Category Archives: Review

Whimsical Banana Recommends: Community

Posted by faithashw in Review, TV and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

It’s been a couple of weeks only but I’m incredibly stoked to announce here that the Whimsical Banana is now the resident reviewer at FOUR 😀

I’ve been reviewing Community and prior to having this gig I actually had never watched nor heard anything about it but boy am I glad I have now because Community is bloody fantastic!  For a TV addict I’m actually pretty appalled at myself for not having stumbled upon it sooner.

For the uninitiated, Community is a sitcom that is set in a community college and which centers around a group of “misfit” students that form an unlikely bond when they become a part of a study group created accidentally by Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale, host of The Soup), an ex-lawyer who is forced to go back to college when his firm discovered he had lied about his education.

Every episode will have you gasping for breath – it is funny as hell; lots of pop culture references and heavy use of meta-humor.  The writing is absolutely spot on, with every jibe and joke timed perfectly and delivered effortlessly by the stellar cast.  It is just such a refreshing TV show; there’s really nothing like it out there today, I reckon.

So if you have never watched Community, I highly recommend that you do!  And please support yours truly by checking out what I have to say about each episode each week.  I have created a page (to your right) which will take you directly to the reviews.  I will, of course, be updating this weekly as my reviews go live.

Click on the image to learn more about the show – if you live in New Zealand you will be able to watch the episodes online.

P.S. – If you were scratching your head wondering where you knew the chick in the middle from, she is none other than Alison Brie who also plays Trudy Campbell on Mad Men!  Talk about playing a completely different character…and era!

Uncharted: The Hollywood Blockbuster of Games

Posted by faithashw in Games, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Uncharted 3 was easily the one game that I had been (impatiently) waiting for all of this year.  I’ve been a huge fan of the series from when the first game first released even though I actually only started playing the games this year – you know, being late to the (gaming) party and all…

On the day the game arrived (and Explorer Edition, no less!) *thanks for the hook up, Mighty Ape* it was honestly like Christmas came early.  I blazed through it in about 3 days which was really quick by my standards (sorry for not savoring it, Louise *wink*) but I’m now on my 2nd playthrough in my quest for more trophies.

I have really gotten into games this year and many of you know that I am totally obsessed with L.A. Noire.  However the Uncharted series is pretty much on par with it; I adore both games for many similar but also altogether different reasons.

So the first thing that really drew me to the Uncharted games was that it promised an “active cinematic experience”.  This peaked my interest and intrigued me greatly.  Movies have taken a bit of a backseat in my life in recent years but it will always be my “first love” and this has bled into and influences my taste in games.  I am slowly but surely venturing out and diversifying but currently the games I am attracted to and play are those with strong narratives and are very “movie-like”.

The Uncharted series have certainly come a LONG way; the games have just gotten progressively better through the years.  Game developers Naughty Dog really are a well-oiled machine, in my humble opinion.  They somehow manage to top themselves each time which is mighty impressive since each game is already so bloody amazing that you think, surely it couldn’t get any better?!

Naughty Dog have managed to hit this perfect stride where they know what works and what they do well so they subsequently maintain the tried-and-true elements (with perhaps some tweaks) that make Uncharted the games fans know and love, but at the same time they also have this like “bag of tricks” that they know to pull out at the opportune time to keep things fresh.  They are always looking at ways to improve the experience and surprise gamers which is I think a big reason why the games are so successful.

One of the (many) great things about the Uncharted games is how fantastic it looks.  The graphics are absolutely top notch, even in the early days of Drake’s Fortune.  There was a marked improvement in Among Thieves apart from the rather odd “glassy eyes” the main characters got during the cutscenes (particularly Chloe) – which freaked me out a bit!  Then Drake’s Deception rolls along and WOW.  The Dogs have really outdone themselves this time!

The world and everything in it is about as realistic as something computer generated can be.  The levels are all absolutely stunning – breathtaking views, incredible attention to detail and virtually everything you see Drake can interact with and vice versa.  Background “props” are not just there to fill and decorate the space but have a more defined appearance and presence.  When you are wandering around the cobbled streets of Cartagena, you feel like you are right there – everything looks tangible enough to touch and you can almost smell the air of this little Colombian village.  I liken this a lot to how I felt as I was driving around the streets of L.A. in L.A. Noire.

One of the most realistic environments I thought was the Rub Al’ Khali desert.  You would think creating an endless landscape of sand and sun wouldn’t be too tricky but even before watching any of the Naughty Dog interviews about the making of this level, I could see how much effort had gone into the finished product – because it looks so damn real!  That sand is ridiculous.  It moves with the wind, it changes in form as Drake trudges through it.  Superb effort, Dogs!

In terms of gameplay, like I said before, they’ve kept to their strengths and what the games are inherently about which is a good mix of platforming, gunplay, puzzle-solving and most importantly a thumping good story rooted in real-life legend told through a cinematic lens.  I did feel with this 3rd installment they’d really pulled out all the stops and just gone bigger and better.  I would say there was the least amount of change in terms of the “mechanics” related to the platforming and gunplay sequences however the new locations Drake finds himself in is what kept these two aspects of gameplay fresh and exciting.

One of my favorite moments in the game was the capsizing ship chapter – having to figure out which direction to head in, where to jump to next when everything has rotated 90 degrees was something I did find fairly challenging and confusing at times but it was also very enjoyable all the same.  The most impressive thing about this chapter was that the ship was created on like some kind of special “engine”, I believe?  Sorry, I’m not too well-versed with the actual jargon but essentially in layman terms a program or something similar was made especially for this sequence which enabled the ship and the surrounding ocean to behave exactly like how a real ship out at sea would in real life.

This means it will feel different each time too which I think is great in terms of replayability.  The end result is pretty freaky, like you actually do feel like you are on a real ship – suffice it to say this really adds on to the game playing experience.  I recall actually feeling quite seasick throughout that whole chapter – I kid you not!

I thought the puzzles in the game were really interesting and challenging enough without being too tedious.  As for the melee I thought that probably had the biggest improvement; Drake’s movements were more fluid and you could do extra things like throw someone up against a benchtop (or out a window!) and use nearby items as weapons to help you knock out an enemy – there’s even a trophy if you use fish to hit a baddie when brawling in a market, which I think is pretty funny!

The one thing that really sets the Uncharted games apart from a lot of other similar games is just how real the characters are, in particular Drake.  He doesn’t feel like a 2D computer-generated figure which you merely move around on-screen; the way you’re able to control him, how he interacts with everything and everyone around him – he actually does feel like a real person.  Thanks to the amazing technology that Naughty Dog have at their disposal, Drake is actually created with weight and mass which is why he feels real when you play him.

And of course let’s not forget the extremely talented Nolan North who is responsible for breathing life into our hero!  For the uninitiated, Nolan North is the games equivalent of an A-list Hollywood star – he has lent his voice to MANY games although he is best known as Nathan Drake.  He really embodies Drake so perfectly – and it really is like he literally has given Drake a beating heart because I feel like I know him, that he’s not “just a character in a video game”.  You totally rock, Nolan!

Gameplay aside, I have to say I was completely captivated by and engaged with the story.  I loved that we were (finally) told the story behind Drake’s and Sully’s relationship.  I loved that you got to explore Drake more intimately, really delve into his past and learn why he is the way he is.  I felt the narrative arc was just spot on; it was paced extremely well and each character’s individual story had a point and purpose and fit perfectly with the overall plot.  Major kudos to Amy Hennig, you are such an inspiration to me and I can only hope I can learn to write like you one day!

I think some of the best bits in the game were the action sequences, hands-down.  Naughty Dog really took the “active cinematic experience” to the next level, I thought.  And they definitely had a mammoth of a task in front of them because Among Thieves had some really awesome action sequences.  I won’t give any specific examples as I want to keep this post as spoiler-free as possible but what I will say is many of the action sequences got me screaming/swearing and my heart racing!  As terrifying as it is at the time, they are also an absolute blast – and of course rewarding as hell when you come out of it on the other side!

