Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: a simian triad movie

I am old enough to watch a few of the original Planet of the Apes (those days, RTM loves to screen reruns and old movies.. hey, even today RTM does that!). All I could recall was the fake monkey mask and the human wearing next to nothing. Total role reversal. Similarly, I could not recall much from the remake by Tim Burton, which again, may not be that memorable at all. However, I was pleasantly taken aback by The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was one of the most memorable movies ever made. James Franco and Andy Serkis were in their top form, and it was such a touching movie.

Therefore, I had high expectation on the next sequel/ prequel/ reboot. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes continues where Rise left. Many of the earth population were wiped out from the simian flu, which basically originate from the lab in the first movie. Many years later, Caesar, the genetically enhanced ape, built his own colony of monkeys and were living peacefully. However, fate has it that a small human colony chanced upon  the ape settlement while searching for power source from a certain dam. The human side, desperate for power, send Malcolm (Jason Clarke) to negotiate with Caesar. There is initial distrust but after some time, both of them learn to trust and respect each other. However, there is always the villain. This time it was one of the apes who betray Caesar (not consider as spoiler, I guess, since from beginning everyone can sense that he will become the main villain), and carefully instigate a war between the human and apes.


Clarke is no James Franco, his role seems to be secondary. It is Serkis and the motion capture that brought the film to another level. Every emotion was portrayed so well that the monkey can even contend for an Oscar. CG plays an important role here as I believe many of the apes were produced that way. However, compared to other summer blockbusters showing the same time, it is nothing to shout about.



It is a really enjoyable film. The first half was bit slow, but subsequently the story picks up. There are some poignant moment again, for those who had watched the first movie, there is a reference to the earlier work which brought back lots of memories. However, it is still not as great as the first movie. While the first movie works because of the poignant relationship between each characters, the bleak fate eventually  that destroy them, it was more on a personal and emotional level. Dawn, on the other hand, felt more like watching a good triad movie. The ape clan, with its own brand of "yihei" (ape do not kill other ape); the appearance of another human clan; the initial agreement that both clans should not cross each other path; the eventual trust; the betrayal of one the members which sparks an all out war..... all the good elements to make a good HongKong triad movie. That, is not a bad thing, since I also enjoy a good triad movie. But still, I prefer the first one. Personal preference, I guess



Still, I do believe that this is one of the better movies rolled out in this summer. Highly recommended! No regrets catching the whole movie here.

ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: still undecided whether should I root for the human or apes....

Ben's Burger@TSG: meals for giant burger lovers

Burger had evolved so far. The similar evolution that had taken over coffee drinker. From the humble road side coffee to the designer coffee nowadays which cost easily more than RM10 per cup. From the humble road side Ramly's to the multiple-choices-designer-own-produced patty's type of burger. That is how I felt when I step into Ben's Burger. Located on the ground of Ipoh Parade, one can easily locate this joint which can be reached by just exiting the complex via turning right after exiting the main entrance.

Being a new joint, the service is very tip-top and attentive. The workers are friendly and did not make us rush for choices. The setup are simplistic and practical. No old items hanging on the wall nor artistic graffiti here and there. It is to be sort of a fast food joint anyway. There is nothing else here but burgers.Yes, there are side dishes, but do not expect other food for main course except burgers. No pasta, not even sandwiches. I like the place for not being pretentious. If I wanted a healthy meal, I would not come to a burger joint in the first place. I am not sure though whether the menu will expand in the future but I really hope not.

shark attack

Looking at the menu, one would expect to spend more than RM20 per meal here. This is to be expected for any burger joint nowadays. No more cheap burger that I could get over in McD. There are a few choices, but expect variant of beef, chicken, shrimp, fish and vege burgers. Colleen ordered the Shark Attack (RM19.90) which basically is fish burger. The patty is rather nice, served with their dressing and 2 slices of deep fried onion in the middle. My order was Bacon Loaded (RM22.90). The beef patty is equally nice, though on the last few bite, it felt like Big Mac instead. The bacon is the highlight of the whole burger, and it did not disappoint. Similarly,it is served with deep fried onion in the middle. Seems like the whole set is nice, but there are few distracting issues at hand. If separated, the ingredients are really nice. The onion, the patty (beef or fish), the bacon, and even the bread is nicely done. However, once combined, they did not bring anything new. They just felt.... plainly nice. Not even great. Just nice. The other problem is the huge portion. Even for a big eater like me, I find it difficult to finish the whole set, which is served with lots of fries. There were another 2 tables having dinner at the same time as me and all of them could not finish each of their set. I should have heeded my friend's advice, 1 set to be shared among 2 rather than 1 set each. The last issue is the price. The setup would suggest designer style of burger, with their own self made patty, but the service and menu suggested more like fast food style of burger. The price would lean towards higher end of fine dining but the burgers, which supposedly to be the star, just felt short of expectation. It felt more like a huge portion of a slightly-better-fast-food burger.

bacon loaded

At the end of the dinner, both of us did finished our burgers, but none of us could finish the fries. It was nice, but I would still prefer the grilled chicken burger at McD or zinger at KFC. And the champion of all burgers, for me, is still the good old Ramly special with cheese. Then again, someone else may enjoy this so much that Ben would dethrone the good old Ramly. Worth trying, decent effort, especially on the patty.

ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: it was stated that the idea of Ben's burger came from a young kid. Definitely not the size of the burger. It would last him a few days to finish the whole set.

Ben's Burger @TSG
lot G26A, Ground Floor Ipoh Parade
No 105, Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil,
Ipoh
open 10am -12am