Seven films to see this week
Sin City Tonight, 12.45am, Paramount
Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez teamed up to write, produce and direct this 2005 adaptation of Miller’s graphic novel series with devastating effect. The film may not have achieved the same commercial success as bigbudget comic-book movies from the Marvel or DC stables, but for purists, it is one of the most faithful comic book adaptations going. Rodriguez’s intricate attention to detail in every frame makes for a stunning visual feast that at times feels like being inside the very pages of a comic book, and he won the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 for his ”visual shaping”. The all-star cast, meanwhile, features Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro and Rutger Hauer – not bad for a decidedly indie adaptation of an underground comic book.
Lawrence of Arabia Tomorrow, 2.20pm, OSN Movies Festival HD
David Lean’s regionally based 1962 biographical epic of British First World War hero T E Lawrence and his adventures fighting the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula gets a welcome run-out on Sunday. Peter O’Toole as Lawrence and Alec Guinness as Syria’s Prince Feisal head a cast that also brought Omar Sharif a rare Oscar nomination for his supporting role as Sherif Ali. The film’s historical accuracy is questionable in places, and there are hints of Orientalism, but stunning cinematography, quality performances and a moving exposé of the personal horrors of war were enough to warrant seven Oscars. The film is also fifth on the AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies list from 1998, and third on the BFI’s Greatest British Movies list from the following year.
The Big Lebowski Tuesday, 12.55am, OSN Movies HD
The Coen Brothers rarely, if ever, deliver a dud, and The Big Lebowski is no exception. Jeff Bridges is bowling-loving slacker The Dude, who unwittingly finds himself mixed up in a plot involving kidnapping, robbery, adult-movie magnates, double dealing, family secrets, nihilists and expensive rugs thanks to sharing his real name with a millionaire with undesirable acquaintances. The movie wasn’t a big hit at the box office, but has gone on to become a cult classic. The cast reads like a who’s who of nineties indie credibility: Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, David Thewlis, Philip Seymour Hoffman and even Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea putting in solid turns.
Hidden Figures Wednesday, 7.40am, OSN Movies First
It’s probably safe to say that in 2016, not too many people were aware of the fact that three black, female mathematicians played a vital role in Nasa’s efforts to send a man into space at the height of the race between the US and Russia. By 2017, US$236 million (Dh866.8m) at the global box office and three Oscar nominations for Theodore Melfi’s biopic later, it’s equally safe to say a lot more people knew. Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae play the titular hidden figures, working in a racially and gender-segregated Nasa research facility. The trio faced discrimination, including not being allowed to study at “white” schools or borrow books from the “white” sections of libraries, yet were still instrumental in calculating the trajectories of the Apollo 11 and later Space Shuttle missions.
Simshar Wednesday, 6.20am, Sundance
Simshar is worth watching so that you can tell your friends you have watched the only Maltese production to earn a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Rebecca Cremona’s film, based on a true story, is also an assured debut of high seas drama, as a Maltese family is shipwrecked on their vessel and stranded in the open water of the Mediterranean. Also in the Mediterranean, a Turkish vessel rescues African migrants between Malta and Italy, with tensions running high when neither country allows disembarkation. The two stories unravel in parallel and culminate tragically.
The Salesman Friday, 4.35pm, OSN Festival HD
It has been quite a week for Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi, and while a Friday afternoon screening on OSN Festival HD for The Salesman may not quite rank up there with learning that his latest film is to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival, it’s still great news for TV audiences in the UAE. His film-within-a-play-withina-film tells the story of a theatrical couple who are performing Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman on stage, when an assault on the wife in their temporary flat causes their onstage and real lives to take a turn for the bizarre. It won a Foreign Language Film Oscar – Farhadi’s second film to earn an Academy Award – and it’s well worth checking out ahead of the release of his next, Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, on the French Riviera next month.
Baby Driver Saturday, 10.10pm, OSN Movies First HD
Edgar Wright may have dramatically cut ties with Marvel over “creative differences” on the Ant-Man project, but what better way to brush yourself down than with this meticulously crafted ballet of high-octane thrills? Yes, at its heart, it’s a heist movie with fast cars, daring robberies and one of Kevin Spacey’s last appearances before he became a Hollywood pariah – but watch and listen, and it’s much more than that. Baby is a getaway driver, and his tinnitus can only be combated by listening to a constant soundtrack of hipperthan-thou tunes. The whole movie is an intricately choreographed riot of sound and stunts. Imagine Swan
Lake, but with cars, and guns.