There are many people that are quite purist when it comes to games like Uncharted that blur the lines between game and cinema.  I personally do not have a problem with this and anyone who has had a conversation with me about games will know my thoughts on this.

I think what makes Uncharted so appealing to me is that it really is escapism in it’s purest form, isn’t it?  In a movie, you passively watch the action unfold before your eyes.  But in a game, specifically a game like Uncharted, not only do you see what happens unravel, you get to be a part of the action, and (sometimes) influence the course of the story.  As much as a game can look and feel like a movie, it’s the interactive aspect of games which is not possible in film that is what I find most unique and intriguing about this entertainment medium.

Overall, Uncharted 3 was SO worth the wait.  Not a dull moment; thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.  I have the utmost respect for everyone at Naughty Dog because what they have achieved with this franchise is nothing short of phenomenal.  IMHO they have made the “perfect” game in the sense that Uncharted has all the right elements that make for a fantastic gaming experience – stellar graphics, brilliant cast, great soundtrack, exciting action-packed sequences, engaging and immersive gameplay and an amazing well-written story.

Whimsical Banana rates Uncharted 3: A well-deserved 6/5 Bananas! 

Thanks for the thrilling ride, Naughty Dog!  I look forward to reading about the many awards and accolades you will no doubt be receiving for this epic masterpiece.

Review: Drive

Posted by faithashw in Film, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

I was lucky enough to attend a VERY advanced screening of Drive this week.  It was pretty early in the morning so it was one of those “this better be worth it” moments but boy am I glad I dragged myself out of bed for it.

Drive is easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year which is saying something as I’ve not watched a whole lot this year and the films I have seen have been good ones.

Based on a novel, the premise is straightforward enough – a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver becomes unwittingly involved in a heist that goes badly wrong in a bid to help out a neighbor.  He is played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling who up until recently I hadn’t really paid attention to especially since he kind of dropped off the radar for a bit post-The Notebook fame.  After watching his performance in this film though, he is definitely one to look out for.  You certainly see a completely different side to his acting abilities here, as he plays a much darker character.

Although simple in premise and linear in storytelling style, visually the film is “exciting” because it is executed with so much thought and skill.  Everything just made sense and had it’s purpose; pacing was definitely a key element that drove the film and I felt Nicolas Winding Refn, the director nailed it.  One of my favorite scenes was the opening sequence where you follow Gosling’s character like an invisible passenger on a routine job in the getaway car.  Very cat-and-mouse-esque – the build up throughout the sequence was excellent, so much nail-biting tension!!  Just like the robbers in the backseat, you are taken along on this ride and as he is feverishly trying to evade the police you are kept at the edge of your seat; will he escape, will he get caught?  I thought the cuts between the interior and exterior of the car were well timed and added to the intensity and the suspense of the “chase”.

Gosling’s character – who is unnamed – doesn’t speak much throughout the film.  You get the impression that he is more of a spectator in life.  He only speaks when spoken to and you get this sense that he is a troubled person with a tainted past.  This requires a lot of restraint in an actor’s performance which I felt Gosling did remarkably.  In my opinion, the mark of a really good actor is someone who is able to still bring forward their character’s story and personality even with the absence of dialogue.  There are many scenes in this film where he doesn’t say much, or anything, but you still know exactly what is going on, or what he is feeling, because Gosling manages to skillfully convey so much through subtle nuances in his face and body language.   I remember this scene between him and the neighbor (played by Carey Mulligan) – it was dead silent between the two of them for a good 30+ seconds and although it looked deceivingly like the pair were not putting in any effort acting-wise, they managed to perfectly create that awkward tense silence between two strangers just getting to know each other.  The shot was taken over Mulligan’s shoulder so you don’t see her face, just Gosling’s; the expression he had on his face was priceless; very subtle but completely relatable to anyone who has ever been in this situation before (Lord knows I have!) – so awkward but so perfect for that exact moment in the film.

Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame makes a guest appearance in the film – a nice touch.  If you’re used to seeing her as the sexy and always-well-put-together Joan Holloway, you are in for a surprise as she plays a VERY different character in this film.

I don’t really want to say much more because I feel I will not do it justice.  All I will say to conclude is this: Drive is a rather ugly story but told beautifully.  Not beautiful visually but beautiful cinematically.  It’s edgy, disturbing and entertaining all in one.  Ryan Gosling plays a very interesting “more than meets the eye” character – an unlikely hero –  narrative pull aside, I feel Gosling’s character is a significant factor to what makes the film so intriguing.  If you appreciate a good suspense thriller and can stomach a good amount of violence, you need to see this film when it opens in cinemas in November.

Whimsical Banana rates Drive:  5/5 tasty bananas!

Heavy Rain: Interactive Drama at it’s Best

Posted by faithashw in Games, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I recently decided to go back for a second playthrough of Heavy Rain, primarily with the goal to *finally* Platinum it – and I’m so chuffed I went back.  A year and a half later and the experience still feels as fresh and engaging as it did the first time.  I’ve definitely fallen in love with it all over again!

When I first got told about this game about 6 years or so ago, it definitely peaked my interest from the get-go.  And back then I wasn’t into games at all really so that’s saying something.  In those early days there wasn’t too much mention of the story or what it was going to be about, but it was more a reveal of what kind of game this was going to be, gameplay-wise.  Quantic Dream, the developers of the game had big plans and hopes for Heavy Rain because it was going to be pioneering a new genre in games – the “interactive drama” as they coined it.

Let me start by giving a brief synopsis of what Heavy Rain is all about.  Don’t worry, I’ve kept it spoiler-free, should anyone feel encouraged to play it after they read this post (I hope so!).

The story spans over several days in October 2011 in a city somewhere on the east coast.  The location is never mentioned in the game but there are several clues throughout the game that suggests it is set in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.  You play 4 characters at different stages in the story – Ethan (a father and an architect; he is the main protagonist), Norman (an FBI profiler who suffers from drug addiction), Scott (a private investigator) and Madison (a chronic insomniac).  There is a serial killer on the loose – the Origami Killer as he has been labeled by the police – whose modus operandi is to kidnap young boys during the rainy fall season.  The victims are found dead several days later in a remote location, always with an orchid on their chest and an origami figure in their hand.  Ethan’s son, Shaun, disappears and the police soon link his disappearance to the Origami Killer murders.  Meanwhile unbeknownst to the police Ethan is being contacted by the Origami Killer himself – he has to undergo different “tests” in order to gain clues to the whereabouts of his son.

The underlying message throughout the game is simple: How far would you go to save the one you love?  The game has a very strong moral compass – every action and decision bears consequences that will not only affect later scenes in the game but the overall narrative arc; ultimately all your decisions, what you did or didn’t do, how you reacted, who survived and/or didn’t – will impact how the story ends.

As you play each character you have the opportunity to react and respond differently in different situations.  In conversations you can choose to be reasonable or aggresive, to forgive or to reject, to come clean or to lie.  During the majority of these scenes you can gain access to the character’s thoughts which could help/affect your decision.  In the faster paced action sequences, you do not have direct control of the character but instead you have to be prepared to respond to a quick succession of button prompts (“quick time events”, for you gamers out there!!) in order to get through the scene – in some of these scenes, failing too many times could result in that character’s death.  The prompts are not just you mindlessly button mashing but also makes use of the PS3’s motion-sensitive controller.  For example, choosing to kick down a door could involve you physically moving the controller to mimic that very action.  It was these prompts that I found particularly engaging as it increased the player’s involvement to the action on screen.  What I found effective as well was, in scenes where the character is in a stressed or panicked situation, the button prompts or options mirror the character’s feelings – they appear shaky and blurry onscreen which makes you, the player, become equally stressed and panicked as well.

