The Journal

Author: Lakindu

  • April Entertainment Roundup

    April Entertainment Roundup

    A Complete Unknown

    Finally got around to watching this. Only took a couple of months. I thought it was a pretty good movie. Knowing absolutely nothing about Bob Dylan, I personally learnt a lot about his life events, his music and understood somewhat of the impact he had and why a movie was made about him.

    I was also intrigued by his background which they teased but left ambiguous. At first I found that a bit annoying cus I wanted the puzzle all pieced together but upon reflecting on it, I don’t think that was ever an intention of the movie makers.

    Also, incredible acting by Timothee Chalamet and Edward Norton who I haven’t really seen around in a while. The movie also motivated me to listen to Highway 61 Revisited for the first time.

    Yay or Nay: Yay

    Devil May Cry

    So I’ve never played the games, but I remember seeing the trailer and being intrigued so I gave it a go. On the positive side – I thought some of the action sequences were very nicely done, especially in the first few episodes. I also thought the backstories for some of the characters was exquisitely done, particularly The Rabbit and the Lady but I’m not a 100% if that’s just adapted from the games.

    On the less positive side – there’s a fair bit of 3D animation used here which I don’t mind but on a few ocassion it just looks a bit off and distracting. The pacing I thought started off nice but a couple of episodes in it kinda just shifted and I didn’t really find that a welcome changed.

    If the series, characters, or plot interests you I’d recommend giving this a shot. It’s definitely a good fun series for casual viewing.

    Yay or Nay: Yay

    Sinners

    There’s certain movies that balance style and substance perfectly to serve up an extremely entertaining and engaging experience. John Wick comes to mind straightaway, along with The Harder They Fall. Sinners is one of those movies that belong in this category.

    Not going to dwell too much on who’s in it and making it cus that information is readily available everywhere.

    A huge surprise for me, not having watched the trailers, was the role that music played in this movie. All in all, this movie was a damn good time.

    Yay or Nay: YAY

    Havoc

    I’m a huge fan of Gareth Evans mainly thanks to the two incredible The Raid movies he made with Iko Uwais. While Havoc has the same director, it is of a different caliber to The Raid though, focusing slightly more on the story. This however does not mean that the action seqeuence, when they do come, are of any less quality. Again, the choregoraphy, the set pieces, the brutality – it’s all just a notch above what you would commonly see in most movies these days. This definetly wouldn’t be for everyone but if you are a fan of Evans movies, The Raid or John Wick style action, this definetly deserves your time.

    Yay or Nay: Yay

    Warfare

    One way to guarantee I watch a film – put the letter and numbers A24 in front of it. This is just filmmaking done with a pure vision on what the movie would be. For me, that was offering you a place right next to the Navy SEALs involved and giving you a glimpse of the carnage, brutality, loss, bravery and brotherhood involved without holding your hand through it.

    This ones definitely not for anyone, but is a piece of art that is of the highest quality and a must watch for anyone interested in these kinds of movies and genres.

    Yay or Nay: Yay

  • Katsu Curry

    Katsu Curry

    Might as well already add this to your list of top five comfort foods. I actually saw this dish posted from an account I follow on IG and decided to give it a shot (probably the first time I’ve utilized social media in a healthy way) and I’m sure glad I did.

    The recipe and steps below is an amalgamation (fancy word for the day: check) of a couple of different recipes I found across the World Wide Web, which will be linked below. There were so many different ways to make and customize this.

    I’ve written down how I made it, going with the Katsu curry instead of sauce. Do keep in mind that I am only a budding amateur home chef lacking the consultancy of a talking mouse and this is intended as inspiration as opposed to a strict recipe.

    Happy cooking.

    Ingredients

    • For the protein
      • Chicken breast (Pork can be used as well)
      • Plain Flour
      • 2 Eggs
      • Panko Bread Crumbs
      • Vegetable Oil
      • Salt and Pepper
    • For the curry sauce
      • 1 Yellow Onion
      • 2 Small Carrots
      • 600ml Chicken Stock
      • 2 tbsp Katsu Curry Powder (Golden Curry cubes were used in many of the videos I seen but weren’t available locally)
      • Spring Onion

    Steps

    1. Butterfly the chicken breast (esentailly halving it) and pound both halves to thin them out.
    2. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
    3. Set up your breading stations: one for flour, one for the cracked and beaten eggs and one for the Panko breadcrumbs
    4. Use the wet hand dry hand method to coat the chicken in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in that order.
    5. Heat the vegetable oil and fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown.
    6. Slice the chicken and it’s ready to go.
    7. To make the curry, add some oil followed by the onions and carrots.
    8. Once onions and carrots have been cooked a little, add the chicken stock and let simmer.
    9. Add curry powder and let simmer for for some more time. The curry’s ready to go.
    10. Serve with rice and garnish with some spring onion.

    Linked below are the videos I used for inspiration and from where I learnt butterflying and the wet hand dry hand method.

  • Bohernabreena Reservoir

    Bohernabreena Reservoir

    Nice sunny day, itching to get out the house, an easy going walk with some nice views would do? The Bohernabreena Reservoir trail’s got you covered.

    I’d initially been here pre-covid but after coming across a guide on The Irish Road Trip, I just had to revisit.

    The guide linked gives an excellent breakdown of the walk, the different paths available and parking along with a little sprinkle of the Reservoirs background, so definitely go check that out.

    I’ll just add in a few of my own complimentary tid bits here.

    The shorter walk around the upper reservoir, as detailed in the guide, is pretty easy going and took me about a hour and half to complete, even at my slightly slower than average walking pace – I’d like to believe I owe this to my Sri Lankan genes.

    Around the upper reservoir there are some great spots to sit and relax if the weather permits. Few people were out fishing as well if that’s more your thing.

    The plan of action for the next time I’m back here is to park in the public car park, walk down and do half the loop, grab coffee at the paid car park and finish the second half of the loop before heading back to the public car park. This is just to get a bit more sun exposure.

    Gonna end this by blessing yous with some of my absolutely mediocre photography skills.