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Reel Magic: The latest cinema releases in the UAE

Dubai - Enid Parker delves through the latest releases

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DOCTOR STRANGE
Watching Benedict Cumberbatch deliver a hilariously naughty pick-up line on The Graham Norton show recently has doubled our enthusiasm to catch Doctor Strange in theatres. Wendy Ide of The Guardian writes, "Benedict Cumberbatch is unpredictable and intriguing as the Marvel superhero in a brain-melting tale that reinvigorates the genre."
 
As comic book geeks what intrigues us most are the weird adventures Strange has had over the years, a noteworthy one being the time he meets Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 (1965). When Spidey happens to intercept some criminals in Strange's sanctum sanctorum, he becomes stuck in a nightmare reality, but eventually teams up with Strange to battle evil sorcerer Xandu and liberate himself.
'Brain-melting' would thus be the right word to describe the Doctor Strange trailer, which urges you to 'question reality'. Even if the story doesn't turn out to be memorable, the special effects alone seem worth paying the price of a movie ticket for.
Rotten Tomatoes gives this 92%
Trivia
. A made-for-TV Doctor Strange film was released in 1978.

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UAE cinema listings: November 3 - 9

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THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX
The premise of this supernatural thriller itself is enough to draw us in. Psychologist (Jamie Dornan) taps into the mind of a young boy who has had nine near death experiences and comes up against a mystery that cannot be easily explained or solved, one which explores the nature of the sixth sense.

Critics haven't been kind to the film so far, with Peter Debruge of Variety writing, "This film noir-esque adaptation of Liz Jensen's page-turner barely musters enough heat to qualify as a potboiler."
Still, we're all for giving this one a chance.
Trivia
. British director Anthony Minghella was working on a version of this film at the time of his death.

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TROLLS
Okay, 'fess up, which of you cool kids from the nineties owned a troll doll? With weird yet endearing smiles and colourful spiky hair, these trolls experienced a resurgence in that decade, and we're glad to see them back in this film, voiced by A-listers like Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick and Zooey Deschanel. When the troll village is invaded by the ogre-like Bergens, the happiest troll ever born, Poppy, sets off to rescue her friends along with a companion, Branch. "You can't fight the overwhelming sense of fun and lightness," writes Brian Truitt of USA Today.

Since it's a story centred on 'over-optimistic' trolls, who knows, maybe some of their enthusiasm and positivity will rub off on us; we are in dire need of good vibes right now.
Trivia
. Troll dolls were originally created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam.