Movies: The Cabin In the Woods

Movies: The Cabin In the Woods

I like movies that have some kind of association from people who played in part in Cloverfield. I personally felt that Cloverfield is one of the distinct movies that was able to define a genre, and Cloverfield would be chief of the genre clueless... The Cabin in the Woods has a writer from Cloverfield and as such, the movie itself is really one that is not what you would expect, but probably could enjoy!

Heres a movie poster to help u understand what this movie is about.

Useful? Do you have a better clue what this show is about? No right? That is what makes this movie so special in my opinion. Note that there is also pretty little advertisement about this show in the first place, save a few more obscure trailers and posters that you might see floating around the web.

Next off, this movie belongs to the genre Horror and comedy. Yep, I am not kidding, this two genres can actually be put together and this movie does it pretty well. Unfortunately, for full enjoyment of the movie, I am going to have to make an effort to not put spoilers in. You really need to go in without a clue of what is going to happen to be able to enjoy this movie better. So for the following ratings, I will put it in more vague terms, but when you see the movie, you will be able to get what i mean. However, if you really do so wish, you could always wiki the movie.. after which there is no reason to see it cause the concept of the show is lost already...

Storyline 4.5/5


I personally find the concept of this show the most defining and best part of the show itself. I would say the show concept, if you are able to appreciate it would be on par to or just slightly below that of the hunger games i.e. its a different world with different values from what we are used to.

Also, it seems that this movie tries to poke fun at many of the cliches in traditional horror movies so horror buffs might be able to see these links better and have a bit more fun.

As for the horror section of this show however, it borders on the traditional shock factor rather then creepy factor however, but I would say the shock factor lasts for an appropriate time of the movie before all is revealed. (There is a point of time in some other horror movies whereby its just tiring to get shocked already. Thats what happens if you overdo it by just using too many shock scenes)


Characters 3.5/5


There are human characters... and there are non human characters... I would say that the human characters are generic in fact, but the star of this story are the non human characters as well as the cabin concept itself. So interesting are the non human characters that it made me have to read up imdb to find out more about them. Of course they could have been used in a still more distinct manner but really, its fun to see them in all their glory.

Also being a comedy, the characters are also pretty amusing in their own right with a fair about of comedic moments.


Cinematography 4/5


Cinematography and effects are pretty good actually for a horror movie with little well known stars. But more of the shots belong to those made to encourage scare factors, but they also make very good use of background space. (i.e when you have something going on in the foreground you also have some fun things happening in the background) There are some creepy shots also that lend some aid to the horror genre.


Music 3.5/5


The music is definitely there, and for this genre, the music usually acts as a precursor to something shocking that is to happen. And it does lend to the creepy value.


Spectacle 4.5/5


This is probably one of the better Horror Comedy shows that i have seen, the other being some show about some zombie... i think its zombie land. But this show adds to the interest factor of the show with its very unique concept.

Overall


Storyline              : 4.5 (Yep.. its all there.. its the show concept that is really intriguing at least to me)
Character            : 3.5 (Many interesting characters, but of course too many characters to flesh out)
Cinematography  : 4 (Had better then usual effects, also good shots for shock horror)
Music                   : 3.5 (Shock movie music...)
Spectacle             : 4.5 (Fun movie, and the horror part follows the tried and tested style already)


Overall                 : 4 (Yep it is that high...but for interest sake, Rottentomatoes gave this show 92% fresh. Thats how good it is. BUT Only if you go in without prior knowledge of what is happening. Thats the most important part. Then see things happen and things get explained and then wonder what could have happened if they did something different in the cellar... Thats all the info for you :) However, if you are still the kind that do not fancy shock horror movies, the front part of the movie might be bit annoying for you, but stay to the next section when all is revealed)


Tell me when you seen this show and maybe we can talk a bit more on it :D

Movies: Mirror Mirror

Movies: Mirror Mirror

INTRODUCTION

The story of snow white is a story that has grown on us since young. At least for people of my generation... Then we have the grimm story version that breaks down the happy enjoyable stories that we are used to... So besides this two? is there any other way you can tell the same story again and again? In fact there are two Snow White related movies to be released this year so far, the 2nd being Snow White and The Hunter. Apparently so, as done by this show. This show tries to be different from the common storyline by focusing on the angle of the queen more frequently. And it also tells the story in a much more comedic way.

