Director: Nimrod Attal
Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace
Launched in 1987 as an Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle, the Predator franchise was never much more than a glorified computer-game chase plot wrapped in B-movie sci-fi clothes. An Arnold-free sequel arrived in 1990, followed recently by two lowbrow spin-offs that brought the human-hunting extraterrestrial warriors into conflict with the super-sized killer lizards from Alien. Although the original was a reasonably well-respected cult movie, the ensuing series just got louder and sillier, and refused to die.
A loose sequel to the original two films, Predators opens with a bang and immediately feels like a refreshingly smart reboot. Adrien Brody's mercenary hero Royce wakes up in screaming freefall over a hostile jungle landscape, pulling his parachute just in time to avoid slamming into the rainforest below. He is soon joined by a motley gang of soldiers, assassins and dangerous criminals. None have any memory of how they got there, but they quickly figure out that they are prisoners on an alien world. All are former hunters, and now they are being hunted. "This planet is a game reserve, and we're the game," says Royce. After a great opening that feels like an early episode of Lost, except with high-tech weaponry and rampaging alien warthogs, the Hungarian-born horror director Nimrod Attal and the Texas-based producer Robert Rodriguez (best known for his Spy Kids series and Tarantino collaborations) cheerfully tick off every B-movie cliché in the manual. Token female action babe? Cue Alice Braga. Bookish wimp with murky secrets? That would be Topher Grace. Corny, cod-profound dialogue about the human condition? Check - every other line. Making his action hero debut, Brody is an unorthodox choice of headline star. Renowned for his Oscar-winning turn in The Pianist, the 37-year-old New Yorker brings a dash of indie-movie credibility to a project such as this. A bold and interesting piece of casting, but it barely registers since Brody's sensitive acting skills are buried completely in cartoon machismo. With his pumped-up physique and ridiculously gruff voice, he looks and sounds like Vin Diesel's lankier cousin, even if his gaunt face still retains a hint of haunted arthouse melancholy. The high benchmark for superior sci-fi sequels was set 24 years ago when James Cameron directed Aliens. The teasingly titled Predators initially seems to offer a similar retooled, revved-up makeover. Sadly, after a strong opening act, all the latent potential and tightly wound tension of its first 40 minutes begins to unravel. The rot sets in with Laurence Fishburne's surprise appearance, which slows down the action and borders on unintended comedy. Shock revelations about divided loyalties and double agents feel like illogical, superfluous plot devices. The final showdown between human survivors and dreadlock-headed predators seems muddled and anti-climactic, as if the filmmakers simply ran out of inspiration. Worst of all, the aliens remain virtually unchanged since the first film, lacking any extra element of fright or suspense. As ever, we learn nothing of their motives, their methods or their society. Predators is a decent thrill ride, but it lacks the necessary depth and originality to qualify as a great reinvention.
* Stephen Dalton
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
MATCH INFO
Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')
Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Test series fixtures
(All matches start at 2pm UAE)
1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday
2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18
3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31
4th Test Manchester from August 4-8
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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Honeymoonish
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