To have a better understanding of what I’m going on about, the below video is the first trial that you can choose to have Ethan do.  I think among all the action sequences that are in the game, I “enjoyed” this one the most.  It was the first time in the game that I actually felt completely immersed and connected to what was going on onscreen – I had invested in Ethan by that point and so how you see him in that sequence, that’s exactly how I was too – I remember feeling absolutely terrified for my life; my heart was pounding out of my chest and there definitely was some screaming and swearing going on too!

*Thank you to MahaloVideoGames for the video

What I find most interesting about this game is that it does not play like your usual shoot bad guys/ drive fast cars/ jump from platform to platform/ save the damsel in distress type games.  Instead it is meant to feel and play out as closely to reality as it possibly can do within the rules and universe of a game.  This is best illustrated through what I think is the game’s unique “selling point” – and that there are no game overs which then require a replay.  So like if in a particular chapter you stuff up too many times and wind up getting killed, instead of the scene ending with a “Game Over” forcing you to repeat that sequence, the story just carries on without the character.  Any contributions that character had to the plot will now become null, and will of course, affect the progression and ultimately the conclusion of the story.

Most if not all games are designed to encourage replayability and Heavy Rain is no exception: there are literally countless ways you can play out the story.  There are multiple options for most choices and actions that could branch out to many different narrative threads – the possibilities are seriously endless.  One of the trophies in the game is “See all endings” – it took me awhile but I finally got it; there are seven different endings with seventeen various epilogues spread out between them.  However with each ending there could be multiple ways of getting to that ending. (I know this because I tried!)

Interestingly enough though, David Cage, the CEO of Quantic Dream who also wrote and directed the game doesn’t actually encourage replaying the game.  In an interview with G4TV he said “I would like people to play it once…because that’s life. Life you can only play once…I would like people to have this experience that way.  I’m fine with [reloading to avoid a bad result], but the right way to enjoy Heavy Rain is really to make one thing because it’s going to be your story. It’s going to be unique to you. It’s really the story you decided to write…I think playing it several times is also a way to kill the magic of it.”  I doubt many, if  any, gamers heeded to his advice (I certainly didn’t!) but what he said definitely rings true to the spirit of the game and what it’s all about.  As I said earlier, I definitely get the sense that the game is made to play as close to reality as possible.  Echoing his words, in life there are no second chances and so good or bad, you have to live with the choices you make – and that is what you constantly get faced with throughout the game: tons of decision-making.  It sounds tedious when put like that but it really isn’t.

As brilliant as the game is on so many levels, it does have it’s faults too.  Controlling the characters can sometimes be a tad awkward (R2 to move, left analog stick to control the direction – not just the left analog stick which is the standard) and at certain times they do seem a little robotic in their movements, in particular when you change the direction when the character is walking.  In terms of facial performance, for the most part it was pretty spot-on however I felt that this seemed to only be largely limited to the 4 main characters; the more minor characters (namely Lauren Winter, for me personally) tended to have a very deadpan look in their eyes and often just a lifeless expression on their face regardless if they were happy, sad or angry.  This was a bit disappointing considering overall the game visually looked stunning and very realistic.  Another negative for me was some very obvious plot holes towards the end of the game.  Again, very disappointing especially considering the game’s main strength is it’s story.  I’m uncertain as to why this wasn’t picked up on but giving them the benefit of the doubt I can only hazard a guess that assuming all bases had been covered, what must have happened was when cuts were being made to manage the length, some important facts and information may have gotten lost along the way but not removed entirely – and so plot holes are born.  Pretty careless but hey, happens all the time – in movies, especially.

Flaws aside, I do feel that overall Heavy Rain‘s positives far outweigh the negatives.  In my opinion Quantic Dream did manage to achieve what they set out to do and that was to create a unique, first-of-its-kind, gaming experience – a psychological thriller with a strong narrative and underlying moral theme, in the form of an interactive drama.  The “mood” and feel of the game is masterfully executed through the gray color palette of the world, the sombre and haunting soundtrack and the well thought-out characters that complement (and sometimes contradict) each other.  The actors who were cast all performed brilliantly (they all did both the voicework and motion capture); in particular the ones who play the 4 main characters.  Pascal Langdale, who played Ethan, perfectly embodied the character, in my opinion.  He definitely breathed life into Ethan and made him feel like a real person, not just a character I was playing in a game.  I felt emotionally connected to Ethan from start to finish; I felt his fear, I understood his guilt – often I found myself getting so immersed in the experience that it didn’t feel like I was playing a game anymore.  It’s amazing that you can feel like that for something that is in essence completely virtual.

It is this feeling that I hold on to and why subsequently I think Heavy Rain is simply a fantastic game.  Again, it is far from perfect – it’s fairly buggy and definitely has room for improvement but for what it stands for and sets out to do – it is brilliant and in my VERY humble opinion, an important pivotal game in the gaming industry.  Games should always attempt to challenge or break down boundaries as it is still (sadly) the underdog among the different sources of entertainment, and Quantic Dream did just that with Heavy Rain – proving that games can be more than just “saving the princess” or shooting enemies left, right and center; games can also be incredibly interactive and highly engaging – it can involve moral decisions and invoke an emotional experience that you would (prior to this) normally possibly only ever akin to real-life situations.

So, if you have a PS3 and have not yet played Heavy Rain, you really need to!!  ‘Nuff said.   I think I have sung it enough praises, I will let the game itself do the rest of the talking…

Whimsical Banana rates Heavy Rain: 4/5 Bananas!

Yes I’m still alive, call off the search party

Posted by faithashw in Film, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Crikey time has really flown this last wee while, can’t believe I haven’t blogged for about 2 months!  I honestly don’t know who reads this – if any *sob* – but if there are, firstly THANK YOU, you’re awesome, and secondly apologies for the unplanned hiatus.  It’s been a crazy past couple of months but things look to be winding down now so thought I’d better breathe some life back in to this baby!  Whoever that has taken the time and interest in hearing what I have to say here, please do leave a comment so I know I’m not crazy and just talking to myself!

So, mid last month for 2 weeks I gave my good ol’ PS3 a much-needed rest *cough* from L.A. Noire *cough* and went back to my “first love” and that is movies!  It was that time again – the annual New Zealand International Film Festival.  I’ve been faithfully attending the NZIFF for as long as I can remember and I have to say that this year’s lineup was exceptionally good.  Normally I would inevitably end up making a couple of bad choices but this year everything I went to see was fantastic.

I watched a whole bunch and have a lot to say about most of them but it will take forever to pen them all down here so I’m going to attempt to give  a brief (I know, right – crazy talk) overall review of what I thought of each one here.

The Tree of Life

I am still undecided as to whether I liked it or not.  It certainly was very pretty, very “zen”.  But also very depressing, in parts, I found.  Very interesting perspective on the meaning of life and also creation of the universe.  The non-liner narrative made it hard to follow at times but overall I felt the story intertwined with the formation of the world was masterfully executed.  Thought the casting was spot on, was pleasantly surprised by Brad Pitt’s performance.  Best part – the sudden and brief appearance of dinosaurs.  While it kinda made sense it was also a very “WTF” moment, hah.

Medianeras

Absolutely loved this one.  Reminded me a lot of The Science of Sleep.  Quirky, charming and very whimsical.  The humor is definitely attributed to the excellent writing but also I feel was largely brought to life by the very well cast two main leads who played their characters so seamlessly.  They are both wonderfully weird and by the end of the film you can’t help but “fall in love” with them.  I’ve always had this strange desire to go visit Buenos Aires and I liked how this film cast a very different, “architectural” light on this Argentinian city.  The film succeeds brilliantly in conveying that feeling of isolation and loneliness when living alone in a thriving city but yet strangely you don’t feel depressed when watching it.  I loved how the director plays around with the notion of fate and chance, and how random encounters can lead to something that could change your life.

