Knight And Day

What do you get if you mix a director whose early career was full of promise before it veered spectacularly off course, with two actors whose careers have relied heavily on their looks and who have seemingly gone past their sell-by dates? Not very much if the extremely lacklustre Knight And Day is anything to go by.

Tom Cruise is something of a figure of fun these days, thanks to Oprah's couch, yet it's arguable that on screen he's always delivered the goods. Now however, he has been given his career mission impossible: produce some on-screen chemistry with Cameron Diaz. Cruise plays action man Roy Miller, who bumps into Diaz's June Havens at an airport and plants something in her bag. The two end up as passengers on a "ghost plane" upon which Miller is attacked by, and despatches, a group of mercenaries while Havens is in the toilet.

He kidnaps Havens and they embark on a friendship reminiscent of that between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run, but without the funny lines and endearing conversation. From this moment on, it's best not to ask any logical questions about why events are happening, because director James Mangold dispenses with any sense of logic and replies upon the charm of his actors to paper over the canyon-sized cracks.

It's so badly pieced together that it's hard not to think that some major plot points have been left on the cutting room floor. In addition, Mangold doesn't even bother to try to sell Cruise and Diaz as a couple and the lack of perspective makes it hard to believe that this is the same man who helmed Walk the Line, Cop Land and Girl,Interrupted. Mangold has no grasp of the genre or of the fact that when you kick off a movie with a plane crash, it pays to up the ante on each subsequent action sequence.

Then there is the bizarre choice to have a montage sequence which shows Cruise and Diaz in the aftermath of several explosions; the director, who tries to play these moments for laughs, clearly doesn't believe in the screenwriting adage that it's better to show something on screen then try to describe it. Mangold tries to set up a suggestion that Cruise could be a rogue agent, but while he's charming and saving Diaz, his counterpart played by Peter Sarsgaard is so menacing and glum that there is no disputing who we are supposed to be cheering for.

Diaz just runs through the motions of dumb blonde damsels in distress throughout the film and it soon grows tiresome. Actually it grew tiresome about three movies ago. The result is that caring for Havens or Miller is impossible, even when she visits Miller's family and finds out some dark secrets from his past. There were apparently eight screenwriters who worked on the project, but it's definitely a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth in this charmless comedy thriller.

The biog

Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly

Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo

Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.

Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,

She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.

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Power: 450hp

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Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

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UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia

What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix

When Saturday

Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia

What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.

Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

Clean water and solar homes: Zayed prize finalists present sustainability solutions

Youth take centre stage for this year's Zayed Sustainability Prize

What is the Zayed Sustainability Prize?

Dubai Women's Tour teams

Agolico BMC
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UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
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Ukraine

Capital: Kiev

Population: 44.13 million

Armed conflict in Donbass

Russia-backed fighters control territory

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.