Podcast review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with special guests Nur Iskandar and Pranika Lama

 

Wu Chun starring in the upcoming movie Nest which is scheduled for shooting pretty soon

Kellan Lutz and Kelsey Grammer will join Li Bing Bing and Wu Chun in 3D sci-fi action film Nest and it’s slated for 2016 release.

The film, follows a group of scientists exploring an ancient labyrinth who must fight off a swarm of deadly, man-eating funnel web spiders if they hope to survive.

The film has enjoyed pre-sales success for Darclight, the genre arm of Sydney- and Los-Angeles-based Arclight Films, which is pitching it at the American Film Market.

Arclight Films’ genre label Darclight, handling worldwide sales, also has sold the film in a number of territories at AFM, including Germany (Square One ), Middle East (Italia), Turkey (Aqua Pinema), India (Viswaas), Philippines (Pioneer), Vietnam (Galaxy), Myanmar (Colorful Garden) and Indonesia (Cinemaxx).

“Kellan Lutz and Kelsey Grammer bolster not only the cast in a brilliant way, but the overall power and commercial value of the film,” says Clay Epstein, Arclight Films’ senior vp sales and acquisitions.

The Nest is being written and directed by Kimble Rendall (Bait & The Matrix Reloaded), an ARIA Hall of Fame member inducted for his work as a founding member of the Hoodoo Gurus.Along with starring, Chinese actress Li also will produce with Gary Hamilton, Ying Ye, Mark Lazarus and Serena Deng, and executive producers Mike Gabrawy and Elliot Tong.

Kellan Lutz’s recent films include Twilight Saga, The Expendables 3 and The Legend of Hercules, and he’s wrapped work on Extraction with Bruce Willis and Money with Jesse Williams. He’s repped by WME and Ryan Daly of Zero Gravity Management.

Frasier star, Kelsey Grammer appeared in Transformers and The Expendables 3, as well as Entourage and the upcoming films Storks and Bunyan and Babe. He’s repped by  UTA and WikkedCat Entertainment.

Wu Chun is longing back to be on the set after a two years hiatus

Wu Chun with Hollywood actor Chris Evans

Quote from Wu Chun: After taking a break from filming 2 years ago, i am super excited to be back and extremely privilege to be given a role in NEST 3D. Its my first movie where i will be working with a strong team of Hollywood professionals and no doubt that its going to be a fruitful experience for me.

This is also my first attempt on a 3D movie production and the fact that i am always a Sci-Fi movie fans makes me even more curious on the set up of this production which will take place mainly in Australia starting this month.

 

Hj Julaini Hj Latip, Board of Director of Stesen Minyak KOPPMB (third from left), Hj Mat Sarudin Hj Ismail, Head of Brunei Shell Marketing’s Retail (center) and Dato Paduka Hj Ahmad Kadi, Board of Director of Stesen Minyak KOPPMB (right) during the briefing of the new tyre inflators last Friday

When will it stop? We tend to take the small things for granted. It’s a norm that all those who drive will visit the petrol station at least once a week. The thing that we don’t realise are the tyre inflators that are stationed at almost all petrol stations for the convenience of the motorists should they want to inflate their tyres.

However, it’s sad to note that the petrol stations are also subjective to vandalism and yes, the tyre inflators are one of the targeted items – cutting off the hose or spoiling the gauge. For your info, the self-service tyre inflation is FREE of charge and sometimes patrons won’t realised that the faulty inflators were being vandalised and it’s beyond the control of the owners and the management since the inflators are physically located outside and exposed to the public.

This issue was raised by Hj Mat Sarudin Hj Ismail, Head of Brunei Shell Marketing’s Retail and the tyre inflators are provided by BSM to all the filling stations in Brunei Darussalam. Having said that, BSM will be undergoing a replacement program by bringing the latest digital tyre inflators and slowly, they will be installing to some of the filling stations in phases.

BSM are working closely with the their contractors and the Retail Station operators to implement a coordinated response on the tyre inflator equipment upgrading and replacement programme. The most important thing is that the equipment is safe and effective for the consumers’ benefit.

So I do urge the public to be more viligant and do watch out for the culprits who would tamper the equipments. If you have any suggestions on how to improve the service or reduce the vandalism, you can contact BSM at 277 4277 or email at BSM-External-Affairs(a)shell.com

Hj Mat Sarudin Hj Ismail holding a list of filling station that has operational tyre inflators. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.