Heres the Queen

Heres Snow White

And as according to the recent bunch of Snow White related shows,it seems that snow white has some relationship with the queen who seems to also be the evil witch whom gave the apple to snow in the first place... Confusing huh? This is probably like the broken telephone game that people sometimes play whereby the story starts changing after the passage of time. Well, to answer the question of whether you should see this show, it kinda boils down to whether you are interested in the story in the first place, told in a slightly more comedic way... But lets continue to break it up further

Storyline 3.5/5

I can't really say the storyline is completely identical, but there are some links that tie in to the story that we are so familiar with and for some people this would grant them some joy when they manage to see the links to what they already know. For eg, you still see the 7 dwarves abiet in a different light, but people will be happy and say "OH there are the 7 dwarves." 

Also the different focus and overall comedic feel of the show is a bit more different from the usual story telling methods which helps keep things a bit more interesting. Sadly though, it doesn't feel very engaging in general overall, probably because it is a light hearted story and thus very hard to identify with.

Character 3/5

The characters are portrayed pretty interestingly, and I would say there is quite a good level of background story time given to the characters. Overall, they are all portrayed to be pretty fun, which keeps the show very safe, but also prevents the audience from having any particular hate or love for any particular character which results in little empathizing with the characters. So there is really too little immersion and identification with the characters.

Although the dwarves are different also, in some way it seems like they are trying a bit too hard to make a distinct personality that it seems kinda forced. I particularly didn't like the wolf guy because the script makes it look so forced to find a distinction for him. Just cause he howls like a wolf in random segments doesn't make him cool or fun....

Cinematography 3/5

There are attempts to make very good scenic shots in this show, and also some very good acting as expected from Julia Roberts. But in some way, the script writing is pretty bland and its hard to draw out enough interest to really enjoy the show. 

Music 3.5/5

This is probably the aspect that this show was gunning for, but trying to recollect the movie from this time on, its pretty hard to recall what exactly they did. I remember telling myself that they did put in some effort but for it to be so forgettable so quickly shows how lasting the impression was...

Spectacle 3/5

Well first of all, for this section, we need to be able to guesswork what was the aim that the producer wanted. For me personally, i thought he was trying to go for a entertaining twist on the usual snow white story and taking some liberties to make it different from the original. But because of that, nothing really stands out. There are attempts to be funny, it comes out short, attempts for action, still bit too short, attempts for storyline, its not really that different... So it didnt really stand out enough...

Overall


Storyline              : 3.5 (Tried to be different, but not impressive)
Character            : 3 (Did develop main characters but others seemed forced)
Cinematography : 3 (Good attempts but nothing spectacular)
Music                   : 3.5 (Did put much effort into this field.. just nothing memorable)
Spectacle             : 3 (Didn't excel in anything that they seemed to focus on)


Overall : 3.2 (I won't really say I suffered in the show, it did have some charms here and there, but  in the end it was more like i just sat through the story for the sake of finishing it. The experience wasn't horrible, but it could sure have been better. IF you need to see this show, you probably should not have too much expectations for story or anything like that, and just try to enjoy the little jokes and alternative perspective of the show)


See this if you want, but it seems that the coming Snow White and The Huntsman might be more mainstream.. but who knows.. only when its out.....

Movies: Battleship

Movies: Battleship

INTRODUCTION

This is a show that needs introduction. Yep. With a name like battleship, its kinda hard to guess what exactly to expect except the fact that you will be seeing quite a bit of ships in this show. Add to that the trailer that shows some alien like ship and from the same toy line as the transformers, you will be expecting to see something with a lot of action and perhaps some nice robots and transforming. Just a hint though, this movie is actually modelled after the battleship game in fact. You the game where you put out 5 ships on the board and call out numbers and hope you hit them? No idea? here is the game

Dont worry! the show is not about the game or about some championship on who is the best battle ship player in the whole universe or something.

Well here is the trailer for those interested

And here is the movie poster

Looks like its supposed to be an epic show right? Well... you are absolutely right! This show is one of the rare few, that delivers what is expected and also much much more. It does many intelligent things for an action genre flick and also enhances the enjoyment with good storyline and character building. If you still don't really get the hint, read : YOU SHOULD SEE THIS SHOW.

Insufficient evidence? Read the breakdown to conclude for yourself.

Storyline 4.5/5


The storyline, although is seemingly generic, which is the alien invasion of earth, the additions made to the action and alien invasion genre makes the show remain fresh. It also splits the focus between two different focal points from the beginning and consolidates it in the end, as a result, it enables the audience to feel the intensity of the situation and not be bored by staring too much at a particular plotline.

It also manages to tie in the battleship board game into the movie itself, which is quite a feat and it talks a bit of other stuff such as working together and respect your elders that kinda thing. Cheesy? Generally supposed to be so, but how this show does it really presents it in a fun manner which i would say adds alot of entertainment value to the show.

