What to Watch in 2013
It was hard to choose from the list of movies that are scheduled for release in 2013, but here are my top five choices and why:
The Big Wedding: because it is always an ultimate pleasure to watch De Niro in a comedic role and this time he shares the screen with leading ladies: Sarandon, Keaton, Heigl and Seyfried. The plot is also as energetic as the cast (which also includes the timelessly hilarious Robin Williams): divorced parents have to pretend to be married for the weekend of their adopted son’s wedding to make his Catholic biological mother happy.
The Butler: because it tells the story of a butler who worked under 8 presidents of the United States. The movie encountered a number of financing hurdles but finally got made. David Oyelowo, Lenny Kravitz, Forest Whitaker, Terrence Howard, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding Jr, Alan Rickman, Mariah Carey, Robin Williams and Oprah Winfrey bring the story to life
Side Effects: because the reality of the side effects of prescription medicines is an ever-present one told in this dark tale starring Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta Jones and Rooney Mara
Twelve Years a Slave: because of Quvenzhané Wallis. This will be her second movie. She first charmed us in this year’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. The movie which tells the story of a free Black man who is sold as a slave is directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen and also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adepero Oduye as well as Brad Pitt.
Half of a Yellow Sun: because it marks the directorial debut of Nigerian author Biyi Bandele. Adapted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award winning novel of the same name, the movie features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose and Genevieve Nnaji
And in other news, the global movie industry which already boasts of Hollywood (US), Bollywood (India), Nollywood (Nigeria) and Ghollywood (Ghana) is set to welcome Sollywood – Sierra Leone. The country which has had to endure decades of civil unrest and instability is now the home to an emerging movie industry with about 300 production companies taking root. As Seray Bangura writes in the December 2012 edition of the New Internationalist magazine, Sierra Leoneans can tell their story better than anyone else. The emergence of a movie industry could be a great boost to the country’s economy and development. In neighboring Nigeria, the movie industry is a huge money maker with sales of up to $300 million a year. In spite of all the challenges that they might face in building this up, I will be watching avidly and hopefully in 2013 to see that Sollywood breaks even.
