Well, according to the Mayans we should have all bitten the dust by now but, unless something crazy happens, it looks like we’re all good to go for another year. Awesome. And, accordingly, it looks like we’re set for a spectacular 12 months to boot. From blockbuster movies and big music releases to brand new hotels and restaurants opening in the city, it looks like your social calendar is about to take a serious pounding.
Not to mention your wallet. So strap yourselves in as team TOAD takes you on a journey through what next year has in store. Enjoy and, if we haven’t said it enough already, happy new year! Words Angela Beitz and Mark Spence
Movies
The Great Gatsby
Who’s in it? Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire.
What’s it about? Baz Luhrman takes the director’s seat in his re-telling of the F. Scott Fitzgerald tale in which would-be writer Nick Carraway finds himself drawn into a captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits in 1922 New York.
Released: May.
Books
Sports
Video games
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
Iron Man 3
Who’s in it? Robert Downey Jr, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow.
What’s it about? Tony Stark (Downey Jr) puts on his suit again to take on the people responsible for destroying his private world and eventually ends up taking on his deadliest and most powerful (aren’t they always?) foe yet in the shape of someone or something called the Mandarin. We’re no comic buffs but we don’t think he’s going to be fighting an orange.
Released: May.
Man Of Steel
Who’s in it? Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Amy Adams.
What’s it about? An alien baby lands on Earth and grows up with superhuman abilities. Why? Because he’s Superman, that’s why!
Released: June.
Thor: The Dark World
Who’s in it? Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman.
What’s it about? This time the big muscley blonde chap has to battle Dark Elves led by some dude called Malekith who’s threatening to plunge the world back into darkness after the events of The Avengers movie.
Released: November.
World War Z
Who’s in it? Brad Pitt.
What’s it about? A deadly zombie pandemic breaks out and rapidly starts taking over the world. Cue hordes of the undead wreaking all sorts of havoc. This one is based on the highly-rated book by Max Brooks.
Released: June.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Who’s in it? Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana.
What’s it about? After finding an unstoppable force of terror within their own organisation, Kirk leads the team on a manhunt to a war zone to take on a one-man weapon of mass destruction. Early rumours suggest that Spock might bite the dust in this one!
Released: May.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Who’s in it? Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen.
What’s it about? While the world tries to recover from the Middle Earth madness of the first instalment you’ve got another year to prepare for the next part which sees the gang go after the big scary dragon, Smaug.
Released: December.
Gangster Squad
Who’s in it? Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin.
What’s it about? 1949 Los Angeles is run by mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) under the protection of his goons and the police. Sgt. John O’Mara (Brolin) is tasked with putting together a small band of LAPD outsiders to take on Cohen. Expect lots of manic gunfights.
Released: January.
Mama
Who’s in it? Jessica Chastain.
What’s it about? A supernatural thriller presented by Guillermo del Toro about two young girls who disappeared into the woods the day their parents were killed. Rescued years later they soon find that someone or something still wants to come and tuck them in at night. Looks like we’ll be watching this one from behind our hands, then.
Released: January.
Oz: The Great and Powerful
Who’s in it? James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz.
What’s it about? Centering on the wizard from the original Oz movie, this tells the tale of a small time magician who finds himself whisked away to the Land of Oz where he meets three witches and transforms himself into a great and powerful wizard.
Released: March.
The Hangover Part 3
Who’s in it? The whole gang are back.
What’s it about? Details were still a bit sketchy at the time of going to press but there are rumours that the main plot will revolve around the gang trying to break Alan (Zach Galifianakis) out of a mental institution.
Let’s hope it’s better than the second one…
Released: May.
Kick Ass 2
Who’s in it? Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz.
What’s it about? A new league of super heroes, inspired by the actions of Kick Ass in the first movie, are formed by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Another evil league is formed by Red Mist (Plasse) reborn as someone with a rather rude name. Should be awesome!
Released: June.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Who’s in it? Mickey Rourke, Roasario Dawson, Jessica Alba.
