mrbrown.com

mrbrown goes to Portugal

This has been my home for the last few days in Porto. Yes, I chose to stay in a hostel. I think I'm the oldest fella in this hostel. I  came by train from Lisbon, where I attended the IFA Global Press Conference. Check out my review of the Sennheiser AMBEO Smart Headset that can record 360° sound, on YouTube.

I've got two power sockets to charge my myriad of tech gear, a small light and two small shelves for my knickknacks. And a big drawer below to hold my Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30 carry-on and Synapse 19 daypack. I'm a happy camper.   

When I find the time between walking tours and hanging out at the laundromat waiting for my clothes to be washed and dried, I'll share more stories about sleeping in a bunk bed with other folks in the same room, at my non-millennial age. 

Now I'm busy sitting in the public lounge area watching Season 2 of The Expanse, one of the best science-fiction tv shoes in a while.

Kim Huat: Beyond Borders and Live on CNA

Thanks for the interview, Channel NewsAsia! It was fun for Kim Huat and me.

I think this is the first time I've ever done a live tv news interview over Skype, and while in Europe somemore. 

Thanks Dave and Poh Guan for the photos of my live tv interview!

Kim Huat watches Criminal Minds Beyond Borders: Part 2 of 2

Kim Huat watches the Singapore episode of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders AGAIN and makes himself mad again.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/CyWW9D6Mmkw

Update: The Facebook version of this video reached 610,000 views. Thanks guys!

Kim Huat watches Criminal Minds Beyond Borders: Part 1 of 2

Kim Huat watches the episode of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders where Singapore is featured and gets triggered.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/MScSovg_6I0

Update: The Facebook version of this video reached 1.2 million views. I am humbled and a little scared by the overwhelming support from you guys.

Media links:

AsiaOne: 5 hilarious comebacks over inaccurate portrayal of Singapore in Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders

SCMP: Criminal Minds and smearing Singapore: why can’t Hollywood ever get Asia right?

Geek Culture:: http://mrbrwn.co/2oIkAqA

See What Show: Fast And Furious 8

Once again, we return to the Fast and Furious saga, with Fast 8, or Fate of the Furious, or The Fast and Furious 8, or #F8. Whichever title rocks your boat.

The Taiwanese soap opera of Action Movies is back with number 8, and just like you forgot the plots of the previous seven installments, you will forget this one too. Personally, I think you should try to remember at least the last three movies, because got some link one.

But no fear! Nobody watches a Fast and Furious movie for the story! We just want to know, "Was the action good?", "Did they outdo themselves in the 夸张 Department?" and "How many cars did they destroy this time?"

The answer to that is Yes, Very Much Yes, and Way Too Many to Count.

You watch Fast and Furious movies because you know they will beat the bad guys. Like a Ip Man movie. But you still watch because you want to see HOW they beat the bad guys.

The big bad person this time is Charlize Theron, whom I love but she didn't get to be as evil as I wanted her to be. Still, she makes for a great villain, as the hacker Cipher. Kinda like Anonymous but with better looks. I just wish she got out more, instead of doing her hacking in her secret lair.

Every member of the cast is fun to watch. They know their parts already (like the banter and chemistry of Tyrese and Ludacris) but the new power couples like Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson were also enjoyable to watch. Yes, Deckard Shaw joins the good guys this time.

F8 was not as good as the previous 5, 6 and 7, I felt, but still a serviceable addition to the series. I had a good time watching driverless cars vs Russian motorcade, sports cars vs submarine, and The Rock vs a concrete bench. All of which I could suspend disbelief for.

But one thing bothered me throughout the entire movie (besides the floating captions whenever they changed locales). And there is a minor spoiler here so stop if you are sensitive.

Most of you may know that Jason Statham, Deckard Shaw in the movie, was the enemy of Vin Diesel's family in Furious 7, right? And you know that he killed Han in Fast and Furious 6, right?

SO HOW COME HE CAN BE FRIEND-FRIEND WITH THE TEAM IN FURIOUS 8???

#Triggered #JusticeForHan

Video: the mrbrown show: Huat Ah! Sosher

Who doesn't want to be a sosher media influencer amirite?

[Note: There is no such agency as Huat Ah! Sosher and this is only a parody remix of the original video]

For fun only, don't angry hor.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6fEsWBQiXI

吃Western, an eatery by an old friend

You can say Theo and I go way back. I taught Theo in my Sunday School class when he was 5 or 6 years old. And his father was the pastor who married my wife and me.

And now he is all grown up and has his own eatery called 吃Western at Blk 206 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 310206.

Go check it out. My family and I enjoyed his western food at reasonable coffee shop prices.

See What Show: Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Ghost in the Shell (Ang Moh Edition) was a visually stunning movie with an average story. If you haven't seen the original anime version before, you will think this is an above average action movie. 

If you have seen the original before and loved it, you will be somewhat annoyed that the Hollywood one has the body of the original but not the brains and the soul of it.

Even so, the fanboy in me got very excited at some scenes. Like the Spider Tank scene. Or the iconic Water Fight scene. Manly tears were shed.

How about the whitewashing part, you ask? Please. Of course it is. But you know, Scarjo held the weak plot together and made it watchable.

Now to rewatch the original anime movie. And I also bought Season 1 and 2 of the Stand Alone Complex series. 

At least the flawed Hollywood movie made me seek to recapture the Ghost in the Shells of my youth.