Review: Carttel Entertainment

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Updated 31 January 2025
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Review: Carttel Entertainment

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  • The mini-golf course offers eight levels, catering to both beginners and seasoned players. Other games include basketball, shuffleboard, air hockey, and snooker

JEDDAH: Jeddah has recently introduced a range of diverse entertainment concepts for kids, but why should adults miss out on the fun?

Carttel Entertainment, which opened this month, offers an exciting mix of elevated entertainment, games, food, and shisha — making it the perfect place to unwind and play.

Carttel spans two floors and features a bowling alley, interactive football simulators, and an F1 racing experience that takes gaming to the next level.

The mini-golf course offers eight levels, catering to both beginners and seasoned players. Other games include basketball, shuffleboard, air hockey, and snooker.

The wooded interior, with rich red curtains and classic theatre-style seating creates an inviting and elegant atmosphere.

Whether you’re playing a game or relaxing with some food, the space’s retro charm with modern touches make it a unique spot in Jeddah’s nightlife.

On the ground floor there is a bar serving fresh juices, mocktails, and a variety of hot and cold beverages as well as food. I sampled the lobster tacos, Wagyu beef tacos, and smashed truffle burgers, which were delicious. For dessert, the hazelnut chocolate cake was so rich and indulgent that I ordered two portions. The menu also features a tempting selection of international sweets, salads, pizzas, and main courses.

For a more exclusive gathering, Carttel offers a VIP Room — a private space equipped with the same games but on a smaller scale. Ideal for celebrations with friends or family, the room accommodates around 20 guests.

Carttel also hosts live music and dance performances from around the world.

It is located at La Prestige Mall, Ash Shati and is open daily from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information and booking visit @carttelentertainment on Instagram.

 


Jade Thirlwall, UK pop star with Arab heritage, wins first solo BRIT Award

Jade Thirlwall, UK pop star with Arab heritage, wins first solo BRIT Award
Updated 42 min 12 sec ago
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Jade Thirlwall, UK pop star with Arab heritage, wins first solo BRIT Award

Jade Thirlwall, UK pop star with Arab heritage, wins first solo BRIT Award

DUBAI: English pop star Jade Thirlwall, who has Egyptian and Yemeni ancestry on her mother’s side, was named Best Pop Act at the BRIT Awards 2025.

The last member of girl group Little Mix to launch a solo career, Thirlwall was born to an English father and has Egyptian and Yemeni ancestry on her mother's side.

Jade Thirlwall took to the BRIT Awards red carpet in a baby blue Regency-esque gown designed by Glenn Martens for Diesel. (Getty Images)

Accepting her award at London’s 02 Arena on Saturday night, the singer got emotional, saying, "Oh my God, what?! This is my first solo BRIT Award. Oh my God! I can't cry because I've got to sing later but I did do a little piece of paper in case I won. I know it's cringe!’

Thirlwall — who wore a baby blue Regency-esque gown designed by Glenn Martens for Diesel — ended her acceptance speech with a shoutout to her former Little Mix bandmates. "And finally, of course, my Little Mix sisters. I love you so much. I wouldn't have this award without them and they changed my life. I'm so grateful.”

She later took to the stage to perform her debut top 10 single, “Angel Of My Dreams.”

She later took to the stage to perform her debut top 10 single, “Angel Of My Dreams.” (Getty Images)

Of her Arab heritage, Thirlwall had said in a previous interview with BBC, “My granddad was a Muslim from Yemen. He settled in South Shields and married my granny, who was Egyptian – but I never met her because she died when my mam was four.”

“It was interesting for me, growing up in an Arab community,” continued Thirlwall, who was raised in South Shields, a coastal town in England. “My granddad really wanted me to be Muslim, bless him! My mam made me go to church on Sunday, but I went to Muslim school on Saturdays — it was next to the local mosque where my grandfather went.”

In 2022, the singer did a Q&A session on her Instagram Stories, where she further talked about her Arab heritage.  “I love cooking Yemeni food, discovering Yemeni artists and creatives, and I will be continuing to learn Arabic on tour,” she said.

In a more recent interview with Bang Showbiz, the 32-year-old singer talked about cancel culture and her support for Palestine.

She said: “Cancel culture is thriving now. When you’re in the public eye, it’s quite scary. I’ve always been quite vocal, and I’m not always going to get it right. But you can’t be a pop artist right now without speaking out about certain things.

“I have been warned there could be consequences for speaking out about things like Palestine, but these are basic human rights.”


Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio tease intense Daredevil-Kingpin showdown in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio tease intense Daredevil-Kingpin showdown in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
Updated 01 March 2025
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Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio tease intense Daredevil-Kingpin showdown in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio tease intense Daredevil-Kingpin showdown in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
  • Disney+ releases 2-episode premiere March 5
  • Actors highlight characters’ evolving dynamics

DUBAI: Marvel fans are all set for a return to Hell’s Kitchen as Disney+ gears up for the release of “Daredevil: Born Again,” a revival of the beloved “Daredevil” series that originally streamed on Netflix.

The new show brings back Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who moonlights as the horned vigilante, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, the formidable crime boss known as Kingpin.

Ahead of the show’s two-episode premiere on March 5, Cox and D’Onofrio shared insights into their characters’ evolving dynamics in a virtual press conference.

Cox assured fans that while Murdock remains fundamentally the same character, he faces new emotional and psychological challenges. “It’s hard to talk about without spoilers,” he said.

“Early on, Matt suffers a trauma that forces him to rethink and rediscover his identity in a way we haven’t seen before. He ends up going down a path that I’d describe as a Band-Aid that has to be ripped off slowly and painfully.”

The revival finds Murdock attempting to leave his vigilante past behind, only to be drawn back into a dangerous game as Fisk reemerges — not as a crime lord, but as a politician running for mayor of New York City.

Their conflicting paths set the stage for a fresh yet intense confrontation between the two.

D’Onofrio highlighted the rarity of direct face-offs between Daredevil and Kingpin, despite their deep-seated rivalry. “We’ve only been in five or six scenes together over the years,” he revealed.

“And that’s because when we do share a scene, it has to mean something — it’s always at the beginning of something, or the end, or sometimes both. It has to be intense.”

This time, the show takes a different approach, bringing the two adversaries together much earlier in the season. Cox explained that this shift creates a fresh dynamic.

“Bringing us together early on is something we haven’t done before,” he said. “It puts them in a position where they have to trust each other’s ability to stay true to who they say they are. That changes the game.”

D’Onofrio also offered a metaphorical take on the characters’ struggles. “We’re both broken men trying to live in the daylight,” he said. “It’s like vampires trying to walk in the sun — it’s a struggle.

“He’s got his thing, I’ve got my plan, and putting us together creates an unavoidable tension.”


Review: ‘Zero Day’ — Robert De Niro brings his star power to the small screen

Review: ‘Zero Day’ — Robert De Niro brings his star power to the small screen
Updated 28 February 2025
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Review: ‘Zero Day’ — Robert De Niro brings his star power to the small screen

Review: ‘Zero Day’ — Robert De Niro brings his star power to the small screen
  • Iconic actor is as good as he’s ever been in taut political thriller

LONDON: Despite his lauded career, Robert De Niro, arguably our greatest living actor, has, for the most part, steered clear of TV roles. So the news that he was to not only appear in, but also executive produce, new Netflix thriller “Zero Day” was noteworthy. And what’s even better? This taut, tense, six-part political thriller is every bit as captivating as you’d hope — a relief, given that De Niro’s more recent output has featured more than a few… let’s call them duds.

De Niro is perfectly cast as George Mullen, a universally respected former US President who confounded the political world by not seeking a second term, choosing instead to focus on his family after a personal tragedy. When the US is targeted by a nationwide cyberattack, which freezes all electronic devices and kills thousands of people, sitting President Mitchell (Angela Bassett) asks him to head up a new division tasked with finding and punishing the people behind the attack.

On paper, Mullen is the obvious choice — he’s a former prosecutor and hails from a time when politicians could still command bipartisan respect. But he’s also a man out of step — caught out by the speed of the modern media landscape, still struggling with his own grief, and suffering from a range of hallucinations.

That De Niro manages to convince with all of the above within the first episode is testament not only to the strength of his performance, but also to the skill of creators Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, and journalist Michael Schmidt. Though costars Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Matthew Modine and others are all superb, none comes close to De Niro. George is simultaneously frighteningly fierce and alarmingly frail, possessed with a sense of naïve optimism that makes him either a fool or the smartest person in the room.

“Zero Day” is not perfect – there’s a lull around episode three, and some budget-chewing grandstanding before the finale. But the last two episodes are as tense and thrilling as any show from the last couple of years.


‘A Thousand Blows’ — immersive period crime drama with star power

‘A Thousand Blows’ — immersive period crime drama with star power
Updated 28 February 2025
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‘A Thousand Blows’ — immersive period crime drama with star power

‘A Thousand Blows’ — immersive period crime drama with star power
  • ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight focuses on all-female crime gang in Disney+ show

DUBAI: If you need someone to create a historical drama based on a real-life notorious crime gang, who better than “Peaky Blinders” showrunner Steven Knight? And if you need someone to play a shady operator vibrating with pent-up menace that threatens to explode into violence at any time, who better than the always-compelling Stephen Graham?

