Star Wars: The Force Awakens (My Spoiler-Free Review)

I've heard nothing but good raves on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  And, way way before the screening date, this has been on a hype.

I'll keep this spoiler-free so I'll just sum up my likes and dislikes:

Likes
1. It's Star Wars...
         I grew up watching the Star Wars movies over and over again and of course, that's not enough and I want more!

2. Old characters reappear with the same charm and humor we loved.
       Upon entry of familiar characters, the crowd cheered in the cinema house.

3. The new characters were all likeable.
       The acting by Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren  was decent.  And, although non of them stood out, they didn't disappoint either.

4. The new stuffs are just as cool and interesting.
         The droid is so cool, funny and interesting.  The droid is one of the interesting factors in the movie.  For sure, the toy version will rake some money. 
         The storm trooper redesign is awesome too. 

4. The plot fits and easy to follow.
         This sequel is a rightful addition to the other movies.  I have my hopes up for the upcoming movies (currently rumored to be 4 more).  It revealed enough for what has occurred for the past 30 years and leaves enough mystery for the movies to come.  It connects the nostalgic old with the refreshing new.
         Although the pacing was fast, the plot is easy to follow that even the kids can enjoy it.  I can sense that they made some of the jokes easy to understand...
           The only thing I couldn't make a sense of, is why they only sent a squad for searching.

5. There's sufficient emotional anchor between the characters.
            My emotions were stirred as the movie went on.  They brought back the humor which was lost during the prequel trilogies. 

6. Great cinematics.
            The space battles and lightsaber combat were interesting because of the great cinematics.  Of course, we've expected that given the current updates on cinematics.

Dislikes
1. There were a lot of similar scenario's in the former movies.
            I can't help but notice the similar scenario's as compared to the former movies that made it become a bit predictable.  But then again perhaps, it wouldn't be Star Wars without the searching, droid-locked secrets and planet-killing weapon?

2. The dark side appeared weak.
           I'm not sure if it was difficult to live-up to the character of Darth Vader.  But, the dark side appeared weak.  But, I'm looking forward to the next movies concerning the character build up of Kylo Ren.
          On the other hand, the other side has brilliant fighters in all forms pilot, lightsaber duel etc.

3. Some of the humors didn't work.
          Classic humors of our fave characters worked.  But, I think I missed the punch lines on some jokes from the new characters. 

 Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Overall, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a must watch!  It has some room for improvements which could be seen on the next movies.  But, compared to the prequel, this is way way better.  Compared to the original trilogy?  Individually, this is good.   How much better it can become is what I'm looking forward to see.

Korean Drama Review: The Greatest Love also known as Best Love

There seems to be a lot of Korean dramas that involves Korea's Entertainment Industry.  Following the trend is a recent Korean comedy and drama called  "The Greatest Love" a.k.a "Best Love".  However, what sets it apart from other dramas is that the stars are middle-aged.  Do you think they pulled it off?

The love team is composed of Goo Ae Jung played by Gong Hyo Jin and Dokko Jin by Cha Seung Won.  The main casts had a great chemistry together.  The acting is superb too.  Together with Kang Se Ri casted by Yoo In Na and  Yoon Pil Joo casted by Yoon Kye Sang, every episode of "The Greatest Love" is entertaining.  Well, the last episodes seems a bit dragging but it was still okay.  The humor and drama felt natural and moving.  This is a feel good drama that anyone can enjoy.

A once famous female singer and a super popular actor falls in love with each other.  Will their love prevail over their careers?

Watch The Greatest Love !!!

My Impression on the new Google Plus (+) [pics] FREE invites

Previously Google has released its Google Friend Connect, Google Reader, Google Cloud Connect, Google Buzz and Google Wave.  Now, it just launched something bigger, its social media network called Google +.  It is currently on field trial and by invites only.  It's available for both android and mobile too.

      So what to look forward in Google +?

• Design 
• Clean and neat but maybe too clean?
• The toolbar on top is pretty handy
• The search bar is pretty cool search through Google profiles, Web pages and Images
• User-Interface
• I find it difficult to adapt.  I even had to find out how to invite friends.
• Features:
• Stream -similar to Facebook status/comment
• Limited - According to the description: "If you initiated a post in the stream, clicking Limited at the top of that post will show you the profile pictures of everyone you shared with. Only the person who started the post can see this information. If you chose to share with your extended circles in addition to other people, clicking Limited will only show that you shared with your extended circles--specific people won't be identified."
• Edit Post - you can edit post and it will displayed  (edited x:xx PM)

•  Photos -sorted accordingly for easy viewing:
• Photos from your circles
• Photos from your phone
• Photos of you
• Your album - my blogger photos showed up here

•  Profile
• Posts
• About
• Google Maps integrated in places lived
• Photos
• Tagging
• See Photo details - flips your photo so you can see the photo details
• Video's
• +1 - Your +1's appear here. +1 the things around the web you like, agree with, or want to recommend to others (similar to Facebook's Like)

•  Circles - you can create groups called "Circles" and Drag-and-Drop your friends inside it.  Through this we can control and limit our privacy.

