Movies: X-Men Apocalypse

Movies: X-Men Apocalypse

Introduction:

This would be the third movie in the rebooted X-men series of movies. The third one that will star the younger Magneto, Xavier as well as all many other characters. For those who are confused, X-men actually has had about 6 main X-men movies before this one, a few origin stories (with few more going to come out in the near future).

The first few of these movies were the one that starred the old guard and the most famous of which was Hugh Jackman who would then, thru these movies, become synonymous with Wolverine. So in sort, things happened in the first few movies, and more or less everyone died. So in X-men First Class, the storyline creators used Hugh again, to go back into time and this resulted in the alteration of the future. Note that this alteration means that the story after X-men First Class can and is very different from what had happened in the previous timeline that Hugh Jackman acted in. Therefore, they are able to start the whole story from scratch and tell it whatever way they want again. Nothing is set in stone and they pretty much can do anything they want to the X-men cinematic franchise from this point onwards.

X-men movies focuses on team work and team dynamics. Other movies tend to focus on other aspects of their movie characters to make it have their individual draw to the audience. Movies like Hulk focuses on the internal conflict of the person, Thor focuses on the god aspect coming from another planet, Iron man focuses on technology while Captain america focuses on super soldier and leadership aspects of the superhero world and their interaction with shield. Avengers on the other hand actually appeals to the same audience as the X-men but the advantage they have is that all the characters back stories are already fleshed out by the preceding movies. Hence X-men movies have a tough internal competitor that they would be competing with. So how did this movie perform when we break it down?

All the mutants, good and bad... and the ambiguous

Storyline 3/5

The story is quite standard, in fact, you it is kind of like pokemon whereby both sides, good and bad, spend some time going around the world getting their characters/heroes/mutants in the picture with Xavier on one side and Apocalypse on the other side. Then they just meet in the middle and start to duke it out.

You get to see many of the mutants with their various powers but all in all it is those mutants that we have already known for a long long time and as a result, the whole storyline is quite standard. There is no particular big twist and everything just progress "as expected"

The problem with the storyline is that the end is already more or less too obvious to be really exciting. Add to this that the movie focus is on storytelling of an already expected storyline, and the lack of action scenes, this movie is unable to really stand out far enough amongst the other movies out there.

Character 3.5/5

Character wise, I would say that we would already know most of their powers and there is nothing that will totally amaze the audience. Because they need to spend so much time recruiting new characters, all characters probably get only about 5 or 10 minutes of time as a introduction, and u see them again for another 5 minutes in their battle with each other and that is it. There is very little character building on both sides and the audience will not really feel for any of the characters at all.

That is really the problem with having too many characters in the movie, needing to introduce all of them, and yet trying to invest in the storyline all at one go. At the very least however, all the mutants are distinct and their powers are pretty varied so it is still exciting to the audience when you see them use their abilities. If only there were more screen time allocated to them using their power to the fullest potential though.

Cinematography 3/5

Sadly, this part got the movie down. For a movie that already has missed out a lot of opportunity for action portions, the further lack of using good action shots to entertain during the action portions itself made this movie quite ordinary. The only slightly good scene was the quicksilver scene but when it got to the main fight, it lost the steam a bit too quickly. Lots of lost opportunities there.

Music 3/5

Music was ordinary, I was not able to pick out the music being particularly beneficial to what was happening during the movie itself but at least it didn't harm the experience either.

Spectacle 3/5

Unfortunately, this was the main killer of the movie itself. Being a marvel film, everyone would already have a set expectation (which probably is gonna be quite high). On the storyline sense, unfortunately, this movie has the difficult job of setting the new stage right for the new X-men timeline but it was entirely, ordinary, collect your mutant style with too little twists. From the action aspect it also suffered greatly. Basically, every mutant is a 1 or 2 trick pony with just about 3 - 5 mins of them using their power in the entire movie. The ordinary cinematography also did the movie no favors and in the end, its the very much expected everyone just dump their power on the main bad guy and see him explode kind of movie. If it did not have any competition in the movie market, this may have been good enough, but in a world with avengers and DC comics coming up with their own movies, this movie did not really enthrall the viewer enough.