Hj Mat Sarudin showing to the media of the dysfunctional tyre inflator that has been tampered

Some of the culprits will cut the hose which makes it difficult for patrons to pump their tyres

The clear glass was initially there but had been broken. The new tyre inflators will have a digitial reading with a more comprehensive manual

 

Podcast review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with special guests Nur Iskandar and Pranika Lama

The Progresif Cellular management all geared up for Episode VII

Progresif team showing their force at Times Cineplex

The US Ambassador to Brunei Craig Allen (5th L) with his family in a group photo with the characters of Star Wars at the Fanboys Infinite movie screening of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens at Times Cineplex last Friday. Image courtesy of Khaliq Roziman of The Brunei Times.

It was good to see movie goers dressing up. Image courtesy of Khaliq Roziman of The Brunei Times.

I see familiar faces. Image courtesy of Khaliq Roziman of The Brunei Times.

Darth Vader taking a sip of the Red Velvet ice blended drink

The Managing Director of PAR Food & Beverages, YAM Pg Anak Abdul Mun’im (R), presents a mock cheque to a member of Pusat Ehsan Board of Trustee Hj Ahmad Hj Abd Rahman at The Coffee Bean’s outlet in Supasave Beribi yesterday. At the same time, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf also launched two new drinks in conjunction with the Star Wars movie – White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Blended and Double Chocolate Peppermint Ice Blended available until mid January. Image courtesy of Analisa Amu of The Brunei Times.

I recently saw many merchandise being sold at Mall of Asia, Manila.

I watched both movies and both are awesome and are in my 10 ten movies of 2015

 

Alan Inspiration Salon reopens and it is now located at Seri Q-Lap Mall

Alan, the man behind Alan Inspiration Salon and he will be available from 23rd to 25th December. Highly recommended 😀

Alan Inspiration Salon is relocated in Brunei and it’s located on the 1st floor at Seri Q-Lap Mall. They provide a one-stop service for men and women hair design/cut/wash and they just started operations quite recently. I met up with Alan the man behind the successful outlet & academy and he’s happy to be back, catering to the Brunei market.

The genius behind Inspiration Alan Salon, has been a hair champion of Malaysia and Singapore and he has trained in London, Europe, USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Along the way he has won numerous awards and accolades which makes him one of the sought hairstylists in the region.

Surprisingly he still has his regular customers from Brunei and alan will make himself available from time to time as he is based in Miri too.

This time round one of his hair stylist is in Brunei from 18th December to 23rd December and his name is Wilson Lee (7 years experience in Kota Kinabalu). Alan himself will be in Brunei from 23rd to 25th December and followed by Michelle from 26th December to 31st December. So do make your appointments at Alan Inspiration Salon at Seri Q-Lap Mall because they have a special promotion of 20% discount (wash & cut) for the first ever client of Alan Inspiration Salon.

For now, the hair wash services for wash and blow is only BND 10. Wash and treatment (using Korea crystal shine products) is only BND 25 and Wash and Treatment (using L’Oreal or Schwarzkopf product) is only BND 50. 

The comfy chairs for the patrons

The hair wash section – separately from men and women. For the time being, hair wash and blow is only BND 10.

Some solutions for your hair

Great promotion especially for first time customer.

The schedules of the hair stylists from Alan Inspiration Salon

Alan was the hair stylist during one of the fashion show. He has many accolades under his belt as a hair stylist

Another highly recommended hair stylist – available from 26th December to 31st December at Alan Inspiration Salon

 

Alvina Ching Sei Ing, the winner of the ‘Baiduri fabulous Promotion @ Mabohai Shopping Complex’ promotion, receiving the a mock key from Pierre Imho, the CEO of Baiduri Bank

Group photo with the winners and finalists with Baiduri Bank management

18 finalists but only one walked away with the Mini Cooper. The campaign lasted for six months at the Mabohai Shopping Complex where all you need to do is swipe ur Baiduri Credit Card and Debit Card while shopping at their premise. The responses have been overwhelming and it was a win-win situation for the retailers and the consumers.

Presenting the prizes was Pierre Imho, the CEO of Baiduri Bank and the grand winner belonged to Alvina Ching Sei Ing who won herself a brand new Mini car.

There were also top three consolation prizes with $300 gift hamper sponsored by L’Occitane and $300 Flexa voucher won by Goh Chee Ming and Victor Edgar Keasberry respectively.