What’s it about? This one has been kept under wraps so tightly that not even Time Out’s special movie mole could find out
much about it. Robert Rodrigiuez and Frank Miller are taking the helm again so it should still be a cracker.
Released: October.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Who’s in it? Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth.
What’s it about? After winning the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss (Lawrence) returns home before embarking on a ‘Victor’s Tour’ along the way she notices a simmering rebellion as President Snow prepares the 75th Hunger Games – which could change Panem forever. Oh dear.
Released: November.
Oblivion
Who’s in it? Tom Cruise.
What’s it about? Patrolling the skies from thousands of feet above a future Earth, Jack’s (Cruise) world is changed dramatically when he rescues a beautiful stranger from her downed spacecraft and triggers a chain of events that will put the fate of mankind in his hands.
Released: April.
Books
And the Mountains Echoed
Author: Khaled Hosseini.
It’s been roughly ten years since Hosseini’s huge hit The Kite Runner was published. In And the Mountains Echoed, he returns with (in his own words), ‘a multi-generational-family story, this time revolving around brothers and sisters, and the ways in which they love, wound, betray, honour and sacrifice for each other.’ Out May.
Private Berlin
Author: James Patterson.
Another fast-paced and sophisticated thriller from the pen of bestseller Patterson. This time around we follow Chris Schneider – a superstar agent at powerful German investigation firm, Private Berlin – who keeps his methods secret as he embarks on cases, but when he disappears he becomes Private Berlin’s most dangerous investigation yet. Out January.
White Dog Fell from the Sky
Author: Eleanor Morse.
Already drawing some comparisons to the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency thanks to its location, Botswana, this is a story of a man forced to flee South Africa in 1976 after he witnesses a murder by a South African authority. He was a medical student, but takes a job as a gardener in Botswana. When he goes missing, the woman he works for sets out to find him.
Out January.
Chu’s Day
Author: Neil Gaiman.
The man who brought us the likes of Stardust and Coraline is back with a delightful tale of a panda (Chu) who sneezes.
The twist is when Chu sneezes, bad things happen. Already garnering some lovely reviews it’s more one to read to the kids, with illustrations by Adam Rex.
Out January.
Dr Sleep
Author: Stephen King.
This will be the sequel to horror classic The Shining and is scheduled for release in January. The story will, apparently, revolve around one of the characters from the original, the son Danny Torrance, now middle-aged and living in New York where he works in a nursing home using his mental abilities to provide comfort to the dying.
Movies
Sports
Video games
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
Sport
American football
Super Bowl XLVII
When: February 3.
It’s that time of year again, when grown men in tights and helmets bash into each other for a bit until someone wins [there’s a bit more to it than that – Ed]. Always a good excuse to throw a party into the early hours though and the halftime entertainment is rumoured
to be singer Beyoncé.
Footbal
lUEFA Champions League final
When: May 25.
The culmination of the tournament, held at the famous Wembley Stadium in London this year, between all the top football teams in Europe. Last year’s holders Chelsea are already out so the whole thing is up for grabs. If the last few finals are anything to go by then we’re in for a real treat.
Athletics
World Athletic Championships
When: August 10-18.
Hosted in Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium all the big names that like to hurl themselves around a field, throw themselves over stuff (or indeed like to throw other things around) will be here.
Rugby
League 2013 World Cup
When: October 26-November 30.
14 teams will contest this one (including Italy and the US for the first time) in the United Kingdom, although some matches will also be held in Ireland and France.
Tennis
Wimbledon
When: June 24-July 7.
Widely regarded as still the most prestigious Grand Slam title, Wimbledon returns as usual in 2013. Expect to see the sport’s biggest names turning out. Anyone for strawberries and cream?
Movies
Books
Video games
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
Video games
Dead Space 3
The space-age horror game is famous for scaring people witless. This time the action takes place on a planet, plus there’s new co-op gameplay options as well. Out February.
God of War: Ascension
The GOW series makes a welcome return so kiss goodbye to your social life for a bit as you battle other-worldly beings in all manner of creative ways. What’s more, it features multi-player for the first time. Out March.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Finally set to land on a console near you in February. Expect epic shoot ’em up action from a game which takes its influences from James Cameron’s classic Aliens movie, with all guns and vehicles exact replicas to those in the film.
