"Star Wars : Rogue One (2016)"

a film review by CatsMando

"Shin Gojira/Godzilla Resurgence" (2016)

a film review by CatsMando

    Monster films, as they closely tie with horror movies, works best when they mainly work being a commentary to something. Dracula works best when it focuses on being the representation of the threatening form of ambiguous, emasculating, masculinity. The Wolf Man is essentially the fear of man losing his control with his base urges. The Mummy and King Kong is the peril of adventure, Frankenstein and Jurrassic Park is punishment to man's arrogance towards science and nature, zombies are a violent, satiric take on the human collective, Xenomorph Aliens are layers upon layers of analogy about rape and violence against women, The Predator is the ultimate unknown enemy, the cyborg/android motif(think Terminator/Westworld) are based around the fear of man-made technology turning against them.

    It's often strongly about the commentary. Everything else, like Frankenstein's iconic look, King Kong's scale, zombie genre's strong ties with body horror; are secondary. A complementary feature, never the main.

"Kubo and the Two Strings" (2016)

a film review by CatsMando

 

    If I were asked what would be my top three companies-not in terms of my personal fave, but in terms of honest-to-goodness craftsmanship-levels in animated feature films-easy, it's Studio Ghibli, Pixar, and Laika. These are the big name studios that actually puts out real art-forms. A combination of fresh perspective as evidenced through their stories, and years of technical masterwork as shown through the quality of execution. It's not an always case, mind you, all three of them have their  pieces of passing works. But more often they get to deliver works that are just visually draw-dropping, emotionally resonant, thematically solid, and overall inspiring.

"Hell or High Water" (2016)

a film review by CatsMando

     The thing about small-scoped, focused-concept films is that it has to be very mindful of the details
it place. Without any real flash or bombast, every dialogue stands out, every long scene well observed, every actions, no matter how small, is noticed. And everything about those has to have a place in the movie or else it'll be a lingering distraction that could easily ruin these type of film.

Google Photoscan Review

I'm a Google fanboy that's alway on the lookout for new Google products and Photoscan is the newest one that's been up for less than 24 hours at the time of this writing.

I've used the Photoscan app for a couple of hours to test it out and as much as I want to say it's the perfect solution for digitizing your printed photos quickly, as of now... it's a work in progress, more on this after the break.

Google Dine & Discover for Dubai Local Guides.

I started posting pictures and reviews in Google Maps, I was just doing it so that other people would have an idea of my experience with what this or that place is and help in some way, then learned about the rewards of doing so I upped my game, and out of nowhere got an invitation to a Google event and this is how it went down.

When I got the email my initial reaction was "Yes! I'm gonna have a career in Google!" but when the euphoria subsided and I started thinking rationally, my expectation of the meet up was grounded and said to myself that I'll just enjoy the food. By the way, to qualify for this event, you need to be at least a Level 4 or 5 Local Guide, more after the break.

Doctor Strange - Familiar Fun

Every time a Marvel film comes out, non-fans clamor for it to fail, hearing things like "this is the time a Marvel movie will flop" and like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, it didn't and just made the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe a tad better.

I've seen all the Marvel films in the cinemas and this would be the first time I review one properly and try not spoil it in the process, more of that after the break.

McDonald's Signature Collection - An Autograph To Your Taste buds

McDonald's had a social media campaign on their new Signature collection sandwiches and are giving away 100 of those on every branch they have here in UAE so of course, I know I'll be one of the first people in line.

To make sure I will not be fighting for a spot, I went to the nearest McDonald's branch with my son 30 minutes earlier and while waiting I had him play at the kid's area. Read more on how it went after the break.

 

Texas Roadhouse - A Roundhouse of Sumptuousness!

Texas Roadhouse is one of those fancier restaurants we only get to dine-in once or twice a year, the price of their food is too steep for plebeians but you can easily tell that the quality of their food and choice of meat is superior to your run of the mill restaurants and that's what makes it worth it.

Bukhari Al Khaleej - "Rice Rice Baby"

This place is up on my list after Googling what Bukhari is, and as Asians who love eating rice, we definitely had to try one. Before the Al Majaz branch opened, we tried to visit their other branches but they are too far away from my location so waited until this opened and went with the family when it did.

