Movie watching can be a hit-or-miss experience in Dubai: there's a major theatre near our apartment, but it leans towards schlocky blockbuster hits and anything animated (Puss in Boots, Happy Feet, etc). Occasionally, a gotta-see-it-it's-on-my-wishlist movie comes to town, but more often we have to wait for the year-end film fests to get any of the artsy movies and documentaries.
My Favourite Movies of the Year:
1. The Mexican Suitcase
2. Restrepo
3. Another Year
4. Cave of Forgotten Dreams
5. King's Speech
The Mexican Suitcase* - Dubai Film Festival. This movie was AWESOME. A documentary that wove stories of the Spanish Civil War with the stories of wartime photographers, including Robert Capa, who left rolls of film in a suitcase that made its way to Mexico and then sat in someone's closet for decades until it was rediscovered. I love photography, I love stories of travels, I love hearing about people's experiences in new lands, I love adventure, and this movie had it all.
Restrepo - the owner of a local art gallery gave us his copy to watch after I mentioned we had meant to see it. As the NYTimes review says here, "Restrepo, a documentary that sticks close to a company of American soldiers during a grueling 14-month tour of duty in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan, is an impressive, even heroic feat of journalism." This movie is powerful, fantastic. I loved it.
Another Year (Emirates flight to Johannesburg) - I should say that, in addition to the film fests, Emirates flights are another excellent place to see artsy movies because they have catalogues of hundreds in the on-flight entertainment system. This movie was on my "must see" list for an age (I loved Happy-Go-Lucky, by the same director), so I was thrilled to see this on the flight, for it had never come through Dubai. This was the type of film that had me still mulling it over days later. As the NYTimes review says, "Tom and Gerri, played with uncanny subtlety and tremendous soul by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, are much more subdued but no less radiant, and just as extreme in their delight."
Cave of Forgotten Dreams* - Abu Dhabi Film Festival, 3D, amazing, spiritual, what does it mean to leave something that people discover 30,000 years later. The crooked pinkie, the palm prints. The talent, such excellent depictions of horses and lions, bears and mammoths. The thrill of discovery.
The King's Speech* - Everyone who saw this *raved* about it, and though we missed it at the Dubai Film Fest, once it opened in wide release around town, we added it to the movie wishlist. One lazy afternoon while Fred was in town, we got tickets to the Platinum Screening (like 1st class on a plane - reclining seats!) and sat back for this movie. And it was fantastic, I loved it. Well acted, an affecting story, and great period shots of the 1930's.
Here's a list of the other movies I saw in 2011 (* = seen in theatres)
Fair Game* - Recounts "Plamegate," though I was surprised with how much of the movie had passed before the newspaper column appears with Valerie Plame's name. Thus provides excellent background into what was happening in the White House at the time, and provides many layers to the story of this CIA agent's identity being revealed.
The Way Back* - The story of men who escape from the gulags in Siberia and trek thousands of miles to escape. Through harsh winter to searing Gobi desert heat, on and on they walk, until they cross the Himalayas into India.
True Grit* - I'm not a huge Western fan, but I really enjoyed this movie: the scenery, the actors, the crazy scenarios.
The Other Guys - Will Ferrell = hilarious! From the opening montage where Samuel L Jackson and The Rock play cops in a high speed chase (the light gets shot off the top of the car, the driver pulls out another and sticks it on the roof; or they smash through a tour bus, and then use the tour bus to chase the bad guys; etc etc hilarity etc etc).
The Company Men (Royal Brunei flight to London)
The Fighter (Royal Brunei flight to London)
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (Emirates back to Dubai from Cape Town) - like Match Point, Woody Allen movies set in London are quite nice to watch, even moreso now for the familiar scenery in the background.
Catfish (Emirates back to Dubai from Cape Town) - as the NYTimes review said, "this is, by far, one of the most intriguing movies of the year." A guy befriends a woman through a social network and when he goes to her town to surprise her in person, it turns out that things aren't at all how they seem.
Unknown* - there's an artsy movie theatre in Cape Town called The Labia on Orange, and we bought a small packet of popcorn and sat back to watch this twisty-turny, stolen identity thriller. Very enjoyable.
The Hangover 2* - seen at the V&A Waterfront on Cape Town on a Saturday night, because the Friday show was sold out. Made me laugh so much, just howling - loved it.
22 Bullets* - Eager for some culture at a Dubai movie theatre, we spotted this French film - only to discover that it was dubbed in English. Cheezy storyline - old gangster with a heart of gold, his wise old mamma, his former prostitute wife, his opera tapes. He is chased by a widow cop who sits in her car and does shots of vodka. The real bad guys threaten violence, and then laugh, "eez onley eh joke". The only thing this cliche-ridden movie missed was one of those slo-mo moments where the gangster finds someone dead and bellows, "noooooooooo."
Bridesmaids* - Premiering several months after the US debut, I had eagerly looked forward to this and had so many good laughs mixed with full-on cringes.
The Adjustment Bureau - on a plane from Dubai to Munich, July 2011
Super 8* - What do you do after a late night in London and don't feel like walking around the next day? Go to the movies!
Crazy, Stupid Love* - Mall of Emirates, with free passes. For the first time in ages, I saw *something* at the theatre that wasn't a "well, we could see this, it doesn't look too bad." As the NYT review says, "“Crazy, Stupid, Love” is, on balance, remarkably sane and reasonably smart." And I did NOT see the twist at the end: "These are eventually spun together in a chaotic climax that manages to be astonishing without destroying the film’s hard-won credibility."
Get Him To The Greek
Bad Day at Black Rock
Philadelphia Story
The Two Escobars - this documentary appeared on ESPN and I really enjoyed it. The two Escobars of the title are the drug kingpin Pablo and the Colombian football star who accidentally causes an own-goal during the World Cup, and suffers harsh consequences. It blends the stories of football with scenes of Colombian politics and life, to show how the drugs were affecting every element of society, including their national team.
The Fog of War - Excellent documentary, as the NY Times review says, "If there's one movie that ought to be studied by military and civilian leaders around the world at this treacherous historical moment, it is The Fog of War, Errol Morris's sober, beautifully edited documentary portrait of the former United States defense secretary, Robert S. McNamara."
North by Northwest - Cary Grant, James getting me into oldies, excellent, oh and there's Hitchcock
The Ides of March* - Abu Dhabi Film Festival, such twists and turns throughout. I kept thinking about the different paths that the story could have followed, so many different angles.
West Beirut - When we were in Beirut earlier this year, our tour guide mentioned this movie as an interesting dramatization of life during the civil war. Quite enjoyable, and the ending is suddenly very sad and poignant.
Normal* - We went to the Doha Tribeca Film Festival and saw this Algerian movie about how the youth are reacting to the Arab Spring
Arthur
J. Edgar* - Dubai Film Festival. It was fascinating to see the decades of history and backroom workings of the FBI and J. Edgar himself. But I didn't love this movie. As a Dan Kois recently wrote in the NYTimes, "Movie magic can do amazing things. Create worlds. Revive dinosaurs... But the one trick Hollywood still can’t pull off, apparently, is making... Leo DiCaprio look 70. The second half of Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar was flat-out ruined by Armie Hammer’s horrifying liver-spotted death mask. Old-age makeup: still tragically hilarious."
The Descendants* - Dubai Film Festival. After reading some blazingly positive reviews balanced by other so-so reviews, I didn't know what to expect from this movie. But, just like Sideways, it charmed me with its straightforward, simple story, authentic actors and slice-of-life scenery.
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