Coconut beer

Fair trade coconut beer from Belgium. 

Have you ever had coconut juice or water? It has the same smell as that, with the appearance you might find with a cloudy cider, albeit with a slightly yellower tinge. 

Coconut has a well-known taste: something that reminds you of a hotter climate, and more exotic fruits and foods. 

This beer definitely aims to hit those taste buds and amplify your other sense to make you feel like you are in a tropical climate. 

It doesn't taste like beer. It is more like a carbonated coconut drink with that bitterness that you get with a beer. But it's not overpowering in the slightest. As beers go, it isn't something that really showcases. But if you just want to show off an alcoholic beverage with a coconut taste, it isn't horrible, an there isn't anything else out there that I could compare it to that I know of. 

So a coconut fizzy drink could do just about the same job as this. In fact, it may just be worthwhile having a Malibu with sparkling water. It would have the same effect. 

:-)

Elky

Banana beer

Exotic beer with the flavour of banana. 

This beer has travelled all the way Belgium. It may be available in the shops over here in the UK but I wouldn't know as it was gifted to me. 

It has a lovely banana smell that I've also smelt before in banana liqueurs. It smells slightly flat with a hint of alcohol, but it isn't unpleasant. 

It's immediately sweet with an almost medicine-like taste, but the bitterness and sweetness help to cancel each other out slightly so it ends up being quite a refreshing taste. 

At 3.6% alcohol content, it's an enjoyable beverage on a hot day especially if you're looking just to have a sip of alcohol without actually getting drunk. As I am trying it now. 

:-)

Elky

After Earth

And after earth, there was a story by a father who wanted to boost his son's career. And it possibly worked. 

After Earth

Will Smith is one of my favourite actors. The only film he's been in that hasn't been awesome was 'I Am Legend', and that's not because he was poor in it. His performance was great, but the book was just miles better. 

Kilometres. I believe it is 100 kilometres that Kitai Raige, Jaden's character, has to travel to recover the beacon thingy-majiggy; the technical gubbins that the father and son combo have to use to call for help on this planet which has evolved to kill our species. 

There are cute conversations that happen throughout the film that highlight the people are no longer of this planet, such as when Kitai's sister (or mother, I got confused) holds up a physical copy of Moby Dick and exclaims that she had been able to take it out of the museum / library. I guess there are no books in the future / 'After Earth' period. 

The start of the film gives us a back story into the characters of Kitai and dad Cypher that leads up to their crash landing, but the whole aim of this film is to give more screen-time to the young Smith. 

That's not a terrible thing though; story by Will Smith and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the kid has a big break and a lot of pressure to show he is his father's son, or rather that he's a competent actor despite the large shoes he has to fill. 

Jaden has a lot of time to show off that he can do these kind of roles, but it means that there isn't much screen time for any nobodies (to put it bluntly), or even Will Smith himself. The trailers for this film make it seem like there will be interaction between the two throughout the film, but the only interaction is done via a high-tech walkie talkie. 

The special effects are out of this world (well it's our world... but it's different now... so... they're good). There are chimps / apes / baboons, and giant eagles which seem to be all-CGI, and also creations such as the Ursa Monster (Although I kept saying Ursa Major in my head), which is quite an imaginative and bland creature at the same time. 

There are surprising moments in the film portrayed through memories and hallucinations from lack of sleep from both the father's and son's perspectives. They're welcome additions to break up the running and action scenes and it's a shame they're not looked into more in depth. There could have been a whole other layer to the film if there was more focus on the activities off earth. 

So it's a nice idea for a film, and good sentiments behind why Will Smith has a story focusing on a young boy's journey to save his dad's, and his own, life. There are some heartfelt moments where we see how and why their relationship has been affected, and again it's these scenes that I think would have benefited from having more exploration.

As a new film, it's not one I'd say is a must see, but it's light-hearted and is jumpy in a few places so by all means isn't terrible. 

Well call me Ismail. Those humans didn't kill all the whales!

:-)

Elky

Green Tea Kit Kat

Green Tea Kit Kat

Green Tea Kit Kat

Kit Kat is awesome. They've released so many flavours and variations over the years to keep things fresh, and I find some of the most recent additions to be some of the best! (Hazelnut anyone?)

This has also meant they have released the not-so-nice flavours.  Coconut was the strangest, least appetising chocolate I've had the chance of eating recently. I thought it would be a crispy, crunchy Bounty; it wasn't. 

