REVIEW: ‘Super Mario Party Jamboree’ promises heated game nights and solo goodness
REVIEW: ‘Super Mario Party Jamboree’ promises heated game nights and solo goodness/node/2579113/lifestyle
REVIEW: ‘Super Mario Party Jamboree’ promises heated game nights and solo goodness
The game features four default boards, and three unlockable boards, two of which are returning classics from previous “Mario Party” games, “Mario’s Rainbow Castle” and “Western Land.” (Nintendo)
REVIEW: ‘Super Mario Party Jamboree’ promises heated game nights and solo goodness
Updated 13 November 2024
Dalal Awienat
DUBAI: Nintendo’s iconic “Mario Party” returns in its latest edition: “Super Mario Party Jamboree.” With new boards, minigames and characters, the game promises a fun time and heated competition between friends.
As a self-proclaimed Mario expert who spent countless hours playing every edition of “Mario Party” from the age of 6, the game stood out for me.
The game features four default boards, and three unlockable boards, two of which are returning classics from previous “Mario Party” games, “Mario’s Rainbow Castle” and “Western Land.”
One of the biggest differences in comparison to previous editions of “Mario Party” is the element of surprise. With many twists and unexpected changes throughout the game, there is really no telling who is going to win until the results are announced.
The risk-to-reward ratio is the highest it has ever been, with items that can cause you to lose your stars, coins and be bumped to last place in the final minutes of the game.
Another major change to the game is the new pro rules feature. This feature allows you to customize the rules of the game to reduce as many luck-based events as possible and raise the stakes. Item shops can now have limited stock, bonus star categories are revealed before the match starts and players can vote for which minigames are played.
The fan favorite rhythm minigames return and are all cooking themed, but the difficulty of these games has significantly increased. Once you get the hang of it, they get easier, but the Short-Stack chef minigame really grinded the gears. I personally found it to be one of the hardest minigames in the series.
The main drawback of the game, however, is the length of some of the minigames. Some seemed to drag on and I started to lose my interest or would get tired from holding down the buttons, or twisting my controller.
The Showdown minigames were not particularly enjoyable either, especially Luigi Rescue Operation. The length and difficulty were not appropriate for this type of gameplay, with most players likely to prefer faster-paced minigames.
For all our single players out there, the Koopathlon is the perfect mode for you. Although the difficulty and speed increases each round, it still proved to be a fun game mode for those looking for a quick and easy way to practice their minigame skills.
Overall, if you are looking for a fun game night, “Super Mario Party Jamboree” is sure to turn the heat up, whether you are playing alone or with your friends and family.
Stars hit the red carpet at Women in Cinema gala dinner in Jeddah
Updated 1 min 18 sec ago
Arab News
JEDDAH: Stars dazzled on the red carpet at the Women in Cinema gala dinner during the ongoing Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah.
The likes of Emily Blunt, Eva Longoria and Michelle Yeoh attended the event, alongside film industry insiders from the region including Saba Mubarak, Sarah Taibah, Rym Saidi and more.
Longoria glittered in a look from Elie Saab‘s Fall 2024 couture collection while Oscar winner Yeoh opted for a Schiaparelli gown. For her part, Oscar-nominated Blunt showed off a dramatic black Gucci gown.
The festival will feature 120 films from 81 countries at the new venue — previous editions were held at the city’s Ritz-Carlton hotel — where five purpose-built cinemas and a large auditorium will host back-to-back screenings as well as In Conversation panels with celebrities.
Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey’s semi-biographical feature “Better Man,” inspired by British pop star Robbie Williams, will close the festival while Johnny Depp’s “Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness,” which was supported by the Red Sea Film Foundation, will be given a gala screening as part of the International Spectacular lineup.
Other star power-laden titles set for gala screenings include Peter Chelsom’s “A Sudden Case of Christmas” starring Danny Devito, Pablo Larrain’s biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie as opera singer Maria Callas; Mehdi Idir’s “Monsieur Aznavour,” starring Tahar Rahim as the French singer; Thierry Teston and Lisa Azeulos’s Jane Fonda-narrated documentary “My Way”; and “We Live in Time” with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.