Tomb Raider
It might sound a bit old school but we’re actually really looking forward to seeing what life they’ve injected into the series with this reboot. Early reports claim it’s a pretty special mix of the exploring and shooting Lara Croft fans love.
Gears of War: Judgment
They don’t come much bloodier or epic than these games. Set before all the other War titles, it’s released in March and promises radical changes to its multi-player and online play.
BioShock: Infinite
Third in the series of the art deco-influenced shooters, this one is set before the first two critically-acclaimed games and is set in a city in the sky. Out March.
Movies
Books
Sports
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
Music
A$AP Rocky
Title: Long Live A$AP
The controversial hip hop star finally unleashes his much delayed album. With cameos expected from the likes of Lana Del Rey and Drake this could be one of the soundtracks of 2013. Out January.
Will.i.am
Title: #willpower
It’s already spawned a few monster hit singles so expect to find avoiding the Black Eyed Peas chap more difficult in 2013. Out February.
Azealia Banks
Title: Broke with Expensive Taste
One of the most talked about ladies in hip hop is set to drop her album at long last. A muted February release date seems to be set. Expect probably quite a lot of naughty words. Date TBC.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Title: Push the Sky Away
There’s always room for a bit of Nick Cave. The Bad Seeds may be slightly odd for some tastes but it can’t be denied they love to push boundaries. Out February.
Lady Gaga
Title: ARTPOP
She may be as mad as a box of frogs but it’s hard to deny she knows how to write a catchy pop number and stir up a bit of controversy. Expect more of the same in 2013. Date TBC.
And don’t forget… Kanye West plays the Du Arena on January 31. www.thinkflash.ae.
Movies
Books
Sports
Video games
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
The Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal
Opening: Early 2013.
Need to know: The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal will feature 447 luxurious guestrooms and suites, as well as 85 private villas. Inspired by 15th to early 17th-century Renaissance architecture and the urban planning of Venice, the hotel will consist of ten stately buildings arranged in a crescent formation, complete with artfully designed water features throughout the 230,670sqm property.
Restaurants and bars: The culinary journey at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi will be a collection of dining experiences that will suit every discerning palate. The hotel’s all-day dining Italian restaurant will feature a lovely outdoor terrace overlooking the gardens; the steak and seafood venue will offer specialty cuisine in a stylish and contemporary setting; the Middle Eastern restaurant will showcase the very best in the region’s cooking, and the Asian restaurant will whet the appetite for all things spicy, authentic and Oriental.
Spa: The spa will be an Espa which is a highly regarded brand. It will provide holistic rejuvenation and relaxation in a serene, meditative setting. The 2,000sqm stand-alone spa caters to men and women, and offers 15 private treatment rooms as well as a private beach and outdoor plunge pools. An expansive, fully-equipped fitness centre will offer state-of-the-art equipment. A major scene-stealer is the massive 1,600sqm outdoor swimming pool that accentuates the stunning landscape of the hotel.
Rosewood Abu Dhabi
Opening: Early 2013.
Need to know: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will be opening their first property in the UAE with Rosewood Abu Dhabi. It will be a five-star, high-rise hotel and residences. The hotel will have 189 spacious guest rooms and suites and will have 137 serviced residences. The 34 -story tower is a dramatic modern structure, covered with reflective glass which was chosen for its daytime shimmer and its nighttime luminescence.
Restaurants and bars: The hotel will include eight signature restaurants and lounges. The all-day dining Mediterranean restaurant Aqua will have fabulous panoramic views over the Abu Dhabi horizon, Sambusek will create Lebanese cuisine with a modern twist, Spice Mela will be offering authentic Indian specialties and Catalan will take you on a journey to the Catalonian contemporary gastronomy.
There will be three stylish lounges including Glo, the poolside refreshment bar with its striking signature lighting that warms up the evening sky. Hidden Bar is the place to ‘not be seen’ with guests enjoying cocoon-style pods for privacy. La Cava is a chic sommelier cellar with over 7,000 bottles of grape available to guests.