The Trip

Thoroughly enjoyed this one!!  A follow-up to A Cock and Bull Story, this British comedy sees Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reprise their “roles” and in this one they go on a restaurant trip around Northern England.  Talk about a dream trip aye, can’t think of a better thing to do on a road trip!  The food looked simply to die for, albeit some were a little too poncey for my liking, but perhaps what was even more delicious than the food was the chemistry between Steve and Rob.  Loved the banter between them, I almost felt like I was an invisible guest at their table, which I believe was the point.  Funniest bits were when they were trying to top each other doing Michael Caine impersonations.

Romantics Anonymous

This film made me want to devour a whole box of artisan chocolates after.  This French romantic comedy is every bit as charming as the title suggests.  Like Medianeras, the two main leads are perfectly cast; the comical and awkward chemistry between them was so palpable it was equally awkward to watch but yet you just can’t help but get sucked in, and before you know it, you have invested in these two characters and you hope they see it through to the end.  This film is so much more than your average “rom com” – it is superbly written, well cast, funny and cute as hell.  You may not need to bring tissues but I would recommend chocolates!

Arrietty

Studio Ghibli film.  Need I say more?  If you loved My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, you will definitely enjoy Arrietty.  The world is colorful, has loads of character and things are never as they first seem – what Studio Ghibli fans such as myself know to expect from and why we love these films.  It takes you on a journey; one that makes you delve into your imagination, return to those flights of fancy which you had when you were a child.  The beauty of Studio Ghibli films though is that if you peel back the surface and really look deep into the story that is being told you will find that there is a lesson that is being taught, a “moral of the story” – and this is why I believe these Japanese “cartoons” appeal to adults too.

A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt

Being a self-professed foodie, it is no surprise that I got drawn to this doco which tracked the early career of uber talented but very controversial chef, Paul Liebrandt.  It is note-worthy to mention too that the film was made by a Kiwi director which I thought was both surprising and interesting.  The food that Paul Liebrandt puts up is nothing short of a work of art.  I’ve seen a lot of beautiful plating but honestly nothing comes close to what he does – absolutely stunning.  It’s no surprise that he is the youngest chef to receive 3 stars from the NY times (he was 24).  As with most too-talented-for their-own-good chefs, Paul Liebrandt has a certain arrogance about him, but what I found refreshing was that it wasn’t because he was actually an arrogant person (quite the opposite actually), but moreover it stemmed from his immense passion for food, and pride in his cooking.  Each dish he plates up is done with so much love, care and precision.  He is also very personable, funny and incredibly candid which made it very enjoyable to watch.  A definite must-see for anyone who loves food and has an interest in the restaurant industry but be warned – your mouth WILL water from start to finish.

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

From a doco about a controversial chef we come to a doco made by a controversial filmmaker.  Morgan Spurlock – you either love him or hate him.  Most dislike him but I actually do admire his work in the sense that he is opinionated, he makes films to make/prove a bold statement and he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.  That does take some balls no matter how you look at it and I respect him for that.  I actually really enjoyed this doco.  I do have a vested interest in the subject because I did study advertising so a lot of the humor and irony I thoroughly enjoyed and had a good laugh at.  Overall it was put together extremely well in my humble opinion and I left wanting to try a POM so badly!  I have since managed to find one and boy they are TASTY…and bloody expensive!

The Future

Probably my least favorite and the strangest film I saw at the NZIFF this year.  To be honest the thing that drew me to the film was that it was narrated by a cat!  Unfortunately you never see this cat and I sorta got put off by the fact that it had abnormally large paws!  The premise of the film is interesting enough, however there isn’t much to like about the two main characters which made it hard to engage and invest in the story.  They are mildly interesting and in some parts funny but overall I found them to be dull as dishwater.  Once you’ve watched the film though, you can appreciate the character arc and somewhat understand what the film was trying to achieve.  If I were to summarize: It’s quite a pessimistic perspective on love and relationships, the second half of the film got really weird, and the ending is extremely depressing.

The Guard

I think this was my favorite film of the NZIFF season.  The Guard is a black Irish comedy starring the amazing Brendan Gleeson (Mad Eye Moody!) and Don Cheadle.  It was written and directed by John Michael McDonagh whose brother wrote and directed In Bruges which I think is interesting because in some ways the two films are quite similar.  Gleeson plays an unorthodox and obnoxious cop and boy does he play it to a tee.  The setting and backdrop of the story is pretty dark and sinister so Gleeson’s subversive – not to mention incredibly racist – sense of humor balances the mood of the film very well, in my opinion.  When Cheadle makes his appearance, you can immediately see why he was cast – him and Gleeson play off each other extremely well.  I would definitely recommend this to anyone, although you would have to have watched quite a lot of British comedy to fully enjoy and appreciate it.

A Cat in Paris

This film had “Cat” in the title – how could I not go for it?!  Feline aside, I actually really enjoyed this one.  On paper it ticks all the boxes of things I like in films – it’s French, it’s animated, it’s a mystery story, and of course, THERE IS A CAT.  The animation was very interesting; I don’t know any animation jargon so I’ll attempt to describe: it had a handpainted “water color” look to it and the world was made to look the furthest from reality, i.e. the cat is green, the human characters have abnormally long noses and do not appear to have any limbs.  It is very similar both in terms of story and look to The Illusionist, another French animated film which featured at last year’s NZIFF.  Overall I liked the premise of the story (the cat is a child’s pet by day, a thief’s sidekick by night) and it’s always refreshing watching an animated film that isn’t Japanese or American.

Melancholia

I was a tad hesitant about this film and almost didn’t go see it (thanks Michelle!), mostly due to the traumatizing experience that was Lars von Trier’s previous feature, Antichrist.  *shudder*  Like my first NZIFF film, I am still undecided as to whether I liked this or not.  Similarly it was pretty in parts and I thought the choice of score was apt and well-placed, but the pacing really bothered me.  It didn’t need to be that long and dreary, I don’t think.  I suppose this is where the name comes into play; the film certainly achieved an extremely melancholic state: bleak, gloomy and despondent.  Kirsten Dunst’s performance was average, she played the part well enough but then again how hard is it to just sit there and look morose for 136 minutes?  The ending was rather grand, and that was probably the best part.  However this may be because the film had ended.

So there you go, my thoughts on the films that I watched at the NZIFF this year!  I missed out on two in my to-see list because I was lazy, and a few more because the timing clashed with others, but overall I’m pleased with what I ended up watching.  Bring on next year!

L.A. Noire: Closing the Gap Between Game & Cinema

Posted by faithashw in Games, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anyone who plays games and/or has some knowledge of the who’s and what’s of the gaming world will need no introduction to L.A. Noire and what it is all about.  I have pretty decent knowledge of the gaming industry – for a girl, and for a “part-time gamer”, that is! –  but surprisingly I didn’t know of this game until about 6+ months ago. Ever since then I have been anxiously awaiting it’s release.  That day finally came on Friday the 20th, and what a happy kitty I was!  29 hours later, plus a few more hours of gameplay replaying missions and collecting trophies, here I am, ready to share with you all my experience and thoughts.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, let me firstly sum up in a nutshell what the game/story is all about: It is set in 1947 Los Angeles and you play Cole Phelps, a returning war hero who joins the LAPD force.  You start off as a patrolman but as the game progresses, you quickly rise up the ranks of the department.  With each case solved, Phelps delves deeper into the criminal underbelly of  L.A. and soon learns that nothing is as it seems; that underneath all the glamor and fame of the post-war boom, crime and corruption are rampant.

The game is greatly influenced – visually, stylistically and thematically – by film noir.  For all you non-film-geeks out there, film noir is a style of film made during the 1940s and 1950s which have a distinctive “look” (and sound) about them – they are generally shot in black-and-white and with low-key lighting, involve plots that center around sex, drugs, corruption and moral ambiguity, and accompanied by a haunting jazz soundtrack.  The game incorporates all these elements, even down to having the option of playing the game in black-and-white!