Misk Art Week returns for artists, enthusiasts in Riyadh
‘Seeing Riyadh’ exhibition features photographs of Saudi Arabia’s capital down the years
Updated 06 December 2024
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: The eighth annual Misk Art Week began on Thursday and runs until Dec. 10, featuring a spectacular display of what is all the latest on the local art scene.
Enthusiasts rushed to Prince Faisal bin Fahd Arts Hall and its neighboring venue to explore new exhibitions, art fairs, markets, and educational programs, while the soothing sounds of oud music added charm to the evening
The interactive experience invites visitors to explore and create parallel worlds in real-time through generative artificial intelligence. (AN photo)
Ibrahem Al-Suhaibani, executive director for marketing, communication, and user experience at Misk Art Institute, told Arab News: “We do have artists who are now establishing their career in the art and design market.
“So, we see ourselves supporting and bridging between the establishment and the mature galleries, and in between we support the artists through all the value chain.”
HIGHLIGHTS
• At Misk Art Week, Canadian art studio Iregular is presenting ‘As Water Falls,’ a free-flowing digital waterfall that continuously evolves.
• ‘Alternative Realities’ invites visitors to explore and create parallel worlds in real-time through generative artificial intelligence.
• The ‘Obsolete Technologies’ showcase features works from local and international artists.
This year’s event is curated around the theme of art and technology, pushing artists to contemplate the aspects of digital and media through an artistic lens.
The educational program and mentorship sessions are also part of the Institute’s strategy to educate, enable, and encourage new generations of artists. (AN photo)
Al-Suhaibani added: “We tackle the topic from different angles: from a research angle, before internet, post-internet, what’s the impact of the technology and the media, how this is helping artists to boost their creativity or even block them in any way, and how they really reveal their creativity after that blocking.”
At the entrance of the space, inspired by how nature is alive and ever-changing, the Canadian art studio Iregular presents “As Water Falls,” a free-flowing digital waterfall that continuously evolves with alternating patterns and visuals that will never be the same for at least 100 years.
The Art Fair space is bigger this year, which features works from 11 Saudi-based galleries including Hewar Art, Mono, Hafez, WRD Art, ATHR, Dawi, and others. (AN photo)
While the digital installation has been presented in seven countries around the world this year, an addition was created especially for Misk Art Week, Al-Suhaibani said, and is being shown for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
Further into the outdoor space, the studio presents “Alternative Realities,” an interactive experience that invites visitors to explore and create parallel worlds in real-time through generative artificial intelligence.
The Art Fair space is bigger this year, which features works from 11 Saudi-based galleries including Hewar Art, Mono, Hafez, WRD Art, ATHR, Dawi, and others. (AN photo)
By combining word prompts and arranging a variety of props at their disposal, participants can craft infinite combinations of realities that range from slightly different to wildly surreal.
Al-Suhaibani said: “We have four shows in total for Misk Art Week, all of them around media and technology in a different format.”
The interactive experience invites visitors to explore and create parallel worlds in real-time through generative artificial intelligence. (AN photo)
The exhibitions include the Masaha Residency’s “Obsolete Technologies” showcase, which features works from local and international artists; the “Seeing Riyadh” exhibition, which explores the city’s significant transformation over the past decade through photography; the Misk Art Grant’s “Digital Civilizations” outdoor exhibit, which taps into phenomena shaped by modern technology; and “The Silent Age of Singularity” exhibition, which investigates the post-internet era.
Al-Suhaibani said: “Riyadh has been evolving in the past few years, especially now with the announcement of the metro starting to operate.
The educational program and mentorship sessions are also part of the Institute’s strategy to educate, enable, and encourage new generations of artists. (AN photo)
“Riyadh is hosting big events and has become a hub. So, we felt this year that we needed to highlight Riyadh, especially at the beginning of the ’80s and ’90s.”
Additionally, the event includes an art book fair featuring a number of international, regional, and local publishers to celebrate the rich and diverse Arab art culture; and an extended art and design market with 92 artists and entities at which the local community can engage, sell, and commission unique works.