For more updates, you can visit their social media IG at @baiduribank.

One of the consolation winners

During the draw process

Alvina in great joy after winning the Mini

PechaKucha Volume 6 is happening tonight. Not sure if the tickets are sold out but I’m looking forward to this event and I hope I managed to catch all of them as I have another event to attend. Amazing that the team have reached the 6th volume of the PechaKuchaNight BSB. Tonight it will take place at The Energy Kitchen.

Happening tonight at Energy Kitchen

All the seven speakers to share their personal experiences for your interest

Finah Yusof was supposed to travel for only about 2 months. But things got topsy turvy as that extended to a life-gripping adventure of 32 months. In 2012, Finah went to many different places on the face of the globe witnessing what most of us now might never ever be able to someday. She returned just this year to tell you all of that very journey.

Josephine On is also a business entrepreneur. Her entrepreneurship journey was full of doubts and even fears. She found comfort in discomfort. Without overcoming those doubts, she would never have found Hoko Creative.

Next up, he is the youngest of the bunch. Malik Som is 17 years old and will tell you his story of his nostalgic camping experience in Ulu-Ulu Temburong. He discovered more than just a great experience, he discovered a lifetime of valuable lessons.

The business world is more than just earning money as easy as you want. There are loads of hard work, struggles and behind the scenes that many might never witness. Fatin Arifin will give an insight on the challenges that the business world could throw at you.

Hilman Omar had an unexpected reaction from his circle of friends when he drew illustrations of them. They loved it! It was gratifying to see that. And it was the first time ever showing his art towards his group of friends. *Hint* an artwork on the event/venue will be drawn by him. Wonder where that will be drawn?

Another presenter Nitisha Kashyap has lived in Brunei for about 3 years. It was challenging for her at first to adapt. Where to find friends? What activities were there to do to fill time?

Lastly, one of the speakers, Amir Noor who is rocking that Star Wars shirt. Amir is a geek at heart and loves, and we mean LOVES longboarding. Will he talk about longboarding? We shall see.

Podcast review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with special guests Nur Iskandar and Pranika Lama

The Force Awakens: (This is not a movie review). My oh my.. I never thought the hype will be this huge. Forget The Avengers: Age of Ultron or Jurassic World. No movie brand can come close to Star Wars in terms of marketing and presence. It’s just everywhere and definitely the word of mouth on the hype just snowballed.

Now the question is will it eclipsed the box office record of Jurassic World in its opening weekend? This is the only movie that stands a chance to reach that milestone and it also remains to be seen if it has the legs to reach the $600 million mark for US box office earnings. Movie analyst has predicted that The Force Awakens will reach in the region of USD 230 million in its first weekend. Let’s hope that it will reach that milestone. I can’t wait to see the results.

Will Brunei also enjoy great success in the box office? From the looks of it, it might just have the legs to do so since it’s the holiday season. However, it could be affected by the fact that some are traveling abroad and there are most likely to catch it overseas.

I’m hoping to catch it on IMAX theatres by next week or so. After 30 plus years, you can really feel that Force has really awakened.

We had the privilege to catch Star Wars: The Force Awakens at The Mall Cineplex last Wednesday midnight

Ticket prices at The Mall Cineplex. Thu-Fri – Before 6:30pm $5/$3.50 After 6:30pm – $7, Sat – Before 6:30pm $6/$4 After 6:30pm – $8, Sun – $7/$4, Mon-Wed – Before 6:30pm $4/$3 After 6:30pm – $6

The Darth Vader from New Era I bought from The Cap City and the 3D glasses of Stormtroopers

They had a real scale version of the X-Wing fighter at the Mall of Asia, Manila. The Star Wars fever was all over Manila. I ended up buying a few t-shirts along the way.

A great read from TIME magazine on Star Wars

My favourite notepad so far.

 

The Intelligent Set from Tomato KidZ

Want a good posture while studying? Research has shown that good sitting posture is important to a child’s growth and development and should be encouraged from an early age. And now you can choose the Intelligent Kids Study Station from Tomato KidZ– one of their best sellers which has been created to support your child’s health and well-being.

Designed to be used from kindergarten to university, the excellent construction and adjustable height, enables this study station to grow with your child. It is suitable for children from as young as three years old. The new wide coverage LED light helps to protect your child’s eyesight as they use it to help them read, write and study in a properly lit environment.