I also like the fact that the show doesn't portray any one side as invulnerable or extremely superior when compared to the others. This adds a bit of realism even to a sci-fi show which I would say adds a bit more of immersivenss to the show. Also, the aliens are revealed pretty early in the show unlike the horror-invasion genre of shows (Whereby you hardly see the invader and it plays more like a horror movie) and focuses instead on thrills and action bits of the show which i feel is done pretty well.


Character 4.5/5


This is another portion that is done well. Given the length of the show, they made a good choice of introducing the background of many of the characters and still linking it to the main part of the show in some way or other via references to things that happened before. This gives the audience a more invested feeling in the characters of the show and gives a very complete start and end to the show.

There are also many characters that play major and minor roles, but all of them seem distinct although some might not have too much of an impression on the audience. That being said, I like the idea that the show actually kills of one of the actors early in the show and it happens to be the most good looking on! (Sorry girls) Least you can always see him in all his manliness in some of the other TV series that he is starring in.


Cinematography 4.5/5


I nearly gave this show a 5, but then i realized that you can always do a bit more in cinematography ^_^. However, This show does emphasize alot on very good shots, from scenic shots to action shots and even very relevant perspective shots that serve to help the audience understand the story better. This is a very crucial ingredient to create an entertaining action flick and this movie does it well.

And there are also shots that are purposefully done just for the mere pleasure of the audience to draw out laughter, and although it seems forced and slightly unrealistic, this provides the audience with a much needed laugh that helps improve enjoyment for a very long movie.


Music 4/5


Its not a musical obviously but still, there are pretty good soundtracks and scores that add to the entertainment value of the show. The only slight mishap is that there are certain sections where the music or sound seems a bit off or too soft. Not sure if intended or just a problem of the cinema.


Spectacle 4.5/5


Yep, this show does what is expected of an action flick and does it very well. Despite the vague title, it seems like this show is able to bring across the intensity and thrill of action scenes, and support it with a strong story, littered with a few light hearted moments along the way. By strong story, it also means that the story line is pretty plausible and does not feel too much forced. So you won't be seeing the proceedings of the movie and stare with disbelief that when you see something that is too vastly unbelievable.

Overall 


Storyline              : 4.5 (Generic story, but not done in a generic manner. Very good pacing)
Character             : 4.5 (Good backstory given for the main characters and manages to make the audience feel for the characters)
Cinematography  : 4.5 (Exceptional camera usage for epic and thrilling shots)
Music                   : 4 (Music adds much to the entertainment value of the show)
Spectacle              : 4.5 (This can be considered the standard for what an action flick should be)


Overall                 : 4.4 (With a score so high, and also coming from the action genre, it can safely be said that almost everyone can see this show and be entertained by it, throughout the entire 2 hrs plus of the movie. It is that fantastic. In fact, you can even go set some expectations for the show and it is very likely that this show will meet or exceed that expectation. Even more so if you are also able to draw the parallel between this show and the actual battleship game. The only way you can find parts to hate about the show is if you really look and scrutinize it very harshly, then you realise that there are some minor plot holes. That being said though, the plot holes are too minor and can be roughly explained so in conclusion, you should see it if you have time for a movie, and even making time for this show might be worth it.)


Tell me if you enjoyed the show too in the comments below :D

Movies: Wrath of the Titans

Movies: Wrath of the Titans

INTRODUCTION

Titans! Wrath! with words like this, everyone would be expecting an epic show of epic proportions filled with fighting, killing and lots of blood and gore! And I can't blame you for expecting this especially considering what the trailers show us about this show. For the uninformed the link to the trailer is here

And this is the poster right here

Epic right? Will be expecting to see lotsa of monsters and humans killing them, and to see the titans come out and trash things out with the Greek gods!

However.. the sad thing about this is, unlike the poster below, we will not get a chance to see the hero of this show pierce that double headed beast with a spear. Nope.. the movie actually plays out differently from that. Another sad part is that.. this show probably belongs to the kind of show where the trailer has actually shown everything there is to show about the movie. I will continue to elaborate on this below...

Storyline


Storyline is not entirely new, its quite similar in concept to the previous greek based movie immortals. Only difference is in this movie, instead of seeing zeus and a few other greek Gods in action, this show is more based on Hades, Zeus, Posidon, their children and a little bit of Chronos. It follows the perspective of Perseus and has cameo from his horsie Pegasus and a few other minor characters.

There are some differences though as this story is based on the release of Chronos by effort from Hades and Ares with Perseus being the unwilling hero of the story. Hence we do get to see a bit more of interaction particularly from Hades and Zeus as compared to the other movies, with this movie portraying them as more humanlike.

