iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The incident occurred when Diana Johnson spoke about the growing problem of theft and shoplifting, according to a government official
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Mad about movies
City Times takes to the multiplexes to find out what’s in store for movie buffs this week
Astro Boy
Computer-animated 3-D film Astro Boy, loosely based on the long-running Japanese series of the same name by artist Osamu Tezuka, is directed by David Bowers and features the voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, and Nicolas Cage.
Set in the futuristic and imaginary world of Metro City, the script follows a young robot boy (Highmore) who has been fabricated by a greiving scientist (Cage) in the image of the son he lost.
Unable to fulfill the scientist’s expectations, the robot embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.
Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter reviews the film as “erivative bits aside, the pint-sized Japanese icon takes flight in vibrant CG animation”.
Trivia:
· The film failed to make a splash in Japan, appearing at the bottom of the opening week’s top 10 rankings. However, it was very successful in China.
· While designing the characters for the film, Imagi Animation Studios wanted to change the design of Astro Boy’s face to look more grown-up because they thought his original face was too childish. Tezuka Productions, however, wanted no changes.
The Vampire’s Assistant
The Saga of Darren Shah entitled Cirque de Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is a bit of a let down. Unfortunately the movie just does not do justice to the relatively popular and successful series of novels – owing to a case of lost-in-translation syndrome.
The film opens well – the band of freaks with mystic powers at their disposal grab the audience’s attention immediately. But about 20 minutes into The Vampire’s Assistant, interest waivers and it’s generally downhill from there.
The plot follows teenager Darren Shah (Chris Massoglia) as him and his friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) decide to attend an underground, illegal freak show riddled with supernatural beings. There they encounter 220-year-old vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). Soon Darren finds himself in the midst of an age-old war between two warring vampire clans and a world of special effects.
Director Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy) was obviously shooting for a comic tone but fails miserably because of a mostly unfunny script and the result is definitely destined to be a box office miss.
Trivia:
· The entire collection of The Saga of Darren Shah is inclusive of twelve books. This movie, however, features this first three clubbed into one film.
· Author Darren Shah has named the protagonist in his books after himself
More news from
Values of tolerance, inclusivity, diversity I learnt in UAE have influenced me, says pageant winner
A bank is giving both Emirati and expat farmers in the country the loan with the option to repay in instalments over several years to ensure food security
Protesters say police used rubber bullets and other weapons that they said should be banned for use on demonstrators
This comes nearly two months after a faulty software update from cybersecurity services provider CrowdStrike affected nearly 8.5 million Windows devices
This development comes in the wake of accusations of missile transfers to Russia and the imposition of new sanctions
He was a key part of Peru's so-called war against Shining Path and Tupac Amaru leftist rebels, which left more than 69,000 dead and 21,000 missing
Forecasters in the Czech Republic and Poland said parts of their countries might record up to 400 litres of water per sqm over the next four days, while Austria and Slovakia were bracing for some 200 litres