I'm a big peanut butter flavour Kit Kat fan and I added the hazelnut flavour Kit Kat to my top Kit Kat list. These are both 'Chunky' bars which means more chocolatey goodness! But breaks away from the original two / four-finger treat. 

Which brings me to my latest Kit Kat flavour find: Green Tea flavour!

My Giant hand size comparison

I'm not sure if it's available in the UK as it was gifted to me by Rosa and is covered in Japanese writing. What I do know is that it has an awesome creamy chocolate flavour, in a somewhat off-putting green tinge. The taste resembles that of those pink wafers (for some reason my mind jumps to a purple packet with the Pink Panther munching away on them) that sandwich a creamy filling of 'something', but with less of the stale texture or 'bite' that they have. 

The Green Tea Kit Kat actually doesn't have an overpowering green tea taste, in fact, it's very mild. It's a shame it doesn't exist in the UK, as I'd be one of the people that would go out of the way to find a bar, or recommend to a friend. 

Two things though: firstly, it would be nice to have it available in UK size; my hands engulf the tiny bars. And secondly, I don't think it would suit the Chunky range. In fact, just bring it over how it is Kit Kat! I want my Green Tea Kit Kat fix!

:-)

Elky

Special thanks to my Japanese chocolate dealer, Rosa, of http://www.rosainbloggerland.com/ :-)

Fast and Furious 6

Let's keep this Fast and Furious...

Did anybody call for loose ends to be tied, or rather remoulded to force a story to make sense? Probably not, but does it work here? Somewhat, yes. 

Fast and Furious 6

What started out as what seemed like a lower budget film about (under the) hood economics, or how to cash in on the hood scene, has grown into one of the biggest current film franchises. Fast and Furious 6, as the name suggests, is the sixth film in the series of fast-paced action and speed-racing. 

In this one, Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the gang team up with Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) to track down and capture an English villain by the name of Shaw who is trying to steal a a chip that could shut down a country's military computer capabilities. 

We see a montage of all the other Fast and Furious films at the start of the film as well as seeing the majority of the old cast in their new habitats. Most have settled down while others are still living a fast paced "young" lifestyle. 

I do like car chases, and I love films with action; Fast and Furious 6 has both in very good proportions. The underground racing scene is not as dominant of course, as the series has matured along with the characters. What this means is less neon coloured-cars with neon under-lighting and... well just less neon all around really, but this doesn't mean it is missing completely. In fact, the underground racing scene is used to reminisce back on the series with particular characters that the story focuses on. 

The story itself is imaginative if not predictable once you get past the fact that forgotten characters are resurrected. I also like the fact that there are in jokes within the film, such as Ludacris character receiving a phone call from "Samoan Thor".

Fast and Furious 6 is the best in the series so far as it has just become so much bigger: budget, cast and location-wise. It ties up loose ends as well as starting up a whole new series of questions.

Ride or die!

:-)

Elky

The Purge

Imagine a day where laws are relaxed to the point that murder is allowed. This is the basis of "The Purge".

"Oh my gah it's Ethan Hawke" - Peter Griffin, Family Guy.

The Purge

It's a very interesting concept, it got me thinking and also discussing what the consequences of an annual cull would mean. It would mean survival of the fittest for sure; natural elimination, more natural than postponing people's deaths when they are unfit and unwell, and would also mean that the human gene pool would be less diluted with weaker individuals.

It would also mean those that could afford private security personnel, or pay for military grade home protection, bunkers or panic rooms would have a better fighting chance of a fighting chance. It would unbalance all the good (if you could call the inhumane way of killing off our fellow man) that this purge allows.

There is a message that is broadcast on the annual day that states how the new founding fathers of America have reduced crime to 1% for some measured period of time, excluding the actual day of chaos. People in support of the day put a certain species of flower on their front lawn to show their support of the day.

Ethan Hawke is James Sandin, and he sells security systems to wealthy people. His own family have profited annually and show their wealth by having the biggest home in the neighbourhood of large homes. There is a hint of jealousy from his neighbours as they wish the Sandins a safe purge night.

The film is quite well put together; there are plot twists, introduction of characters like Zoey Sandin's (Adelaide Kane) boyfriend and a stranger trying to escape from hunters taking part in the purge. We see a development of the Sandin characters via their interaction with these mentioned characters, neighbours and, the enemy in the film, a crazed purge gang of well-educated youngsters.

There are well-placed jumpy scenes where the youngsters, who are dressed in Public school uniforms and creepy white dresses complete with face masks, just suddenly appear. They want something from the Sandins, and they either want it handed to them or they will take it from them with fatal force.