Unfortunately, besides that, the whole story follows the same plot style with many movies ending with Perseus becoming powered up in the end and ending the usual way that I shall not describe to not spoil the show. However, as you can see from the standard plot lines you could pretty much guess the end.


Character


In this aspect, there is a bit more variety as the show talks not only about one main character but uses some other characters to mix things up a bit. Still, throughout the whole show there is really little the movie did to express the epicness of the main three gods Zeus, Hades and Posidon. As a result, none of them really seem all that powerful which is a waste given the potential of the plot material.

There is also not enough distinction between the other characters of the show and Perseus did have a few human companions that unfortunately were nothing more then monster fodder. The show does try to highlight some father son relationship during the course of the show but somehow overall it seems overly contrived i.e. forced.


Cinematography


There are attempts to highlight certain level of epicness in the battle scenes but these scenes ended pretty short and one sided in general. Hence you don't really feel as if you are in some epic battle with both sides giving it all they got. However, there are scenes that are pretty well done, such as the introduction to the underground labyrinth that was pretty unique. Sadly, besides that, there was nothing else that seemed that unique and well done in general.

This, there is too little off... really too little.. i meant the battle scenes.

In fact there was even a battle scene that was too confusing to see and hence enjoy at all. This would take place in a big dark area with the minotaur of the story but really, you hardly would notice him because you hardly see him, and he is hardly alive for more then 5 mins.

Music


Nothing special about the music. But didn't harm the show in any way either.


Spectacle


Ok now this is where the show ratings may split into two directions. The first is that those expecting to see an action packed LOTR lots of people fighting and dying show with large scale strategies and fightings will be sorely disappointed. At best perhaps we could say that this show does a passable job with 1 on 1 fights between the main hero and several monsters. Passable because of the fact that even these fights were really very very very short.

The other way to try to rate it would be saying that this show is meant to focus on the storyline aspect which is a more different from the usual as it talks about how the will to protect one's son will give the father strong determination. Sadly, this wasn't done in any exceptional manner and does nothing to satisfy the action hungry crowd. This problem is further accentuated by the fact that the trailers try to depict this show as an action packed show.

Thus on both accounts, this show struggles to set itself aside from the rest of the movie and doesn't leave much of an impression.

Overall


Storyline                : 3 (Too safe, nothing special, really pretty bland which is not what the source material should be)
Character              : 3 (There is slightly more emphasis on characters other then the main hero, but still it is nothing good enough to add value to the show)
Cinematography    : 3 (There are good scenes, and yet there are really bad scenes so its best to say its right there smack in the middle)
Music                     : 3 (Nothing good, nothing bad either)
Spectacle               : 2 (Its a strange situation to see a movie fail in this. However, it is true that what was expected was not given, and cause the show tried to do too many things at the same time, it ended up biting more then it could chew and did not have the opportunity to really entertain the audience who might have been action lovers or story line lovers.)


Overall : 2.8 (Yep, this show is barely above the passing mark. This is really disappointing given the potential of the source material. But sadly there really was nothing that struck out as awesome or epic. The closest this show actually had was the introduction of the labyrinth but everything else really made this show too bland. The only way to have a chance at enjoying this movie is 1. Forget everything you seen in the trailer [Because the trailer scenes are already the most interesting] 2. Is to have no expectation about the show at all. Only then you might have a chance at saying oh this is an interesting take on the movie.


So to my readers, did i predict wrongly? Comment if you seen the show :)

Movies: The Hunger Games

Movies: The Hunger Games

INTRODUCTION

Finally, the movie that is probably one of th/e most advertised has finally come to our shores ^_^. If you are still unaware, it seems that the advertisements and trailers for this show started surfacing like at least 6 months before it was really released. That is about similar to when the adverts for The avengers actually came out. Only difference is that the avengers is actually a lot more well known then this movie and its source material.

To those who do not know, it seems like this show is adapted off the books. It has 3 books in the series and apparently the producer is going to use the earnings of this show to decide whether they will continue on and produce movies for the other two related books.

This movie has nothing to do with hunger camps, hunger strikes, hunger appreciation day and so on and so forth.

Heres a picture to jolt your memory with regards to what i am talking about.

Still unclear or not enticed to see this show? Maybe this picture will work better

Remember now? You know the trailer you saw with this girl shooting an arrow at the bird who catches it in its talons? Yea.. its that one. Unfortunately the bird plays hardly any role in this movie, but fortunately we get to see lots of this girl over here

Here is obligatory eye candy for the female viewers!