Overall

Storyline: 3 (Pretty obvious and uneventful storyline with too little twists to keep things interesting)

Character: 3.5 (Sure there are many mutants, and all their powers are distinct, but much opportunity was lost as they did not have the time to showcase their powers)

Cinematography: 3 (Lack of good shots for action scenes except that very one quicksilver scene)

Music: 3 (Ordinary music, did not harm but mostly did not support the movie either)

Spectacle: 3 (Unfortunately, they tried to focus on storyline which was overall too weak and obvious. Action wise, they did not manage to captialize. It wasn't bad, but neither was it any much more then average)

Overall: 3.1 (Well the score is quite telling of whether you should or should not see the movie. Basically, its a average movie, that you won't really call a total waste of your time, but there is no need to really make the time to see the movie if you don't have the spare time. Nothing much really happened this movie (you could just start the next movie with no impact from this movie) and the action did not really pull the audience in. The fact that people who already seen the other x-men movies would not really be impressed by this alternate retelling of the movie and the way the mutant powers are utilized as everything happens in a very ordinary, expected manner. You can go ahead and see it if you have the time, but if not, wait for the next one and DVD it if you needed to before the next movie.)

Well? What did you think of this movie? Did it hold a candle to the avengers series? Let me know in the comments!

Movies: Batman v Superman

Movies: Batman v Superman

We have seen batman, we have seen superman, but never had we seen these two on the big screen at the same time. and what's more, this time they dont seem to be friends!

In this first DC reply to Marvel's avengers series, we finally get to see more then one major superhero in a single movie and similar to the next big marvel movie coming out very soon, these two guys are gonna have a moment sizing and beating each other up!

Note that unlike the more recent marvel movies, actors for superman and batman tend to very QUITE wildly.  You can actually see all the other batman movies and still get a different vibe from them because they are all really quite different. This is the same case for superman and I personnally never actually seen this superman (I believe he did act in another previous superman movie)

Nonetheless, this movie is dark, both in terms of lighting and in the storyline itself. DC movies seem to be trying to protray itself in a entirely different light from the Marvel movies and there is little comedy to be found here. So how did this movie perform when you break it down? Lets take a deeper look.

Which side are you on?

Storyline 4/5

The storyline is strong and it makes quite a fair bit of sense on how these two end up fighting in the first place. There are some slow moments during the movie as they try to expand on the universe but the moments are not too excessive before it gets back into something interesting.

Like i said previously, this movie is entirely dark and there is also quite a bit of thinking required. Especially for people who have not read the comics, you will either end up quite confused throughout the movie because they will throw a lot of confusing DC universe plot items at you or end up realising how big the DC universe is and that may pique your interest and make you go learn more about the universe from the net. That means that if you want to enjoy the storyline, you are gonna need to read up a bit to prepare yourself OR be prepared to keep a very open mind to try to interpret what is happening on screen the moment you see it.

That being said, if you just want to follow along the line of the main story and are not too concerned about what those flashbacks and videos mean, then the storyline is still sufficient to entertain you and will keep you interested in what is happening as there are enough immediate plots that are happening during the movie and it can keep things engaging enough. In fact, in this movie there are at least 3 intertwined main storylines so it is difficult to get bored of what is happening.

Character 3.5/5

You have 2 very important characters and 1 quite important character to develop in a movie lasting 151 minutes. Honestly, the character development for why these two guys are fighting is done reasonably well, but this movie only touches very slightly on the backgrounds of these two guys. That means that if you do not even see any of their movies before this, you will not be able to appreciate why batman or superman does things in this manner or that and may find it hard to believe why these characters end up reacting to the happenings in the storyline in a certain way.

There are not really any other major good guys with much relevance in this movie and the villain is quite well portrayed to be cranky. Overall the characters fit their roles but there is just a bit of difficulty of being fully immersed when you do not know the background of the two main characters

Cinematography 4/5

Cinematography is fantastic for this movie. The shots convey the vast size of the characters and buildings and there are a lot of good perspective shots that add immersion to the movie. The fights are done very impactfully and you can practically feel the pain when your chosen hero gets hit.

The story is told in a very artistic manner and the movie makes uses of flashbacks and videos to expand on the universe which keeps the movie interesting, There is just one small problem with it being too dark (literally) due to the lighting, rain and night conditions.

Music 4.5/5

Music in this game is very very spectacular. The score greatly adds to the feel of the movie and the action scenes are made that much more exciting.

Spectacle 4.5/5

This movie does very well in the action and storyline category and it has one of the best fighting scenes for a super hero movie (its not kungfu though). With the main 3 storylines telling you what happens with respect to Superman, batman and the only woman DC heroine for now, you will not get bored of what is happening and everything flows relatively well. Action is really quite fantastic once you get past the dark tone of the movie. All 3 heroes use their most well known specialities and weapons during the movie which is quite entertaining as you see the difference in their fight style. Pitting the two biggest heroes in the DC universe against each other adds a lot of entertainment value to this and is a very much welcome from the do-only-good previous batman/super man movies.