• Friends
• Family
• Acquaintances
• Following
• Sparks - be updated regarding contents of your interest (Like an automatic Google Reader filtered by interest)
• Hangouts - Virtual Voice and Video Chat Room (Requires Google Voice and Video Chat Plugin)

• You're webcam and mic will automatically be activated 
• You can select the friends to invite for your hang out
• Clicking the green "Hang Out" button transport you to the hang out page
• Once you go into Hangout:
• You're stream will show "your name is hanging out" below it is a button that says "Join this Hangout"
• You can chat with friends
• You can watch You Tube videos
• Notification - updates you on who invited you and who commented something related to your post or comment.  I find this too complicated and confusing.  It extends into mini windows on the upper right of the screen until you get lost where you are.  It would be better if it just directs you where the updates are instead of opening a new one through that small window.  
• Post Functions: 
• Mute this post -hide
• Report Abuse - same with Facebook's
• Block this person - same with Facebook's
• Chat - similar to Facebook's Chat
• Suggestions - same as Facebook's Suggestions

Overall, I'd say its pretty neat start.  But could use an improvement on the user-interface or they could provide more instructions, description and guides.  It's success also depends on the how well it will integrated with other mediums like Web Pages, Twitter and more because its greatest competitor Facebook has already surpassed that.   It would also be cool if it would have notifications from other Google apps like Google mail and Blogger.  I hope they will also offer apps like games,groups,docs,events, poll, discussion, notes and more?  It pretty bare right now so we'll just have to wait and see what they can offer next.

How about you?  What do you think?

UPDATE: Google + is now open for sign ups

Movie Review: Life as We Know It Movie

Life as We Know It is a romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl as Holly Berenson and Josh Duhamel as Eric Messer.  The story revolves around the two main casts as they are force to handle the responsibilities of taking care of an orphan girl.  They have to cooperate with each other despite their conflicting personalities. 

The chemistry of the casts is pretty good.  I liked how the plot went.  Although it was quite predictable, it was still very fun to watch.

This movie is not the typical romantic comedy.  It give us a glance of the hardships of parenting, the dedication required for work, loyalty to friendship and more.  

The show was realistic because life may really go beyond our control and yet we have to face it.  But we always have a choice.  Every choice, of course, will have its consequences.  

Watching this certifies my belief that it is better not to have kids if you can't afford it yet or can't dedicate the time to raise one.  So if I were to assess myself, the chances are almost nil=)

Korean Movie Review: The Housemaid

Last night, we watched a Korean Movie called the Housemaid.  It was a melodramatic thriller film.  It was based on a true story about the a man having an affair with a housemaid.

      The way the show was presented was very unique and creative.  The revelation was done in a particular method.  Up until the end, I did not expect the story to turn out that way.

The setting was made perfectly for a thriller film.  All through out the movie, I felt that there was something really creepy about the story.  

Overall, the movie was good but there were some dragging or unnecessary parts to it.  I highly recommend the movie to everyone especially guys because it teaches a good lesson.

Taiwan Drama Review: Happiness is Like a Sunny Day

        Sunny Happiness sometimes named as Happiness is like a Sunny Day, The Sunniest Day of Happiness or Sunshine Day.  It is a romantic comedy starred by Mike He, Janine Chang, Li Yi Feng and Zhou Zi Han.  At first glance, this show made it look interesting because all the main characters are good-looking.  Well, first impressions last because all 25 episodes were really good.

       The story mainly revolves around the past and present love of the four main characters.  The plot is really exciting that I could not resist watching the next episode up to the next.  It is unique, fun and romantic as well.  This is not the typical Taiwan drama that is too childish.  This drama proves that Taiwan dramas can be mature and yet funny too.


       It is a must-watch drama.   After watching it, hopefully you can answer why the title is such.  I really liked the title and its the message of the story.  