So what is this story about anyway?

Basically, the world is a different world in this hunger games timeline. Its a world where there are 12 districts that are being punished for staging an uprising some time ago. So these 12 districts lost the war and now on every appointed occassion, they will have to offer up a male and a female in tribute to participate in this hunger games, whereby they are trained to survive and kill. After the training period, they will then be brought to a battle location and fight it out to the death and the last survivor will receive glory and honor for their district. Of course a side bonus is that they will get food to eat and i suppose much riches.

So as far as the movie goes, here is the review

Storyline


I suppose if I had to say which part of the show would be the main emphasis, it would be the storyline. This show manages to introduce this new world complete with its different culture and practices and the way it supports the strange practices seems to be very plausible. Of course one of the main thoughts on people's mind is that, is this like battle royale that the Japanese has produced quite some time ago. I would say that the main draw of this show is mistakened to be exactly like battle royale. But unfortunately, battle royale has a much stronger thrilling and action factor then this show. While this show has a bit more focus on the new world that this show takes place in.

So its best to come into hunger games expecting to be wowed not by the battle action, but rather more of the entire concept of the world and how it functions in that time because half the show is focused on the preparatory work and only the other half is the real battle itself.

Characters


It is unfortunate that in a show whereby there are 12 districts and 2 tributes from each district, totalling 24 contestants, there are only 3 more important tributes, and perhaps another 5 supporting tributes and the rest are totally generic. In fact even in the credits, you can see some tributes don't even have a name. They are not made to be distinct at all.

Again this is probably because the hunger games section is only half of the show, while the rest is spent on training. However, the people involved in the training though they are obviously different, their characters and backgrounds are not very much delved into in this 2 hrs+ show. There are fun characters like this fella below but nothing much is said about why they are like that...

For example, the show says that all 12 districts have something distinct about them and that the tributes will present themselves in way to highlight this. However, besides the fact that district 12 people are miners, district 2 people are warriors of sorts and district 11 people are kinda blackskinned, there is no other emphasis that could help the movie's cause.


Cinematography


There seems to be a pattern between big budget movies and cinematography. It seems like if your budget is very high, you will have quite a focus on cinematography and this show is no exception. The introduction to the new world is pretty grand and there are quite a few big moments. Also there are pretty good use of angles and perspectives to add some immersiveness into the show as well as some smart uses of flashback to add depth into the show.


Music


Music was pretty good, judging from the fact that I actually noticed some pretty good music during the show. So the very fact that the music is noticed would give some bonus points to this category.


Spectacle


With regards to spectacle, it really depends on what you believe this show is trying to present to you. If you are looking for a new world concept, then you would really say this show manages to deliver a good introduction into this new world. Action wise this show does put in some effort, but its probably safer to say that this wasn't this show's main focus. Character development however could have been made stronger and that would actually help present the world more better. But that being said, they already have a 2 hr + show and it would be quite hard to fit in anything else.

Overall


Storyline             : 4.5 (It is a very good storyline, to introduce a new world and the games in general)
Character           : 3.5 (Just too many characters to introduce but it does attempt)
Cinematography : 4.0 (Good use of perspectives to strengthen immersiveness)
Music                  : 4.0 (Not a musical, but the music is really there)
Spectacle            : 4.5 (If it was a show to introduce the world and its concepts. It will definately be lower if you thought this was supposed to be an action show. But its really not)


Overall : 4.1 (What i have to say is that for this show, know what to expect, which is a show that is introducing this new world. It is not a mindless fighting action flick and should not be expected to be such. The audience is expected to pay attention to the dialogue to actually be able to appreciate the subtleties of the show. Especially if this show goes on to the next part, then the hunger games world may be further introduced. Frankly if this show had maybe another 40 minutes, it could do a much better job trying to make everything more distinct and hence more charming to the audience, but a show of that length would be pretty tiring already.)


Tell me if you seen this show and please leave your comments. And May the Odds always be in your favor.

Travel: Bali, Kuta

Travel: Bali, Kuta

INTRODUCTION

Here I am again, this time with another review on another place that I been to. This should be probably one of the more expensive reviews to come out with so read on if you are wondering whether this should be a holiday destination that you can consider in the future.

The beautiful land of Bali is basically known as a place famous for its beaches and scenic views. To my recollection, this place is not well known for anything else besides this, at least to me, and as you read on, you will see why this is so. Also another thing of note of Bali was that there are many westerners who visit the country. So expect to see many westerners on the beaches and in the hotel lobbies.

Here are some stuff that i saw in my time there.