Overall
Storyline: 4 (There is 3 frontline storyline as well as the overarching DC universe storyline protrayed here. Good flow, but at times slightly confusing without background)
Character: 3.5 (Movie seems to expect the audience to have fair amount of background knowledge already, does have further character development in this movie but harder to immerse if background not already known)
Cinematography: 4 (This is probably the main thrust and attraction factor of the movie. A lot of effort is put into the fight scenes and it is done well and impactfully... if only it wasn't so dark till you cannot see maybe about 5-10% of what happened if you did not focus enough)
Music: 4.5 (Very strong musical score. Adds tremendously to the movie immersion)
Spectacle: 4.5 (Storyline is good, action scenes are great except just for slight gripes here and there. But the very fact that you fit 2 most well known movies together, and put them together to beat each other out, its definitely a draw for the fans, and for the non-fans, the action scenes even for a long movie will be strong enough to keep you entertained.)

Overall: 4.1 (Fair enough score, its definitely not a PERFECT movie, but the things that it sets out to do, it does well above average. Very smart way to draw in the crowds and at least get them the very first step into the DC movie, showing them the difference between them and Marvel. For more enjoyment in the movie however, you may want to just do a quick search about the DC universe so that some of the flash backs and scenes in the movie makes more sense. Don't wiki the movie itself though or you may get spoilt. Even after the movie, you can also go read up more and it will show you how big the DC universe is and hopefully attract you back for the next few DC movies on the pipeline)

So how did you find the movie? Did you manage to guess who was to win the fight? Do you agree with the ratings? Do let me know and see ya at the next movie (most likely going to be another movie where superheroes are pitted against superheroes)

Movies: Zootopia

Movies: Zootopia

Introduction

What do you get when you combine Zoo with utopia? What would a world where there are no humans and we are all some type of animal be like? Would be good to be a nice fearsome lion right? Or maybe a cool tiger? Or even a cute panda? But what if you got the short end of the stick? This movie tells you exactly how it would be like to be on the short end of the stick i.e. a bunny living in a world where everything else is bigger. stronger and more complex! Fortunately, there are still tinier animals like hamsters but where would they live in this Zootopia? The movie follows the dreams of this tiny bunny as she aims to be in a job that does not seem to be suited for her which is a police bunny. So how well did this movie frame this zootopian world? Read on to find out

SOOO MANY ANIMALS!~! which would u be?

Storyline 4.5/5

Storyline is the main focus of this movie and it does a rather charming job. From the beginning you are introduced to the bunny with her lofty ideals and how it does not match with the real world. Especially if you are able to identify with her on a personnel level (cause it does mirror what happens everyday i.e. discrimination) you will be able to enjoy the movie even more.

The storyline is really direct in that the bunny is just trying to prove herself, but the journey there is fraught with a good amount of twists and turns carefully put together and remains still very much believable. This results in a movie that does not bore you as new facts and information are presented. This is something that you don't always see in a disney movie. The movie remains funny and never too stressful throughout which is good for the kids (there are kids movie where the younger kids ended up crying... thats not what you usually want)

The movie also does  a fantastic job introducing you to the zootopian world and fleshes it out in a way that will entertain and thrill its viewers. It manages to incorporate quite a good mix of animals in the movie and provides a snippet on how they will live their lives throughout the movie. 

Character 4/5

The interaction between the cast of the movie is extremely well done and it challenges a few stereotypes as well as enforces and links some other stereotypes in a very creative and fun way. You will have fat cheetahs, predators being preyed on and on the other hand you will also have the slowest of creatures working in the DMV which is what real life is like!

Only small qualm is that this movie is fully focused on its two main characters and the rest are all really just supporting roles. They could very much be expanded upon for more entertainment value but nonetheless you will definitely be able to empathize with what the main characters go thru.

Cinematography 4/5

There are good shots throughout the movie to introduce you to the daily happenings in zootopia and the flow of the movie is quite consistent never ending up feeling draggy. Good amounts of flashback scenes to tell the story more convincingly. Of course this movie is not a action movie so there is little emphasis there but for a animated family movie, it does do a good enough job for all members of the family to enjoy

Music 4/5

As expected from disney movies, it has good music. However it is different from the fairytale type of movie and you will not hear the main characters do any singing. Its not THAT type of disney movie. There is a good piece from Gazelle (Shakira) that brightens up the entire mood of the movie! Thats the impact that good music in good places have on the experience.

