Movies: X-men Days of Future Past

Movies: X-men Days of Future Past

Finally! The next installment to the xmen franchise has arrived. This follows a list of about 7 movies, namely X-men, X2, X-men The Last Stand, X-men Origins Wolverine, X-men First Class, The Wolverine. Basically, if you are looking for movies that are X-men related, just search for all the movies with Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine and that would be it. As long as he is in the movie it is a related movie already. Do remember that the avengers world which is Iron man, Thor and Captain America are also related in some far way to X-men. Even the Fantastic Four and Spiderman are all related as they are from the Marvel Franchise.

Nonetheless how has this new movie performed? Read on to find out!

Heres the movie and pretty much the two mainmainmain characters

Storyline 4.5/5

I would say that especially for Marvel fans you are going to like this movie for the story line. It takes into account every single movie that has happened before this and yet in the end it does something that impacts all the previous movies. No spoilers here but really. It gets you thinking.

For those who do not follow Marvel however it is not that bad also cause the main gist of the storyline is not hard to follow with the objective being very clear from the beginning and aiming to reach the objective for the rest of the movie.

There is some thinking involved during the movie thanks to mystique and her shape-shifting prowess but nothing too hard to follow even for those not into the Marvel world.

However to be honest, to truly enjoy all the smart additions and salutes to the previous episodes, see the earlier movies by whatever means necessary. Call your friends and relatives for a sleep over cum movie night. You will see and draw links all over to the previous movie that you have seen and feel more entertained and fulfilled when you spot the links.

Characters 4/5

The x-men universe is so full of unique characters with personalities that you cannot really honestly expect any movie to introduce all of them in greater detail. This is even more evident when you realize that some characters in the movie, you might not even know his or her name. Thankfully for x-men, people generally just want to see their powers and as a result the movie can still cater to all the audience members whether they are fans or not.

An advert of the movie

See the poster above, well of all these characters, actually two of them practically just appeared for seconds. In fact... One of them on the left really literally appeared for just 3 secs. See if you know who. I also dont really remember seeing the person on the furthest left during the entire movie...So thats the problem with the X-men universe as it has too many characters that might drown off a person new to the franchise. 

There are easily another 5 characters that have substantial amount of screen time in this movie but have No lines. They just come in and show off their power and then something will happen to them... TWICE. Shall not spoil the movie and let you go see it for yourself but it is pretty funny, entertaining and sometimes even sad. Still it adds a lot to this movie. You will understand when you see it.

Cinematography 4.5/5

The movie starts off strong and shows off the varied abilities of the mutants from the get go. It then moves on to the main idea of the storyline and within the line, additional characters are shown using their powers in their own unique way.

This is where the Cinematography comes into play. There will be one scene at the earlier half of the movie where they will utilize all the tricks of the camera to highlight the true power that some mutants will have. The movie does this a few more times such as how it highlights Magneto's and Storm's immense power over metal as well as how the x-men uses their teamwork to "overcome" the odds in their own fights. 

There are a lot of epic shots as well as good fighting scenes although obviously they could be much longer to show off more. 

Music 4/5

There are some fantastic use of music to the movie that really adds to the entertainment value of the movie. You will be immersed in good surround sound to show off the impact of every mutant power during the movie and that makes the movie that much more enjoyable. Its this kind of sound effects that you must go to the theatre to experience and its a lot more expensive to try to do up at home. So do yourself a favor if you love action movies and see it in the theatres.

Spectacle 4.5/5

The storyline for X-men is strong and in terms of action and fight scenes, it does it very very well. The whole time limited idea of the movie also adds to the edge of your seat experience that adds a lot to the fun of the movie. Add to that the introduction of many new characters with wide and varied powers even if only for a short stint, the movie will keep you entertained. It did get slightly dry towards the center but the great start and exciting end makes up for the entire movie.

I would say for those who have seen the previous x-men movies, it adds a lot of additional value to the movie as you can see how some of the movies started or ended up the way they did and you will have a very complete or better view over the movie. Further more, some of the things that happened during the movie seems to be preparing the viewer for the future movies so if ever u are gonna see the future movies, you will probably benefit from seeing this one. Hence there is really no reason to skip this movie especially since it falls under the most generic action genre coupled with a good storyline. Also given its long show time, it is also money well spent.

Its a movie that gives its viewer all they would want, and more.

Overall

Storyline: 4.5 (Exciting storyline that has its fair share of twists thanks to Mystique. Even for non-fans, its easy to follow)

Character: 4 (Many new characters with exciting powers revealed. Unfortunate that some names are not even mentioned. But of course that might take too much extra and unnecessary time?)

Cinematography: 4.5 (Good shots and angles to make the movie even more immersive and exciting)

Music: 4 (Good music that adds strong movie going value to the audience)

Spectacle: 4.5 (For fans, a definite watch. For action lovers it does well in its aspects also. Even storyline is not shabby)

Overall: 4.3 (A movie that only flaws is due to its time limitation but it is pretty impossible to try to improve on one without affecting another aspect for example improve on character development without harming how exciting the movie is. Fans of the movies must see this show and for 2 hours plus show time, its a easy movie to see even if you dont like the genre. You can even go in with expectation and the movie will most likely deliver. 

