:Monsters vs Aliens
Directors: Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd
Monsters vs Aliens, the latest release from DreamWorks Animation, is the first computer animated film to be produced entirely in 3-D. It is set in the present day, but owes its inspiration to the B-movies of the 1950s, when Hollywood first gave 3-D a spin in an attempt to fend off competition from TV.
These days, DreamWorks is betting that stereoscopic pictures will keep the theatrical experience alive at a time when home viewing and digital downloads are major threats. So far, it looks like a good bet. Box-office analysis suggests 3-D movies get 30 per cent more attendance.
In Monsters vs Aliens, however, 3-D seems to have been an afterthought. The film plunges into a self-consciously silly sci-fi yarn (and overly earnest allegory) about a meek bride-to-be, Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), who has a close encounter with a radioactive meteor, grows to 49 feet tall and is stood up at the altar.
Bundled off to a secret military installation, Susan - renamed Ginormica by her government handlers - only wants to get her old stature and egotistical fiancé, Derek (Paul Rudd), back and live a quiet life in the suburbs.
Her new roommates don't improve her spirits, though they're a lot more fun than anyone back home in Modesto. There's the mad scientist Dr Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), who morphed with one of his experiments (a nod to The Fly); the gelatinous blue blob, BOB (Seth Rogen), who is a brain cell short of an IQ (a comic riff on The Blob); the mouthy Missing Link (Will Arnett), based on The Creature From the Black Lagoon; and Insectosaurus, a giant, mute bug, apparently a nod to the Japanese monster icon Mothra.
The pop cultural references don't stop there, though they eventually graduate from the 1950s. Kiefer Sutherland voices a gung-ho military general, WR Monger, inspired by George C Scott's role in Dr Strangelove. And when an alien robot crash-lands in the middle of nowhere, the president (voiced by the late-night satirist Stephen Colbert) serenades it with a few bars from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
This is all in good fun, but once the introductions are over, the moviemakers find surprisingly little to do with their featured creatures. Of course Ginormica casts a giant shadow, but don't hold out hopes for Swiftian satire. It's hardly a surprise when conventional weapons bounce off the alien invader and his four-eyed, tentacled puppet master, Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson), and the earth's fate is turned over to the monsters, more in hope than expectation.
Their first confrontation, in downtown San Francisco is easily the film's most impressive scene, a demolition derby in which Ginormica careens through the streets with automobiles for roller skates. Everything after that feels anti-climactic.
Visually, it's disappointingly unadventurous once you see past the 3-D gimmickry. The characters lack the subtle shading of Wall-E or Kung Fu Panda, and the 3-D effects only make the 2-D caricatures seem that much bigger and broader.
Undeniably engaging in patches, Monsters vs Aliens is, in the end, over-produced and underwritten, further confirmation of the quality gap in the DreamWorks and Pixar face off.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Kibsons%20Cares
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