Spectacle 4/5

For a movie that focuses on the family experience and the storyline, this movie does really really well! It has a lot of cute animals and bright colors that appeal very strongly to the younger crowds and the storyline is not excessively simple till it is boring to the adults. In fact it is stronger then some of the more serious movies out there. Overall, it does well in this aspect and given it is introducing a new world (which makes it even easier to retain interest of the audience) it really sets the mind thinking how different a world would be if it humans were replaced with animals inclusive of the vast differences between all of them. Did not get higher points then this because it did not really do anything that would put it in a class of its own although all its main aims to entertain the family are very much well met.

Overall

Storyline: 4.5 (very interest storyline complete with a good amount of twists and turns to entertain even the adults)

Character: 4 (quite a lot of colorful characters in this movie, however, most of the emphasis is on the main characters only and leaves just that little room for improvement)

Cinematography: 4 (not an action film so nothing too earthshattering, however, it does have good epic shots that help show you what zootopia is like and it adds to the experience)

Music: 4 (As per disney movie fashion, good music, but its not a full on music experience just yet...)

Spectacle: 4 (Meets the requirements of appealing to all members of the family unit due to its strong storyline as well as entertaining and colorful characters)

Overall: 4.1 (A very safe and enjoyable movie experience for the entire family unit. Adults seeing it will not be bored either due to its good storyline while the kids can enjoy the fun animals and their interactions. It's no action show however and for pure adults or couples, as long as you are looking for a good, light hearted storyline it will be entertaining to you. As it is introducing a alternate world, it is even more easy to get into as you get to see how this new world functions. Even draws some parallels to the real world for those who like to look deeper into things. Overall, fun for the whole family and to the occasional couple who wants to find something to pass time with.)

Movies: The 5th Wave

Movies: The 5th Wave

Introduction

Don't fret don't fret, if you think you missed the 1st to 4th wave! This movie starts clearly at the 5th wave! In fact, the movie will go on and tell you all about the first, second, third and fourth wave and what is the state the world is currently.

In a market where there are tons of alien movies, end of world movies and zombie movies, is this movie able to stand out from the rest? Well, one plus point is that this movie combines the alien and end of world segment but of course no zombies in this movie.... yet.

Here's the poster!

Its pretty accurate that this movie focuses on these two

So how did this movie perform if we break it up? Let's take a look and see

Storyline 4/5

This movie has a lot of things going for them. It is a new fresh story and a fresh world, which means it is easier to keep the audience intrigued as it fleshes out the current world. It also can spend a bit of time telling about how did the world end up the way it did which will entertain fans of end of the world type of movies.

It also did a good job in having two different main story lines which means that the minds of the audience are kept absorbed by two things that are happening together to tell the entire story. The story flow overall is pretty good and entertaining as it introduces people and the world and there are not too many slow moments that will cause the audience to be bored.

That being said, the storyline also has a bit of a twist towards the end of the movie that makes it that more entertaining with that little bit of surprise and keeps everything quite exciting till the end.

Character 3.5/5

Character development is pretty alright as many of the people are new and need a bit of time to be introduced for the audience to feel any kind of attachment. Time is not on the side of this movie however due to the amount of storyline it has to go through and although you would see the story of about 4 or 5 characters fleshed out pretty well, the rest would be just another person in the group kind of person.

Cinematography 4/5

Cinematography is pretty good in this movie with epic shots of disasters and when it gets to the action part, you would see that quite  a bit of effort is put into the action scenes. The movie however is a storyline focused movie and not so much an action type of movie so there is still a lot of improvement potential.

Nonetheless, it uses the best cinematography form most of the time but does not capitalize and use it more to further immerse the audience.

Music 3/5

Did not really notice the music in this movie as nothing really stood out and no music was used distinctly to push some kind of emotion or feeling to the audience. At least nothing that I noted.

Spectacle 4/5

There are a lot of end of world movies. There are also alot of alien movies. This movie uses aliens to showcase their version of the end of the world which makes the story that bit more distinct and quite entertaining to the fresh audience. It does not excel in action or cinematography and although it does put in effort in the storyline it does not stand uniquely at the top amongst the other movies out there. But put all together, this movie does provide something slightly more different and it translate to a bit of a more enjoyable experience.

First movies of trilogy tend to always do well as it has a great unique source material but as we go into the second and third movie (that may or may not happen), we will see if this movie is able to keep up the interest and the immersion.