But to truly enjoy this movie, I repeat again, consider seeing all the previous episodes first cause they really add a lot of value in terms of knowing the world, knowing the characters and the struggle they face. Go ahead and plan when to see this movie, you should be able to enjoy it.)

Also note that there IS an after credits scene as per Marvel movie tradition so stay till the very end. By very end i mean SIT ON THE CHAIR TILL THE LIGHTS COME ON!

Have fun!

Movies: Godzilla

Movies: Godzilla

A movie that will more likely cater more to the older audience as compared to the newer generation. With remakes of the movie starting from 1954, it has probably crept into the minds of the older viewers. With the advent of this Godzilla movie in 2014, it has made sure that the newer generation have their chance to be educated on this famous japanese icon. If you know who Godzilla is, then you are probably someone who can enjoy this movie. If you don't know who Godzilla is on the other hand... well read on and find out whether this should be your chance to know him.

For those who are unaware.. Godzilla is that huge creature in the middle spitting lazorbeams of power! HES NOT A DINOSAUR and has no relationship to Barney. Unlike Barney, Godzilla loves NO ONE!

Unlike other movies featuring characters like Iron man, Hulk blahblahblah, there is no need to see any previous Godzilla movie to enjoy this one. In fact, some might say to not see previous movies as they were horrible remakes. But is this movie in the same state?

Storyline 3/5

I would say that this entire movie storyline is just to lead up to the introduction of the above named creature. The appearance and role played by the above named creature is so essential that actually, when you reach the main climax of the movie, you don't really even bother about what the story line is about.

In fact, what the humans do in this show is completely senseless and insignificant in this show that you really don't see the need of the humans to be in this show in my opinion. Lets put it this way, the humans played zero relevance role in the fight against the monster in this show. They did absolutely nothing, but since this movie needs to start of with some human story and perspective, they did this put in a passable storyline to lengthen the time and get things started at best.

Don't come into this movie expecting amazing storyline with twists and turns.

Character 3/5

As said above, the storyline that involves the humans had little significance to the movie expect making it last longer. Add to this the fact that the movie considers almost everyone else to be expendable and does not see the need to add any background stories, there will be little affiliation to all the characters in the movie.

Add to that the fact that Godzilla is supposed to be mysterious in terms of origin and motive, you realize that at the end of the movie, you learn or understand little new things about Godzilla nor the people involved in this movie.

Cinematography 4.5/5

This is where the movie shines. In fact, this should be the reason you come and see this movie. If you wanna see how nice human technology stands up to creatures or rather, you wanna see complete obliteration of what humans can offer against these creatures, this is the movie you should see. 

The shots are epic and very awe inspiring. A lot of zoomed out shots but the way the story is told is also done uniquely. Sometimes by outward shots, and yet somethings via news reports and other times through the eyes of some of the people in the movie. This is probably the focus of the movie and the way the movie will immerse you.

Music 4/5

This movie has good music, or rather, this movie has a lot of BASS. And I mean ALOT. So much so that you might feel that Godzilla is right outside the theater stomping around. And this is probably good as it adds immersive value. The soundtrack in this movie also helps the overall feel of the movie justifying its above average score.

Spectacle 4/5

For the fans of Godzilla, this movie has provided all that has made Godzilla action so attractive to lovers of this creature. Those who don't know about Godzilla but like to feel the impact caused by huge monsters, this movie can provide that too. At the end, you will probably go off saying that this movie was "awesome". By awesome I don't mean totally great, but rather awe inspiring. You will know the difference if you see the movie.

As long as you can look past the average story line that at the end, you will probably have no feeling or regard for, you should be able to enjoy what this movie has to offer.


Overall
Storyline: 3 (Basically just the material that holds the movie together and allows progress. Nothing more then that)
Characters: 3 (No one is really important in the movie, no one is really elaborated upon.)
Cinematography: 4.5 (This is what you should see the movie for, and it was really obvious that effort was put into this)
Music: 4 (Good strong bass. Might even be too loud. But giant monsters ain't suppose to be quiet and weak sounding)
Spectacle: 4 (Fans will love it, action lovers too. Story lovers not so much. Godzilla movies was not really focused on story lines to be honest)

Overall: 3.7 (Fans of Godzilla as well as action fans will definitely like this flick. Storyline lookers not so much. For those who do not know Godzilla however, try to keep your expectations slightly lower, just expecting to see some pretty good movie shots and you should be sufficiently appeased at the end of the movie. Not a show that requires you to think too much, just a show that requires you to keep ur eyes and ears open, and enjoy the experience. If you can look at it like this, add to it the 2 hour movie price tag, it's a pretty worthwhile movie)

Agree with me on Godzilla? Comment over here if any!

Food: TomYum KungFu (Mookata)

Food: Mookata

Good evening all and a happy mother's day to all :) Finally finished some exams at school and realised that its time to get back to writing and stop being lazy. So I was looking back at all the stored pictures on my phone and found about 3 or 4 places that i was supposed to review. So I will review this one first being a nice interesting place that I been to!

