Broken City
Director: Allen Hughes
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones
***
As seen through the eyes of the ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg), New York City is pretty bleak and definitely broken. Seven years after being dismissed from the force after shooting a man dead in questionable circumstances, Taggart scrapes a living as a private detective.
So when the city's Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) calls, Taggart jumps to attention. Hostetler wants to know if his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair and with whom, saying that such a revelation will hinder his re-election campaign. Of course, it's not as simple as all that, and soon Taggart finds himself in a web of intrigue involving not only the Hostetlers but also the rival mayoral candidate and the police commissioner (Jeffrey Wright), who seems to know more than he is letting on.
Essentially a by-the-numbers corruption thriller, Broken City certainly looks gritty and has some sharp moments, including the meetings between the mayor and detective, Billy's shop talk with his weary assistant (Alona Tai) and an uncomfortable moment when Billy discovers just what his actress girlfriend means by "love scene" in her new independent movie. But while the director Allen Hughes, making his first movie as director without his brother Albert, keeps things punchy, he is let down by the script (from the first-time writer Brian Tucker), which lacks the layers of other cover-up movies and often races to find resolutions, losing credibility along the way. Some characters get forgotten, others don't get enough screen time and some plot points are just too convenient, such as when Billy goes looking for evidence and finds just what he needs in the first cardboard box he looks in, sitting handily atop a pile of hundreds ready for the rubbish collection.
But the two central performances ultimately save the movie. Crowe, gruff, calculating and a bit shifty, is convincing as the man who justifies his methods as for the greater good (or his greater good, at least), even if his accent wavers and he seems to turn a brighter shade of orange as the movie progresses (whatever brand of fake tan he is using should be removed from the shelves immediately).
Best of all, though, is Wahlberg, perfect as the determined, always-one-step-behind underdog, who makes Taggart a man you want to spend time with and root for, even when you're not completely sure he's as good a guy as we hope he is.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Book%20Details
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SPECS
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain%20Boy
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
RESULTS
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