Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

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The sequel to Madagascar, in which Central Park Zoo occupants – Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the Giraffe, still stranded on Madagascar, decided to leave the island. All of a sudden, they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex meets the rest of his family.

Somewhat entertaining at times, but I did yawn at some point. Overall, it's forgettable.

Rating: 1/5.

Food, Glorious Food

Homemade crabmeat sushi

Placing some cooked short–grain Japanese sushi rice on the nori (seaweed) sheets.

Flattening the sushi rice on nori.

I think the Japanese might scream if they could see how my sister made her sushi. It's her own simplified version catered to her tastebuds.

Next, smear a thin layer of mayonnaise on top.

Place some crabmeat or whatever filling you fancy before rolling

After rolling up the sushi, cut the rolls into bite–sized pieces before serving.

This is another version. Mould the rice into a bite–sized oval shape and wrap the nori around before adding the topping.

Pulut inti (glutinous rice cakes served with grated coconut sweetened in palm sugar and wrapped in banana leaves), a traditional sweetmeat.

Home–cooked prawn curry

Quote

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." – Theodore Roosevelt

Kitchen Slave

The moon one early morning

My steamboat noodles. I used chicken bones, anchovy powder, curry powder, Chinese cabbage, celery, carrots, garlic and ginger for the broth.

Next, I added some prawns, chicken, beef, Chinese mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, more cabbage, celery and carrots, as well as shallots and lime leaves. I didn't use any salt or pepper.

Served with noodles topped with coriander leaves and chillies. A hearty meal for a rainy day.

Piping hot bread pudding

My two big trays of bread pudding, just removed from the oven.

I used bread, butter, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, honey and vanilla; topped with apples, dates and raisins.

The chopped apples looked dry because I added 'em after 10 minutes of baking as I forgot to add 'em earlier. They weren't covered with the melted butter. Hence, the dryness. Lesson learnt. The pudding tasted yummy nevertheless.

My bread pudding served with vanilla custard sauce. My niece loved it. I prefer it cold.

I hardly cook, but when I do, I usually do it well. The reason I hate cooking isn't so much of the cooking itself or washing up later. It's the heat which makes one sweat right up to the head. So, when I wanted to cook, it is a rather big deal for me. Can you tell I don't fancy slaving myself in the kitchen?

Had no idea what got into me yesterday. I made a big pot of steamboat served with noodles for lunch. I was already sweating after the steamboat was cooked. Continued with bread pudding for tea. I made two big trays of pudding and gave half to my relatives. I was rather pleased with my first attempt. Will definitely make more. Bread pudding, anyone?

Quote

"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future." – George Bernard Shaw

Quote

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." – Confucius

Homemade Munchies

My guacamole. It's a versatile Mexican dip made of avocados, diced onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and salt to taste.

My sister's crabmeat sushi

More crabmeat sushi

Crabmeat sushi rolls

Pickled pink ginger, usually served with Japanese dishes.

Wasabi, served with sushi.

Disturbia (2007)

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Kale Brecht (played by Shia LaBeouf), a teenager living under house arrest during the summer is convinced his neighbour, Mr. Turner (David Morse), is a serial killer.

Pointless. Catch this only if you have nothing else to watch.

Rating: 1.5/5.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

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Seeking revenge for the death of his love, the British secret agent sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply.

First of all, I must point out that I'm not a Bond fan and I went to the cinema with no expectations.

Even then, it was a real letdown. The opening scene was a bore. The theme song and plot were crap. The chasing and fighting scenes especially the ones in Italy reminded me of The Bourne Ultimatum. Fancy gadgets were almost non–existent except for the touch screens, which were featured in CSI anyway. The Aston Martin DBS appeared for a short while in a few scenes that you may not even realised, and there were no punching lines from M.

The only interesting bit of the film was the plane chase albeit a brief one. Such a shame, really.

If you haven't watched Casino Royale, watch the prequel first before this one. That way, you'll understand this film better as the plot and some characters are sequential. Having said that, Casino Royale is a lot better than its sequel. I still think that Daniel Craig is the best Bond by far and the most 'human' of them all.

Rating: 2/5.

Quote

I like reading and keeping wise quotes like some of you out there. Here's one I came across today:

"The Paradox of Our Age:

We have bigger houses but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgement; more experts, but more problems; more medicines, but less healthiness; We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour. We built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less real communication; We have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are times of fast foods but slow digestion; Tall men but short characters; Steep profits but shallow relationships. It's a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room." – Dalai Lama

How true.

Charlotte's Web (2006)

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Wilbur is scared of Christmas because he knows that he will end up on the dinner table then. Charlotte, his spider friend, hatches a plan to save Wilbur.

I don't usually watch children's films, but this is somewhat cute. Julia Roberts lends her voice to Charlotte, Steve Buscemi as Templeton the Rat, John Cleese as Samuel the Sheep, Oprah Winfrey as Gussy the Goose, Robert Redford as Ike the Horse, Kathy Bates as Bitsy the Cow and Reba McIntire as Betsy the Cow. It's more appealing to children in comparison to adults, though.

Rating: 1.5/5.

The Invasion (2007)

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As a Washington psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the cure.

Crap to the core. It's a pity that an Academy Award winning actress like Nicole Kidman isn't capable of pulling off a film on her own. I've yet to see her shine in one good watchable film.

Rating: 0.5/5.

Ghost Rider (2007)

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Based on the Marvel comic character, stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze gives up his soul to become a hellblazing vigilante, to fight against power hungry Blackheart, the son of the devil himself.

This is by far the worst comic–book–to–film–adaptations I have ever seen. Glad I didn't bother catching it on the silver screen when it was just released.

Rating: 1/5.

Homemade Best Made

Sugar crystals being dried up before sealed in an airtight containers and ready for consumption

Sugar crystals

After placing some chopped prawns, chives and sesame oil filling on top of a wantan skin, seal the edges with beaten eggs.

Little niece making her own dumplings

Before frying

Fried wantan

Prawn wantan soup

Some of the food we made at home.