Spa: Sense spa will offer an extensive range of indulgent therapies, treatments and services, including signature offerings that integrate local healing traditions with indigenous ingredients. The spa will have nine full-service treatment rooms and two signature rooms are dedicated to traditional hammam cleansing rituals.
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
Opening: March 2013.
The hotel will be located in the heart of Abu Dhabi, on the Corniche, offering waterfront views of the Arabian Gulf. The St. Regis Abu Dhabi will feature the world’s highest suspended Presidential suite, complete with private entrance, dedicated spa and movie theatre. Suspended 200 metres above the ground, the elegant and extensive Abu Dhabi Suite will be a first of its kind.
Located within the 33rd and 49th floors of one tower, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi will offer 283 luxuriously-appointed guest rooms, including 40 suites.
Restaurants and bars: The hotel will feature a wide range of luxury experiences with ten distinctive culinary, lounge and bar venues, from Rhodes 44, a restaurant from famed Michelin-starred chef Gary Rhodes,
to the St. Regis Bar – following in the tradition of St. Regis brand’s legendary New York hotel. There will also be Italian and seafood restaurants.
Spa: There will be over 3,000sqm of ultra-modern health club facilities, including a signature spa and outdoor swimming pool, as well as the first Hommage Grooming Atelier in Abu Dhabi. Guests can enjoy private access to the hotel’s Nation Riviera Beach Club, expected to become one of the most sought-after destinations in Abu Dhabi. Fans of Sisters Beauty Lounge will be happy to know they are opening another salon here too.
Movies
Books
Sports
Video games
Music
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
More to watch out for
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
Gourmet Abu Dhabi
Enjoy this annual culinary festival featuring a masterful collection of the world’s leading masterchefs from February 5-20, 2013. There will be cooking classes and theme nights at Abu Dhabi’s finest dining venues. www.gourmetabudhabi.ae
Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Don’t miss this very popular film festival with different movie showings from all over the world. And you might even see a famous face or two. October 2013.
www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae
Tropfest
Amateur filmmakers from across the Middle East and North Africa have the chance to debut short features at Tropfest 2013 in a bid to be recognised as, potentially, the next big thing in the movie world. Starts October.
www.tropfestarabia.com
Abu Dhabi Art
Continues to get better every year and 2013 is set to be another great event. Hundreds of local and international artists will be showcasing their work. November 2013.
www.saadiyatculturaldistrict.ae
Movies
Books
Sports
Video games
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
More to watch out for
More to watch out for
W Hotel
Located on the waterfront of Al Bateen Wharf, W Abu Dhabi will be part of a multi-component development including high-end retail stores, restaurants and residences and will offer stunning views over the marina and the open sea. The luxury boutique hotel will feature 350 guest rooms, including 25 suites and two ‘Extreme Wow’ suites (W’s interpretation of a Presidential Suite) and more.
The Regent Emirates Pearl
This 47-storey, podium-style tower will sit opposite Emirates Palace Hotel and will be a hotel plus serviced apartments. With an extensive choice of 377 rooms and suites, all offering a balcony and stunning views of the Arabian Gulf, the hotel’s many room categories provide spacious and grand accommodation for all guests.
As many as nine restaurant and entertainment venues wil be on offer, and leisure and spa facilities will include a health club and beach club facilities as well as a spa with saunas and 12 separate beauty and therapy treatment rooms.
Bab Al Qasr Hotel
This new hotel will also sit opposite Emirates Palace Hotel, consisting of two 37-storey towers. The first tower will house a 408-room five-star hotel, while the second will have 229 serviced apartments and a retail plaza. The influences on the outside are plentiful, and include Moroccan-style stone cladding and a bronze tint to the glass. There will be many food and beverage outlets, as well as shops. Set to open in 2013.
Movies
Books
Sports
Video games
Music
New Hotels in Abu Dhabi
Festivals in Abu Dhabi in 2013