Restaurant Review: Bento & Snack in Adriatico Malate

My mom has been craving for Bibimbap for days and kept asking my younger sister to cook her some. But my sister said she'll just treat my mom out instead so we searched for a nearby Korean Restaurant.  We thought about going to Haru in Malate and found out it was closed so we ended up trying Bento & Snack instead.  

      It was a small restaurant with a take out counter beside it.  At first, we thought it was a Japanese restaurant but we observed that the pictures posted at the shops wall were  composed of both Korean and Japanese Cuisine.  Out front, we saw its delivery bike which looks similar to the ones we've seen in Korean Dramas.  

The staffs were very friendly.  All of them accomodated us as soon as we entered.  The place was small having a seat capacity of 20 at most but it was neat and decent.  We were handed out the menu which was identical to the menu hanged at the wall of their counter and we started to order.

Bibimbap

Bibimbap after mixing

Ganma Jorim, Bean Sprout and Kimchi  

Stock Soup

My mom and sisters ordered Bibimbap (Mixed Meal) (250 php).  Now, this was ordinarily only served for lunch but the staffs were so considerate that they allowed us to order.  Where their bibimbap came, we noticed that it was actually vegetable Bibimbap.  Sliced carrots, beansprouts, eggplants, lettuces, cucumbers,  and gosari (bracken fern stems) surrounded the fried egg on the center which covered the gochujang (chili pepper paste) underneath it.  A fun fact about Bibimbaps is that the ingredients are not mixed out of random.  Each of the vegetables included have their own nutritional benefits to provide a healthy dietary meal.  Eager to eat, they mixed it until the gochujang was spread over all the vegetables and rice.  Their version was very delicious.  The carrots, beansprouts and cucumbers were crunchy and fun to chew.  The gochujang was a little bit spicy but the rice and vegetables were able to neutralize it to an adequate amount.  They also served this with a complementary bowl of Stock Soup and three kinds of side dishes: Ganma Jorim (potato with soy sauce), Bean Sprout and Kimchi (fermented cabbage).  The soup was too salty so we couldn't drink it.
  

Kimchi Stew with Mackarel with side dishes

Kimchi Stew with Mackarel 

My brother ordered the Kimchi Stew with Mackarel (200 php).  It was served in a bento tray with four side dishes: Ganma Jorim, Bean Sprout, Kimchi and Jeon (deep fried pancake-like dish with sliced vegetables).  The stew was dark red in color which explains it extreme spiciness despite him requesting for the milder version.  

Korean Ramen

I ordered Korean Ramen (200 php).  It came in a big bowl.  As I saw the orange color, I knew it was spicy.  But I don't mind at all.  I enjoy spicy foods.  It had sliced of potato, bits of mushrooms, sliced onions and green leeks.  It was delicious.  It was flavorful and the texture of the potato goes well with the noodles.  The noodles were adequately cooked.  They did not have the dough-like taste as if undercooked nor were they soggy.  

Kimbap

Spicy Rice Cakes

For our center dish, we ordered Kimbap (similar to Sushi in Japanese Cuisine)  (100 php) and Spicy Rice Cakes (200 php).   The Kimbap was delicious.  It had yellow raddish, cucumber, egg and luncheon meat.  Though, you may have to try it out for yourself since I love this korean dish and may be biased towards it.  Their Spicy Rice Cakes were mixed with fish cakes and topped with sesame seeds, sliced carrots, raddish, green leeks and cabbage.  The rice cakes rolled like sticks had a smooth, soft and chewy texture.  The fish cakes which were thinly sliced were a good complement to the rice cake in case you want to chew on something a bit lighter to chew.  

Overall, the food and the service was excellent.  The cost was average for Korean Cuisine.  The venue was decently clean and homely.  You can even watch TV or read Korean Books.  They are also good with take outs and deliveries.  They also have lunch menus and Filipino dishes.  It's definitely worth trying for.  Try it out and let me know what you think.  If your not fond of spicy foods, we suggest you ask first whether it is spicy or not because the spicy ones are really hot.
   

Bento & Snack 
Beside 168 Adriatico Malate
In Front of Star Bucks
(02) 567-5819/474-1856

Japanese Drama Review: Mei-Chan to Megane-Chan

Have just recently started watching Mei-Chan to Megane-Chan Japanese Drama. It is about a seemingly nerdy girl named Adachi-Hana striving hard to be a good student. While a yankee stubborn boy Shinagawa Daichi does the exact opposite. So Adachi-Hana, being the Class President, always bothers Daichi to participate in class. Overall, it looks promising. It's not the usual Japanese Drama even though it's in an ordinary High School setting. The characters,as they face their own struggles, are worth watching.