Right off the bat: Nope doesn't put a dent in Jordan Peele's reputation as mastermind of horror, but it doesn't do much to add to it either.
Long acclaimed for his work as a sketch comedian, Peele proved himself to be a formidable horror filmmaker right out of the gate when his 2017 debut Get Out won the Oscar for best original screenplay as well as the Saturn Award for best horror film. Us, his follow-up in 2019, showed that his penchant for socially conscious horror was not a fluke. The film may have received a less fevered response than Get Out, but it was every bit as meticulously crafted with its motif work, taut writing and artistry.
So, what does his third film, Nope, add to Peele’s succinct but potent directorial record?
The film is not as piercing as Get Out, nor is it as eerie as Us. In it, he again subverts classic horror tropes to deliver scathing social commentary, but it does break new ground for Peele, who has taken a stride into science fiction to make an atypical alien film that provides plenty of chills and food for thought — even if it is somewhat slack in its writing.
The film features a solid cast including Alice actress Keke Palmer, The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun, The Crow’s Michael Wincott, and The OA actor Brandon Perea in a breakout role. Front and centre, however, is Daniel Kaluuya. After starring in Get Out, the actor returns to work with Peele, sustaining a pairing that may become as dependable as Martin Scorsese’s with Leonardo DiCaprio, or Tim Burton’s with Johnny Depp.
In Nope, Kaluuya’s restrained performance is as impactful as ever, but the makings of his character, Otis Junior 'OJ' Haywood, doesn’t leave as much of an impression when compared with Get Out’s Chris Washington.
It wasn’t just OJ that suffered from this. It took effort to feel emotionally invested in most of the film’s characters, despite the prowess of their actors. Although Palmer and Perea deliver exceptional and energetic performances as Emerald Haywood and Angel Torres, their characters felt a bit flat and lacked substance.
The most interesting ones were, perhaps, Yeun’s Jupe and Keith David’s Otis Senior, who has no more than five minutes screen time throughout the two-hour film, but has a symbolically compelling place in the movie.
It is between these two characters that, perhaps, Nope’s intent can be best understood.
'Nope'
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Jupe was a star child actor in a sitcom titled Gordy’s Home until his chimpanzee co-star went on a murderous rampage, killing one castmate and injuring another. As a man, he has learnt to capitalise on his trauma, bottling his anguish while letting people pay big money to see the bloodied props from the show. One couple, he reveals, paid $50,000 dollars to sleep in the secret room where he stores the morbid memorabilia.
The idea of the spectacle, or what people are willing to put on the line for it, is a focal point of the film. Even the confrontation with the alien force in the film serves as a reflection of mankind’s fixation with spectacles.
Another driving force in the Nope concept is the marginalisation of black talent in film history. The Haywoods in the film are descendants of a fictional animal trainer who was the first person to appear in film but has long gone uncredited. The character is loosely based on historical truth and derived from the unidentified jockey in the 1887 motion picture plates Animal Locomotion by Eadweard Muybridge, considered by many to be the forefather of film.
“We’ve got the first movie star of all time and it’s a black man we don’t know,” Peele told GQ in July. “We haven’t looked. In a lot of ways, the movie became a response to that first film.”
In the film, Otis Senior has tried to bolster his ancestor’s legacy through his Haywood Horses enterprise, training the mammals to appear in films.
It is a business he has managed to sustain despite considerable heartache in the industry — that is, until his death in a freak accident, in which random objects fell from the sky, including a coin, which pierced his skull.
The Haywood children take on the mantle of continuing the business, particularly OJ, who soon finds himself in dire financial straits and resorts to selling several of his father’s horses to Jupe. However, after encountering a UFO one night, OJ and his sister decide to capture the flying saucer on film. They would be the first to capture undeniable proof of alien existence on film. It is an act that would help OJ retrieve his father’s horses and, at once, rebel against his ancestor’s erasure from film history.
What begins as a lacklustre and uninspired depiction of the extra-terrestrial becomes, in the film’s final moments, one of the most mesmerising alien encounters in cinema.
Overall, Nope is an entertaining and thrilling watch. The film is replete with thoughtful artistic choices that we’ve come to expect from Peele. Expansive, tableauesque scenes of rural California are juxtaposed with claustrophobic moments within the alien abdomen. An airy, string-driven soundtrack is interposed with the haunting whispering of the wind and the neighing of terrified horses. The medium of film is itself examined and confronted and there is plenty to ponder about as the credits roll.
But the fact remains that when comparing the film with other titles in Peele’s oeuvre, Nope is a popcorn flick.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
RECORD%20BREAKER
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
SPEC%20SHEET
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De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
KYLIAN MBAPPE 2016/17 STATS
Ligue 1: Appearances - 29, Goals - 15, Assists - 8
UCL: Appearances - 9, Goals - 6
French Cup: Appearances - 3, Goals - 3
France U19: Appearances - 5, Goals - 5, Assists - 1
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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%E2%80%98White%20Elephant%E2%80%99
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