When writing this review i finally understood what mookata means. Its basically the word they use to describe their unique BBQ steamboat style. So you will see many different mookata shops all around using the similar BBQ steamboat pot with different stall names! Now that we got that out of the way, lets get to the food.

Scroll down for details such as location and prices!

Food 4.5/5

Note that this place is not a Buffet style type of steamboat but rather ala carte orders. We ordered a bit too much for 2 people (unfortunately it was finishable) 

We started off with the appetizer which is this tasty little mango salad thingy! As with mango salads, its supposed to be slightly spicy and this tasted pretty good!

Appetizer to start off! Mango salad

 The next dish was some green curry chicken.. unfortunately, if you know me well you know that i am not a fan of chicken. However I am a person who is quite choosy about curry. Generally for this dish, the taste was there but was slightly watery and not strong enough. You can add it to your rice but its just ok la in terms of taste improvement.

Green curry

The next dish i ate was this one. Forgot what was inside it but it was really nice because it was crispy when freshly cooked. Unlike some other fried food like this, the portion was just nice and it didn't taste too boring or the chinese word is "NI". Not sure about the english equivalent for this.

Friend something.. suspect it was prawn i guess

 Finally, here is the main course or the main draw of the night which was the BBQ steamboat itself. Its charcoal based and you can see the soup is off at the side. This means that as you cook the food the juices from the cooked food will actually flow into the soup and make it even more tastier. I guess that's the style over here.

The highlight of the night, mookata BBQ steamboat

 You can actually choose the meats and the veggie from the menu and it is changable cause we actually didnt want to eat the prawns. So we got it changed to fish meat or something. They also gave some LARD which my friend taught me to put on the top of the BBQ first to oil the entire BBQ surface before starting to eat it. Very interesting methodology! You can see the menu choices in a picture further below.

Meat and assorted veggies!

 See the lard at the top? and see the meat get cooked! Don't worry the soup is entirely refillable at no charges. It was actually quite nice to slurp off towards the end of the meal! Note that for cooking the fish, it tends to be a bit more sticky so my friend told me to boil the fish meat slightly in the soup portion first!

Cooking in progress!!

 The meat was actually very nicely marinated till we actually ordered a second serving of meat. It was pork however if i wasn't mistaken.

Need more food and nourishment!

They had also two different choices of chilli to choose from and unlike some buffet settings both chilli choices did taste pretty nice and seems thai like. It was a good addition to the food.

Overall the taste of the food was actually pretty good and tasty and the soup also became a very nice addition to the meal.

 Atmosphere 3/5

Undoubtedly, as with many of the shops in this vicinity, space is a major constraint and you can feel this as the shop is relatively narrow although the tables are spaced to the most extreme positions already. You will be sitting either on the small chairs or on the seemingly stone benches along the walls of the place if you take a seat inside the restaurant itself. Hence once you sit inside, you are actually probably gonna be trapped by the seat and your friends so toilet breaks become a big deal!

This place tried to do something useful by actually putting a wooden board across two tables when the people are well seated to increase the eating space which is a nice move. The staff are pretty non-intrusive and they wont bother you but neither are they much of a positive or negative impact to the experience.

Overall, not the best place to sit and talk, but it is good enough for you to sit and eat and its not too tightly packed till the staff will bump into u and stuff. Hard chairs though but probably can survive for the eating time!

Price 3/5

Below is the menu for eating. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the entire menu but this shows the standard BBQ set that you can order.

Its strangely cute that for adding noodles and some different kinda prawn u need to add 5 dollars O.o.. thats why we didnt get that.. but in any cases this is the price range, not entirely cheap as these prices just add 10 more dollars and you can have buffet at some places.

Overall for 2 pax, we paid about 80++ dollars which is pretty pricey for 2 pax. Of course we did order quite a lot overall and probably overate but the food doesn't look as expensive as it looks and the portions are not entirely filling so you might order more then usual.

Accessibility 3/5

TomYum KungFu Mookata is pretty near the chinatown mrt if i am not mistaken but you probably have to walk about 5-10 minutes away. Sadly seems like the place is pretty popular so you might want to consider calling in reservation before going as you will take some time to eat and its not very big so waiting time could get significant. 

But all in all, for this end result below its pretty ok...

End result of the dinner

Overall

Food: 4.5 (The food taste is unique and pretty tasty that we had second helpings. It is an interesting experience to try and the tastes should be pretty favorable)

Atmosphere: 3 (Not entirely big shop and a bit cramp, but there are some things they did to try free up some space)

Price: 3 (Portions are not very big, and the food is not entirely cheap. Not very expensive either also for the occasional dinner especially)

Accessibility: 3 (It's near a MRT and walkable from there. Small shop leads to slight crowds though)

Overall: 3.4 (Definitely a place to try once in your life and you could go there for the rough special occasion. Not sure about other Mookata but thanks to my friend for opening my eyes to this type of food, I am sure I will visit another Mookata shop in the near future! Try it our yourself and I think you will appreciate the experience!)

For more details you could check this place for location and opening hours 

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/tom_yum_kungfu/