So it is a creepy film, with some genuinely disturbing content to think about, but this makes it an uneasy, but enjoyable watch.

Hawke has done some films of late that seem to poke the audience into thinking while they watch, which a lot of new films do not try as hard to do any more.

Kudos. Go Purge...

:-)

Elky

Curly Kale Crisps

All recipes state kale chips rather than crisps, but over here in Blighty we know them for what they do! They (are) crisp!

I read somewhere that kale was a new super-veg / leafy thing from the cabbage family sporting magical properties such as the same vitamin k content as 242 baby carrots and other similar super-facts which are actually accurate. I've been looking for more green in my diet for a while and was getting bored of the same old ways that I eat spinach or lettuce so this was a welcome new addition.

The first time I tried the it, I put a bit of olive oil in a pan and sweated off the kale until it was slightly wilted, and it was really quite enjoyable! This brings me to today. I've seen a bunch of recipes and videos on how to bake kale crisps that are as good as, if not better than, regular potato chips / crisps.

The problem with all of these recipes is that they start with whole kale leaves, which are then are ripped into bite-sized pieces. However, no matter how hard I look (my local supermarkets and markets), I cannot find it in this form. It is already pre-cut into thin strips, which is not ideal. But I tried it out anyway.

I started with my kale which I washed and drained in a colander. I then laid out half of my 200g packet on a tray with grease-proof paper / parchment paper and drizzled a bit of olive oil over the top. I also seasoned it with (too much) salt.

After 15 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius I nibbled on a few of the leaves and found them still ... leafy and hydrated; they hadn't crisped up yet, so I put them in for a bit longer. When I eventually took out the blackened, salty kale crisps, I was underwhelmed. It was like eating crispy seaweed, which is fine at a buffet but not something I go out of my way to find, make or eat.

Maybe it's because my batch was over-salted, or perhaps because the kale was thinly cut rather than in large crisp-shapes, but I don't think I'll be cooking kale this way again.

I will however be eating kale again. Two-hundred and something-or-other baby carrots-worth of vitamin-something? That's a big number, and I don't like carrots. Vitamin intake win!

:-)

Elky

Bacchus Belgian Cherry Beer

Oh cherry-flavoured everything. How sweet you are. I'm a die-hard Cherry Coke fan, in a can. I don't like the flavour that comes in a plastic bottle, and I'm yet to have found or tried a glass bottled Cherry Coke, but I digest (pun!)

This flavoured beer has the lovely essence of sweet cherries juxtaposed with the bitterness of beer. The balance is quite brilliant actually. It's surprising because beer usually has the ability of giving me a shudder depending on its bitterness, but not with this beer.

It comes in a lovely half-champagne, green glass bottle which is wrapped in a cherry themed paper. It really is something quite special.

The only thing I can pick on is its colour. It's on the darker side of brown / red. Like an off strawberry Ribena (I can't be the only one that's had it?). But I actually like the colour. And the taste. And the cool.

Cherry deliciousness!

:-)

Elky

Olympus Has Fallen

Gerard Butler is a buffed up spartan warrior who leads his men to victory / lots of death. Well that's how the film '300' works. 'Olympus Has Fallen' puts him in charge of the President of the United States of America's best men.

Olympus Has Fallen

Mike Banning's role is to protect the president, the First Lady and their son at any cost. He doesn't do this very well and at the start of the film he is demoted out of the team, and starts work at the treasury pushing papers, much to his dismay. We see it affect his relationship with his wife; he seems not to function without being out in the field.

As you may have guessed, stuff happens. Bad stuff. Banning happens to be in the (near enough) right place at the (near enough) right time. 'John McClane'- I mean Banning fights through hoards of baddies, who turn out to be North Koreans. Slightly edgy considering America and North Korea aren't the best of friends in the real world at the moment let alone the film one.

He fights through the floors of the 'Nakotomi Plaza'- I mean White House trying to get to the President (Aaron Eckhart) who is being held hostage. Banning's aim is to save him and the world (USA). Super clichéd awesomeness. I love 'Die Hard', so it is no bad thing that the two films are pretty similar plot progression-wise.

The taking of the White House is fantastically well-orchestrated and further control of various parts of the house are genius. Banning communicates with the head speaker and acting president, played by Morgan Freeman, through the president's sat-phone in a similar way to how 'John McClane' communicated with his cop-buddy on the outside of the building in the first 'Die hard'.