So Disney+’s “A Thousand Blows” has two huge pluses in its favor — great showrunner and great lead (or co-lead, to be fair). But that also means great expectations that can be tough to match.

The show is set in London’s East End in the 1880s and the notorious gang is the Forty Elephants — an all-female crime syndicate led by Mary Carr (played by Erin Doherty) whose main focus was shoplifting. Carr has close ties with Henry “Sugar” Goodson (Graham), self-styled king of the area’s popular-but-illegal bare-knuckle boxing scene, but their alliance is on shaky ground as her schemes threaten to bring unwanted attention from the police to the neighborhood.

Into their orbit comes Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), newly arrived from Jamaica and in need of money. Moscow is a phenomenally gifted fighter, and the ageing Sugar quickly comes to see him as a threat to his fearsome reputation. Carr, meanwhile, sees him as both potential love interest and an asset she can exploit in her daring plot for a major heist. All three share a common goal: to rise above the low expectations society has of them.

Graham, impressively beefed up for the role, is customarily excellent as Sugar, a man whose behavior no-one — not the viewer and not even himself — can easily predict. Kirby is equally compelling, balancing confidence and vulnerability in his portrayal of a man sure of his own abilities, but unsure of those around him. And Doherty convinces as Carr — outwardly as tough as Sugar, but it’s clear that the façade of emotionlessness and ruthlessness that has made her such a respected and feared adversary is a hard one to maintain.

The story reels you in quickly. The East End of the late 19th century is brought vividly to life, and there’s plenty of action from the start, but the latter has perhaps come at the cost of character development. The rest of the Elephants, for example, feel one-dimensional (in the four hours we’ve seen so far, anyway), with little backstory to flesh them out. Still, “A Thousand Blows” is hugely enjoyable — though perhaps not for the squeamish; the violence is constant and realistic — and Graham once again shows he’s one of the finest actors of his generation.


‘Souk Wonders’ to give final performances as show nears end

‘Souk Wonders’ to give final performances as show nears end
Updated 27 February 2025
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‘Souk Wonders’ to give final performances as show nears end

‘Souk Wonders’ to give final performances as show nears end
  • Ghada Sheri: ‘We have been doing it for a month now and we have done 33 shows and it’s been amazing’
  • Sheri: ‘I get to sing to people every day and see their reactions and I share the stage with amazing performers’

RIYADH: Diriyah Season’s “Souk Wonders,” featuring trampolines, circus acrobatics, musical entertainment, balancing acts, and a variety of culinary experiences will come to a close on Friday.

“We have been doing it for a month now and we have done 33 shows and it’s been amazing — honestly, I love it here and I am really sad for it to be over,” Ghada Sheri, a singer and songwriter, told Arab News.

“I get to sing to people every day and see their reactions and I share the stage with amazing performers as well so that has been amazing,” she said.

“Souk Wonders” features traditional Najdi architecture, tents, a majlis, and an oversized marketplace scale that spins as guests are seated on it.

The performances kick off with a daring show featuring performers jumping off the edges of the traditional Najdi structures towards the crowd and onto a trampoline.

The routines come back-to-back, leaving audience members anticipating which way to turn next.

Carina Pires, a nurse from Portugal, has lived in the Kingdom for 12 years, and attended “Souk Wonders” with her friends.

“It’s been amazing. We have just been mesmerized. We don’t know where to look, it’s been so many things with so many emotions, it’s really good,” Pires told Arab News.

“It was amazing, I have been experiencing things here that I didn’t in my country,” she added.

When asked what her favorite part of the show was, Pires said: “Everything was amazing, I cannot point to one, it was everything.”

A unique feature of “Souk Wonders” is the currency. Although real money can be used, visitors are taken back in time as they are presented with gold Diriyah Season coins to make their purchases.

For example, a water bottle would cost guests 1 coin, with each coin valued at SR5 ($1.33). A regular ticket gives visitors 18 coins, and the platinum ticket allows for 24.

Along with live performances, “Souk Wonders” has restaurant and cafe booths that feature unique dishes that pay tribute to traditional flavors with modern-day twists all crafted by Saudi chefs especially brought in to design the menu for the event.

Saudi chef Samira Jan was the mind behind the Sand of Zaatar booth, featuring flavors from the Levant region, including a Palestinian musakhan tart as well as a sweet Syrian basbousa tart.

Other Saudi-crafted creations included soft drinks and mixed mocktails at Al Bar booth.

One unique feature of “Souk Wonders” is the interactive performances from the actors of the who remained in character throughout whilst interacting with guests.

“Souk Wonders” will put on its final shows on Feb. 28 at 7:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. and then at 10:45 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. in Venue before coming to a close for Ramadan.