This was the first thing that attracted me to L.A. Noire.  The history of (American) film has always fascinated me and I have always been particularly drawn to film noir – I even took an entire paper on it at uni!  There’s just something about crime/ detective stories that peak my interest, for some reason.  L.A. Noire – put simply – is completely and utterly AMAZING.  I haven’t played many games as I am still fairly “new” to the gaming scene, but I have a deep, innate appreciation for the arts (yes I do consider games to be an art form) and thus believe I have a pretty good grasp on what is a good game, or what makes a game good.

The game is brilliant and impressive on so many levels.  The world is beautiful – what’s amazing is that 90% of what you see is historically and geographically accurate…minus a few artistic licenses here and there.  The production team spent months and months painstakingly researching to recreate 1947 L.A. as accurately as possible – even down to mirroring color palettes of corridors in certain key buildings, products/brands used at the time and billboards displayed on the streets.

Hundreds of aerial shots were taken so as to perfectly map out the streets and locations of landmarks and buildings of L.A.  This staggering attention to detail is truly incredible; it really makes you appreciate the game so much more when you know the lengths that the production team went to and how much effort was put into creating the world.  If you find this intriguing and want to learn more, check out this feature article.

Many of us enjoy entertainment mediums like film and games because it provides us with that few hours of escapism.  L.A. Noire does this brilliantly – the whole time I was playing I was completely immersed in the world; I really felt like I had been transported back in time.  Being able to experience this period in history – one that would have otherwise been impossible to experience firsthand – and especially one that is so significant and one in which I have a personal interest in, is what made the game all the more enjoyable.

I’ve watched many a film noir and yes I’ve felt connected to the stories, the characters, etc.  But here’s the big difference with games, a “leg up” over films, if you will – in games you get to interact and actively engage in the world.  You don’t just passively sit and watch the world unfold before you (literally), instead it is your actions in the game that sets in motion how the events will unfold.  Of course, some games are more restrictive than others, in terms of your control over the narrative/outcome.

I think the more seasoned, hardcore gamers will probably criticize the linearity of the game.  It is considered a somewhat open-world game (like it’s predecessors, Red Dead Redemption and the infamous GTA series) however after you’ve completed all the usual “easter egg hunting” (in this case, collecting Hollywood film reels and solving street crimes), there really isn’t anything else to do on the streets apart from literally just driving around sightseeing.  Unfortunately your ability to interact with the people and places in the city is virtually non-existent.

In terms of the actual storyline, there are some forks in the road (e.g. bringing in multiple suspects for questioning and having to decide which one to charge) but for the most part, the story is set in stone.  Many will see this as boring and unimaginative but do not be fooled – there is more to the narrative than meets the eye.  The story does have a lot of depth and many layers that unravel at the opportune time.

There are many subtleties and “hints” that are purposefully placed at specific points in the game that you later discover were there to foreshadow future events.  In a well-executed film, every camera angle, every shot, every choice of soundtrack, is there for a reason.  Similarly in L.A. Noire, everything you see, everything that is said, has a specific purpose that serves the narrative.  I felt the plot and sub-plots including the side missions (street crimes) were for the most part perfectly written, perfectly timed and perfectly intertwined – this is something that is not easy to do so it is mighty impressive that they managed to pull it off so seamlessly.

I have to say I really enjoyed playing detective.  All the cases you investigate are based on or inspired in some part by a real-life crime story that happened in and around L.A. circa 1947.  You can read about one of them here.

As you get promoted within the LAPD you get the opportunity to work across different “desks” – namely traffic, homicide, vice and arson.  I found the homicide cases to be the most intriguing and exciting.  This aspect of the game, however, loses brownie points in terms of replayability as I can imagine it could get a tad tedious having to go through the motions of searching for the clues all over again; even inspecting dead, mangled bodies in just the first playthrough starts to get a bit routine towards the end of the game.

Detective duties aside, there is enough action to keep you hooked and entertained – on-foot and car chases, fist fights, and shooting aplenty.  I was actually dreading the chase and gunplay sequences quite a bit, knowing full well that it will be a struggle for me.  As expected, I completely sucked at driving, and even moreso when I had to speed after fleeing suspects, however to my utmost surprise I’m actually not too shabby with a gun!

One of the awesome things about this game – and I believe it’s a first – is that after you’ve failed a sequence a few times, you will actually be given the option to skip it and move on.  Personally it is a bit of a slap in the face because it’s like you’re being told “hey it’s obvious you suck at this, you should just give up” but then looking at the big picture, it’s actually bloody brilliant.  Had this option not been there, I would probably not be very far in the game and eventually get too irritated/impatient with where I was stuck at and give up and not finish the game.  Or I would have gotten a more experienced gamer to give me a hand.

The decision to have this option available to the player can be seen as a cop out, but I see it as a “free pass” to more casual gamers like myself who are not necessarily so skilled with the controller but still want to engage in and enjoy the whole gaming experience.  It is what I feel makes L.A. Noire such a remarkable game – it’s more about the story than it is about gaming prowess.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the game is how real the characters look, in particular how realistic their facial features and expressions are.  This is all thanks to a groundbreaking new technology called MotionScan which closely and accurately captures every aspect of an actor’s facial performance using 32 surrounding cameras.  It’s really amazing stuff – check out how it all works here.

The difference in visual quality, and more importantly, in the level of realism of the character is mind-blowing.  Combine this with the use of motion capture to record the actor’s physical movements and you’ve got one very real, albeit digitalized “human being”.  Aaron Staton (of Mad Men fame) plays Cole Phelps and when you look at him in person and compare it to his character in-game – it is essentially the same person!  It’s him through an animated lens…quite freaky really.

The game gets to really show off this fantastic new technology when you interrogate suspects.  Once the suspects have responded to your question, you have to determine whether they are telling the truth or lying.  I don’t claim to know a lot about the technologies and engines used in gaming but I daresay that it would have been near impossible to construct believable reactions and true facial expressions…least not ones that are realistic enough anyway.

Heavy Rain comes to mind when I think of this – it came pretty damn close; the characters overall were pretty life-like but when it came down to actually conveying true emotion (e.g. anger), it fell short.  But in L.A. Noire, thanks to MotionScan, it is pulled off seamlessly – the level of detail is astonishing; if a suspect is lying and you are attentive enough, you would be able to catch even the smallest nervous tic.

It’s blatantly clear from all the praises I have sung that I think this game is the best thing since sliced bread.  However anything man-made, no matter how great it is, is not perfect.  The game does have some flaws.  First thing that comes to mind: the passersby on the streets say things to/at you as you walk by.  The trouble is they have very limited dialogue – the things they say are on a very short loop so it repeats fairly often; after awhile it starts to feel like Groundhog Day.  Of course this is a very trivial gripe – the city folk do not affect the narrative in the slightest so it doesn’t matter and I can see why not more thought was put into it.  However one could also argue that with everything else being so hyper-realized, it does put a bit of a damper on the experience.

Additionally there are some minor continuity errors (e.g. my car ending up at a different location from where I had originally parked it)  and plot loopholes that I noticed in a couple of the cases, plus I don’t quite understand certain decisions that were made near the end of the game (I won’t be more specific, don’t want to spoil it for anyone!) – but overall these faults are very few and far in between.  The positive aspects far outweigh the negative and thus these shortcomings can be forgiven – in my humble opinion, anyway.

A good story is built from great writing and excellent storytelling.  I thought the script was skillfully written; very true to 1940s America –  in particular the slang words and phrases used in the dialogue – this made the characters believable and seem more like actual real people, not “talking puppets”.  I felt Cole Phelps was a very interesting and complex character to play; I enjoyed playing him and very quickly got invested in him and his plight to “right all the wrongs”.