Beaches

With People

Follow the entire beach line all the way to the background. Yep its all Beaches

So as you can see from the last picture, actually the beach stretches from Kuta area all the way past the Legian area and so on and so forth. Along the way you will see different densities of tourists and locals alike. Legian area will be more full of tourists as well as many drinks, tattoo and surfing lesson shops or touters.

But besides that, there are many other places to see in-land and for city centric people like Singaporeans it could be a pretty eye opening sight. So I shall go into the tourist attraction section.

Tourist Attraction


Bali seems to be a place that has everything for everyone... Except shopping.... of course that is my opinion only because i did not visit the city center denpasar but was in the more scenic areas. Shall speak more about this in the later section.

Here are some of the advertised things to do in Bali. The first is the standard visiting whereby you go see many many scenic places. Some are pretty good to see and rare to see at a cheaper price anywhere else unless you go off to further countries.

Things to see include:

Sunsets! This one is at Uluwatu

Its right on top of the cliff

Like i said, scenic

Look at the nice cliffs! Seen similar in Aussie i believe

There are like a few waterfalls, this is the smaller one

This is the elephant cave temple, their pool

And here is the elephant cave itself.. its tiny inside really

There is a spice garden that you can stop along the way to get some coffee and stuff

Here is the volcano Kintamari or something. Its a good view from the restaurant we ate in

Another angle of the volcano. Note the black soil areas

This is the rice terrence that you could see also. But it was raining for us

This is the other temple that people would visit for the sunset. This one is Tanah Lot

On high tides the temple will be completely surrounded by water.

So the above is for the scenic lovers. There are also a few tours or stops that show you a bit of their culture and the things they might sell like gold and silver smiths, wood carvings and the like. But didn't visit cause it feels more like a tourist trap.

Next there are those who might like sea sports or sports and adventure in general. Unfortunately in my time there i didnt have the chance to go for white water rafting but according to the brochures there are also things like cycling adventure as well as volcano climbing if i am not mistaken. So here are some pictures for the sea sports that we actually did.

This is the glass bottomed boat.. but in reality you probably cannot see much

This guy is the flying fish thing, it will be dragged by a speed boat and start to fly in a while

This is some guy doing parachuting attached to boat in the back ground

This is the snorkeling activity

Turtle island, where they allow you to touch turtles and some other animals

This is how turtle island looks as we were leaving it

So for those who like water sports, probably by adding white water rafting you should be able to have a full day of water activities to play. There are other stuff like jet skiing but to be honest everything is charged USD basis and it is not what i would consider cheap.


Final group of people might wanna just relax in the city or resort area and they could do stuff like visit this water park called waterbom

Big shopping center that contains Centro

This is the water theme park

Walking along the sea side from the road area

Surf boards indicate a surfing teacher or rent surf board thingy

So you could just spend a day chilling possibly at your hotel pool and then pay these places a visit for your souvenir shopping. Just go to the beach and tan or something to that effect. Or just have a nice stroll along the beach side all the way upwards. But remember to bring along plenty of sunscreen.

Shopping


So like the picture above, there is only a single giant department stall or shopping center in the Kuta Legian area. There was supposed to be a more local version of a shopping center but no matter how i walked and followed the map i could not find it. There was one more smaller department stall that was still under construction when i was there. That being said, the single shopping center is diverse enough but the road side stall basically follows about 3 or 4 categories. Within these categories they would basically sell exactly the same stuff but just at varying prices.

The categories are, shirts/caps/clothings, tourist stuff... ok i guess i was wrong.. its basically just these two stuff. What i am saying is that there is not much of a diversity in the shops itself. They are all selling the same stuff and when you seen one you seen all there is to offer already.

The trend however, shows that the people will sell their goods at about 3 times the price. So be assured, for the road side stalls you could try to cut it down to about a third of the price and try to work from there. For example, a stall was trying to sell those bali key chains with a starting price of 120000 rupiahs for 2. In the end, we managed to cut the price down to 30000 rupiahs. Its the exact thing you can find in the department stall also. IN FACT, check the department stall for the base price. It is surprisingly low actually. I believe the key chains cost about 24000 rupiahs EACH in the department stall.

The shopping center has quite a good choice of places to eat also, in particular fast food stalls. So if you have no idea what to eat, you could go down to the shopping center and have a look see.


Food


To be honest, I would say that i was kind of disappointed with the food in general in Bali. There are many many many small food stalls that cater to their local people, unfortunately it seems that they all sell about the same food and many of their choices depend on the time of day.

