TRAVEL TO MOVIES: AGAINST THE ICE

Director: Peter Flinth

Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , Joe Cole , Heida Reed , Charles Dance , Diarmaid Murtagh , Gísli Örn Garðarsson , Nick Jameson , Þorsteinn Bachmann , Frankie Wilson , Árni Lárusson

Plot: Against the Ice is a true story of friendship, love, survival, and the power of the human spirit as two men (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole) trek unknown parts of Greenland on a harrowing expedition that changed history.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_the_ice

My Movie Review: The movie is cold yet warm delivers all the delirious period drama thrills and survival horror angst that you could want from a movie with that title fill up me some chills:) Against The Ice is based on a true story of two men who didn’t hesitate to take the journey to explore Greenland’s vast landscape. It was a part of Denmark’s 1909 polar expedition where they set an example of true friendship, love, and courage. I loved their conversations and most importantly their strength to fight with the polar bear without flinching an eye. I equally admired their way of surviving but in the later months, they started hallucinating a lot and cracked conversations while running ideas in their brain if their loved ones are dead or alive. A fantastic film in every respect brilliant and on-location photography in one of the wildest, harshest, most challenging yet beautiful climates and scenery in the world. Every aspect had obviously been thoroughly researched, especially that of surviving despite deprivation, storms, near-starvation and other near-disasters that have been inevitable in Arctic exploration expedition it's hardcore! Although its mostly enjoyable one and impressive first half honestly it lost me towards the middle or the latter part though not quite as gripping as it could have been given the intensity of the situation, but charged with just pacing scenes and incredible phenomenon I still quite find myself underwhelm I don't know if got boring it deserves a better second half rather a safe one!

Critics Consensus: Against the Ice isn't the most original or exciting wilderness thriller, but viewers in search of man-versus-nature entertainment could easily do worse. Considering the epic nature of the trek, the film did feel rather pedestrian. This one is interesting because it plays out in a very particular way that actually has something to do with what's happening today. A tense encounter with an angry polar bear and a phantom hot air balloon are highlights during the endless plodding across the frozen wilderness. Many unforgettable moments of tension and deprivation will surely grip the audiences’ attention. However, the slow and sloppy pacing ultimately makes the movie a bit shaky. While it may lack the overall tension you might expect from a movie like this, the film still does a good job immersing you in its story and setting. A tropey but fairly watchable survival drama... The first half of the survival tale is engrossing and tense. The waiting around in the second with some questionable visual psychosis without the dread softens its overall impact. Although the scenery is beautiful, the action is solid rather than spectacular, and viewers of ice-bound adventures such as TV's The Terror and The North Water will know what to expect. If only a good cast was enough to salvage a plodding, tedious film from the snowy wreckage. Based on the autobiography, Against The Ice shows the grim reality of what it takes to cross arctic tundra & does a smooth job. Against the Ice has many rewarding qualities but faults threaten to throw as film off course!

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_the_ice/reviews

TRAVEL TO PLACES: SINGAPORE-- TANJONG @51 TRAS

My Personal Experience: I went to Tanjong @51 Tras Coffee Shop last August 27, 2022, together with my sister, before goin' lunch and meet up her husband we went to this artsy cafe! Tanjong @51 Tras is quite an experience their eccentric cakes so unique givin' such a vibe of outer space crater even the glasses have vibe retro look in such good way too bad now closed!

Tanjong @51 Tras

Located along Tras Street, 51 Tras is probably one of the most aesthetic cafes that opened in Singapore this year. With its name accurately depicting its location, cafehoppers will have no trouble finding the space. If you look at their Instagram profile, they also have a second name called Eclipse. So, the big question is, are they called 51 Tras or Eclipse? Well, turns out Eclipse is a project name that the owners of Tanjong 51 Tras created because they view their space as host for people and things to come together, align and create an experience together!

Source: https://middleclass.sg/treats/51-tras-cafe/

TRAVEL TO MOVIES: RESTLESS

Director: Régis Blondeau

Cast: Franck Gastambide , Simon Abkarian , Jemima West , Michaël Abiteboul , Tracy Gotoas , Victoire Zenner , Serge Hazanavicius , Michaël Perez , Nabil Missoumi , Laurence Briand (inf)

Plot: After going to extremes to cover up an accident, a corrupt cop's life spirals out of control when he starts receiving threats from a mysterious witness.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/restless_2022

My Movie Review: The movie is so cool in visual effects this is a decent effort in that aspect! Corrupt cops that we somehow root for but not en this movie starts off well and delivers a good story, ok we have to suspend belief at times but all in all, this is well worth a watch with excess! Restless is a 2022 French action thriller film directed by Régis Blondeau, written by Régis Blondeau and Julien Colombani and starring Franck Gastambide, Simon Abkarian and Michaël Abiteboul. It is based on the 2014 South Korean film A Hard Day by Kim Seong-hun. At the beginning of the movie people can wonder about the mysterious dead body on the road the story is a mystery but then great thriller movie! The director created the forms and the colors to create an atmosphere uniquely exhilarating; creating a necessity to know and find out what is going on in the story and what is the following events that it brings along with him. And then without realizing it, we suddenly get caught inside the film mystery and intrigue. The film itself creates an environment that is grisly. Under cover of night Thomas returns to his mother's grave and exhumes Barcelo, bringing him back to the boatyard where he was seemingly living with the dog. After plugging in Barcelo's phone it rings and Thomas answers, but the man on the other end realises it isn't Barcelo and hangs up! A film that slightly takes you deep inside a world of despair, revenge and anger, in a search for something we are intended to understand!!

