Director: David Koepp
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Sean Kennedy, Jamie Chung
***
After scoring major roles from The Dark Knight Rises to Looper, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is enjoying a bumper year. By comparison, his leading-man performance in this fast-paced New York thriller is a lightweight affair, full of zing and energy but, ultimately, a little too cartoonish.
Premium Rush unfolds inside a 90-minute, real-time frame, although the plot loops back and forward at various points to fill in character motives and back stories. Gordon-Levitt plays a New York City bicycle messenger named Wilee, a clumsy homage to the restless coyote in the Road Runner cartoons. Despite being a law graduate, he has rejected a conventional career to remain a free spirit - which, in his case, means carrying packages around Manhattan all day, breathing petrol fumes and risking serious injury for a minimum wage. Pathological idiocy dressed up as the American dream.
This is about the level of logic and realism we quickly come to expect from Premium Rush. The plot revolves around Wilee peddling at great speed from Manhattan's uptown university district to Chinatown to deliver an urgent payment for an illegal human-trafficking operation. Along the way, he gets into a deadly cat-and-mouse chase with Michael Shannon's crooked cop, who needs the money to pay off his heavy gambling debts. Wilee also tries to sweet-talk his semi-estranged girlfriend (Ramirez) into reconciliation, and ends up in a dangerous high-speed race through Central Park with his boastful bike-messenger rival (Kennedy).
David Koepp is a hugely successful screenwriter whose CV includes Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and Spider-Man. He also co-wrote Brian De Palma's 1998 thriller, Snake Eyes, which had a similar kind of real-time, adrenalin-pumped, plot-looping energy as Premium Rush.
Koepp's slender handful of credits is more uneven, but he does a decent job here. Though not a great visual stylist, his use of smartphone apps and interactive maps to zoom the characters around Manhattan is impressive; likewise Wilee's split-second calculations of the quickest, safest route to zip through traffic.
But Koepp's film is also let down by clunky dialogue and cliched characters. Broad caricatures abound, especially Shannon's comically overblown, bad-apple detective, who appears to be channelling the young Christopher Walken. A chase movie with bikes rather than cars, a cartoon with humans instead of animated animals, this slick, street-level thriller is full of sensory delights but low on common sense. Ironically, for all its dynamic two-wheeled action, Premium Rush ultimately feels a little pedestrian.
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
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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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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.
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
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5