Movie Review - Xmen: Days of Future Past

The latest offering from the X-Men franchise adds another jewel to the crown of marvel comic’s movies.
Days of the future past takes us on a journey through time and is a concept based film, much more than the earlier X-Men movies.



The movie is based in the future where men have developed advanced machinery to adapt to mutants and annihilate them, and are quite successful in their mission. So the senior members devise a plan to go back in time and change the story from the point it all started.

Since the process of going back into time takes a heavy toll on the body, the self healing Wolverine is the only one physically capable of making the journey.
He must go back in time, about 40 years and find Magneto and Prof X and convince them that they together sent him into the past to work together on a mission to save their future.
Sounds crappy right?

Well the story is strange and the younger audiences will also find it a little difficult to understand what exactly is going on in the film, however, the visual impact makes up for it to a large extent.
We see fewer mutants displaying their powers this time around, and the action is much lesser compared to some of the earlier movies.
Much of the movie revolves around Magneto, Prof X, Mystique, Beast and Wolverine, with the others making brief and un-impactful appearances.


Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine is good with his role and we see both the younger and older versions of Magneto and Prof X going along on very different paths and not willing to unite even for a common cause.


In comparison to many of the other Marvel movies, this one is a let down frankly. If you are going to watch a mutant based movie, it is for the graphics and special effects. A story based movie has to be more believable and something the common viewer will be able to relate to.
On these counts, X Men Days of the Future Past was not great. It kept bringing back flashes of Matrix series and Inception to me. More so by the presence of Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde who sends Wolverine back in time.

Undoubtedly the best scene in the movie is when Quicksilver rescues his colleagues from some cops trying to shoot them down. Cinematic brilliance as we see the world at Quicksilver's pace, and he runs around altering things in the room while the world seems to be moving in super slow motion to the sound of "Time in a Bottle" playing in the background.

Fans of the X-men series will still enjoy it, but the regular movie goers can choose to give this one a skip.

Rating – 3.5/5

Hotel Review - Grand Hyatt, Goa

Located at Panjim Goa, the location of the hotel is pretty centric and gives access to both north and south goa.
The premises are huge, and well spread out. It can be a disadvantage sometimes, depending on which block you are staying in.
Block 1 and 6 are very far off and a walk of not less than 400-500 meters from the reception.
A lot of greenery is pleasing to the eyes and the layout is pretty good. They also provide access to the beach, though it's not a great beach.

Food quality was reasonably good and tasty, their breakfast spread is large and they have a live dosa and eggs counter to suit your palate.

We had a 2 day event there, and that's where things got messy as the staff was really not in a position to deliver any service.
The maintenance and cleanliness was a bit poor, and they seemed to be having a severe staff shortage or just downright lazy employees.
Most of the things had to be asked multiple times before eventually being provided, it was as if the staff is doing a favour by catering to our needs.

The management of the buffet was pathetic and most of the items kept going out of stock even though number and profile of guests was unformed to the hotel well beforehand.
These are not the standards expected of a 5 star hotel.

I've stayed in small lodges and experienced better service than this.

That apart our room keys kept getting defunct after each usage and we had to change them multiple times.
There was some water leakage in the breakfast area as well.

What i'm getting to is that you wouldn't mind paying say Rs. 2000 per night for this kind of service but by Hyatt standards it is below acceptable limits also. Never experienced anything like this after staying at nearly 50 star hotels across the world.

I'd recommend give this one a skip and look at better options in Goa.

Restaurant Review - Kudla, Mangalore

Mangalore is known for its sea food, and while visiting, one should not miss the special Mangalore style preparation of fish.

Kudla is one such great option which has been around for years.


I recently paid a visit to check out their offering. The decor is simple and a little old as well, nothing too exuberant about it.


The menu revolves around local cuisine and seafood. We decided to try the fishcurry meals and a fish fry.

You can choose which fish is to be fried and we went for the very popular Anjal fish which has just one bone in the center.

The preparation was wonderful, the fish was soft and after being light fried it was covered in this wonderful mixture of spices to form a thick paste on top.

Went very well with the meal of fish curry, which had a lot of thorns mind you. Tweak and one beetroot vegetable made up the thali apart from papad and choice of white rice or boiled whole rice.

The boiled rice which has brownish tones is very good for health too.


Kudla also serves a variety of other sea food and some rice items too.


Service is quick and value for money factor is not bad. A meal for 2 can be had within 500 easily. Overall a good restaurant in Mangalore for seafood I can say.


Rating- 4/5

Review - Deltin Royale Casino, Goa

Deltin Royale is the finest new casino in Goa. Located at Panjim, the ship itself is relatively new and rather beautiful. It is quite large too spread across 4 floors and an upper deck. It was classy both outside and inside as well.



The entry includes playing chips which can be used at the various games inside, and once a bet is placed only can the winning amounts be redeemed.
A range of games are available inside and i'd recommend you to watch out for the wallet getting light real fast.


