TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

It was a movie that had my sights on the movie ever since I saw the first trailer. Two alien races of giant robot, the noble Autobots and evil Decepticons, wage war over the fate of the planet. It is the second installment to the franchise directed by Michael Bay. Shia LaBeouf returns stars as the hero Sam Witwicky, who now attends college along with Megan Fox as Sam's hot girlfriend which just sold half of the movies earnings from male fans. But despite the defeat of their leader, Megatron, the Decepticons are back to create more trouble for the two.

The movie starts off with a bang, straight into action of the Autobots are already in joint forces with the humans against the Decepticons. Everything was bigger and better, there were larger transformers, louder explosions and intrusive music which was possible with the technical expertise team behind director Michael Bay.
I think the quote “original is always better than the sequel” applies to this movie. There was no clear plot other than giant robots fighting each other until someone loses an eye. But on the other hand the visual appeal of the whole movie made it worth the money.

Royal Easter Show

It seems to be the place where people go in the school holidays. It boasts itself as being New Zealand’s largest and most varied family festival and has been around for more than 160 years.

Unlike the zoo the place was filled with music and people in costumes walking around the carnival. There was carnival rides within the show, such as a mini coaster, ferries wheel, and spinners. The negative was that you have to pay extra for the rides, which cost on average $4 per ride.

The most memorable moment was the magic show. It has no extra cost to watch. The show was based on a children’s story and there was a crowd of children in front of the stage often singing along and answering the questions of the narrator. I came in with my little brother who is 7 years old and he enjoyed the show.

Buddha Day

The temple is situated near the botany shops. It is about a 30 minutes drive from central Auckland.

I came during one of their festivals, so there was flocks of people everywhere.  Just outside the temple entrance there was a stage and people performing. There was also stands selling many different kinds of things but it was mainly food. To buy the things from the stand I had to exchange ‘real’ NZ money for money coupons.

When I first arrived I was amazed by the shear size of the temple. It was about 4 stories high including the roofing, inside the temple there is a large garden roughly equivalent to three rugby fields or maybe bigger. The area outside is about twice the size of the temple itself. Going inside the temple grounds made me forget that I was still in New Zealand. Since is it a sacred place, I was not sure if I could take pictures.

Auckland Zoo

The zoo prides itself as to improving the living quarters of New Zealand's largest collection of native and exotic animal species. But I had a quite low expectation as I have been warned it was fairly average, nevertheless I was looking forward to see the native animals of New Zealand.

When I first arrive at the zoo, it's a little disappointing, I had to park outside the zoo grounds as it has such a small car park, and additionally the entrance is small. But looks can be deceiving, the zoo was pretty big once we got inside. It was my first time visiting the Auckland Zoo. I expected it to be quite busy as I came in during the school holidays and was quite horrified by the long queue of people. There was very poor signage around the zoo, so on top of entry ticket I had to buy a map of the zoo.

The animal enclosures were average. It doesn’t feel as though you are walking with the animals, I saw monkeys through glass that wasn’t even clear and cleaned, it doesn’t give the feel of the Rain Forest. Probably the most memorable moment is when I saw elephants walking inside the zoo.

Old Boy (Film)

Old Boy starts in a chaos. We are then back in time, to the moment when Oh Daesu, after a drunken time at a police station, suddenly disappears from view. He is kidnapped then taken as prisoner into a hotel like room. His every move was also spied upon. Television is his only contact with the outside world, he watches the news including things like Princess Diana's wedding, and also discovers that he has become a murder suspect.

As well as to pass time, he prepares himself by training combat with the wall. Inside the cell, he always tries to think who could have done this to him. He has a list of potential names that could be the man behind all this.

Unshaved and dirty after years of imprisonment he finally leaves his cell, he's a man on a mission. Revenge will be more difficult than he thinks as he discovers that his unknown opponent is waiting for him.

It is movie full of shocking things. Old Boy is a restless, in your face movie. The sense of immediacy and makes you think even after the movie ends. I think that the shock is of all in what the movie it tells us about its characters and their emotions. The highlight of the movie definitely is when Oh Daesu eats a live octopus.

Star Cafe

The restaurant is in a great location in North Shore overlooking a lake. It was my first time going into the restaurant and was expecting a great experience to match the horde of people that was dining there when I first entered. Even though it was full and busy the staffs was friendly and quick to get us a table. They were also quick on giving us the menu and Chinese tea (pot of tea served in most Asian restaurant).

The restaurant specialises in Chinese dumplings and this restaurant is really different from other places I have been to. Trays of dumplings are taken by the staff around the restaurant and they offer each table the dumplings they have. If a table accepts the dumplings, it gets added to their tab. Firstly, this gives me a nostalgic feeling of the hustle and bustle in an Asian market. Secondly, I think this is a great way to increase sales for the restaurant, as they are always trying to sell even when you are eating.

Good service, what about the food? It was exceptional! Food arrived quickly which was great, and was presented beautifully in a traditional bamboo steam box, also most importantly it tasted fantastic.