So many similarities including a rogue agent acting like a good guy similar to how 'Hans' did in the first 'Die Hard', awesome infiltration sequences, smart double crossing, and cool explosions. There are even humorous script pieces that made me laugh out loud, and had some overly Americanised members of the audience at the cinema applauding midway through the film (but not at the end strangely - USA! USA! USA!).

Is it fair to compare it to 'Die Hard' so much? Yes, yes it is. 'Die Hard' is a fantastic action film of the 80s/90s and stands it's ground to this day. Even the newest 'Die Hard' films haven't been able to come close to the brilliance of the originals. 'Olympus Has Fallen' has the core ingredients of a great action film with a typical storyline, but it does it so well!

Other possible titles they could have used:

'Olympus has been retaken!'

'Olympus does not Die Hard'

'John McClane-esque Gerard Butler's character kicks butt better than Bruce Willis did in 4 and 5 in funnier manner'

I still love 'Die Hard' and Bruce Willis, I only mock it for this reason. But 'Olympus Has Fallen' gives those action-film lovers what they've been wanting to see since after Die Hard 3 came out. Albeit without the white vest.

:-)

Elky

Gangster Squad

I may have to go out and buy a fedora , a crisp new suit and a Tommy gun! Okay maybe none of them, but films like Gangster Squad really get your adrenaline pumping!

That shiz is gangsta!

The story goes that mob-boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is growing more and more powerful in the city of Los Angeles. He wants increased territory and power so starts pulling underhanded moves against his just-as-dishonest neighbours in Chicago and the West Coast.

Cue Sergeant James O'Mara (Josh Brolin), who is "recruited" (if you can call it that) by Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) for an undercover, non-LAPD-endorsed, ultra-sensitive, covert-gang mission (...and breathe). O'Mara is against Cohen's ruthless grip on the city and has shown it by breaking a few rules on his daily patrols.

So that's the Gangster Squad. Imagine Ocean's Eleven, but a bit further back in the past, with swankier clothes, less gambling (although it is featured) and many more Tommy guns and you have something which is very different; very different, but in essence, using a group to get back at the man with the power.

O'Mara or "Sarge", as he's referred to by his team of five, hit Cohen's dens, shops, bars, clubs and also his shipments, never taking anything for themselves but leaving Cohen scarred. They burn money and shoot his guys in the leg (they are officers of the law, they must uphold some of the rules; leg wounds are allowed).

The Gangster Squad are all men of the law; they can't be bought, and Cohen knows this. He gets increasingly frustrated as his empire is brought down around him, but he does manage to get his own-back on a few members of the group, as well as the people they care about.

It's all very predictable, but it's done in a such a suave way that takes the 40s/50s best bits and crams them into a feature film with drugs, guns and money. All major ways to grab the attention of an audience and keep it. The filter / effect that the feature is filmed in also helps reinforce the gritty and seedy underbelly of LA while glamorising the bars and clubs, and the music that accompanies them.

In conclusion, I think the next costume I get will be accompanied by a fedora; if I'd had that while I watched this film, that would have increased my cool tenfold. Perhaps.


:-)

Elky

Chilly, Chilli Chocolate, AMT and Me.

Apparently today, the 11th March 2013, is the coldest day in March since 1986. All I know is that it has been snowing on and off all day and it has been freezing cold!

Add to this the fact that, this evening, my train was cancelled and instead replaced by a bus service, I was in the mood for something hot to perk me up.

Enter the station shops: a pasty shop, Burger King, McDonalds, Wasabi and AMT Coffee. I decided since I had already had a Burger King meal for dinner that I should avoid anymore fast food and go for a nice hot chocolate instead. AMT wins!

To my amazement, I noticed that there was "chilli hot chocolate" on the menu, so I placed my order and waited for the gent to tip a packet of chocolate powder into a paper cup and continued to watch as he added hot milk and stirred.

Okay, so it wasn't the best production of a hot chocolate I have seen, in fact there was powdery residue on the inside of the cup, but that's not the point. It tasted good, and in that freezing cold was a blessing!

It was a nice chocolate flavour and had a slight kick from the chilli which helped to intensify the warmth it gave me. I would say that the chilli element must have been quite strong as my tolerance is quite high, so people that don't have such a tolerance to spicy may find it a bit much.

But to me it was just right! Thank you AMT Coffee for the Chilli Hot Chocolate on the coldest night of March in 27 years.

:-)

Elky