Larry Crowne
Director: Tom Hanks.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
**
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Proving that there's no situation so dire that it can't be fixed by a couple of Hollywood A-Listers and a musical montage, Larry Crowne is yet another misfired attempt to turn global economic woes into feel-good movie entertainment. After watching Ben Affleck learn the value of blue-collar life in The Company Men, and witnessing Michael Douglas discover a banker's soul in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, it's now the turn of everyman hero Hanks to find meaning and purpose in redundancy and downsizing.
"Manifest Destiny is taking you some place else!" coos a friend of the titular hero Crowne (Hanks), when he discovers that the latter's bank is foreclosing on his mortgage and tossing him out on to the street. The line, however, is not delivered with wry satire, but instead is a clarion call for Crowne to capitalise on his bankruptcy in every way possible - personally, emotionally, financially. Which, naturally, this being Hanks, he does.
Hanks, you see, also directed, produced and co-wrote Larry Crowne. And as such he imbues the project with the decency, kindness and sincerity that have become his trademark as an actor and a figure in Hollywood (from Forrest Gump to Toy Story).
Thus, from the moment we are introduced to the supermarket floor manager Crowne, to his instant dismissal from the company (he's a victim of corporate "restructuring"), to his decision to better himself by taking a community-college class called "The Art of Informal Remarks," right through to his tentative romance with his world-weary teacher, Mercedes Tainot (Roberts), everything is handled with a certain gee-shucks humility.
Which is fine when you're dealing with a cartoon cowboy from a billion-dollar toy franchise, but dramatic movies about the recession, no matter how supposedly funny and lightweight underneath, require a dead centre of steel that Larry Crowne simply doesn't have (and something such as the rare recession champ Up in the Air actually does). Instead, Crowne joins a zany gang of suburban scooter drivers who cruise suburban Los Angeles looking for antiques (no, really!).
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Last Updated: 20 June, 2011 UAE
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He experiences his unemployment as refreshing, and it allows him to see the world anew (one of the scooter gang, Talia, played by Mbatha-Raw, even gives him a style makeover). Plus, everyone he meets inexplicably falls for his eager innocence, including the disgruntled teacher Tainot. In fact, there is not a single shred of real drama, tension, or conflict in Crowne's entire life - despite the fact that he's been fired and is fleeing his home.
Worse still, there are hints of the "vanity project" about Larry Crowne. As well as being adorable and Zen-like and boyish, Crowne is also a fabulous kisser who sweeps Tainot completely, and literally, off her feet (she almost collapses in amazement after their first kiss). Plus after a particularly barnstorming speech that Crowne gives in class, one of his fellow student gushes, just in case we didn't get it: "That was the best speech ever!" Which cannot but make you picture Hanks at the keyboard, bashing out the script as, "Then I give the best speech ever in class, and then someone says, 'That was the best speech ever!'"
Ultimately, the road to movie hell is paved with good intentions. Yet Larry Crowne's failure is not that it tried to make a feel-good movie out of unemployment, but that it did so with such mediocrity, and sheer lack of invention. In many ways, unforgivable.
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
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Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
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Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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.
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Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
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