The Expendables
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham
*
The Expendables don't so much hit the ground running as lurk in the shadows, intervening at the very last moment before wiping out the enemy, barely breaking a sweat, then pumping their fists caveman-style at their oh-so-surprising victory. Written by Sylvester Stallone, directed by Sylvester Stallone and starring Sylvester Stallone, this is about as testosterone-fuelled and ludicrous a movie as you could expect.
Replacing brain (of which there probably wasn't much to begin with) with plenty of brawn, the only redeemable feature of The Expendables is that it is under no qualms as to its position in Hollywood: the king of the no-brainer, all-guns-blazing, proper man's-man film.
And if you ever wanted to know what happened to the gung-ho action stars of the 1980s and 1990s, look no further. All well past their sell-by dates - aside from Jason Statham, who still has a couple of popcorn action roles in him yet - his crew look more like a bunch of pensioners than they do a near indestructible team of contract killers.
Setting the tone of the film, the first scene sees the lean, mean, and over-the-hill fighting machines rescue a group of hostages moments before they are to be executed by a mob of Somali pirates. Facing off to the hostage takers momentarily (because where is the fun in indulging in plenty of killing unless one makes one's presence known beforehand?), Barney Ross (Stallone) and his men waste no time in wiping the floor clean with their enemy. Ever wanted to know what a man literally getting blown off his feet looks like? Or been curious as to whether or not someone could kill all the bad guys with pinpoint accuracy despite having his view obliterated by a smoke bomb? Stallone does not so much suspend disbelief here as drive a bulldozer through it while pumping his fist in triumphalist glee.
Task complete, the mercenaries return home, to New Orleans, to await their next job, but not before cutting loose their beefed-up sniper, Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), whose substance abuse has led to his going off the rails. Fans of the statuesque Swede need not worry, however, as Jensen makes another appearance later.
It's at this point, during the team's downtime, that the film introduces Mickey Rourke's oddball character, Tool, their tattoo-clad, stetson-wearing mission co-ordinator. But aside from challenging the active members of the Expendables to play darts, replacing the traditional arrows with blades, Tool is as underused as almost all the other cast members.
It's easy to see why the main focus of the film is on the characters of Ross and Lee Christmas (Statham): they are obviously considered the most likely to draw in cinema audiences.
The next scene is notable only for its cameo appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California at the time, who was apparently begged by Stallone to reconsider his retirement from acting for the two-minute role as Mauser, Ross's former friend and fellow mercenary, now business rival. The two of them are summoned to a meeting with a mysterious gentleman by the name of "Mr Church" (Bruce Willis, also in a cameo).
Any excitement at seeing the Terminator back on screen is short-lived, however. The dialogue between the trio is shockingly bad - even for a movie that sets the bar so low. (Ross: "You want him gone?" Church: "We want him dead"). Throw in an unsubtle and entirely unamusing reference to Schwarzenegger's political career, and a war of words between Ross and Mauser that a child would turn its nose up at, and the scene falls flat on its face. As for the job, it's more complicated than it looks - but aren't they always? The biggest expendable in this macho cocktail is, unfortunately, the film itself.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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
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
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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THREE
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PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
