As we get older, it's easy to reminisce on days gone by and declare everything was better years ago - the sun was brighter, people were friendlier, music was more innovative and politicians were more honest.
Of course, we're viewing the past through rose-tinted specs, but when you look at this summer's crop of lacklustre movie releases (with the odd exception, such as the reportedly superb The Dark Knight Rises, although how would people living in the UAE know, it's not like the movie is opening here this weekend, sob; see page 11), it isn't hard to believe that summer movies really were better years ago.
Don't believe me?
Well, 30 years back, lucky cinemagoers were treated to not one, not two, but seven science fiction and horror movies that have deservedly become classics. And the fun didn't stop there - the summer of 1982 also gave us the memorable kitsch movies Conan the Barbarian and Rocky III, and the teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which helped launch the career of the writer (and later director) Cameron Crowe and featured a cast that included Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Forest Whitaker when they were just starting out. So, if you've had your fill of Marvel comic reboots, action movies loaded with CGI effects and kids' movie sequels, dust off the DVD player and take the time to revisit the adorable, scary, gripping, exciting, jaw-dropping summer of 1982.
ET: The Extra Terrestrial
A sci-fi adventure for the whole family, ET was the director Steven Spielberg's homage to childhood and, in particular, the warm heart of one little boy. Henry Thomas's Elliott finds a pot-bellied alien stranded on Earth and introduces him to such essential Earth delights as eating candy and dressing up in his little sister's (Drew Barrymore) clothes. Achingly sweet and unashamedly sentimental, this did get a polish a decade ago (Spielberg added a CGI spaceship and digitally removed guns from the hands of government agents pursuing ET, replacing them with walkie talkies) and will have a 30th anniversary re-release later this year.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
The Australian director George Miller made the 1979 movie Mad Max for just US$400,000 (Dh1.5 million) and it went on to make more than $100m worldwide, so a sequel was inevitable. Unusually, the sequel is actually better than the raw original as Mel Gibson's Max - an ex-cop who saw his wife and child butchered - roams a post-apocalyptic wasteland until he comes across a group of people desperate to protect themselves and their supplies from warriors around them. Packed with stunning car chases, brutal action, sparse dialogue and a superb central performance from Gibson, this was followed by Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985, while Tom Hardy will take on the iconic role of Max in 2013's Mad Max: Fury Road.
Poltergeist
Steven Spielberg produced and co-wrote the script for this hugely successful horror, but it was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper at the helm for the story of a suburban family who find themselves threatened in their home by some malevolent force that first communicates with their angelic young daughter through the TV. Innocuous items suddenly become incredibly scary - the tree that attacks the son, the swimming pool that fills with decomposing bodies - and things get even stranger when the understandably distraught parents (JoBeth Williams, Craig T Nelson) call in paranormal "experts".
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
Considered the best of all the Star Trek movies by many Trekkies, this features the characters from the original TV series (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc) and moves at a much faster pace than the first movie, while also being less silly than some of the films that followed. Now creaking around the Starship Enterprise, Kirk and his crew have to tighten up their middle-aged spreads and go into battle when an old nemesis, warlord Khan (Ricardo Montalban), whom Kirk sent to a prison planet years before, turns up seeking revenge. Witty, exciting and even sad (it's the one with that ending), it remains true to the original series while freshening it up for new generations.
The Thing
Forget last year's missable prequel. For true shocks and rising tension, you need to see John Carpenter's superb The Thing (based on the sci-fi story Who Goes There? that had already been adapted into the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World). Kurt Russell (who made two of his best films with Carpenter, the other being Escape From New York) is one of a group of workers at a remote outpost in Antarctica who find themselves under attack from an alien that can absorb and mimic any living thing (and, in one stomach-churning scene, it's caught assimilating the outpost's dogs). The transformations are both grotesque and stunning to watch, and the "who's human and who's not" plot is truly suspenseful.
Tron
The effects may look a little hokey now, but back in July of 1982 when Disney's Tron was released, they were truly state of the art. Jeff Bridges is the software engineer who finds himself imprisoned in a game by his former boss, forcing him to team up with the security programme Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) in an attempt to battle his way out. The Light Cycle race still thrills, and there are some stunning visuals even if the plot itself doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. Bridges and Boxleitner returned to their roles for the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy, featuring a soundtrack from lifelong Tron fans Daft Punk.
Blade Runner
Ridley Scott's visually stunning cinematic version of Philip K Dick's short story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has been much imitated over the past 30 years, but never bettered. While it wasn't well received on its initial release, it has since been embraced by audiences and critics alike, spellbound by the story set in 2019 Los Angeles of a detective (Harrison Ford) charged with tracking down replicants - mutinous androids masquerading as humans. Books have been written about the astonishing set design, debates have raged about the movie's true meaning (is it about religion, with the replicant creator Tyrell some sort of god?), rumours have abounded of the friction on set (Ford has said little except that it was the toughest movie he ever had to work on), and various alternative versions have been released (the Director's Cut, for example, loses Ford's narration and adds extra scenes) to keep us in thrall three decades on.
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'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
UAE%20ILT20
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
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
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More on Quran memorisation:
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
HAJJAN
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia