There probably isn’t a comic-book character in movie history that’s been reinvented more than Batman. The camp Adam West version of the 1960s TV show, via the Hollywood heroics of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, to the more intense incarnation played by Christian Bale for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Most recently, it’s been Ben Affleck — whose square jaw worked well under the Gotham City crime-fighter’s mask, even if Zack Snyder’s messy films (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League) left the character in the lurch.
Now it’s the turn of Robert Pattinson. The British actor has been on a fascinating arthouse detour since his last blockbuster series, the Twilight vampire chronicles. Films such as High Life for Claire Denis and Good Time for the Safdie Brothers have shown what a fine actor he is.
In Matt Reeves’s The Batman, he nails the character: the physicality, the brooding introspection, the rage, that all turned millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne into Gotham’s costume-wearing crusader. Here, Reeves fashions him like an anonymous antihero, recording his thoughts in a journal.
“The city’s eating itself — maybe it’s beyond saving,” he voiceovers, as a story that spans just a few days cranks into gear on Halloween. Set 20 years on from when Wayne’s parents were murdered, Reeves dispenses with the done-to-death origin story that’s plagued Batman films in the past, though constructs a narrative that winds around Wayne’s own family history in a highly satisfying way.
In a city where the rain rarely stops tumbling, the obvious predecessor is David Fincher’s Se7en, where a morally righteous serial killer looks for vengeance on the sins of the world.
Here, Batman is dragged into a murder case when the body of Gotham’s mayor is discovered bludgeoned to death. As will become revealed, it’s The Riddler (Paul Dano) who killed him — but don’t expect the cartoonish incarnation from the West TV show, when Frank Gorshin wore a suit emblazoned with question marks. Dano’s character does have his own distinct costume, however, a mask with creepy S&M overtones that goes hand-in-hand with his very unhinged performance. His Riddler seems intent on punishing the corrupt officials of Gotham — repeating the mantra “No more lies.”
Leaving Batman handwritten envelopes with greetings cards full of ciphers, it draws him — along with police department staple Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — into a story that slithers into the Gotham underworld. The mayor’s murder leads them into the path of Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), who works at The Iceberg Lounge, a nightclub/mob hangout run by The Penguin (Colin Farrell) and his ruthless boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). There, you’ll find District Attorney Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard) high on drugs or narcotics officers on the take.
Kyle, of course, is better known in Batman lore as Catwoman — and while Kravitz’s agile, athletic take on the character carries some of the traits associated with this slinky cat burglar, like so many in this film, Reeves has put a hugely fresh spin on her. While you won’t find her licking Batman’s face, as Michelle Pfeiffer did with Keaton in Batman Returns, she does at least own cats.
“I have a thing about strays,” she tells Batman, hinting that she and him — two loners in the city — are not so different.
No doubt, the best reinterpretation of a familiar character is Farrell, entirely unrecognisable under prosthetics as he gives off the East Coast gangster vibe to The Penguin (no top hat, no cigar, though in a very sly nod to the character, in one scene, he finds his wrists and ankles bound and is left to waddle off screen — like the creature he’s named after). He also takes centre stage in the best action scene — a vividly filmed car chase, filled with tension, that finally sees the emergence of the Batmobile.
Curiously, The Batman leaves little room for alter ego Bruce Wayne, although the few scenes he has are shared with his faithful butler Alfred (Andy Serkis). Reeves is clearly drawing from Frank Miller’s 1987 graphic novel Batman: Year One, on some level — the rookie vigilante who is arguably every bit as terrifying to the Gotham public as the criminals.
“They think I’m hiding in the shadows — but I am the shadows,” he mumbles, in one of dozens of lines that feel ripped out of a 1940s film noir.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Superbly scripted by Reeves (Cloverfield) and Peter Craig, even if you have no interest in Batman, the film works as a satisfying murder-mystery, playing on the original idea from the comics of the character as the “World’s Greatest Detective”. Evocatively scored by composer Michael Giacchino — who is having a hell of a year after Spider-Man: No Way Home — this is a Batman film that puts an indelible stamp on the character.
The result is a triumph: one of the darkest and most compelling comic-book movies of the modern era.
The Batman is in UAE cinemas from March 3
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
Avatar%20(2009)
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Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
