, has had his conviction of 'gross indecency' (for having sex with another man in 1952) pardoned by the Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth said:

"[We are] graciously pleased to extend Our Grace and Mercy unto the said Alan Mathison Turing and to grant him Our Free Pardon posthumously in respect of the said convictions."

It's about time!

Today is Alan Turing's 100th Birthday!

Alan Turing was born 100 years today, on June 23, 1912 and Google celebrated the anniversary by having an especially complicated Doodle to honor the father of computing.

Andrew Eland, the Engineering Director of Google UK published a blog post discussing why they decided to honor Turing:

Turing’s life was one of astounding highs and devastating lows. While his wartime codebreaking saved thousands of lives, his own life was destroyed when he was convicted for homosexuality. But the tragedy of his story should not overshadow his legacy. Turing’s insight laid the foundations of the computer age. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s a founding father of every computer and Internet company today.  

Turing’s breakthrough came in 1936 with the publication of his seminal paper “On Computable Numbers” (PDF).  This introduced two key concepts, “algorithms” and “computing machines”—commonplace terms today, but truly revolutionary in the 1930’s.

Turing is one of the openly gay icons of the last century and it is very cool that Google is calling more attention to him, especially during gay pride month.

Celebrity Friday: Alan Turing Gets Honored With British Stamp

Alan Turing, the gay mathematician who helped the British win World War II by breaking the German's Enigma code, is being honored by his country with an official stamp in their "Britons of Distinction" series. 

The first-class stamp tribute, naming him as one of 10 ‘Britons of Distinction’, comes at a time when there is still a campaign running seeking a posthumous pardon for his conviction for homosexuality in 1952.

The stamp will be released in Britain on 23 February from Royal Mail. Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gifters in the UK and millions more worldwide.

Turing was a mathematician and computer scientist, whose work with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park helped to speed up the end of the Second World War.

The Cambridge don had invented the Turing machine, a calculator capable of solving any mathematical problem, which was created in his head many years before the technology existed to build the actual computer.

Interestingly, in researching this blog post I discovered that Turing was also a staunch atheist, which in my book is another excellent reason that he is such a great person!

Celebrity Friday: Alan Turing

Alan Turing

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement apologizing for his government's past treatment of a famous gay mathematician, the icon Alan Turing:

2009 has been a year of deep reflection - a chance for Britain, as a nation, to commemorate the profound debts we owe to those who came before. A unique combination of anniversaries and events have stirred in us that sense of pride and gratitude which characterise the British experience. Earlier this year I stood with Presidents Sarkozy and Obama to honour the service and the sacrifice of the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago. And just last week, we marked the 70 years which have passed since the British government declared its willingness to take up arms against Fascism and declared the outbreak of World War Two. So I am both pleased and proud that, thanks to a coalition of computer scientists, historians and LGBT activists, we have this year a chance to mark and celebrate another contribution to Britain’s fight against the darkness of dictatorship; that of code-breaker Alan Turing.

Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ - in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence - and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison - was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later.

Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction.

I am proud that those days are gone and that in the last 12 years this government has done so much to make life fairer and more equal for our LGBT community. This recognition of Alan’s status as one of Britain’s most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality and long overdue.

But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. For those of us born after 1945, into a Europe which is united, democratic and at peace, it is hard to imagine that our continent was once the theatre of mankind’s darkest hour. It is difficult to believe that in living memory, people could become so consumed by hate - by anti-Semitism, by homophobia, by xenophobia and other murderous prejudices - that the gas chambers and crematoria became a piece of the European landscape as surely as the galleries and universities and concert halls which had marked out the European civilisation for hundreds of years. It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe’s history and not Europe’s present.

So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.

Gordon Brown

Woo hoo!