Elevation Burger? more like Demotion Burger (Sharjah Branch)

The claim was that their burgers are 100 % organic, which doesn't necessarily mean anything to me but always wanted to try a different burger joint whenever I can and when a voucher for a discounted meal came, I just had to dine-in. The voucher was for a cheeseburger, fries, and fountain soda.

Location of the restaurant is okay, they situated it right along the lagoon corniche which I think it's too far away from the Majaz Waterfront for the customers to enjoy the view of the fountain show. Once we got there, ordered, got served, and when I handled the burger to take my first bite, I immediately felt it's too small in my hands, and I have small hands.

Can't get enough'a of Kunafa

Being the sweet tooth that I am, I love desserts, I can pig out in a buffet and have enough room in my stomach (or heart, since desserts goes directly to your heart) to chow down on every sweet on the menu. That is why when I came here in the United Arab Emirates the first thing I looked for other than the scenery are the local cuisines and what do people have here for dessert.

Do you love cheese? noodles? or how about sweets? We'll if you love all of those then there's a dessert here in the middle east that you have been missing, it's called Kunafa and it's a perfect mashup of sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy all at the same bite. Read more after the break.

Krispy Kreme - Morning Coffee and FREE* Donuts

What's so blog worthy of Krispy Kreme’s black coffee? None, but their free* donuts sure do and this review / public service announcement is all about that. Read more after the break.

Mandi, The best Arabic cuisine!

I believe I've eaten enough Chicken Mandi for me to back this title up, and comparing it to most Arabic cuisines I've tried which are mostly simple grilled meat with bread, Mandi truly is the best, more on this after the break.

 

Top 15 unique dishes from Region IV Philippines (that I've decided and have pictures of)

Most of these dishes aren't exactly unique in our region but I'm sure the way it's cooked is, which can be said for every dish out there. In any case, I present to you the top 15 local cuisines you shouldn't miss out if you happen to visit Region IV or around Nagcarlan, Laguna.

Fried Offal - "Litid" and "Baga"

Whenever I visit the city of Lipa City, Batangas, I make sure to check out their night market where you can find a lot of local delicacies and though not unique to them, this specific vendor sells one of the tastiest fried offal (lungs and ligaments) out there.

"Ligaments, lungs, and, house blend vinegar. What more to ask for?"

A trip to Musandam, Oman from Dubai, UAE

It's pretty ironic for a blogsite that states reviews, now! to have a review of a place two years after we've been there, I know, procrastination will be my downfall. Let's get on with this review then!

Here in United Arab Emirates and just about any Islamic countries we have something called Eid break, it's the days after the holy month of Ramadan where we get several days off and this how we chose to spend it.

To get this trip started I strongly advised to purchase the whole package which means including transportation to get there since Musandam, Oman is quite far, 190kms far from the pickup point which is at Spinneys Bur Dubai, Dubai. Our package trip was bought in Cobone which I believe is available all year round, and looking at the package, not much has changed in the last two years. Make sure to read the fine print on the voucher bought because it will tell you all the things you'll need for this trip like your original passports and copies in order to get past the border.

"first let me take a selfie."

Cycling to work in UAE

It's been a while since the last time I posted anything so here's a review on how it's like to cycle to work in UAE.

I live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, taking the bus would cost me 10 dirhams on fare ticket (120+ Php) and if I do that everyday going to work and coming home, it would cost me a 100 dirhams which for frugal person like myself is very costly.

That's why I decided to cycle to work since I'm already an experienced cyclist here in UAE and tend to know how fairly tolerant the people are and authorities when it comes to people who cycles. If you are planning to do this as well, make sure that your gear is complete, lights, helmet, high visual vest, and jersey if possible, because if you are profiled as a delivery guy then it's very likely that your bicycle will get confiscated and never to be seen again.

Going back to cycling to work, on this video you will see that I've cycled on the main road connecting Sharjah and Dubai and from there took a train and bus to get to our office, I would've cycled all the way but the rest of the road are not bicycle friendly anymore. After shift, I'll just back track what I did at night and head back home.