Latest news with #Aster
Atlantic
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
When It Feels Good to Root for a Bad Guy
This article features spoilers for the ending of Eddington. The director Ari Aster specializes in bringing stress dreams to life: becoming plagued by a demonic curse, as seen in his debut film, Hereditary; joining an evil Scandinavian cult, in his follow-up, Midsommar; realizing a person's every fear, as occurs in the strange, picaresque Beau Is Afraid. But for his latest movie, Eddington, he turns to a more prosaic topic to get our blood running: the events of 2020. The film initially presents itself as a neo-Western, set in the small, fictional New Mexico town of Eddington at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In true Aster form, the familiar portrait of that period—and the gnarly headspace it trapped many of us in—disintegrates into something disturbingly surreal. The film dramatizes this downward spiral through the experience of a man consumed by anxiety about how his community is shifting around him. Lockdown may have driven some people to question one another's reality; Eddington 's protagonist, however, seeks control of his—with violent and gory results. In interviews about his inspirations, Aster has invoked John Ford's masterpiece My Darling Clementine, a bittersweet retelling of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. But what I thought of more than anything while watching Eddington was Taxi Driver, a dark fable that's grounded in the point of view of a delusional maniac similarly defined by his paranoid, even conspiratorial, thinking. In the Martin Scorsese classic, Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro) lives out his fantasy of 'cleaning up' New York City by murdering a man who prostituted young girls in a brothel; the subsequent press coverage cements him as a folk hero, ending the film on a strange, bloodily triumphal note. The local sheriff in Eddington, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), is the film's Bickle, though his final showdown is a far more absurd spectacle than the one in Taxi Driver. Aster's film is frightening, yes—but it's a dark and lacerating comedy first and foremost, playing out the power fantasies that fueled many an online conspiracy theory in the pandemic's early days (and still do now). And although Cross may not be as crushingly lonely as Bickle, he does share the character's escalating sense of paranoia. By plunging the viewer into this chaotic inner world, Aster illustrates the dissonant appeal of being enmeshed in the perspective of, and maybe even rooting for, an individual committed to their belief in justice—even if that commitment can border on sordid. Each of Aster's movies descends into chaos by its third act, but the bloodbath at the end of Eddington is particularly challenging because of what precedes it: a recognizable, if satirical, investigation of life under lockdown. As such, the film is much more concerned with modern society than the director's past work, contorting the anxiety and extreme politicization that arose during the early pandemic to fit into Aster's strange world. Embodying those feelings is Cross, a lonely sheriff who eventually stands up to shadowy, destructive forces. Eddington introduces its protagonist in much more mundane fashion, however. Cross serves the town of Eddington as a useless figure of authority—a shiftless, asthmatic grump who mumbles complaints at lawbreakers and halfheartedly manages a staff of cops at his office. When the film starts, he is struggling to uphold the state-mandated quarantine regulations, which he rarely follows himself. Eventually, the viewer learns that Cross has a personal connection to the position; his father-in-law once held it, and his tenure is still revered by both his family and his community. But Cross can hardly keep up with his job's basic tasks, let alone the kind of slick change represented by the person often challenging his control over Eddington: its mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). Garcia, unlike Cross, is a friendly, tech-focused modernizer; he's backing the construction of a local data center that has proved divisive. Garcia and Cross's mutual disdain initially drives the film's tension: Garcia has some personal animosity with Cross that revolves around a rumored, long-ago dalliance withthe sheriff's wife, Louise (Emma Stone). Just as Garcia and Cross become fixated on each other, Louise develops an obsession with a seeming cult leader named Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler). Peak posts his elliptical wisdom in popular short-form videos that Louise affirms in the comments. Louise's mother, Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell), who lives with the Crosses, is similarly buying into questionable lines of thinking; she's constantly spouting misinformation about the origins of the pandemic, and parroting whatever else comes across her Facebook feed. Eddington makes plenty of satirical sport of all the characters, including a swath of overly sensitive teenage protesters. But the rageful engine driving Cross's actions is more disquieting than simple family or small-town drama. In the simplest read of what happens next, Cross becomes a local celebrity of sorts. After an altercation with Garcia at a supermarket, instigated when the sheriff supports a customer refusing to wear a mask—and similarly goes without one, pointing to how it affects his asthma—Cross announces his own mayoral run. He campaigns on a vague