Overall

Storyline: 4 (Fresh story line, two interlinked focal point that keeps things interesting)
Character: 3.5 (Main characters have a fair bit of screen time and development but the rest are all pretty forgettable)
Cinematography: 4 (Good choices of shots to bring about epicness and action but really could have more opportunity)
Music: 3 (Music is ordinary, a bit too ordinary and did not feel its particular impact)
Spectacle: 4 (Unique joining of two main type of stories but it did not really pull far out from the offerings you would have seen before)

Overall: 3.7 (Overall, its a good attempt to draw in two types of movies which is the end of world and alien typed movies, and it is done with good shots and a good storytelling method. However the main aim of the movie which is to story tell, uses story line that is not TOO far off what has been shown on the big screen. Did have that bit of a twist in the storyline to keep things fun and entertaining and indeed it is good while it lasted. With a long movie time this is worth the time if you do have time to spare. Not a must see at this point of time and you could wait for the next movie to come out first if there ever will be, but you won't really regret seeing this movie too)

Movies: Star Wars The Force Awakens

Movies: Star Wars The Force Awakens

After so many years of a lull in the Star Wars franchise, it's finally back again and this time it continues from after the 3rd movie.. Wait it's actually after the 6th movie.. Errr yea... It's really quite hard to explain...

Lots of glowy lights

Basically, just to get everyone in the same understanding,  according to the time line, this would be the latest movie which actually follows after Star Wars Return of the Jedi. In fact it is about 30 years after the happenings in Star Wars Return Of the Jedi. (and just past 30 years in real life)

Eh this poster doesn't look that ancient

This allows for quite a bit of fun in the characters you will see in the movie, but will not spoil it any more then that although fans will probably already know what is going to happen in the movie

Somehow or other, every other company seems to be getting onto the Star Wars bandwagon like clothing chain uniqlo, crocs and of course many toy manufacturers. 

Even Ez-link is getting on the band wagon. Costs me 60 bucks...

Anyway back to the review proper!

Storyline 3/5

Probably not what you would wanna hear, but I have to say it.. This whole movie storyline seems to be very very very similar to a previous starwars movie storyline. Unfortunately this works badly for those who are fans of the movie in the first place as it will seem like a rehashed movie and everything becomes slightly too predictable.

But even if we look at the storyline independently, there is little twists and things to keep things intriguing during the movie itself. What is happening in the movie is introduced quite early in the beginning and basically it's just development of that one storyline. There is nothing else to attract the audience.

It's a standard meet a character who is confused what is happening.. Then searches for some understanding, then suddenly realised what is happening in the Galaxy then joins in and goes against the bad guys. Familiar? Yeah a lot of movies are using the same but this has no huge twists and what you see is what you get.

Character 3.5/5

Purely based on the facts that you will see a lot of familiar faces in this movie, you will see a fair bit of character development on both the old as well as the new characters and this may lend a bit of wow or nostalgia factor to the fans of the movie.

Obviously a new robot now takes the main stage as the cute factor in the movie that ties the initial storyline together but overall,  the characters are what you would be expecting, good being good although the bad guy has a bit of more potential to develop then the good. Don't expect anything like the first few starwars (according to time-line aka the anakin part of the story before Darth Vader)

Cinematography 3.5/5

Aye! Was there many lazers pewpewing all over the place? Was there sufficient lightsaber duels and good choreographed fights..

Unfortunately for this movie, sure there are space battles, sure there are fights, but in general there was a bit more attempt to emphasize on driving the story and hence it suffered in the action cinematography section which overall would be detrimental to those looking for epic space fights etc.

There are nice shots of planets, new planets etc but honestly, nothing really stood out as particularly cool and exciting even though this movie had plenty of potential to do so...

Here's some lightsabers, just cause.

Music 4.5/5

Music is classic Star Wars and if you followed the previous movies you know that it always has a very powerful and fitting score to fit the happenings in the movie.

Thanks to the numerous movies before this, it has reach a state whereby when you hear the music you kind of know what is going to happen soon. Even to those new to the franchise the music will add much immersion value to them.

Spectacle 3/5

The overall problem that this movie faces is different for the fans, and also for new comers. For new comers, the introduction of old faces with no background, yet expecting the audience to appreciate their presence makes it hard for the new comers to be properly drawn in. For the fans, thanks to the more action packed episode 1 to 3 (Anakin storyline) this movie would pale badly to those movies where you see tons of jedis and more Saber battles. Thanks to episode 4 to 6 (Luke storyline)  the movie's storyline will unfortunately be too familiar to be exciting.

Don't get me wrong, there are still good action scenes and the storyline in general still moves things along, but it seems more like a set up for the next few movies to bring in new characters but amongst the other movies out there that falls into the same genre this movie falls just that bit too short.