If you try looking for the more touristy places to eat, you will have to pay touristy prices which I would say is about the same price of eating in Singapore. For example in the volcano view restaurant, it costs 100000 rupiah for each person without drinks. This would be about 15 SGD and the food was nothing impressive to be honest. It was served buffet style but there are only like 10 choices.

Juices however is pretty cheap, ranging from about 1 SGD to about 3 SGD depending on the place you eat. For accurate estimation, their canned drinks like coke can be bought at about 5000 rupiah, but they will try to sell it at 10000 rupiah.

We did eat at this place called Mades Warung which according to some research was a place we had to eat at in Bali. 

Babi Sate which is pork satay

Their Shish Kebab

Not impressive. We did ask our various drivers and they kept recommending the Babi Sate in Bali in general. It was above average at best. The shish Kebab meat was hard though. So to be honest, i wasnt really impressed by the food in Bali.


So if you are going to find food, try researching a bit more because I was really not impressed by the food given the prices also.

There was another place we ate at called Jimbaran whereby the tables are all beside the sea. The sea food there is not what i consider cheap so just go for the experience sake. We ate a crab dish that came with soup veg and rice at 250 000 rupiahs. 

So the tables are here on the beach

And there is some simple show that they have

There is one more place of note called Night Market which was totally not what i expected. I thought i would see a nice giant place full of shops and life but this was what i got.

Empty Tables, little activity

Yep, and the food was not really great.. in fact it was below average. The price luckily was also well below average. Not a place you need to go... thats all im saying.

People


The people in general are sadly, not all that great. Hotel staff are nice because they are in the service side but aside from that, it gives me the feeling that the people are all very money driven. From the starting high prices for all the stuff that they sell, when you try to bargain, they don't seem to actually enjoy the process and are pretty annoyed by you bargaining... EVEN THOUGH they are the ones charging the high prices first.

When booking tours, also beware when you bargain. Because they will seem to give you a good price, but they are actually reducing and removing certain things that were initially incorporated into the price. For example entry fees that actually added to quite a bit, the removal of a english speaking tour guide that some tours provide. They will just tell you their driver can double as a guide which is not true. So make sure you clear out everything with the person. To be clear, this was done at the tour desk in the hotel itself so its good to be cautious everywhere.

Also when we got on a taxi, the person wanted to charge us more for a 7000 rupiah trip. He wanted like 30000, then dropped to 15000 then 10000. He kinda threw a mini fit when we asked him to follow the meter which i felt was a bit unnecessary.

Also like when we got on the turtle island, they specifically said that we should give a donation to the island and volunteers. It was 5000 per head. Lets be clear, thats not a donation. Its an entrance fee. So there are many places like this who would charge for every small thing, BUT they wont tell you before hand. So be very very careful.

Even when you leave the place, at the airport you also need a 150000 rupiah exit fee! Yep this tax is not including and it is compulsory. So even in the airport this happens.


Accomodation/Getting around


Getting around is pretty simple, choose to use the taxi, walk or just hire a car for the day complete with driver. There seems to be an option that includes a tour guide so this is just information for you. A full 12 hours transport is about 55 USD subject to bargaining skills.

Don't use taxis if you are trying to go to scenic areas cause it is likely it will cost more then hiring transport for a few hours at a stretch. Also any eating places that the transport brings you will more then likely be a tourist trap. Apparently you could even bargain at these tourist area. I heard the restaurant at the volcano area should have costed 70000 rupiahs only.

Remember that any other places you visit like the temples all require an admission fee. According to my driver, the prices seems to be going up so be prepared.

There are many hotels at many different prices so i recommend using Booking.com and find out the reviews of the people before choosing the hotels. Note that stuff like 5 mins walk to Kuta beach does not necessary mean that your portion of the beach is the nice portion. The beach is a real big stretch and there are nice but also horrible portions of the beach with blackish waters. There are also other hotels that are really cheap, but to be honest, they look really dangerous and run down. So please do some due diligence to ensure that the hotel you choose is really reputable and safe.

My hotel looked something like this.

Nice cosy room, aircon wasnt cold enough

It was a stand alone villa room

And here is the pool... its 2.4 meters deep though. there is a shallow side but no other depth in between

Cost


Finally with regards to cost, for our entire trip inclusive of airfare and hotel, we spent a total of 600 SGD each for a 4 days 3 night stay. I admit that we were a bit more scrimpy in the way we ate and lived but we did have a vehicle for all 3 days.

Costs was divided amongst hotel, airfare, many entrance fees, food, a minor bit on souvenirs and tips also. Remember that this is still a place where tips are kinda expected. I tried to keep it to about 1 to 3 SGD overall. Expect to spend maybe 100 dollars more if you want to have the entire water sports package down to play more water activities.