In addition, the accompanying jazz soundtrack was exceptional – again, very true to that period in time and particularly to film noir.  When you are driving, the radio plays actual songs from artists of that era and also actual radio shows that aired during that time – yet another admirable effort at making the world as realistic as possible.  The score which plays at crime scenes, interrogations and the action sequences perfectly complement and add on to the experience – for me even moreso during the more “intense” situations.  For example I remember my heart literally pounding out of my chest when I was chasing a crazed serial killer throughout a long maze of catacombs – most seasoned gamers have probably become really jaded by sequences like these, but I really felt like I was Cole at that point in time, fighting for justice and for my own survival – never been so terrified in my life!

And this is why I have taken quite a keen interest in gaming lately, specifically games that blur the lines between the filmic and gaming worlds.  Some gamers are of the opinion that games shouldn’t try to be like movies, that by doing so they are just being “lazy” and not utilizing the full potential of the gaming medium and what it can offer.  To some extent, I agree.  With technology getting better and better every day, games have the ability and ongoing potential to do so much more – things specific to games which are not possible in a movie – so why play safe and take the “tried and true” route of making just essentially a playable film?

Here’s where I play the devil’s advocate: I do not see anything wrong if the game developer knowingly and intentionally wants to make their game in the style of a film.  Making this choice doesn’t necessarily make them uninventive or unambitious, but could very well just be their nominated style of making games.  In some ways I see games like these – and L.A. Noire is obviously one of them – as categorized under an altogether different kind of game genre in its own right.

It’s a mission on its own making a good film, it’s all the more challenging making a perfect marriage of the two, a “game-film” that makes sense in both universes – one that looks and plays out like a film on the game-screen but also simultaneously manages to interact and actively engage with its audience the way only really great games know how.  But if you get the balance/mix right – absolute magic is created.

With that being said, I feel L.A. Noire has hit the nail squarely on the head in this respect.  I think the fact that it is the first game to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival speaks volumes on what it has achieved in terms of closing the gap between game and cinema, and how taking this route could potentially make for a truly remarkable masterpiece of a game.

It has its issues but overall L.A. Noire is a visually stunning film noir-style crime thriller that promises an interactive gaming experience that you will not soon forget.  From start to finish I was completely immersed, engaged and emotionally connected with the world, the narrative and its characters.  I was transported back in time and experienced an important era in film history through a game – that is what great escapist-entertainment is all about!

It has undoubtedly set a benchmark for any future game developers who wish to make film-style type games but regardless of how many other “game-films” that come along from now onwards, I firmly believe that L.A. Noire – and what it has managed to deliver visually, stylistically and emotionally – will always own a piece of important gaming history.

Whimsical Banana rates L.A. Noire: a well-deserved 5 bananas!  I’m also stoked to say that I have become a slightly better gamer because of it!

Review: Flying Fish

Posted by faithashw in Food, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

To mark the end of our Foodie Adventure in Sydney, Reena and I decided to splurge and spoil ourselves by having our last meal together at the infamous Flying Fish restaurant, owned by “seafood king”, Peter Kuruvita.

Situated right by the pier at Jones Bay Wharf, it is pretty secluded and quite a ways away from anything else.  I love seafood and so ever since I learned of this restaurant I have been waiting for this day to come!  It was almost a no-go too, since it was completely out of the way from everywhere else we had already decided on going to; lucky we decided to make that special trip out in the end.

So after a pretty long walk from the tram stop, which included walking through pitch black darkness along a mostly deserted pier (the restaurant was right at the end) – we finally made it.  I remember at one point I was almost half expecting that we would have to find some secret passageway in order to get there, ala Platform 9 3/4 (sorry for the Harry reference, I couldn’t resist!).

First impression: the restaurant looks absolutely stunning.  Right by the main entrance is a full bar with a little deck area with comfy seating overlooking the water.  It was pretty dark so unfortunately there wasn’t much of a view to behold, but I can imagine how beautiful it would be during the daytime.  On a hot summer’s day, sat in one of those comfy chairs enjoying a cold cocktail…absolute heaven.  Stepping into the actual restaurant, the first thing I noticed which was a bit of a surprise to me, was that the kitchen was just, well, there.  Now we’ve all seen restaurants with kitchens that are “in the open”, that is in the same place as the dining area but separated by the counter (think Wagamama – well the one here, anyway), but this one was pretty much like an open-plan kitchen, like the sort you would see in some city apartments  – except way fancier, bigger and better equipped, of course!!  To the right there was what looked like a private dining area within this amazing wine cellar – wine bottles were perched on the walls from floor to ceiling.

We were taken into the dining area which was in the adjoining room on the left (there was also seating upstairs).  The dining area was very classy, what you would expect from a fine dining restaurant.  Floor to ceiling windows meant direct views out into the ocean – I can only imagine how incredibly stunning it must be during the day.  Shortly after sitting down at our table I looked around to take in the lovely ambiance.  Then I looked up – and gasped.  The upstairs dining area actually overlooks down to the downstairs dining area (where we were) and so basically both levels shared one very high ceiling (if that makes sense).  Hanging down from this ceiling were a whole bunch of pretty fairy lights – how magical and gorgeous!  Almost like looking into the actual sky on a starry night – and I’m sure that is the intention.  Definitely a very romantic setting, I’m sure the place is packed on Valentine’s!

I did take some photos but obviously they do not do the restaurant any justice.  The website provides a virtual tour of the place though so go check it out!

Everything on the menu sounded so delicious.  Prices are pretty steep but is to be expected considering the caliber of the restaurant and that it was seafood.  I think they did have one or two non-seafood dishes, although who would order steak at a seafood restaurant is beyond me…  The couple next to me, the guy was eating like this MASSIVE lobster – it looked really good.  In the end I decided on the prawn ravioli with poached scampi, shaved abalone, zucchini flower and tomato and coriander vinaigrette for my entree, and pan fried John Dory with king prawn, young summer vegetables, yuzu and seaweed butter for the main.

The ravioli was really good although I think what I enjoyed the most was actually that vinaigrette.  So simple but yet the flavor had so much depth and it was very refreshing too, thanks to the coriander – love coriander!  On the flipside I didn’t care for the abalone at all.  As for the main, WOW.  I’ve never had John Dory before so I was really excited at finally being able to try it after hearing about it all the time on cooking shows.  The fish is a very flat fish and really quite ugly (have a look at his ugly mug here) but boy did it taste delicious!  The fish was cooked perfectly and seasoned so well; skin was crispy and the flesh tender but still with some bite.  Now the fish was definitely the star of the dish but let me tell you, those vegetables sure gave Mr. Dory a run for his money!  I have this weird thing where I only like my vegetables soft – so really, I only eat/enjoy my veges steamed.  The veges that were on this plate were absolutely divine, they were so full of flavor and just melted in your mouth!  And that yuzu and seaweed butter was one of the best things I have ever tasted – just brought the whole dish together.

Following the success of the dessert platter at the Red Lantern, we decided to do the same here and go for the dessert tasting plate.  What a scrumptious ending to a fantastic meal it was – passionfruit souffle with burnt orange ice cream, toasted coconut marshmallow and pineapple, fig carpaccio with creme fraiche sorbet and carrot financier, and lime cheesecake, almond strusel, lime curd, guava sorbet and compressed kiwifruit.  My favorites were the toasted coconut marshmallow (they were like fluffy coconut-ty pillows!) and that guava sorbet – so refreshing.

Here are some photos, again please excuse the poor camera quality!  Additionally because I was trying to be discreet, most of the pictures turned out a wee bit out of focus too, unfortunately.

Overall, an excellent (fine) dining experience.  If I can ever afford to eat there again, I will go there for lunch so I can enjoy the views.  I must mention that the waitress who looked after us was top notch; very friendly, attentive and knew the menu pretty much like the back of her hand – she got a really good tip from us.