Overall

Storyline : 3 (Ordinary story, too ordinary to stand out amongst the other movie, also feels like a strange rehash)
Character : 3.5 (Expects audience to have a bit of background knowledge of the characters thus not giving enough time and opportunity to be more involved with the characters)
Cinematography : 3.5 (It's fine... it's not great though... just fine)
Music : 4.5 (Good music, one of the most fitting score that adds to the experience)
Spectacle : 3 (Did not stand out in the action section, neither did it stand out enough for storyline. It is kind of more like, just another star war movie in the end)

Overall : 3.5 (This movie had a lot going for it, a good back story, well established fan base, plenty of budget to advertise and even a cartoon. It's hyped up, and everyone should have heard about it. Unfortunately, with so much expectation, it fails to deliver even for the fans or rather, especially for the fans as it did not do anything new. Overall, you could see this movie if you wanted, and you probably would, but if you didn't see it, go ahead and wait for the next one before watching and you won't really miss out anything because this movie did not really add too much. That being said, being a 2 hour movie, if you do have time to kill, you probably won't regret seeing this movie too as it is still a very much palatable action movie in space with light sabers. Probably go ahead and lower your expectation for this movie instead and if you can, see the first 6 movies so that you got some back story to appreciate the characters more. Just remember, more lightsabers = more fun, since this movie has less light sabers, it will be okey, but just not THAT fun.)

Movies: Goosebumps

Movies: Goosebumps

Introduction

Goosebumps books, if that name doesn't ring a bell to you then you are probably from an earlier generation compared to me which is the 1980s generation. It is actually a bunch of stories written by R.L Stine starting in the 1992s onwards. There are actually nearly 150 books written from this author up to date and this is some impressive stuff. However, I will put it out there clearly that i have not read even ONE of his books, although i do vaguely remember seeing some of his books before on the shelves. Yep.. sorry that i prefer to see everything in film and seldom like to read.... that goes the same for stories like LOTR, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner etc. In fact some of this movies I actually have the book but currently I have not even managed to go past the first book of Maze runner even though I seen the movie already.

Here are some of the cover of the books to share. Apparently some are already out of print but who knows what the movie can do for this book series

But anyway, back to this movie, and the first thing of interest in this movie is....... JACK BLACK?!?!?! Yep, with Jack Black, this will.. i mean can't be a serious movie. And you will see this very clearly in the movie. Jack Black cannot, and i repeat again, CANNOT be a fierce guy. His face just can't pass it off anymore. But lets go down to the movie content now!

Make no mistake, Jack Black is in this movie that is suppose to give you goosebumps

Storyline 3.5/5

Rest assured that this is a completely new storyline and not something that was written in a book (or perhaps there is a title for this special episode of goosebumps) and in this movie, you will see many many goosebumps characters which should thrill the fans of the books itself. The storyline itself does not take itself TOO seriously (again because Jack Black is here) and you will feel that this is a pretty light hearted movie in general.

Thanks to there being many goosebump characters, as a whole you will still have things to look forward to during the entire movie and it stays fresh enough, and there is a twist at some part of the movie to at least make a that little bit more entertaining then just a generic movie.

Hence a 3.5 score is what this movie deserves, nothing higher as it still follows a general movie plot, but at least it did make a tiny little twist and was somewhat entertaining while it lasted.

Character 3.5/5

There are a a lot of characters, humans and especially monsters alike. Unfortunately, much of the monster's background are not utilized to the fullest and basically in the end, all the monsters are about identical and just different forms of the bad guy.

The other human characters are fun and distinct in their own way and there is some effort of character development during the movie. But honestly, nothing totally strikes me as something on top of its class and it is just leaning completely on the huge selection of goosebump monsters to intrigue the crowd which is a waste when there is so little emphasis or effort to distinct or introduce them better.

Cinematography 3/5

Cinematography is average, nothing too epic or exciting and just some nice sunrise shots but that is about it. Not an action show of course but the lack of any good cinematography does make the movie a bit more boring.

Music 3/5

Identical to Cinematography, the music is there, but nothing of particularly unique impact to the audience experience but it does not distract from the experience either.

Spectacle 3/5

Well, I will try to look from the angle of it being a comedic movie with a unique storyline. For the comedy aspect it is passable and nothing that would cause you to laugh till your hips hurt. For the storyline, if you like goosebumps then you may OR may not have an advantage because you will be happy to see your goosebump characters, but there is really nothing that the movie does to make the presence of the monsters more felt by the audience. If you do not even read this movie, then basically you will just understand all the various monsters to just be one or the other form of a monster and it stops there. Being unable to stand out and stand tall from the other movies does cause the audience to just feel that this is one other generic movie. 

