• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Enigma Wrapped Inside a Great Movie

    The Imitation Game shakes up WWII genre as smart spy thriller

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 23, 2014 | 3:31 pm
    The Imitation Game shakes up WWII genre as smart spy thriller
    play icon

    Whether we like it or not, movies about World War II continue to be popular for filmmakers because of the myriad stories that can be mined from such rich history. But because so many movies have been made about the period, even unique stories have a way of feeling similar to those that came before them.

     

    Fortunately, The Imitation Game doesn’t fall into that trap. It tells the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the brilliant but eccentric mathematician who was able to decode the seemingly unbreakable Enigma machine used by the Germans during the war.

     
     

      Director Morten Tyldum and writer Graham Moore construct the film as both a great character study and a tense thriller.

     

     

    As depicted in the film, Turing had a severe lack of social graces, viewing those who didn’t match his intellect as unworthy of his time. Despite his abruptness, he convinced the British military brass, including Winston Churchill, that he, along with his chosen team, would be able to accomplish what had long been thought impossible.

     

    But the film is much more than just a bunch of scientists sitting at desks and crunching numbers. Director Morten Tyldum and writer Graham Moore construct the film as both a great character study and a tense thriller.

     

    On the personal side, Turing’s outward demeanor collides with his inner turmoil as a gay man in a time when being homosexual was unacceptable on a societal level. Many of the moves he makes, both professionally and personally, can be viewed through that prism, and the film becomes richer for it.

     

    Even though the story takes place over many years, it works like a good spy thriller. It’s exciting to watch Turing and his team crack the Enigma, but what happens after they do intrigues even more. The cost of war is easy to see in films with actual battles, but it’s driven home just as hard with the decisions shown here.

     

    Cumberbatch’s role as Turing is not as showy as other Best Actor hopefuls this year, but it’s just as effective. He commands the screen with his turns of phrase rather than his movements, and his enrapturing voice makes his character more likable than he probably should be.

     

    He’s helped by solid supporting performances from the likes of Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong, in roles that don’t feel tacked on. Knightley is especially good, making a case with this and Begin Again that she might finally be coming into her own as an actress.

     

     The Imitation Game shows that not all World War II movies are the same, and there might still be hope for a genre that seemed destined for mediocrity.

    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game.

    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
      
    Photo courtesy of Lone Star Film Festival
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game.
    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    Comedy News

    Comedy chain Punch Line to open at Toyota Music Factory in Irving

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 14, 2025 | 5:46 pm
    Punch Line San Francisco
    Punch Line
    Punch Line San Francisco

    A renowned comedy club is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Punch Line, a nationwide club chain founded in San Francisco, will open a DFW location at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, at 310 W. Las Colinas Blvd. #130, taking over a prominent storefront that was previously home to a series of Brazilian steakhouses, next door to the TMF box office.

    According to a representative, the venue will open in the fall.

    This will be a fifth location of Punch Line, joining the original in San Francisco, along with Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Houston, which opened in 2024. The Dallas opening is part of a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment.

    Punch Line Comedy Club opened in San Francisco in 1978 and over the years has helped launch the careers of comedy legends such as Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Drew Carey.

    "For 40-plus years, Punch Line has been home to comedy’s heavyweights — and now we're bringing that knockout energy to DFW, from top-tier national headliners to the rising stars right here in Texas," the club promises.

    The Dallas venue will feature comedy’s biggest names, open mic nights and showcases for DFW talent, a front-row seat to the next big thing in stand-up, plus the "intimate, classic Punch Line vibe."

    The chain offers food and beverage including fancy cocktails like prickly pear margaritas and a Tito's espresso martini. There’s a two-beverage minimum per person.

    The food menu is heavy on shareables like nachos, loaded fries, spinach-artichoke dip, Bavarian pretzel, and flatbreads such as the one with basil pesto, mozzarella, feta, and balsamic glaze.

    Dallas has always had a healthy comedy club scene, with stalwarts like the Improv; homegrown favorites like the Dallas Comedy House in Deep Ellum and TK's in Plano; and newcomers like Mic Drop Comedy in Plano.

    comedyopenings
    news/entertainment
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
    Loading...