One last thing I simply HAVE to mention – as if everything about the place wasn’t already completely amazing, wait ’til you hear about the toilets!  They are magical.  I kid you not!  When you first step in, you will notice that the cubicles are see through.  The whole cubicle is just one giant translucent glass box.  So you start to panic for a moment.  Then you figure, well no one else is in here right now, I’ll just hop in, quickly do my thing and hope that I will be done before anyone walks in.  So you get in and here’s the craziest-but-most-amazing thing – the second you shut the door and lock it – WHOOSH!! – the whole glass box gets all cloudy and is no longer see through!  What is this black magic?!?!  But how cool is that!

Hands down.  Best.  Toilet.  Ever.  (and I’ve been to a lot – curse you, weak bladder!)

So yeah to sum up, if you love seafood, if you want to treat yourself and that special someone, or if there is a special occasion of some sort – consider making a night of it at Flying Fish.  When it comes to food this is my motto: life is too short and pretty crappy most of the time, so every once in awhile treat yourself to the good stuff!

Whimsical Banana rates Flying Fish: 5/5 Bananas!

Review: Red Lantern

Posted by faithashw in Food, Review and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Apologies for the delay in getting my restaurant reviews up, as had been promised in my previous blog entry – it has been a crazy past few weeks!  I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment though so I will be blogging a bit more regularly now.

To start the food-ball rolling, I will begin with Luke Nguyen’s Red Lantern Restaurant in Surrey Hills, just outside the Sydney CBD.  For those of you who watch Masterchef Australia, you will know who Luke Nguyen is and/or have heard of his restaurant.

Being Malaysian/Asian, obviously I love Asian cuisine, but being very “Western” too, I enjoy European food as well.  What’s the best of both worlds?  Asian fusion cuisine!  And that’s what Red Lantern is all about.  Vietnamese cuisine with a modern Western-esque twist to it.  As if that wasn’t already music to my ears, what scored more brownie points in my book – the restaurant’s “mantra”: ethical eating.  They are committed to leaving as light an environmental footprint as possible through using only the freshest in local sustainable and organic produce.  They dedicate a whole page on this on their website, you can check it out here.  This is something I feel quite strongly about and have been practicing in the last few years so it’s really great and inspiring to come across a restaurant that believes in the importance of being environmentally conscious.

So we hadn’t planned on going to Red Lantern that night (even though it was on my “places-I-must-eat-at-when-I’m-in-Sydney” list) but due to being behind schedule and the awful weather, among other things, it became the most convenient place to go for dinner in the end.  We hopped in to a cab and were halfway there when we realized that we hadn’t made a reservation, and it was a Saturday night.  Since we were nearly there we thought we’d just try our luck anyway, and if we couldn’t get in, we would just pick another place – the restaurant was on a street that was a bit of a “restaurant zone” so we would be spoiled for choice.

Got there, and of course, it was fully booked.  Being a Saturday night I was thinking that our chances were pretty slim.  It was still pouring down so we were all wet and cold, and by this point we were all starving too.  Luck was clearly on our side though because while they were fully booked, the hostess had some promising news for us – she was still waiting on a group of 4 who still had not arrived yet – and what do you know, there were 4 of us!

So after a 10-15 minute wait, we finally secured a table – YAY!  Everything on the menu sounded so scrumptious, and not too ridiculously over-priced too, which was the best part!  After some debating we finally decided on the following for our meal:  Entrees: their famous roast duck and enoki mushroom spring rolls followed by char-grilled chicken skewers marinated in preserved bean curd paste, lime and garlic.  Mains to share: char-grilled pork cutlets marinated in honey, lemongrass and shallot oil, Asian mushrooms wok-tossed with tofu, lotus root, Chinese broccoli and glass noodles, and crispy skin chicken poached in master stock with ginger, shallot and oyster sauce .  And to finish, we decided we just had to sample a bit of everything so we got the dessert platter.

Here are some photos to tantalize your taste buds.  Please excuse the poor camera quality.  We were seated outside and the lighting was quite dim, didn’t help that my camera doesn’t take photos well in the dark!

The food was absolutely to die for.  I have eaten in some great places but this is definitely near the top of my list.  The duck rolls were fantastic – you get so used to eating those “regular” deep fried party spring rolls that you forget that spring rolls can be so much more than that.  The best spring rolls I’ve had have been in Vietnam itself; be it fresh or deep fried, they were always packed full of flavor with a good mix of veges, fresh herbs and meat (usually prawn).  You would think duck would be a strange kind of meat to have in a spring roll but it was a match made in heaven – well Sam would beg to differ but he doesn’t like duck so he doesn’t get a vote!  The duck meat was sliced finely, moist and seasoned perfectly, the enoki mushrooms gave a great texture and the herbs just married all the flavors together.  The chicken skewers were tender, juicy and marinated to perfection; such a simple “pedestrian dish” and like any other normal chicken skewer that you can get anywhere, but it tasted amazing, so full of flavor, and even though it was char-grilled, the meat somehow stayed tender and just melted in your mouth…while still having that nice char-grilled flavor to it.

With the mains, the crispy skin chicken was definitely the hero of the night.  You should have seen the looks on our faces when we took that first bite, it was like we were having little food-gasms!  The skin was so crispy and tasty it was like pork crackling…sounded like pork crackling too!  The meat though was so soft, and had bags of flavor in it – I would really love to know what “secret ingredient” they put in their master stock, and how long it has been there for, because that’s just magic in a pot.  I wasn’t too keen on the pork as it’s not my favorite meat but it was recommended by the hostess.  I had a taste and I was actually pleasantly surprised; there was so much going on in that one cutlet that it actually masked the pork flavor which is what I don’t like and why I don’t often eat pork.  The vegetable dish we ordered was probably the most “normal” dish out of the three, but having said that, again, it didn’t disappoint on flavor.  As we all know there is not much flavor – if at all – in tofu, and yet the tofu in this dish was silky smooth and super tasty.  I also really liked the lotus root in the dish, gave the dish texture and it definitely needed that extra bit of crunch.

Now at this point we were all pretty stuffed but who can say no to dessert?!  I’m glad we didn’t pass and I’m even gladder that we got the platter because WOW.  The platter consisted of sesame and rice flour dumplings filled with sour sop served with black sesame ice cream, black sticky rice with caramelized pumpkin, jackfruit and coconut cream, and date and tamarind pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.  I don’t think I need to say much because I think the descriptions should speak for itself.  Simply, utterly heavenly.  My fave was the dumplings (which the hostess did wholeheartedly recommend) but it was a pretty close race!  Desserts have always been a very Western thing.  Growing up in an Asian family, all we had for dessert – and even then dessert wasn’t a regular affair – was ice cream and/or fruit.  It’s just so inspiring to see desserts like what we sampled at Red Lantern – taking inspiration from European classics but using Asian ingredients and flavors.

I am so chuffed that we managed to get that table at the Red Lantern because that was truly one of the best dining experiences I have ever had.  I left completely satisfied, not completely out of pocket, and I will definitely make a return visit the next time I’m in Sydney.  Food aside, the service was absolutely flawless – hostess was friendly, attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu, the wait staff were equally friendly and very efficient.   I felt the waiting times were spot on, it was just enough time between the courses – a top notch job considering it was a full restaurant.  Ambiance was lovely – tasteful Asian inspired decor, cozy and while it was a fancy restaurant it wasn’t too upmarket or “hoity toity”.  I liked that the small space gave the restaurant a very “exclusive” feel to it, almost like you were part of an invite-only party – and in some ways maybe it’s intentional?  It’s quite tucked away even considering it’s on a main street – it’s like, blink and you’ll miss it!

