Director Steven Soderbergh has always been something of a prophet of the future. Remember Bubble, his 2005 film set in a doll factory? The film was released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD and on cable.
Theatre owners were up in arms, but it was the perfect prediction of the streaming age business model to come. Now, the director behind such illustrious films as Traffic and Erin Brockovich, is trying his hand at a different type of crystal ball-gazing with his new series Command Z.
A secret project that’s caught everyone unawares – until it dropped this week – the show is divided into eight episodes of varying length. Available via the internet (for $7.99, the fee is being donated to charity), it’s a sci-fi comedy starring, among others, Michael Cera, who is having something of a moment after appearing in the first episode of the new Black Mirror season and Barbie, as Ken’s friend Allan.
Command%20Z
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Here he plays Kerning Fealty, an Elon Musk-like billionaire entrepreneur who died years ago on a trip to Mars, when his rocket was hit by an asteroid.
Spoilers ahead
Now, Kerning is incarnated as an AI image – just his head appearing on a screen. He’s gathered three employees, the naively enthusiastic Jamie (JJ Maley), the cynical Emma (Chloe Radcliffe, also one of the show’s writers) and the largely disengaged Sam (Roy Wood Jr) for a 10-day top-secret mission, Command Z. With this threesome collected in a dingy room – they all arrive in yellow hazmat suits, suggesting the outside world has already succumbed to ecological collapse – the plan is to send them back in time to subtly influence future events.
There will be no physical departures here; rather, it turns out Fealty has bankrolled a band of physicists back in the early 21st century, who were creating an artificial space-time wormhole. Thanks to the pandemic, when everyone was using hand sanitiser, they were able to smuggle nano-bots hidden inside the antiseptic gel into people’s blood stream.
What does all this mean? That Jamie, Sam and Emma can each access the interior consciousness of select people – people who are close to those in positions of power. It’s rather like the film Being John Malkovich, where John Cusack’s puppeteer finds a portal into the mind of the titular actor.
So suddenly, this trio of influencers – “the great American fix-it crew”, as they’re known – are able to whisper in the ears of titans of tech, politicians and religious leaders to change the course of history. In episodes three and four, titled The Pryce is Wrong and The Pryce is Wrong II, for example, the target is an amoral Wall Street asset stripper, Kohlberg Pryce, played by Liev Schreiber (last seen in more gentle surrounds, in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City).
After trying to inhabit his assistant, they go for the jugular – with Sam’s consciousness invading the man’s dog, Benny. Suddenly, much to the shock of Pryce, the pup can communicate with him.
“I really wish you were a better human,” Benny tells him, as Pryce starts unburdening himself, confessing all his sins (“I bought the Jonas Brothers just to keep them off the air,” he says). Needless to say, he changes his path after this once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
Each episode is followed by cinematic recommendations in the credits. “For more information on time travel,” we’re told to watch The Terminator, Brother Future (a very obscure TV movie from 1991) and Run Lola Run. Later, in an episode that deals with nuclear energy, we’re told to check out The China Syndrome, Chernobyl and 2022’s Atomic Hope, a documentary about a small band of activists who believe nuclear power is the solution to the energy crisis. Amongst the wacky comedy, then, are tools for education if you wish to find them.
Soderbergh is not a director known for out-and-out comedy (unless you count the unintentionally hilarious Magic Mike’s Last Dance). But he certainly has an oddball sense of humour. One of his best films was Schizopolis, from 1996, in which he starred – a very surreal knockabout farce that took inspiration from the energy of Richard Lester, director of The Beatles’ movies A Hard Day’s Night and Help! This isn’t quite on that level – it’s more like Soderbergh’s own riposte to Black Mirror – but it’s got a streak of silliness running all the way through it.
Filled with ideas and invention about the shape of things to come, it’s also populated by surprise guests. Zoe Winters, who plays Kerry in Succession, pops up as a crusading politician, while The Usual Suspects’ Kevin Pollak also appears. While the final episode, where we come to realise Fealty’s true intentions, is a bit of a let-down, underneath it all lies a positive message: “Small improvements can lead to big improvements,” Fealty says.
Surely that’s something we can all embrace before our futures are ruined.
Available to buy and watch on commandzseries.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%20%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMonday%2C%20June%2019%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESri%20Lanka%20v%20UAE%2C%20Queen%E2%80%99s%20Sports%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2021%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOman%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFriday%2C%20June%2023%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EScotland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETuesday%2C%20June%2027%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIreland%20v%20UAE%2C%20Bulawayo%20Athletic%20Club%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman
Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed PDK
Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km
UAE%20ILT20
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More on Turkey's Syria offence
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
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
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Command%20Z
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