Podcast review of The Martian with other movies The Intern, Transylvania 2, Black Mass and Everest with co-host Del Goh and special guest Nee Khern

What my buddies thought of The Martian. Have you caught it yet?

Review of The Martian on The Reel Show

 

Here’s another edition of my film reviews and news. If you have noticed that I hardly post any movie reviews on my blog as I focused more on my podcast review on sound cloud or post my review on my IG. I was asking myself if I should also include my old format of movie reviews through my blog as well. Then it would kinda be a spoiler for those who might want to listen to my podcast. So to be fair, I would intend to post my blog review a week after my podcast for the benefit of my readers and also for those who doesn’t actually listen to my podcast (why, why…. *lol*). In actual fact, I kinda miss blogging up my movie reviews.

My biggest hit this year for my Popcorn Panel podcast has been Furious 7 which has garnered almost 600 listeners. My highest so far is Big Hero Six (1,500 hits) and Yasmine the movie (1,000 hits). My current Avengers: Age of Ultron podcast review hasn’t been all that and one big reason could be that I posted my podcast review a week later after the release in Brunei and secondly, the reviews haven’t been all that but to me it’s still entertaining. AOT only scored an average of 75% on rottentomatoes as compared to the first Avengers 92%. It will be a disappointment if my podcast review on AOT won’t reach in the region of 300 hits.

You can catch my full review on my blog on AOT this weekend. For now, enjoy the podcast first especially with my regular co-host @delgoh.

Our podcast review with my co-host Del Goh on Avengers: Age of Ultron on 4Dx experience at Paragon Cineplex. Click play to listen to our review.

Paragon Cineplex

My movie experience at Paragon Cineplex. What can I say? This is my hometown. Like I have mentioned before on my previous post, I’m in love with the cinema culture at Paragon Cineplex. This is located at Siam Paragon and it basically has almost all the format on screen – 2D, 3D, IMAX and 4Dx. So if you happen to be in Bangkok, do visit Paragon Cineplex and even Del Goh was “sakai-ed” by the cineplex as it was his first visit to Paragon Cineplex.

It was weird that Bangkok released Age of Ultron a week later after Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. I’m not sure why though and that’s the reason I caught it slightly later than my friends because I just happened to make plans in Thailand. So I missed the Avengers’ marathon at Times Cineplex. Oh well. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my experience on 4Dx last week and I’m planning to catch again tonight at the Mall Cineplex.

The most anticipated movie for me this summer is not Age of Ultron or Jurassic World or Inside Out. It’s Mad Max: Road Fury. I’m a huge fan of the trilogy and it has been 30 years before they revived the franchise again. I have to say that all the trailers for Mad Max have been freaking awesome. I have no doubt that Mad Max will do well in the box office despite its R rating. I shall be catching Mad Max: Road Fury in Kuching next week.

The Hulkbuster display at Paragon Royal Hall during the Thai Comic Con last weekend

This was my second 4Dx experience. My first was last year in Korea when I caught The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

It was such a long queue during the first show of AOT at Paragon Cineplex

A different set of Avengers tumblers as compared to the ones from Times Cineplex

A movie that I can’t wait to catch… The Raid movie of 2015 for me

Another movie I can wait to catch. Will it live up to the first movie? #pitchperfect

The atmosphere at Paragon Cineplex

Volkswagen Weekend

Maju Motors Sdn Bhd, the official Volkswagen distributor in Brunei, will be holding a special Anniversary Carnival from 8-10 May 2015. It was exactly one year ago that the Volkswagen brand was completely relaunched in the Sultanate, and it is continuing to make inroads into the car market here.

The latest version of the Vento, Volkswagen’s best-selling car in Brunei, was just launched a fortnight ago. Soon, the new Touareg – the top-of-the-line model sold here – will also be introduced.

Customers can look forward to many more new products debuting in the coming months, including the Golf Sportsvan and the current holder of the prestigious ‘Car of the Year’ award, the all-new Passat. There will also be exciting new versions of popular models like the Beetle, Tiguan and Touran.

Sign up and be the first 100 will receive exclusive Volkswagen gift. Click image to enter.