However I don’t think Luke Nguyen is worried that he will lose any customers because his restaurant is located rather obscurely.  He has definitely made a name for himself in Australia; this lil’ gem of a restaurant may not have a physically imposing presence but it certainly is a culinary force to be reckoned with, make no mistake about that!!  What I found really fascinating was that when I was in the local department stores in Sydney, I soon realized that Luke Nguyen was somewhat of the Australian version of Jamie Oliver!  He has his own range of utensils and cookware (down to cute lil’ dipping bowls!), and his book is pretty pricey considering he’s a “local chef”.  I was pretty tempted to get those dipping bowls or something in his range but considering I already had 2 cook books to lug back to NZ, I thought better not!  Maybe next time…

In conclusion, if you love Asian fusion cuisine, you love food that has complexity of flavors and packs a punch, then you HAVE to pay Red Lantern a visit!  Any Aussies reading this, get your butt down to Surrey Hills.  Everyone else, if you plan on visiting Sydney, make sure you put this on your places-I-must-eat-at list!

Whimsical Banana rates Red Lantern: 5/5 bananas!

Next Up: I review seafood legend Peter Kuruvita’s Flying Fish!

Foodie Adventure, Destination: Sydney

Posted by faithashw in Food, Review and tagged with , ,

So it’s been a week since I returned from my short holiday in Sydney. I meant to write about my time there earlier but I’ve actually been really exhausted since returning to Auckland; partly from being out and about for 5 days straight but also because I jumped straight back to work like barely a day after I touched down!! This week that I’ve been back, apart from work, I’ve really just been catching up on some zzz’s, I think I’m finally back into the swing of things though!

Sydney was awesome. There were a few hiccups but all in all I had an absolute ball of a time. 😀 I was pretty proud of myself that I managed to navigate around the city fairly well, especially considering how bad my sense of directions are and also considering that on trips, I always rely on someone else to figure out where to go and how to get there!

It was great catching up with some old mates, of course, but what I enjoyed most about the trip was just being in a different country (albeit a very similar one to NZ!), exploring unfamiliar grounds, taking in the sights and just enjoying being in a bigger and livelier city. It’s amazing how much more life there is just across the ditch, so many shops and all open ’til much later which is probably what annoys me most about living here! Although I have to say I’m no longer used to the crowds, having lived in Auckland for so long. As much as I do love hustle-and-bustle, it was a tad too “busy” for my liking all the same…I swear Sydney has grown in population in the last couple of years!

I’d been to Sydney before, about 2 years back, but what was interesting about this 2nd trip was this time I was going as a recent-self-professed foodie. You see the place differently, you know? I have taken quite an interest in and passion for food in the last few months and I’ve had this mental list of restaurants that I simply had to visit should I make it to Sydney again. Of course I didn’t get to all of them, but I managed a few so I was/am happy 🙂 Thankfully the friend I was with is a fellow foodie too so it all worked out!

In the coming week(s) I will blog about the restaurants individually in separate posts as I want to give each one the undivided praise it deserves. I also want to add photos, of course!  I had the most amazing meals in my time in Sydney, some of the BEST food I have ever eaten. I really need to find out how to become a food critic, or a professional food blogger!

I want to start researching on good food/good restaurants/famous chefs in Auckland/NZ though. It’s ironic that I know so much of the who’s and what’s of the food industry in Australia but next to nothing of the industry in NZ.  Peter Gordon can’t be our only claim to fame, surely? If anyone out there knows of any good restaurants I should try in Auckland, please let me know!

BTW, Happy Easter everyone!  The rain hasn’t been great but hope everyone’s had their fair share of chocolate 🙂

Review: The King’s Speech

Posted by faithashw in Review and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I have been wanting to see this film for a looong time.  Even moreso after the Oscars.   Unfortunately I have gotten WAY behind on my movies, which is ironic really, as you’d think I’d have seen everything considering I work at the cinemas…which used to be the case, but sadly not anymore.  I’ve been feeling like I’m at work all the time these past few months and so when I do eventually get my two days off I stay well away from the place!!  I try to catch a film occassionally after work but similarly, once I’m done at work I tend to just wanna get the hell outta there!!

Today I made a special trip out to Rialto Cinemas in Newmarket to catch this film as it has finished its run at Queen Street (where I work, for those of you who do not know).  I am SO GLAD I made the trip.  The King’s Speech is absolutely brilliant.  I have watched many films and because I have a very eclectic and “mainstream” taste in films, I am easy to please and tend to enjoy most films I see.

I can safely say though that The King’s Speech is not only a film I am deeming one of the best films I have ever seen (in a long time), but also one I am unlikely to forget.  As I mentioned just before, I rarely ever dislike any movie I see, but very few actually truly captivate and move me.  The King’s Speech did just that.  It held my attention from start to finish.  It is certainly deserved of the four Oscars it won – every single cateogry – and I think this film could very well go down in British film history, in my VERY humble opinion.

For those of you who do not know the premise, in a nutshell: English period drama set a few years before World War II.  King George VI (played brilliantly by Colin Firth) struggles from a crippling speech impediment but has to learn how to overcome it when he is suddenly made King following the death of his father, and following his older brother turning his back on the throne.  He seeks help from Lionel Logue, an unorthodox Australian speech therapist (played comically by Geoffrey Rush).

Director Tom Hooper does a remarkable job at telling this story.  Very impressed especially considering he has done only mostly TV directing prior to this.  The sets and locations used are amazing – you really get that sense of history and place, and the attention to detail really gave the film depth; in that two hours I was completely immersed in that world of the past, I really felt like I had gone back in time.  Casting was absolutely spot on – I have to mention that I was mighty pleased that there were 3 Harry Potter actors in the film!  Colin Firth embodied the character of King George VI perfectly; simply stunning performance, he definitely deserved that Oscar!  I was completely convinced that his stammering was for real – AMAZING.  Geoffrey Rush’s character provided just enough comic relief and I liked that Firth’s character’s sarcastic sense of humor played off very nicely against Rush’s playful jibes.  Although I can’t say much for his Aussie accent – and he’s actually Aussie!

Perhaps the most fantastic thing about the film was how the director used certain shots/camera angles and also the sets to portray King George’s sense of constriction when he stammered.  Of course this was conveyed excellently through Firth’s facial expressions and body language (vulnerable posture, fear-stricken eyes, throat constricting – it’s ridiculous how real it all looked – Colin Firth, you are a master at your art!) which Hooper further heightened through many close up shots of Firth from the shoulder up.  Eyes are really a window to a person’s soul and I felt that these close ups of Firth really helped the audience connect with the character.  This “invasion of personal space” by being so up close – which ironically you cannot do to a King, as Rush’s character points out when they first meet –  really allows you to feel his fear and experience his struggles firsthand.

Majority of the film was shot indoors, most of it noticeably being of long corridors and rooms that were small spaces.  Visually this effectively accentuated that feeling of entrapment and also I felt was intended to mirror the King’s tightness of his throat whenever he tried to speak.  Additionally I also noticed that many of the scenes were long and drawn out, taking awhile to reveal its point to the audience – this could also reflect the King and the time he takes to get a sentence out.  But this could be just me reading a wee bit too much into it – can’t help it, having studied film it’s almost second nature for me to always take note of the cinematography in a film and want to dissect it and pull any “hidden meaning” from it.

The writing was impeccable – yet another deserved win at the Oscars.  As I mentioned earlier the humor is witty and just the right amount, and most importantly, perfectly placed.  Being a drama obviously you want to tread carefully if wanting to insert any form of comedy or humor.  I felt that the humor used in this film was not so much because the director intended to give the audience a few laughs, but to give more depth and humanity to the characters, especially to King George.  Any person of royal blood – and no less British royalty – is often stereotyped as boring, stuffy and very “mechanical”.  Portraying a King that stammers, is fearful and gets angry shows that royalty are still human, however I believe showing the audience that he has a sense of humor has a greater impact as it reveals more character.

I could go on some more about this film but I think I will stop here!   In short, this film – again, in my humble opinion – is GREAT on so many levels and is definitely a must-see for anyone who appreciates a good film.

Whimsical Banana rates The King’s Speech: 5/5 bananas!