populist platform of throwing unhoused people out of town and resisting COVID restrictions, posting his progressively more inflammatory screeds to Facebook. The ramblings go viral, pushing Cross into further confrontations with Garcia. The sheriff's simmering anger, which reaches boiling point as a result of Eddington's growing air of claustrophobia and his own loosening grip on his life, leads to Cross assassinating Garcia. He kills Garcia's son too, and tries to cover up both murders by pinning the blame on a fellow cop. But as the sheriff's tangled web of lies begins to unravel—and his focus is diverted further away from the town—Eddington is besieged by frightening special-ops forces of unknown origin. The attack culminates in a bloody gun battle in the streets, and Cross barely survives; he emerges as a vigilante who has defended his community from, well, somebody. The film ends with Cross, now paralyzed and heavily medicated, functioning as the town's mayor. Unlike that of Taxi Driver 's Bickle, however, the sheriff's victory is a hollow one; his mother-in-law appears to have seized the real power behind the throne, rendering him more a puppet than an icon. This turn of events offers a perfectly grim button to Cross's ridiculous hallucinations of grandeur. But it's also a reminder from Aster that for all the thrilling gunplay of Eddington 's final act, there is no real happy ending awaiting Cross. Eddington does not aim to be a simple tale of heroism, and its events are so outlandish that they are hard to take at face value. The movie, in its fullest expression, is a feverish swirl of the charged opinions that drove so many conversations during the pandemic's height—be they from the right, the left, or all the way on the fringe. The shadowy characters invading Eddington could be interpreted as a fascist hit squad or an antifa battalion; on-screen, they simply represent the nonsensical extremes that our internet-addled brains are capable of reaching. The uncomfortable result is that Aster at times seems to be challenging the audience to root for Cross, despite laying out all his buffoonery very plainly—because even the most composed person may have found the limits of their patience tested at some point during those strange, dark days.
Business Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Hiap Seng shares soar 75% after Indonesian oil giant Chandra Asri buys 11.9% stake
[SINGAPORE] Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri has purchased an 11.9 per cent stake in Hiap Seng Industries , giving it a substantial stake in the steel fabrication service provider. Hiap Seng shares soared in early trade on Wednesday (Jul 23) as news of the purchase broke, more than doubling in price to an intra-day high of S$0.028. The last time Hiap Seng shares traded at such levels was in October 2019, ShareInvestor data showed. The counter finished the day at a multi-year high of 2.1 cents, 0.9 cents above Tuesday's closing price, on a hefty turnover of 204.1 million units. Chandra Asri's entry could signal a future partnership between both companies, said Hiap Seng in a statement before trading commenced on Wednesday. Chandra Asri is a subsidiary of Barito Pacific, the Indonesian power and industrial giant founded by billionaire tycoon Prajogo Pangestu. Max Tan, Hiap Seng's chief executive officer, said the deal is 'a potential opportunity to explore strategic collaborations that will enhance long-term value for all stakeholders'. Mashhad Dohadwala, projects and technology director at Aster Chemicals and Energy – a joint venture between Chandra Asri and global commodities trader Glencore – said a strategic relationship with Hiap Seng would strengthen Aster's foundation to position it for future growth as it explores partnership opportunities. Aster is reportedly in exclusive talks to buy oil major ExxonMobil's Singapore gas stations. Earlier this year, it completed the purchase of Shell's Singapore refinery and refining assets on Bukom and Jurong islands.
Business Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Hiap Seng shares soar 75% after Indonesian oil giant Chandra Asri buys an 11.9% stake in firm
[SINGAPORE] Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri has purchased an 11.9 per cent stake in Hiap Seng Industries, giving it a substantial stake in the steel fabrication service provider. News of the purchase on Wednesday (Jul 23) sent Hiap Seng shares soaring 75 per cent, or 0.9 cent, to end at a multi-year high of 2.1 cents, on a hefty turnover of 203 million units. Chandra Asri's entry could signal a future partnership between both companies, said Hiap Seng in a statement before market open on Wednesday. Chandra Asri is a subsidiary of Barito Pacific, the Indonesian power and industrial giant founded by billionaire tycoon Prajogo Pangestu. Max Tan, Hiap Seng Industries' chief executive officer, said: '(We) view this as a potential opportunity to explore strategic collaborations that will enhance long-term value for all stakeholders.' Mashhad Dohadwala, who is projects and technology director at Aster Chemicals and Energy - a joint venture between Chandra Asri and global commodities trader Glencore - said that a strategic relationship with Hiap Seng would strengthen Aster's foundation to position it for future growth as it explores partnership opportunities. Aster is reportedly in exclusive talks to buy oil major ExxonMobil's Singapore gas stations. Prior to that, it completed its purchase of Shell's Singapore refinery and refining assets on Bukom and Jurong islands.
