Setup
Director: Mike Gunther
Starring: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Ryan Phillipe and Bruce Willis
**
The first in a long line of planned movies from his production company Cheetah Vision, Jackson stars alongside Phillipe and the screen legend Willis in the crime thriller Setup. Jackson stars as Sonny, a bank robber betrayed by his best friend and partner Vince (Phillipe) who shoots him and leaves him for dead. Alive, and chased by some powerful gangsters, he teams up with a powerful mob boss (Willis) to find Vince and exact revenge. A film that relies far more on the fame of its stars than the contents of its story, this low-budget action-thriller is a very basic crime movie, attempting to highlight the "talents" of its star. In reality, Jackson is at best average as Sonny, with his mumbling, monotone narration an odd bedfellow to the jarring and awkward script. His scenes with Willis highlight how far the rapper-turned-actor is from being a bona fide movie star, even if the Die Hard actor looks uninterested. Gunther also brings in odd direction, with sudden, jerky camera movements giving the feel of a television drama. There are plus points, such as the occasional humour in the script, but overall, awkward is the best word to describe this disjointed and strained film.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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
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
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3