First movie in Addis

The first thing you need to know is that shifting to Addis is entirely my idea, so of course if anything goes wrong,then the responsibility is completely mine,at least in my head. As Vishal has very few requirements to keep him happy, I was hoping at least part of his list would be available.Before leaving Delhi, I went almost crazy trying to dredge the internet for details on internet speed ( I get the irony) and which, if any theatres would be playing Hollywood movies.So, weeks before arriving in Addis I knew about the Matti Multiplex which had opened a few months back and screened three different English movies at any given time! They even had a website where I checked out what shows were playing while I was in Delhi. Vishal was mightily relieved to realise that John Carter was on and which meant that every cheesy, special effect crammed, nonsensical, big budget extravaganza would be seen in Addis pretty much as soon as it was released.

Yesterday, we went to check the quality of the popcorn. Matti multiplex is located in the Edna Mall near the Bole Medhnalayam church. We took a taxi which cost us 60 Birr ( 180 Rs)but needn’t have bothered as it is actually a pleasant  15 min walk. The tickets cost 40 Birr (120 Rs ) on weekdays and 45 Birr on weekends. The theatre was small but with comfortable seats. There were barely 15 people in the theatre which was expected, considering that it was a weekday afternoon and the movie was a sappy chick-flick with a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. The only thing which was different was that the trailers of forthcoming movies had subtitles in both Amharic and French although the main feature didn’t. Disconcertingly, the upper third of the screen was fuzzy and blurred during the trailers but cleared up soon thereafter. Maybe someone cleaned the projector lens. A good time was had by one and all although the movie was on the awful side of the spectrum. And the popcorn? We didn’t get to try it because there was no interval.

On the subject of popcorn, we brought about half a dozen packets of Act II microwave popcorn with us and of course, we don’t have a microwave. Yesterday evening,it rained and was perfect popcorn weather so I popped the corn in the pressure cooker and what do you know, better than when microwaved. No charred paper and burnt bits at all, although I did have popcorn flying all over the kitchen when I opened the lid prematurely.You live and you learn.
P.S. The popcorn and Pepsi at Matti multiplex are decent and tickets for 3D flicks cost 90 Birr (270 Rs) with an additional 50 Birr deposit for the 3D glasses. You have to return the glasses and collect your deposit at the end of the movie. For real.