As any self-respecting film aficionado should be aware, the world as we know it will end this year on December 21 (although exact timing has yet to be confirmed). First prophesied by those maize-munching merchants of doom, the Mayans, and more recently brought to public attention by Roland Emmerich (who'd have thought it would be John Cusack and Thandie Newton to help lead the world into a new dawn?), this little apocalypse is likely to make any predictions regarding 2013's Oscars race largely irrelevant.
Given that there are now about nine months till doomsday, many of us assumed studios would have helped take the edge off our impending collective deaths. The release of a few feel-good epics – perhaps a 3D remake of It's a Wonderful Life – might have assured our days came to an end with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside (not put there by molten lava or some such other hot stuff). But no. It seems as we wait for extinction, Hollywood is releasing a veritable slew of films in which the world is brought to the edge of collapse time and time again. Thanks, guys.
Next month, it's the classic asteroid approach, as Keira Knightley and Steve Carrell skip down the road to oblivion in the plotline-explained-in-the-title drama Seeking a Friend For the End of the World. It may be a romcom, but few are likely to find the possibility of an existence-threatening rogue interplanetary body on a collision course with Earth a laughing matter. Just a month later and humankind is up against it again, forced to choose between certain destruction or Will Smith's third outing in a black suit and sunglasses. Given that the former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger has been roped in as a Men in Black Wag, perhaps the first option would be more preferable.
There's no respite in June, as Ridley Scott unleashes the hotly anticipated sci-fi actioner Prometheus in which an exploratory mission into space results – rather predictably – in a "terrifying battle to save the future of the human race". Why such space exploratory missions can't result in a "tremendously exciting new variety of biscuit" is a question only scriptwriters can answer.
But as mankind's curtain call inches ever nearer, are we getting more "end of the world" films? It certainly seems that way. The 1970s, never really considered the cheeriest of decades, was boomtime (literally) for disaster filmmakers, but thanks to special effects restrictions, deaths were largely confined to buildings or cities, such as Towering Inferno and Earthquake. The whole planet was only really roped in as computer graphics became capable of displaying such mass catastrophe, and the 1990s saw Independence Day, followed by Armageddon and Deep Impact, add a few noughts to the overall kill count. Then came the "makes you think" stubble-scratching, planet-destroying affairs such as 2004's The Day After Tomorrow, a film that probably had viewers considering reducing their energy consumption for all of five minutes.
Given that advances in technology means your average nine-year-old with a MacBook can have the world blown into smithereens in just a few hours (no doubt accompanied by a heavy-metal soundtrack), keeping disasters restricted to a small area sadly seems a bit small-fry nowadays. And it's pretty much the same with post-apocalyptic films, of which a similar flurry is heading our way. Even children can't escape in The Hunger Games (due out on March 22 in the UAE), in which the ruins of what was the US are used as a fight-to-the-death arena for the under 18s. Is this the sort of sporting pastime John Cusack will endorse once he's made king of the new Earth?
Brad Pitt is getting in on the action too, transforming much of the world into a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic wasteland for World War Z. Unfortunately, for anyone hoping to learn survival tactics for this eventuality, there's a small problem Mr Pitt has perhaps overlooked. Yes, the film is due for release on December 21. Again, no exact timings have yet been announced (organising something on this scale is probably quite complicated), but it might be an idea to get to an early screening.
aritman@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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