“We designed it in a way that anyone walking by the market can see everything. And there is a diversity between painting, photography, sculpting projects, and even design,” Al-Suhaibani said.
The educational program and mentorship sessions are also part of the institute’s strategy to educate, enable, and encourage new generations of artists.
The art fair space is bigger this year, and features works from 11 Saudi-based galleries including Hewar Art, Mono, Hafez, WRD Art, ATHR, and Dawi.
Al-Suhaibani added: “We believe today the market desires to have galleries more specialized to support artists and to showcase their artwork.”
The Misk Art Week mural is also a feature and an interactive space crafted to showcase the creativity of young talents. As children contribute unique visions that are then displayed on a wall, they collectively shape a masterpiece that evolves with each individual contribution. With the help of augmented reality tech, the artwork comes to life in an entirely new dimension.
Misk Art Institute’s goal is to create a cohesive environment in which all artists, regardless of their background, can thrive.
Sudan documentary implores world to remember how a hopeful revolution became a forgotten war
A former France 24 journalist, Meddeb gravitated toward documentary for the breathing room it offered to let stories unfold in an unpredictable way, she said in an interview
Updated 07 December 2024
AP
MARRAKECH, Morocco: In the early days of Sudan’s 2019 revolution, Shajjane Suliman brought sandwiches, coffee and mint tea to demonstrations in closed-off sections of Khartoum. But as hope made way for despair, she decided more than food was needed to nourish the movement.
Public outcry had sprung up against Sudan’s longtime military dictator and his mismanagement of the country’s economy. Throughout months of demonstrations, hundreds were killed or injured by security forces suppressing protests.
So Suliman donned a gas mask and headed to the streets carrying posters adorned with lines like, “Souls cannot be killed, let alone ideas.”
A continent away, filmmaker Hind Meddeb was finishing “Paris Stalingrad,” a documentary about the plight of refugees living in encampments near the edge of the French capital. Sudanese refugees encouraged her to go to Khartoum and film their nascent revolution.
Such is the origin story of “Sudan, Remember Us,” Meddeb’s 75-minute documentary being shown in competition at the Marrakech Film Festival this week after screening at festivals in Venice and Toronto.
Sudan, a predominantly Arab country on the edge of sub-Saharan Africa, descended into civil war in 2023, as fighting erupted between the military and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces that grew out of Darfur’s notorious Janjaweed militia.
Though estimates are difficult to come by, at least 24,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in a conflict that has largely been eclipsed in the world’s attention by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
To Suliman, who ended up as one of its protagonists, the documentary’s purpose is similar to what she wrote on a poster five years ago: an effort to motivate a despairing public years after revolution failed to cement civilian rule.
The revolution, she said, felt like “a piece of heaven” despite the violence, full of music, poetry and optimism about Sudan’s future.
“Everyone forgot or lost hope,” Suliman said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s different for us now than when the revolution started. We were together so it was easy. Now we need to change how we want to continue.”
“Sudan, Remember Us” begins with a series of voice messages to Meddeb from April 2023, the month that civil war broke out. Activists describe their feelings of shock and disbelief about how what UN officials have called a “forgotten war” has ruined life and made their country unrecognizable.
Mostly, it brings viewers to 2019, the year that Sudan’s military ousted President Omar Al-Bashir, paving the way for power-sharing and a short-lived transitional government led by generals and civilians.
Largely shot on a handheld camera in a country that has at times blocked the Internet, banned foreign news channels and arrested its own journalists, the movie is both a story of collective hope and a feat of reportage.
Meddeb’s observational approach and lingering on poems differs from gripping streaming-friendly protest documentaries such as Jehane Noujaim’s “The Square” (2013), Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Winter on Fire” (2015) or Kiwi Chow’s “Revolution of Our Times” (2021). She captures a revolution documentary’s requisite images — the chaos and terror as well as solidarity and joy of demonstrators facing off against security forces.
But the movie aims for a different kind of storytelling.
A former France 24 journalist, Meddeb gravitated toward documentary for the breathing room it offered to let stories unfold in an unpredictable way, she said in an interview.
“It’s a very spontaneous film. I was diving into what was happening and and filming what was inspiring me,” she said at the Marrakech Film Festival.