“The last one year has been extremely exciting for our company,” said Chan Key Hong, the Executive Director of Maju Motors. “In 2014 we delivered over 1,000 new cars within a year for the first time, and the number of Volkswagen owners in Brunei is still growing quickly.

“This is why we are also working hard on boosting the efficiency of our aftersales business, to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. For example, there are now 60 percent more technicians who are dedicated to servicing Volkswagen vehicles, and we have created significantly more space for them to work.”

In addition, Maju Motors has employed more service advisors and set up a team focused on customer care.

During the 3-day Anniversary Carnival, showroom visitors will be able to view and test drive a wide range of Volkswagen models, as well as enjoy tasty treats from Wing-it, Muffins Paradise Brunei and Doug’s Cakoi. Of course, there will also be fun children’s activities so the whole family will be entertained.

The event starts at 3pm on Friday, 8 May, and runs from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, 9 May and Sunday, 10 May.

 

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Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few.

 

Brunei team posing with visiting team from Chinese Taipei in this morning’s press conference

This is it!!! Brunei is confident that they will get a result out of tomorrow’s big clash with Chinese Taipei. They have initially won the first leg 1-0 away in Chinese Taipei last Saturday. It was a historic moment for Brunei Darussalam as it is their first competitive victory in the pre-World Cup qualifying and the best part is that they achieved the result with a clean sheet away from home.

They have won have the battle but tomorrow is the bigger day. They will need to at least get a draw to get pass Chinese Taipei. The match will be held tomorrow at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium at 8:15pm. Entrance is FREE and tickets will be available at the entrance. Yes, at the entrance and the gates are opened at 5:45pm tomorrow. For the record, there are 10,000 tickets being issued though you can still enter the stadium without the tickets but the tickets printed are part of the requirement from FIFA to calculate the number of attendance for tomorrow’s match.

Of course, the maximum capacity is 20,000 and they will have proper management of allowing spectators to enter the stadium.

Azwan Salleh, captain of Brunei Darussalam, Hj Mohd Noor Hj Hamid, the team manager for Brunei Darussalam, Ameer Lani, Marketing and Communication Executive of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, Chen Kuei-Jen, Head Coach of Chinese Taipei and Chen Yi-Wei, Captain of Chinese Taipei in today’s press conference

Azwan Salleh, captain of Brunei Darussalam exchanging hand shakes with Chen Yi-Wei, Captain of Chinese Taipei

Azwan Salleh addressing to the media

The media at the press conference

Hj Mohd Noor Hj Hamid, the team manager for Brunei Darussalam, believes a draw is sufficient for Brunei as they have a goal advantage. He expects Brunei team to give a better performance as this will be a historic moment if they go through the preliminary stage of the World Cup qualifiers. The team manager shared that Chinese Taipei had many scoring opportunities in the last game but it was the heroics of Wardun Yussof in goal and the defence that made the victory. He encourages all the Brunei supporters to come tomorrow to catch the match against Chinese Taipei.

The Chinese Taipei head coach is also confident that they can get a result tomorrow and his players are well acclimatized to the humid weather in Brunei. Of course, he felt disappointed after the 1-0 loss at home but during training the next day, they just forget about the past and focused on the upcoming game as the 2nd match is more important than the first. He believed tomorrow’s match will be exciting for the fans of Brunei and Chinese Taipei and to the fans of football.

Azwan Salleh, the captain of Brunei team, expressed how the matches against Chinese Taipei is the biggest match of his life because it’s a qualifier for the World Cup and this is the biggest tournament that he has ever been in. He shared that this opportunity doesn’t come to Brunei all the time.

I will be expecting a full house attendance tomorrow and the crowd will be filled with yellow and black tomorrow. Can Brunei make it through the pre-qualifying stage? We shall wait and see. Good luck to the players tomorrow.

Get your tickets tomorrow at the entrance. This will be a good souvenir to keep for a very long time.

A few nights ago, Brunei made history when they scored an away victory. Can they repeat the same thing again tomorrow and qualify?

 

Catching Cinderella with my siblings last night at The Mall Cineplex. A highly recommended movie for all ages and if you like Frozen, you are in for a better treat.

Check out my full review on my podcast (The Popcorn Panel) on SoundCloud on Disney’s Cinderella 2015.