However, one of the most important features of the Intelligent Kids Study Station series is the ergonomic design which features an adjustable desk surface up to 45 degrees which helps to ease the stress on the neck and shoulder muscles while also ensuring correct posture.

Dubbed as a study station that grows with the kids, the Intelligent Set has a height adjustable feature for both the chair and the desk that goes according to the measure of the child, so that the child perform their work at the optimal level.

Tested internationally, this Intelligent Kids Study Station has proven to be comfortable for both kids as well as adults; and is also extremely durable, so durable that is comes with a 10 year warranty!
Available in two practical colours: white and graphite, this comfortable and functional workstation can help your kids get straight A’s all the way to university!

For a limited time, Tomatok KidZ is launching Intelligent Set by giving away the Extra Wide LED Light worth $400 with the purchase of each intelligent set. Tomato KidZ is located at Setia Kenangan II (next to Regent Square) in Kiulap.

 

Check out the Acer monitors to enhance your gaming experience

@ennelynn (left) bought 5 pieces of the the NEW ERA STAR WARS™ limited edition collection at Cap City last Saturday. Image courtesy of @thecapcity.

The snapbacks are gone. During the first day launch of the @thecapcity NEW ERA STAR WARS™ limited edition collection last Saturday, many showed up and chose their favourite caps and some even bought in numbers as collections. With the huge hype of Star Wars movie releasing next week, the Star Wars fever has arrived and this shows how much impact the brand has in the community.

According to the franchise owner Soon Wing, over half the stock are gone after two days of release. I bought my Darth Vader version and I’m happy with my purchase.

Cap City is located on the 2nd floor at the arcade area of The Mall, Gadong. Cap City is an authorised distributor for well-known brands such as Dope, Huf, New Era, Obey and also Negative.

R2D2 caps

Darth Vader (my favourite)

Huge turnout last Saturday at Cap City (Brunei)

Posing with Wil at Cap City

Familiar faces with purchases of the NEW ERA STAR WARS™ limited edition collection

The best-selling original ink tank system printer in Southeast Asia. Now available at Concepts Computer

South Korean top seed Jeong Yeongseok (2nd L) the boys’ singles champion with Acting Senior Special Duties Officer at the Department of Youth and Sports, Mariam Ulat (L) and Brunei Darussalam Tennis Association officials John Chia (2nd R) and Hj Zuraimi Abdul Sani during the presentation of the 52nd ITF Junior Circuit Group 5 at the Brunei National Tennis Centre of the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex.

Chinese-Taipei’s Shih Hsin-Yuan with her singles title in the 52nd ITF Junior Circuit Group 5.

All the finals were played in the final two days of the 52nd ITF Junior Circuit Group 5 which took place at the Brunei National Tennis Centre. The Koreans blew away their chances to sweep all the trophies in the singles and doubles. Only the top seeded player from South Korea Jeong Yeongseok clinched one title in the boys’ draw where he beat his compatriot Hong Seung Heon (6th seed) in one sided final 6-0 6-0.

In the girls’ finals, Chinese-Taipei’s Shih Hsin-Yuan overpowered another Korean finalist Gwak Mi Ryung 6-3 6-1. It must be a gruelling affair for Gwak as she had to endure hours of tennis, being involved in both doubles and single matches. She also had another runner-ups trophy in doubles losing in straight sets the Japanese duo of Hiyori Ito and Funa Koazaki 6-3 7-6.

The boy’s doubles event also produced some great tennis but it was the Japanese duo that prevailed and held their serve through the match. James Kent Trotter and Shinji Hazawa erased their miseries in singles (quarter-final and semi-final respectively) and overcame the Koreans, Jeong Yeongseok and Hong Seung Heon 6-4 6-4.

It was such a wonderful display of tennis last week and it shows that Brunei is far away from the standards set by the regional contestants. I could see that our young players have the desire and will power to learn and they have the fundamentals of being on the courts with the guidance of the self-employed tennis coach Aiman Abdullah who has dedicated his time and efforts to the students.

I’m an avid player myself and regularly join Aiman’s tennis session from time to time. Thank you for your contribution and I hope for the bright future of tennis in the Sultanate. Keep up the great work!