Overall

Story: 3.5 (An ok story with a twist mid way to keep things interesting, but its nothing top class)

Character: 3.5 (Many characters and monsters, characters are fairly fun, monsters are quite many, but really, a lot of wasted potential and this movie could have done much better)

Cinematography: 3 (Ordinary movie shots, nothing too amazing)

Music: 3 (Ordinary music score, nothing too amazing, but didn't detract from the experience)

Spectacle: 3 (Was not able to stand out in terms of comedic value, neither was it able to stand out in storyline DESPITE having so many monsters to work with. Its really unfortunate)

Overall: 3.2 (As can be seen from the score and it blends in well with my overall feel of the movie, its an okay movie if you are looking for something to do and to spend time of. If you have read the books and just want to see your favorite monsters in the flesh, this is where you finally have a chance. But that being said, if you are not a fan, treat this as your usual thriller and don't over expect and you should be able to somewhat enjoy the movie itself, but don't fret if you miss this movie as you did not miss anything too much in reality.)

Let me know if you enjoyed this movie yourself or whether reading the books had a positive effect to your enjoyment of the movie!

Food: Wang Dae Bak

Food: Wang Dae Bak

There are many different type of BBQ that you would experience in your time. There is the traditional BBQ where you go to the beaches and have a nice charcoal fire and cook stuff like chicken, satay, hotdogs etc. Then there is the Thai BBQ which is also known as Mookata. Then you have the Korean BBQ. Korean BBQ is distinguished from the other type of BBQ by the style. For Korean BBQ, you will see much less sauces unlike the Chinese steamboats like in Haidilao and other steamboats in Chinatown. Korean BBQ is also distinguished by the larger meat sizes and the presence of scissors. Usually for Korean BBQ you will be able to see large meat slabs like steak, and then they will give you scissors to cut it down to size.

Wang Dae Bak is one of those Korean BBQ but Ala carte style situated in Chinatown area. There are two stores under the same name pretty close to each other but for the purpose of this review we will be talking about the one along Cross Street. The other store is along Amoy Road.

So how did the food go, read on and find out.

Charcoal BBQ. NO GAS!

The two possible location, mine was Cross st.

The menu cover. Looks premium.

Food 4.5/5

We ordered two different types of meat, rice wine, a mushroom set and also a seafood pancake for a 2 person meal.

For all patrons, similar to other Korean establishment, Korean side dishes are also provided at no additional charge and are refillable. They also give some sort of water that is not your normal tap water although for all intents and purposes it did just take like water.

The side dishes choice

The side dishes tasted pretty good, in fact one of nicest bunch of side dishes I have ever eaten from a korean restaurant. It tasted authentic and didn't taste like something just out of a pre packaged container. Nonetheless the 3 side dishes at the back, I had no clue what they were and didn't touch them at all. But since none were chargable, it's all good.

The next interesting thing about the food portion of this is that for all the hot plates, there are two sections that they will fill and refill with eggs. So depending on how cooked you like it, you can wait longer or eat them liquid. Of course just as the problem with hot plates, it will happily get stuck to the side but since its refillable its probably no issue.

Liquid egg cooking in the hot plate. Yum yum

The taste of the egg wasn't the usual also in a good sense. It tasted pretty nice as if they had added something else to it. It's a good additional touch and I didn't see this in any other korean BBQ shop.

 Before we get into the main dish proper, this was one of the other side dish that we ordered, the seafood pancake.

Note: Its more like chinese carrot cake then pan cake.

Do note, this pan cake is huge and should not be eaten by just 2 persons. Or else you will have no other room in your belly for the other dishes. That and eating too much of the same pancake also gets kinda stale in terms of the taste. This pancake size is probably meant for 4 or more people. The sauce however, was one of the nicer sauces I have eaten.

Now lets get into the main dishes. there was a good selection, from beef, pork to chicken choices with various grades and prices. The portions did seem to varies also. I honestly was surprised that the portion was so small. Take a look at the meat on the wooden holder on the top right. Yep that is one portion. The meat right one the hot pan, yep also one portion. But we will scrutinize this further later.

Ah the traditional korean BBQ meat

How it looks when it is cooked, look at the egg

Taste wise however, this would probably be one of the better tasting meat I have tasted. My general impression of korean BBQ is that the meat slabs are generally tasteless or at least are not marinated, and if I am not mistaken, these meat were not or did not seem marinated too. However, the overall taste of the meat was pleasing and I did enjoy the taste.