Like i said, food is not cheap and neither is it that worth in general, but there exists nearly no cheaper alternatives that would actually taste good. Just expect to pay prices you pay back home and eat at those hotel restaurants and you probably will feel better.

Overall


Tourist Attraction     : 4.0 (Things for mostly everyone to do, good variety and choices)
Shopping                   : 3.0 (Very little things to shop for, nothing special, just a single giant mall)
Food                          : 3.0 (If you are willing to spend, the food should be ok as long as its hotel standards)
People                       : 2.5 (Too money driven, only saving grace is the hotel staff. The rest are just too greedy to the extent of being annoying. I'm sorry but this is but an opinion)
Accomodation           : 3.5 (Convenient to get around, just have to know how to spend. Hotels have a good range of choices for all budgets)
Cost                           : 3.0 (It is not cheap, probably the con of being such a touristy destination. Plus the people really really seem to want to earn just that bit more)


Overall            : 3.167 (Yep, i would say that this is an accurate score. If you are willing to just enjoy the touristy spots and scenes, then you would enjoy this trip. But dont expect too much from anything else. Still, for a relaxing getaway I would say this is a pretty good choice just for the change of environment and how easy it is to plan compared to going to other countries)


Well give your own comments or complaints here and i promise I will take a look at it.

Movies: The Grey

Movies: The Grey

There are movies that are extremely hyped up and deliver what the audience expects. There are also movies that are extremely hyped up and do not deliver. However, this movie is hyped as i think i did manage to see maybe 3 or 4 trailers before the show is released. But this show is strange, because the trailer seemed to be telling people that its an action thriller show, but yet its really more of just a thriller in the end. This probably explains why there are alot of people who found this show really bad, and yet there is another group that found this show really really good. So to set things clear, THIS IS NOT AN ACTION SHOW!

Heres a picture of the show poster

Yep... the poster is as informative as the title and also the trailer. Meaning it tells you nothing at all.

So for those who really wanna know, this is a show about man's survival instinct when placed in a situation against wolves. Yep wolves. NOT WEREWOLVES! I guess this might be the problem with the show. In a time where everything is fantasy like or funny, this show follows a more film art kind of tone which means there is a lot of exchange of emotion and interaction and hence it is not easy to understand. Well below is the review that could help you decide whether you should see this or save your time.

Storyline


The storyline is pretty simple, its about man's survival against the elements as well as the wolves that seem to be pretty offended by the presence of these intruders. Since it takes place in a far far away place, I can't say that it is not a very plausible scenario, but whether wolves really act like this is another curious issue. Either way, the story line is basically a survival type of story but there are no zombies, just lots of hungry and angry wolves.


Character


This is supposed to be the main attraction factor of those who see this show, and i guess to a certain level it does it pretty well. The characters are believable and generally pretty different to allow you to consider who you would be in that situation and confirm that you would really act in that manner. Also many characters in the show die.. and some die very quickly before anything unique could be established. They really could have gone further into describing some back story to give more immersiveness into the show.


Cinematography


You can feel there is some effort put into the cinematography of the show. Especially at certain points of the show to evoke feelings from the audience. So overall like a film art you will have good and meaningful perspectives that help to keep the show from being merely a story, but rather something you could immerse yourself into.

Music


I have some slight memory of there being some music aspects during the show, but nothing too striking or hindering.

Spectacle

As far as this show goes, it will score pretty badly if you are finding action. But if you are finding maybe drama or thrills then this is probably something that will strike out to you. However, remember that this is not fantasy kind of thrills and more of realistic dangers which means that to quite many people, it will be monotonous.

Overall


Storyline              : 3 (I personally have to say it doesn't really appeal to me hence the lower score and i would say that this storyline may only appeal to a niche audience)
Character            : 3.5 (There is good character building, but i do see many places it could be improved)
Cinematography  : 3.5 (It is pretty nice and does have its uses, but its not exemplary)
Music                   : 3 (The average score for an average score.... pun intended)
Spectacle             : 3 (Average score because what many people expected wasn't what they got. Of course you could say that oh its just a misinterpretation, but if it makes alot of people misinterpret then its not very nice either)


Overall              : 3.2 (This show satisfies its niche market which would be people who like to see how people react in realistic situations in the world. However, for people who wanna be entertained by action or nice fight scenes or stuff like that, this is probably not the show for you. Its those kind of film art show where if you check professional reviews, they will give very good ratings. But its only cause they can appreciate all these. For the layman however, it will require more work.)


Any comments please state below :) like if you want more pictures or something