Critics Reviews: Restless is rewarding enough in its cat-and-mouse game between a corrupt cop and his even more corrupt cop adversary to forgive its issues with pace and tone. Restless begins at a fever pitch and has almost no place to go from there. Everyone featured is involved in foul play. “Restless” bounces around, seemingly unsure of what kind of movie it wants to be. Or maybe it does know but can’t quite bring this elements together in satisfying way. Restless made me wonder why I am expected to feel sympathy for the bad guy. Or even follow him, for that matter. Restless takes its time moving its pieces into place. But once it clatters into gear and gets moving as the dirty cops versus even dirtier cops thriller it’s aiming to be, there’s a kind of glee in getting to root for the dirty lawman who’s stepped into an even bigger pile of shit than he ever created personally. To get there, you have to accept that the guy who decided to hide a corpse inside his own mother’s coffin is actually a decent dude who deserves a break from the audience. But once Thomas is locked into his battle of wills with Marelli, a guy who wears his evil-doing like a topcoat, Restless becomes a race to the bottom of a corruption scheme that’s too big to fail. Shocking death blow down at the port facility re-created wholesale from the film being remade, and Restless has its dark thriller elements in place enough to make up for its sluggish beginning, Desperate, he stuffs the body in his trunk. Even more desperate, he then manages to finagle the corpse into her coffin alongside his mom that shock!

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/restless_2022/reviews

TRAVEL TO PLACES: SINGAPORE-- TANJONG BUFFET KOREAN BBQ

My Personal Experience: I went to Tanjong Buffet Korean BBQ last August 27, 2022, together with my sister and her husband coming for lunch near his office walking us on a saturday noon! Tanjong Hwaro is the previous name of this Charcoal KBBQ what I like about this is how fresh their produce compare to others, can say the cleanest and freshest KBBQ visited, it's delicious!

Tanjong Buffet Korea BBQ

Introducing Tanjong Hwaro, a Korean barbecue restaurant known for its delicious food and impeccable meat cuts. This establishment has gained popularity for its high-quality beef and pork options, leaving patrons pleasantly surprised with the taste and tenderness of the meats. The inviting ambience and excellent service further enhance the dining experience. While the restaurant isn't large, some customers have expressed their desire for an increase in staff members due to longer waiting times. Tanjong Buffet is located at 93 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 88488 and operates from 11:30 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 11 PM on the most days of the week:)

Source:https://tanjong-hwaro.wheree.com/

TRAVEL TO MOVIES: DON'T KILL ME

Director: Andrea De Sica

Cast: Alice Pagani , Rocco Fasano , Silvia Calderoni , Fabrizio Ferracane , Giacomo Ferrara , Anita Caprioli , Sergio Albelli , Federico Ielapi , Esther Elisha , Kateryna Aresi , Marco Boriero

Plot: After Mirta dies of a drug overdose with her lover, she resuscitates alone and discovers she's part of a violent world she never knew existed.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dont_kill_me

My Movie Review: The movie is a good spin on the zombie genre it's so refreshing how come up with some elements that's cool to see despite so negative views I like their take with a style! This film reminded me of a mixture of Warm Bodies and The Corpse Bride but without the humor and this kind of movie with that swag rarely come by this days. It got straight to the point brining our title character back alive for a forever love with her boyfriend. The plot and cast both did excellent in portraying the story and I liked the overall tone. Gore and the way that the transformation were done were good, I'd like to see more unique raw take like this in the future! Don't Kill Me is a nice surprise love how clever it is in creating a world that we long to exists I thought it was a creative movie, very interesting and written well and it plays with the emotions a little but well done such a great movie although I don't remember the latter part, don't know how it ends otherwise its cool to show imaginations run wild create an exhilarating experience:) It's your average stylish, film noir-esque bad romance zombie flick. It succeeds at some of these elements & in some ways it does it quite well. Don't Kill Me doesn't only usher in a new era of zombie horror; it's a blockbuster special effects and power performance from the two leads level up the stakes in staying alive and keeping focus mind on what's happening to them!