The dealers are skilled and very polished too, in fact all their staff were very cooperative and good at their respective duties.
The entry also includes unlimited alcohol and food, both of which were very good. They serve snacks and liquor at the game tables as well so you can focus on the game completely.


We hosted a get together recently for near about 200 guests. The package given to us was quite good and i must complement them in terms of service offered which was really professional. The upper deck was given to us for a party and later for dinner we were moved to a private dining area later.


They have singers, dancers and other entertainers as well and the standards are pretty good.
Another big plus for the gamblers is that the gaming is open 24 hours.

If it's a first time visit, it will be a good experience and for the regular players i'd say - Game On.

Rating -4.5/5

Restaurant Review - Mandarin Trail, Greater Noida

On my recent visit to Delhi, i went out dining with a couple of friends in Noida, and we ended up going to Mandarin Trail at GIP Mall.
The restaurant was near empty as it was a weeknight and we were guided to our table in one corner so that we could have our privacy.

The seating is comfortable and lighting is sufficient, the ambiance of the place was nicely done and not over the top. The subtle tones of black and red lent an oriental shade while retaining its elegance.
We ordered for a few drinks and all poultry starters comprising of drums of heaven and chilly chicken.
The liquor was served and within a few minutes the starters also were on the table.
Both of them had large portions, and were hot and fresh. The chicken was soft and the marination was flavourful. lightly crispy drums of heaven and big chunks of chicken.

A friend also tried chicken manchow soup which was spicy, thick and delicious.
Having got a cue from the starters, we restricted our main course order to chicken fried rice and shredded chicken in szechwan sauce. The quantities were sufficient for the 3 of us and we weren't disappointed by the taste.

The pricing is not overly expensive, and what really won our hearts was the fabulous service.
Only in a star hotel can you expect the level of courteousness and presence of mind shown by the waiters here. We had a young kid with us and they took full care to ensure his comfort and kept him occupied while we stole time to grab our meal.

It was a good outing and though i haven't visited any of the other chinese restaurants in Delhi, I'd dare to say this might just be one of the best.

Sorry no images in this one. My phone was out of battery that night.

Rating - 4.5/5

Restaurant Review - Zo, Hauz Khaas Village, Delhi

It's the first time I had been to Hauz Khaas Village in Delhi after hearing loads about it. The are has come up rather nicely. A small lane or two which houses dozens of restaurants, pubs, cafeterias serving a wide variety of cuisine to suit everyone's palate.. Almost.

Zo is a small turn from the starting of the road towards the right and might be easy to miss, it is towards the side of a building.
As you step in the ambiance is bound to please you. It is done up very nicely, minimalistic and classy in every aspect.
We sat down in one side, and ordered for our food and drinks. Even though the table was too low, it was comfortable enough seating.



We had a few chilled beers and the ladies tried a cocktail or two which were also mixed well, the important art of cocktail making well done at Zo.


For starters we ordered some Calzone De Verdures, Shish Taouk and some chicken wings.
The chicken wings were tender and had a lot of barbecue sauce, a tad sweetish. Calzone Verdures was uninspiring but the shish taouk was actually pretty good.

The lamb burger we had was pretty good, soft and juicy patty though i didn't like the mozarella cheese in it which was too stretchy for my liking.
The verde pizza was decent enough option for the vegetarians, and since portions are quite large, it was all we were able to have..


Oh, let me not forget the desserts we really gorged on - the blueberry cheesecake and chocolate brownie with ice cream. Good stuff, but very filling.

Service is good too, and though the pricing is steep, it justifies itself. If only the taste of the food can go up a notch, it would be perfect.
Warrant's a visit i'd say.

Rating - 4/5

Hotel Review - JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi

JW Marriott, at the newly constructed Aerocity is one of the 5-6 hotels in the vicinity. The fact that it is just a 10-15 minutes drive from the airport will be a plus for many, especially business travellers who don't need to get into the mad rush of the city.


The hotel is large and though there was nothing eye catchy about the decor, it was just simple and very elegant.
A nice flower decoration at the entrance and a traditional welcome was a good way to start the marriott hospitality experience.

There is an open bar and a small library area in the lobby which leads up to the restaurant as well as guest rooms. The conference hall is very large and can accommodate nearly 500 people, which was nearly the number we had at our conference.



The rooms are not very large but fully equipped and the bed is also comfortable and there is a bath tub in the bathroom.
One huge disappointment is the lack of a faucet, and this is something that irritates all of us to the core.
It's illogical that we have to ape foreigners and leave our own style of functioning. What is the harm in having a faucet in addition to the toilet paper?
And if we really have to go by common international standards for a hotel, might as well do away with indian food at the buffet and serve only continental cuisine... -1 mark for this blunder.

