What I Watched

This was my first time to fly through Dubai. The UAE is committing to having the best airport in the world. And they are making progress. They want to be the greatest at other stuff, too. I saw the tallest building in the world out the window through the haze.The Emirates airplanes are nicer than US ones, with more legroom. And wifi. But here's the rub: instead of flying eight hours to London and another eight to Nairobi, I flew fifteen hours from Dallas to Dubai and five more to Nairobi.So in the past week, I spent a total of 40 hours on Emirates flights. In addition to sleep, what did I do? I lacked a computer cord on the return, because one of the nationals needed it. So I binge-watched a lot of personal-screen TV. Here is the rundown on my selections with brief comments:Big Bang Theory reruns – Great for passing the half hour that might include ten interruptions from the captain about takeoff or landing. Fun and mindless for passing time, and no problem if you miss a scene or two. (I had been told to watch Breaking Bad, but that was not offered as an option.)Kidnapping Mr. Heineken – The inside story of the planning, execution, aftermath and downfall of the kidnappers of beer tycoon Alfred "Freddy" Heineken. The crime resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual. Anthony Hopkins stars as the victim. Decent suspense. But depressing.Birdman – Starring Michael Keaton. It won the Oscar for Best Picture. How bad could it be? Uh…that bad. What was I thinking?Woman in Gold – A British-American drama starring Helen Mirren. It’s based on the true story of an elderly Jewish refugee living in Los Angeles, who, with her lawyer, fought the government of Austria for nearly a decade. Her goal: to reclaim Gustav Klimt's iconic painting of her aunt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. The Nazis stole the work from the Altmann's relatives in Vienna prior to World War II. She took her legal battle all the way to the US Supreme Court. As for the film, some of the script was weak, but the plot was terrific, and Mirren is always great.A Little Chaos – A 2014 British period drama directed by and starring Alan Rickman. Also starring Kate Winslet. Two talented landscape artists fall in love while building a garden in King Louis XIV's Versailles palace. The plot is a bit far-fetched. But what the heck. It was fun to see Rickman sporting a big ol’ French longhaired wig.Downton Abbey – Final season. Best use of my time. Binge-watching nine hours of DA with no cell or email interruptions + a few hours’ sleep = shortest fifteen-hour flight ever. Too bad I didn't save any episodes for the Dubai/Dallas leg of the trip (longest flight ever).