Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game.

In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, who helped win the war against the Nazis when he helped invent a machine capable of breaking the Enigma code. Morten Tyldumโ€™s film, while a tad cumbersome at times, does a good job of illustrating the impossible odds Turing and his team were up against.

Keira Knightley (who had a nice 2014 with this and Begin Again), Matthew Goode and Charles Dance contribute to a strong supporting cast.

Cumberbatch portrays Turing as a disagreeable, unlikable social outcast who just happened to play a huge part in saving the free world, thanks to his talent for solving puzzles. The film also delves into some of the more controversial times in Turingโ€™s life, and the order of things sometimes gets a little confusing. However, Cumberbatch keeps the whole thing afloat with a typically strong performance.

The Imitation Game is playing at the Regal Rancho Mirage Stadium 16 (72777 Dinah Shore Drive, Rancho Mirage; 844-462-7342) and the Century Theatres at The River (71800 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage; 760-836-1940).