Izzanie Abu Bakar, BDTA’s assistant secretary general, with James Kent Trotter and Shinji Hazawa with their boy’s doubles trophies

The girl’s doubles runners-up Suh Yuseung and Gwak Mi Ryung

The girl’s doubles champions Hiyori Ito and Funa Koazaki

The boy’s doubles runners-up Hong Seung Heon and Jeong Yeongseok

Group photo with the guest of honour, winners, organisers and helpers

The ball boys and girls of the finals

Aiman’s students

Gwak Mi Ryung serving during the girl’s finals. She lost 6-3 6-1 to Shih Hsin-Yuan.

Some of the spectators during the finals

Shih Hsin-Yuan was seeded 16th and she won the girl’s singles tournament against Gwak Mi Ryung

The girl’s doubles final last Saturday

Aiman Abdullah played the role of a linesman in the finals

Most of the matches he played, top seed Jeong Yeongseok cracked a smile or two

Acer Liquid Smartphones

Check out Acer Liquid smartphones

Icon Design Store

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Royal Brunei Airlines

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Check out our podcast review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Was it a hit or a miss?

 

Want to win a GoPro Hero 3+? Check out #kickItBrazil Peugeot Brunei competition. Competition starts 12th May. Click image to enter Facebook page for more details.

 

Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) last night formalised the agreement to order seven more A320neo aircraft from Airbus and these aircrafts will be used for short-haul destinations. The delivery of the first A320neo will be in 2018, four years from now but it’s a strategic plan by RB for their long term progress in the competitive aviation industry. The difference between the A320neo and the current A320 is the fuel efficiency. At the moment, RB has four A320s and three or four B787 for their operations. The idea of the new A320neo is to replace the current models.

The A320neo will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1127G-JM engines and the seven aircrafts are valued at USD 720 million. The signing took place at The Empire Hotel & Country Club and signing on behalf of RB was the Chairman Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin bin Abdullah while on behalf of Airbus was Mr. Jean Francois Laval, Airbus Executive Vice President Asia and signing on behalf of Pratt & Whitney was Mr. Phil Ma, Regional Sales Director of Pratt & Whitney.

Did you know RB has been operating on the A320 since 2003? So it’s a good sign that RB is looking ahead of the future by buying seven new ones to replace the current A320s and the latest NEO version will bring even greater levels of efficiency with 15% less fuel and significantly reduced impact on the environment. The new Airbus will have much better in-flight comfort and longer flying range and significant underfloor cargo capability.

The A320 family of Airbus is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line and they have more than 10,200 orders to date and over 6,000 aircrafts delivered. I shall talk more on the specs of the A320neo in my later post.

Mr. Jean Francois Laval, Airbus Executive Vice President Asia delighted with Royal Brunei Airlines purchase of the A320neo

Mr. Jean Francois Laval, Airbus Executive Vice President Asia, Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin bin Abdullah, Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, Dermot Mannion, Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines and Mr. Phil Ma, Regional Sales Director of Pratt & Whitney during the signing ceremony

Yes, it’s official now

The foreign dignitaries attended the event

Karam Chand, RB Chief Commercial and Planning Officer, was involved a lot in this deal and Dermott acknowledged his contribution in making this possible

Exchange of memento

Exchange of memento

Exchange of memento

A memento from RB to the guest of honour

Group photo with the signatories and the board of directors of Royal Brunei Airlines

The invited guests last evening

 

May the 4th was celebrated around the world as the adopted Star Wars Day, a day where fans of the franchise can show their colours of being with either The Dark Side or the Rebel Alliance. In Brunei, FreshCo was invaded by a motley crew of characters including Darth Vader, Mrs Vader, Vader Junior. a riot of storm troopers, Chewbacca, Jabba the Hut and many more, all volunteers from the local chapter of the 501st Legion, a fan group with affiliations worldwide, dedicated to dressing up as their favourite characters.

DJ Izan from Pilihan FM led the parade around Fresh Co, with shoppers and fans swarming them to take pictures. Gong Cha also gave out vouchers for free drinks  thirsty troopers and fans, making it an awesome afternoon. May the 4th Be With You.

By the way, you may have heard that J.J. Abrams has called the shots on the casts for the much anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII and guess who are back?? The old casts of the Star Wars series – Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO to name a few. Not sure how J.J. Abrams gonna pull this off and of course, he also announced new stars too which are not A-list stars but familiar to our eyes. The movie is scheduled for December 2015 release. Now that’s pretty cool. I’m looking forward to this than Man of Steel’s sequel.

One of the poster teasers for Episode VII but it will released by December 2015 instead of May as stated in the poster