For the first time, Cannes opened with an animated film and the expectation was that Up would be a Pixar film to rank alongside Finding Nemo and Toy Story. This proved a false hope. The first 3D feature film from Pixar follows Cars and Wall-E in taking a warm-hearted look at life on earth before overdosing on sentimentality. Pixar, it seems, is turning into the new Steven Spielberg, expert at setting up worlds and plots, but unable to avoid saccharine endings, which stop good movies being great ones. Carl (Edward Asner) and Ellie are childhood sweethearts who dream of being adventurers just like their hero Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). A superb silent montage sequence as good as anything the cartoon outfit has ever done gives us a potted history of their life together until Ellie dies, leaving Carl a lonely 78-year-old widower. He decides that he owes it to his wife to finally go on a big adventure. Facing eviction from his marital home, Carl, with echoes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, turns his house into a flying machine using children's balloons. The sequence is the only one that makes full use of 3-D in a picture that could easily be seen in 2-D. Carl inadvertently takes a young do-gooder scout called Russell (Jordan Nagal) along for the ride. Before you can say Around the World in 80 Days, the unlikely friends arrive in a lost world of talking dogs and rare colourful birds in South America. Yet, with the story perfectly setup for a classic adventure, the film quickly runs out of ideas and drowns in a series of sentimental clichés, with Muntz a terribly underdeveloped villain.
* Kaleem Aftab
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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)
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
I Feel Pretty
Dir: Abby Kohn/Mark Silverstein
Starring: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
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.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
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