Rice wine and serving cup

 Let me just state clearly, I am not a wine or alcohol drinker. I think I do not have taste buds for alcohol and so far, all the alcohol that I have drunk has never tasted pleasing to me in the end. Nonetheless, at least the presentation is cute for this rice wine and all in all, I did not factor this into the rating to be fair.

 Overall, the food has a premium taste to it and it is generally better then that you get outside. Also the no fuss choices and variety that it has to cater for tastes and budget. You will probably go home thinking that this meat is indeed a step above the usual.

Atmosphere 3.5/5

Charcoal. They mean it.

Like what was said in their name card, they proudly proclaim that their food is cooked by charcoal and I am compelled to believe that cooking with charcoal does add some difference to its taste. This adds to the overall enjoyment of the food. Wait! what are you asking? Does the charcoal make you smell?

Go away charcoal smell!

Thankfully, there is this nifty device that i am sure you seen before in other restaurants to help you in this aspect. Actually, in the end, I still did smell of charcoal although I would have to say that the suction device probably did help me slightly. So if you plan to come here to eat, make sure you are prepared to go back directly after, or you concoct some way to remove the smell after.

Water???

Here was the water that  I was talking about early. Free flow, but its not transparent. With the korean words in front it would seem that this might not jsut be like water, although it tastes more or less the same thing. Nonetheless, adds to the korean experience.

Service wise, the personnel here are fine, and will respond IF you managed to get their attention. However it seems like their store might have been slightly understaffed on that day and the staff were focused on getting tasks done, so there would be some bit of effort that you will need to put in to get them. But once you get them, they will attend promptly and solve your problems

Another additional perk was towards the end of our meal, the staff (might have been boss) placed a bowl of veggie / cold dish veggie on our table. I had no clue what it was but it was not charged and I guess was just a token of appreciation from the kitchen. (or we were just guinea pigs testing out new food) Unfortunately, we were too full, (I repeat again do not buy the pancake if you are just two people) and we didn't have the stomach to try it.

Personal space is pretty good and you won't feel like you are too near other people's table during your meal. They even allow you to keep your bags in the chair you sit on! So the only way your things get stolen is OVER MY FAT BODY! Or if you just forget to take it back cause its out of sight and out of mind.

Price 3/5

This part is basically the deal breaker. This place is not a place I would consider cheap. For two pax we ate about SGD $110 for 2 types of meat, 1 mushroom set, 1 seafood pancake and 1 rice wine. If we were to factor out the rice wine which is about 20 dollars it would be 90 for 2 people which is 45 per pax. My only issue is that the meat amount is really low as you saw in the food section. For some reasons, the other meat choices that we saw were served, seemed to have a larger portion then ours but at the end, we didn't feel like we ate enough of the meat and for some reason felt like we had to ration our way through.

We did not order more meat because the seafood pancake (again) was a killer and it made us well stuffed. So you know what to do with the pancake... Nonetheless, it was good that the side dishes, water and egg were not charged which makes the place seem less greedy overall.

Accessibility 3/5

With it's location near a MRT station near the central of the country, it is safe to say that this place is quite accessible. There are a few parking lots nearby and you can always call to book places (in fact i would recommend u do that). Do note that when we ended our meal around 7, there was already a crowd building. The good point about ala carte BBQ is that people will not stay as long, but still, being a small place and even two people groups will take out their common table that can sit up to 4, it might take you awhile to get to your seat if you come too late. The waiting area is also outside and you can see other people eating so it will be hot and slightly torturous. Do plan properly and maybe just save yourself the hassle and book.

Do note that the place is not entirely easy to find and even from the MRT you will need to walk a little more then 5 minutes to get there. Chinatown MRT is generally getting a bit more messy and harder to navigate in the recent years

Overall

Food: 4.5 (Food definitely tastes premium, pricey and nice)

Atmosphere: 3.5 (Good attempt with some hiccups or places to improve, but it will not frustrate you so it is somewhat acceptable)

Price: 3 (Premium taste comes with premium price, and somewhat small portion at least to me)

Accessibility: 3 (Near the MRT, there are parking lots but there will be the queue. At least you can reserve it. Try to go only after you did reservations)

Overall: 3.5 (It's a good place to try once in your life to have an idea of how authentic korean BBQ should taste like although the price you pay is somewhat more steep. All in all a place you should go at least once in your life to try, and if you think that the price and taste is there, you can come more often. In my opinion however, this will be a place more reserved for those rare special occasions and not a place you will select to go on a whim or a craving.)

Thanks again for reading my post. Hope you guys find this place useful. If you have other recommendations please comment and I may take a look at them when I am thinking of places to go!