Godzilla Vs King Kong, Nomadland & more: 4 UAE movies to watch this week

What's on at the cinema?

Godzilla Vs. King Kong. What can we say about this monster movie which hasn’t already been deftly summed-up by the title? We guess it ‘stars’ two legendary creatures of the silver screen in giant gorilla, King Kong, and permanently narked dinosaur, Godzilla. Secondly, for reasons that become clear during the film, we discover they possess a millennia-long beef. And then the duo look to end it once and for all with a global duel for our viewing pleasure. Is that good enough a synopsis without giving too much away? If you like large beasts smacking each other around while puny humans and their comparatively toy weapons scurry about like ants, this is the picture for you. As is a reflection of all conflicts, the military go in all guns blazing attempting to annihilate the incomprehensible threat, while scholars dig for the meaning behind KK and G’s war, look at it in a historical context, and attempt to bring about a lasting peaceful resolution. It’s enough to bring a tear to your eye. IMDb gives it 8.3

Nomadland. Remember the last financial disaster? Back in 2008, toxic debt built upon American mortgages triggered a worldwide recession as economies woke up to the fact having nothing in the bank aside from a credit slip from someone else who was likely to default wasn’t the soundest fiscal policy. Many lost everything though, as always, it was the people who had little to begin with who ended up with even less. Fern (Frances McDormand) is just such a victim. In her sixties with not much more than a few bucks to her name, she must take to living in a van. With a never-say-die spirit the rambunctious senior traverses her nation and discovers more about herself than she had imagined. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 94%

Retaliation. A hard-hitting revenge thriller, Retaliation stars Orlando Bloom as deeply troubled demolition worker (who specialises in legally knocking down churches), Malcolm. The pain of being abused as a child by a member of his local clergy comes to a head early in the plot as a result of Malcolm’s destructive behaviour. He decides the only way to be rid of his demons is through payback and seeks out the church where the trauma took place in order to burn it down. IMDb gives it 5.4

Saina (Hindi). We haven’t had a biopic in the cinema for a while and this one looks good. Parineeti Chopra plays Saina Nehwal, the only Indian woman to have held badminton’s number one in the world ranking. Watch her overcome adversity and prejudice in order simply to be taken seriously and allowed to compete before wiping the floor with the competition. There are so far no ratings.