Critics Reviews: Don’t Kill Me is two things at once and only really sure of a portion of itself. It’s a tragedy that can’t give up its romanticism and it’s a thriller that doesn’t fully deliver on its action’s potential. It's more style than substance, and the style isn't enough to carry the action. Rotten score. Don’t Kill Me can’t freshen a stale concept. Don’t Kill Me begins with a halfway-decent vamp-zomb hybrid concept, but soon becomes chronically infested with go-nowhere world-building that turns the movie into a collection of half-realized episodes teasing Stuff To Be Explored In A Sequel. And a lot of that is the ABC gum of screenplays: Long-standing battle between secret factions of humans and post-humans, the veteran unreadier showing the newb the ropes, unresolved romantic yearnings, etc. It’s as predictable as it is nonsensical, the latter mostly because it leaves plot strands to dangle, ostensibly confident that they will be picked back up in the next movie. It plays like a TV pilot that didn’t get picked up. De Sica shows enough visual acumen here to render the film a viable genre exercise, but he fumbles a climactic action sequence in which Mirta discovers the full extent of her violent capabilities. His work teeters on the edge of being something good, but it never achieves anything beyond a nice shot here or a savvy cut there – brief flashes of promise. He’s ultimately hamstrung by this fragmented screenplay, which shows little interest in being a standalone story. There’s a fine line between hopeful and delusional and Don’t Kill Me shows-- 49/51 balance between the two!

Source: https://decider.com/2022/02/21/dont-kill-me-netflix-review/

TRAVEL TO PLACES: SINGAPORE-- FIVE OARS COFFEE ROASTERS

My Personal Experience: I went to Five Oars Coffee Roasters last August 27, 2022, together with my sister on their 6 Upper East Coast Road branch to have breakfast in saturday morning! This branch is out of nowhere and not easy to find but my sister somehow know to locate it by following the instructions online, out of way if you're not familiar to the place, you might get lost!

Five Oars Coffee Roasters

"As the story goes, we were just friends in a living room, raving about the simple satisfaction that great coffee brings and Five Oars Coffee Roasters was born. We sought to discover flavours and aromas of life hidden in bean varietals all over the world, and make them known to the world back home. Delicious food and coffee, coupled with unforgettable service can catch you up in the weekend you so crave and deserve! We know this from experience. But we needed to carve out a place of respite in our concrete jungle to practice and enjoy our craft with those who appreciate it most. That sense of comfort in community is our anchor. We hope would join us on the leg of Five Oars Coffee journey as we take our craftsmanship up a notch."

Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=five+oars+coffee+roasters&rlz=1C1CHBF_en

TRAVEL TO MOVIES: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Director: David Blue Garcia

Cast: Sarah Yarkin , Elsie Fisher , Mark Burnham , Jacob Latimore , Shintaro Shimosawa , Moe Dunford , Nell Hudson , Jessica Allain , Olwen Fouéré , Sam Douglas , John Larroquette

Plot: Melody (Sarah Yarkin), her teenage sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), and their friends Dante (Jacob Latimore) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), head to the remote town of Harlow, Texas to start an idealistic new business venture. But their dream soon turns into a waking nightmare when they accidentally disrupt the home of Leatherface, the deranged serial killer whose blood-soaked legacy continues to haunt the area's residents -- including Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of his infamous 1973 massacre who's hell-bent on seeking revenge.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/texas_chainsaw_massacre_2022

My Movie Review: The movie is sloppy and gratuitous killing spree with standout deaths but a poorly written story that ruins the experience. Leatherface deserves better. Believe it or not, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is another cautionary tale about gentrification and pure gore horror! I was honestly quite impressed with the cinematography, production, and pacing of the first half, despite the silliness of the plot that was clearly a way of setting up a smorgasbord of fodder for Leatherface and boy does he take advantage were we learned so much of him! Though the humanization of the character was palpable and refreshing, that all disintegrates in the second half as gone wrong, where the movie follows every horror trope and then one-ups it with the stupidest decisions, most obvious plot holes and some laughable absence of realism! In the first half however we have typical local hick who's expected to be one of the antagonists but lo and behold he's actually a great guy, I enjoy the good and the bad, the suspense, gore but sadly, Texas Chainsaw Massacre suffers from a lot of problems, I am not confident about it! Many of the shots were visually stunning especially the scene in the sunflower field, were just shy of beautiful in a grisly way even its quite hunting there's some subtle struck in its stillness! The whole bus scene was both funny in a satirical way, disturbingly gruesome, and yet what preceded it made absolutely zero sense, if only the flick stuck to its guns with the deviations from horror norms it could've been a solid installment in cesspool of a series working together:)

Critics Consensus: Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn't skimp on the gore, but Leatherface may have irrevocably lost his ability to terrify. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 is a gnarly movie but is otherwise uninteresting in some ways, boring. The cash grab attempt, specifically, is quite blatant. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is so shallow and meaningless that any subtext is impossible. It just wants to get to the killing, it doesn’t care what it has to do to get there. Texas Chainsaw Massacre completely ruins the original, and any fan of that movie should steer far, far away from its latest installment and hope that the franchise will now stay dead and buried for good. This Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot/sequel is the best out of the bunch, even though saying so isn’t much. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is filled with bloody kills, and as the title promises, a massacre inside a party bus soon follows in the movie. Brings Leatherface into a contemporary story, rather than keeping him stuck in decades passed, echoing Hooper’s film in the most important ways by holding focus on socioeconomic issues and Leatherface’s queered identity. The comparison of today's influencers to the hippies of the original film is tremendously entertaining. It tries to be cool and modern yet unfortunately does the opposite, creating jam-packed 83 minutes of uninteresting, try-hard cheese, its completely unnecessary:(

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/texas_chainsaw_massacre_2022/reviews