Business Times
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Indonesian oil giant Chandra Asri buys 11.9% stake in Hiap Seng Industries; shares up 58.3%
[SINGAPORE] Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri has purchased an 11.9 per cent stake in the shares of Hiap Seng Industries and is now its newly-minted substantial shareholder. As at 11.54 am, shares of Hiap Seng Industries were 58.3 per cent up, at S$0.019, with some 133.1 million shares transacted. With this development, future partnerships between both companies could be on the horizon, said Hiap Seng Industries on Wednesday (Jul 23). Chandra Asri is a subsidiary of Barito Pacific, the Indonesian power and industrial giant founded by billionaire tycoon Prajogo Pangestu. Max Tan, Hiap Seng Industries' chief executive officer, said: '(We) view this as a potential opportunity to explore strategic collaborations that will enhance long-term value for all stakeholders.' Mashhad Dohadwala, projects and technology director at Aster Chemicals and Energy, Chandra Asri's joint venture with global commodities trader Glencore, said that the strategic relationship with Hiap Seng Industries would strengthen Aster's foundation to position it for future growth as it explores partnership opportunities. Aster was said in early July to be in exclusive talks to buy oil major ExxonMobil's Singapore gas stations. Prior to that, it completed its purchase of Shell's Singapore refinery and refining assets on Bukom and Jurong islands. Hiap Seng Industries was formerly named Hiap Seng Engineering.
Mid East Info
2 days ago
- Business
- Mid East Info
Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder & Chairman, Aster DM Healthcare features among India's Top 5 cash-rich promoters - Middle East Business News and Information
Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder & Chairman, Aster DM Healthcare is now among India's top five promoter-investors in India in FY25, with a dividend income of ~₹2,594crore. He is the only entrepreneur from Kerala to be featured on the prestigious list, which includes prominent industrialists like Mukesh Ambani, Anil Agarwal, and Azim Premji. The company had declared a special dividend of Rs.118.0 per equity share, a final dividend of Rs.2.0 per equity share and an interim dividend of Rs.4.0 per equity share in FY25. The promoters currently hold 42% stake in Aster DM Healthcare. This milestone reflects not just personal wealth creation, but the robust financial health and operational performance of Aster DM Healthcare—an integrated healthcare organization built with the mission of providing accessible, high-quality care across India and GCC. The same year Aster also announced its landmark merger with Quality Care India Ltd. (QCIL). The merger positions Dr. Moopen led Aster DM Quality Care Ltd. (the combined entity) backed by Blackstone among India's top three hospital chains, with 38 hospitals and over 10,300 beds across 27 cities. Unlike many other promoters in the list, Dr. Moopen's rise stems from an enterprise that prioritizes clinical excellence and community care. From a single clinic in Dubai in 1987 to 900+ healthcare facilities across India and GCC and employing over 34,000+ professionals across seven countries, Dr. Moopen's journey exemplifies sustainable, impact-driven entrepreneurship. Dr. Moopen is recipient of Padma Shri, 4th highest civilian award by the Government of India in 2011 and has also been honoured with the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Samman' by the Government of India. Dr. Moopen's initiatives have played a pivotal role in expanding access to healthcare for underserved communities, underscoring his dual legacy as both a compassionate healer and visionary business leader. Recognising the urgent need for quality medical education and infrastructure in Wayanad, he established Dr. Moopen's Medical College—the first medical college in Kerala to be set up in a hilly, tribal, and backward district, marking a transformative step in uplifting healthcare access in Wayanad. He set up Aster Volunteers in 2016 which has grown to become one of the largest volunteering organisation globally with 85000+ volunteers working to provide disaster and improve medical access to remote areas. Following the devastating floods in Kerala in 2018, he pledged to rebuild lives by constructing homes for those affected, a promise he fulfilled in 2022 by handing 255 homes across the state. During the 2023 landslides in Wayanad, Dr. Moopen led from the front, directing his team and medical professionals to ensure swift deployment of aid and critical healthcare services. As Aster DM Healthcare enters its next phase of growth, Dr. Moopen's journey stands as a powerful example of how healthcare, rooted in purpose, can also become a powerful engine of sustainable financial value.
