For their third and (so they say) final year, co-hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey proved themselves yet again the Golden Girls of the Golden Globes awardscast, which screened live in the US Sunday night.
They didn't spare North Korea or the embattled Sony comedy The Interview: Poehler said that nation's demands that the film be suppressed ended up "forcing us to pretend we wanted to see it".
A certain scandal-beset comedian felt their sting, too. In describing the best movie musical nominee Into the Woods, Poehler said "Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby."
They even tweaked the Golden Globes itself, which tends to focus on films at the expense of TV:
“Let’s talk about television,” said Poehler late in their duologue, at which point Fey abruptly cut her off: “I’m being told that we’re running out of time.”
Further razzing North Korea was a character played by Margaret Cho: a stern, goose-stepping North Korean Army general and the newest member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association voicing a collection of complaints about Hollywood as well as the Globes: "I think Orange is the New Black should be in Drama category", she barked in broken English. "It funny, but not ha-ha funny."
The bit scored a twofer: It leveled a comedic take-that at North Korea, while making some viewers cringe at its borderline racism.
Otherwise reliable wags Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig flopped as co-presenters for best screenplay. Their routine, meant to demonstrate the vital nature of the writer’s contribution, seemed to have been dashed off at the last minute. Note to this pair: Next time, consider a rewrite. Another thing that didn’t work: Whatever it was that made most people look orange rather than tan.
Who wasn't moved by Jeffrey Tambor? Viewers beheld that old pro, his rich baritone trembling with emotion at winning as best actor in a TV comedy for Transparent (the Amazon series in which he plays a transgender character) as he thanked his colleagues for helping him "find more of Jeffrey than I have ever found in my entire life" – before dedicating his award to "the transgender community".
Nomination for funniest say-what? line: Tina Fey declaring “Our next presenter is a woman who’s known by only one name: Winfrey!”
Nomination for best acceptance-speech sound bite: Kevin Spacey, receiving his first-ever Globe for his performance in Netflix's House of Cards: "I just want it to be better. I just want to be better. But this is very encouraging."
Nomination for best “aww” moment, thanks to George Clooney as he gazed from the stage to the table where his new wife, Amal Clooney, was beaming back at him: “It’s a humbling thing when you find someone to love.”
That reflected the tone of the Globes. It wasn’t the usual cheeky, boozy party – at least, from the viewers’ standpoint. Instead it was a kinder, gentler Globes – perhaps reflective of the killings in Paris. Next year, maybe the party will resume.
artslife@thenational.ae
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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If%20you%20go
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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
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
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ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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.
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.