During the past month or so we have been extremely busy with work, friends’ visits and other responsibilities such that we were unable to indulge in one of our favorite pastimes: watching movies.

During that time, I truly yearned for a good movie. I just wanted to watch one that would satisfy my thirst after nearly a month of movie deprivation. My wish came true last night when watching a flick that proved a treat in every sense of the word: The Prestige. It was simply magical.

The storyline was its primary forte. It is smart, engaging and unexpected, filled with twists and turns. It revolves around the art of magic and the pursuit of accomplishing the perfect trick meant to awe an audience forever. It is also a story of love, envy, passion, revenge and ugly competition. The acting was phenomenal as well. A top-notch team of actors in addition to phenomenal cinematography made the movie one of a kind. I could go on forever about this movie, but I will save us all precious time and simply say: Watch it.

Ah, did I mention that the great singer David Bowie stars as Nicolai Tesla in this fantastic movie. Yet another reason to watch it now!

Yesterday, we had a wonderful outing with Leilouta and her husband when we went to see the Egyptian movie The Yacoubian Building, which came to the nation’s capital as part of the DC film festival. The movie was as fantastic as expected. Based on the highly-acclaimed novel of the same name, the movie dissects Egyptian society through the lives of the residents of the Yacoubian Building — which exists in real life in Cairo.

The movie crosses many red lines in Egyptian society by discussing taboo issues such as homosexuality, corruption and fundamentalism, among others. The flick had all-star actors including Adel Imam, Yousra and Nour Al Sharif (whom I had the pleasure to meet some years ago in Doha).

Adel Imam was fantastic as usual. He played rich womanizer Zaki el Dousski brilliantly. He came across exactly as I imagined him while reading the book some months ago. He was charming with a great sense of humor. The cinematography in the movie was notable as it was quite expressive, showing tremendous development from that of my teenage days, when I watched Egyptian movies nonstop. The person introducing the movie at the festival said two things of interest. One: The actual residents of the building are suing the author and moviemaker, as the story is so close to their real lives. Two: This was the most expensive Egyptian movie ever made. Now, I can’t help but wonder: Are we witnessing a revival of the Egyptian cinema?

After the movie, we went to the nearby Ruby Tuesday to discuss the movie over dinner. We all had the same questions. Was the movie ever shown In Egypt? What was the reaction there? Was it censored? What about all the homosexual scenes? Were they shown in full? Any Egyptian readers out there? Can anyone shed light on this?

We have seen a lot of good movies lately, thanks both to Netflix and the library. I could go on and on about Freeway, Blood Diamond, Zodiac, Russian Dolls, 3 Iron, and Elephant, among others. However, I will choose to talk about one we saw last week that has remained on my mind until this very moment: Mira Nair’s The Namesake, which is based on a novel of the same name by one of my favorite authors, Jhumpa Lahiri.

Although I read the book recently and was pretty familiar with the plot, I enjoyed the movie a great deal. It is the kind of movie that truly moves you as I was not alone in shedding tears non-stop for the duration of the film. Many left the E-Street cinema with swollen, red eyes and mascara running down their cheeks.

The movie tells of the travails of an Indian family that immigrates to the US to pursue the American dream while watching their children becoming more Americanized by the day. I could not stop laughing when the father in the movie, Ashoke Ganguli, explained to his wife the concept of the "24-hour" gas stove.

This scene took me back almost two years ago when we were about to sign the lease on our current apartment. When I asked the rental agent about changing the gas cylinder, she kindly explained to me that I would never have to worry about it. Another memorable scene was when the mother, Ashima, mixed cereal with curry and peanuts in an attempt to make her first American breakfast.

Kal Penn, who played Gogol, did a fantastic job portraying the main character. Watching it also really made me want to get my hands on the real Gogol’s literary work, especially his short story The Overcoat, which plays a central theme in the movie. All in all, the movie was as satisfying as the book. I highly recommend it. Here are some reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.

One movie that we saw last week and enjoyed tremendously, is a film that sends a clear message of tolerance. In light of the wanton number of "intolerant" incidents we seem to hear about on a daily basis, this movie came as a breath of fresh air. Dubbed Monsieur Ibrahim, the film stars highly-acclaimed Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.

The French production tells the story of a teenage Jewish boy who befriends the Muslim owner of a grocery store in the seedy part of a predominately Jewish neighborhood in Paris. With Sharif as teacher, over time their relationship develops to become an inseparable bond. Parts of the movie are shot in Istanbul — the lovely city we chose for our honeymoon — something which made the movie even more enjoyable for us.

In a nutshell, Monsieur Ibrahim (also called Monsieur Ibrahim and the flowers of the Quran) is a tale about growing up, the importance of family, friendship and tolerance with some surprising deviations. The film, which is beautifully shot and deftly scripted, is definitely a must-see. For those living in the US, we got the movie through the wonderful Netflix. Regardless of how, go get a copy and make your day.

As expected, the proposed banning of the controversial film version of the book The Da Vinci Code in Jordan has increased interest in the film. Here is an excerpt from a Jordan Times article:

…shops selling pirated DVDs in downtown Amman are awash with copies of the controversial film, which is based on the controversial blockbuster novel of the same name by American writer Dan Brown. DVD shop owners say customers are showing "unusual" interest in the movie. "The first batch of movies I brought was sold out in less than an hour. Customers are eager to know why this movie attracted so much attention," said one shop owner, who refused to give his name.

Meanwhile, Egypt is exercising still tougher measures. According to AP:

Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of "The Da Vinci Code" on Saturday, and the Egyptian Coptic Christian church demanded the film be banned in Egypt. The film has not been shown here and the government has not yet decided whether to permit it. Police arrested the owner of a local movie production company when they discovered he had 2,000 pirated DVDs of the film, a police source said…

I understand why the Council of Churches in Jordan would ask for the film to be banned, as it challenges some basic foundations of Christianity. However, the Council should recognize that in this day and time nearly anything is going to be accessible in one form or another. Banning the movie has done nothing but arouse the curiosity of the public. Instead of banning it, the Council could have arranged seminars to counter the allegations found in the movie, based upon a largely acknowledged fictional novel. In the US, some evangelists decided to go positive with their approach. According to the Economist:

… many other Christians, particularly evangelicals, are taking a different approach. For them the film provides a golden opportunity to get people talking about Christian subjects. Some churches are giving away tickets along with Starbucks vouchers to encourage post-film discussion. The Campus Crusade for Christ has printed 1m copies of its guide to the code. This Sunday, thousands of preachers across the country will be addressing Mr Brown’s book.

One reason why evangelicals are embracing Mr Brown is that shunning proved such a disaster with Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. All the outrage and marches simply made Christians look bigoted and silly, and brought a tedious film much publicity. But there are two more positive reasons.

I watched the movie last week and I personally thought it dragged and failed to fully engage me. I thought it concentrated heavily on the theoretical and failed to invest in visual elements. The book was by far more engaging. Neither the book nor the movie has made me question the basic foundations of Christianity. But I went there with full knowledge that the movie narrates a fictional tale. Anyway, that’s my two cents. Here is what Sandmonkey thought of the movie.