Our five faves of the moment: 'The Imitation Game,' Pearl Jam live in St. Paul, more

1 "The Imitation Game" tells the story of Alan Turing, a gay World War II English mastermind who creates technical discoveries that help save his nation, then is persecuted like an outsider in his own land. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, this is a remarkable film about when humanity depends on your life, and when it's content with your death.

2 In A.R. Gurney's autobiographical "The Cocktail Hour," being presented with grace and humor at the Guthrie, a playwright has brought his script to his family because it's semi-autobiographical and he would like their blessing before having it produced. His elderly parents are horrified at the thought that their privacy would be breached, and his sister is enraged at having only a minor role in the piece. Over the course of an extended cocktail hour, small family dramas and squabbles play out, culminating in the revelation of a closely held secret. guthrietheater.org

3 The surprising thing about Pearl Jam's St. Paul official bootleg, chronicling its Oct. 19 concert at the Xcel Energy Center, is not the strong performance or the frequent singalongs, but front man Eddie Vedder's chattiness. Whether he just had a lot to say or needed the chance to catch his breath during the three-hour show, Vedder's gift of gab gave the concert a certain air of intimacy, while also perhaps depriving fans of a few more songs. The spartan CD packaging belies the tremendous sound quality, although the crowd was much louder than is presented on the discs. A good souvenir for those who attended — or wished they had. pearljam.com

4 The British Arrow Awards, back at Walker Art Center through Tuesday for their 28th anniversary, are a 74-minute swarm of video adverts — as they call them on British telly — featuring clever visual puns, tongue-in-cheek jokes and occasional serious messages that make us react emotionally. Where else would you expect a talking platypus singing the praises of a bank and a squad of dancing chickens endorsing the Magic Body Control feature of Mercedes-Benz cars? These ads are sort of like what we see during Super Bowl broadcasts, just 100 times better. walkerart.org

5 Harold Pinter's "Hothouse," which takes place on Christmas Day 1966, is about corrupt power and naked desire in the context of an ill-defined institution. The action starts in the office of the seemingly forgetful man who runs the place. We learn that a patient has been killed, and another is pregnant, which means there's a rapist on staff. The man who runs the place is a suspect in all of it. darkstormy.org