What she found and was inspired by was a country described as a “land of literature” and a revolution in which women played a central role.
The protests rendered in the documentary pulsate with drums beating at marches and through the rhythm of poems recited at sit-ins. Meddeb takes the audience from phone camera-filmed street fighting to underground cafes to the Nile River as young people discuss their hopes for Sudan.
“The revolution was a time of beautiful feelings and projects,” one woman says after security forces killed more than 100 people in a June 2019 massacre. “It made you want to take part. A painting, a poem, anything to bring people together.”
‘Everyone has such dynamic stories to tell,’ Emily Blunt says at Red Sea Film Festival
Updated 06 December 2024
SALEH FAREED
JEDDAH: Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt touched down in Saudi Arabia recently to attend the opening ceremony of the fourth Red Sea International Film Festival — where she was named an honoree — and also had the chance to speak about the art of storytelling.
Arab News caught up with “The Fall Guy” actress to find out more about her time in the Kingdom, and why she believes it is vital that Arab filmmakers tell their own stories.
She said it was a “complete pleasure to be here, and I’ve never been to Saudi Arabia before,” and found Jeddah to be a “beautiful, vibrant city.”
“It’s just been very moving for me to get the reception here because I think sometimes Hollywood can feel like a bubble, where I live in Brooklyn can feel like a bubble, and then you come here and the whole world sort of opens up to you.”
Blunt is known for her breakthrough role in “The Devil Wears Prada,” which earned BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations, while her performances in “A Quiet Place” and “Mary Poppins Returns” showcased her range.
She had words of wisdom for young Saudi actors.
“Act all the time whenever you can. It is really about just putting yourself out there as much as you can — be inventive, use the internet, use this way of conveying your abilities to the world,” she said.
Blunt, who is set to star in the upcoming action-adventure film “The Smashing Machine,” acknowledged the difficulties of her profession.
“And I think being an actor is such a precarious job sometimes, you know, you kind of have to wear a helmet for it. It’s not always for the faint of heart, but it’s a really beautiful occupation and there are many ways you can do it.”
Reflecting on the nation’s blooming cultural scene with numerous opportunities for budding filmmakers, musicians and artists, she said: “Well, everyone has such dynamic stories to tell.
“It’s how we move each other, it’s how we learn about each other … and I think in order to broaden our horizons and orient us towards a different way of thinking about the world and about each other, films are a really powerful conduit for that.”
She added: “I’m so excited by what’s happening in Saudi Arabia culturally, artistically. It just seems to be just exploding here in a really wonderful way.”
Review: At RSIFF, ‘The Tale of Daye’s Family’ is disappointing despite sparkling performances
Updated 06 December 2024
Gautaman Bhaskaran
JEDDAH: “The Tale of Daye's Family,” which did the opening honors at the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, threw away the initial potential it had about exploring human prejudices. Veteran Egyptian director Karim El-Shenawy — who gave us fascinating movies like “Nawwara” (2015) and “Gunshot” (2018) — this time presents a portrait of a family and Daye, a young Nubian albino.
Scripted by Haitham Dabbour, the Saudi Egyptian production in Arabic captures the resilience of the human spirit and the eternal strength of love. A compelling storyline and outstanding performances by Saudi actress Aseel Omran, who is marking her debut in Egyptian cinema, Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak, and Egyptian actors Haneen Said and Badr Mohamed lift the movie, but below average production values apply the brakes. Lackluster editing and poor cinematography do not help the plot to progress beyond a point.
Tracing the agony of Daye, whose skin discolouration makes him the butt of jokes among his peers, the film turns out to be disappointing after showing initial promise. Agreeing to fulfil the boy's wishes, his mother takes him to a singing competition. Gifted as he is with a magnetic voice, he wants to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Mohamed Mounir. However, the family's journey from Aswan to Cairo in Egypt turns out to be a nightmare.
“The Tale of Daye’s Family” examines the intricacies of life, love, and shocks that can create an emotional storm in one's life. Balancing tears with laughter and the complexities of human relationships with a simpler form of existence, I found the work too melodramatic at times.