Service is good as you'd expect at Marriott and checking in and out was a smooth process.
The food also was pretty good, we had a couple of breakfast and a lunch buffet at their restaurant on the ground floor.
The spread was large, and taste of most of the dishes was accurate, the dessert spread is huge and delicious i must say.
They have a specialty Japanese restaurant as well, would interest some of the international guests perhaps.

Overall a pleasant and relaxed stay.

Rating - 4/5

Hotel Review - Radison Blu, Paschim Vihar

Delhi is a large city and where you choose to stay depends on the area to which you need to travel, and if west delhi is your preference, then Radison Blu, Paschim Vihar is a fine option indeed.

The hotel is not overly grand but is well equipped. The Spa, Business Center, Swimming Pool etc provide a good blend of work and relaxation to guests.
Dining options at the hotel include a couple of restaurants, a lounge bar, a cafeteria and a patisserie.

We made our booking online through their website, and due to the offer on our card, we got a pretty good rate for the rooms. Moreover upon check-in we discovered much to our surprise that we were upgraded to a business class room for free.

The room was elegant and well crafted. It was not too large but well equipped with all modern amenities and the bathroom though not very large had a tub apart from the shower.



The service was good and the hotel has many unique features to suit their patrons needs. These include free wi-fi, express and late checkouts.

The breakfast buffet spread was quite large and we had a leisurely meal there, taste of the food was not bad either.

Overall considering our upgrade etc it was good value for money and we had a good and comfortable stay here.

Rating - 4/5 

Restaurant Review - New Modern Hotel, VV Puram

New Modern Hotel or NMH as it is popularly known by locals, is neither new nor modern. In fact it has been around for the last 50 years and is an institution in itself, showcasing the way the restaurants used to function in this city.
Unaffected by modernisation this place has still retained its old world charm and you'll get to see a large board with the items and pricing mentioned on it both in kannada and english.

The waiters still walk around barefoot wearing lungis and the cashier still sits behind a metal cage dishing out exact change in seconds.
If you have watched the recent alpenliebe ad carefully, where the waiter runs you through the items on the menu in seconds, it has been shot in NMH, so you might be able to relate to this place.

NMH is popular for their tiffin items like Idli, Dosa, Vada but i personally like the more rare delicacies like the bonda soup and sweet chiroti which one might not find at darshinis. Their strong coffee is like a jolt of caffeine and will awaken your senses instantly.
Pricing is rather low and service is quick. I wouldn't recommend the very ordinary meals/thali which they serve, but otherwise its a great place for breakfast or snacks. Absolute value for money and demands atleast one visit from any foodie just to bring back old world charm of bengaluru restaurants.

Rating - 4/5

Restaurant Review - Casablanka, Banashankari

I used to come here almost a decade ago with a friend who lived nearby, but the place had slipped out of my memory until somebody mentioned it recently.
We wanted to have a simple continental meal not far from home and happened to visit this place on a sunday night.
It's a very small resto cafe located behing KIMS near banashankari complex. The seating is limited to about 20 tightly packed in.
There is just one waiter and he was quite busy, so service tends to be slightly slow.

After having fresh lime soda which smelt of onions, we ordered our food.
We tried the cheesy garlic bread, chicken burger, chicken sandwich and the cajun chicken sizzler.
The garlic bread was quite nice, had a lot of cheese and right amount of garlic flavouring. It could have been baked a tad more though.
The chicken sandwich was just about ok, nothing special about it, just some pieces of chicken and bread.
The burger was rather poor, and if one tries to make a burger at home, the result could be better.
The chicken sizzler was surely the best of the lot and had good curry as well as soft chicken served along with rice.

We tried their famous fried oreos with ice cream and it was the savior for us. The sweet toothed would like it, though ideally 3 people would be required to finish it or it gets too sweet for one person alone.
The place was a little shabby and needs some renovation. Being a small joint is fine, but the neatness has to be maintained.
The food is alright, not really a feast. But the ones who really had the feast were the dozens of mosquitoes who really ripped off the skin from our legs, and that beyond everything else ruined the experience for us. Go with minimum of expectation if you really must, but frankly in Bangalore you can get much better options than this place for the price you pay.

Rating - 3/5

Restaurant Review - Dugout Sportsbar, Koramangala

You would go to a place like this and wonder, what exactly is the definition of a sports bar?
Dugout for example has 2 giant screens displaying sports and one pool and one foosball table each. Apart from that they also have couple of small television screens and a horrible DJ who plays loud but rubbish music and has no clue about mixing tracks.

The service is slow and at times you have to wait 10 mins to find a waiter and place your order. Even then they manage to forget all about getting your food/drink.
The taste of everything we had also was pretty mediocre.
The crowd was few groups of abusing teenagers yelling at each other as their teams took the upperhand in a football game.
If this is a sports bar, then I'd rather watch my sport elsewhere. Not one to be repeated surely...

Rating - 2/5