Film: Avengers: Infinity War

The most amazing thing about Infinity War is in fact how they managed to actually pull it off. In all other contexts and attempts it would have been impossible to create a film that sufficiently gathers the momentum and energy of its previous 18(!) films... But here we are. But aside from that feat the film itself was a joy to behold, both in terms of entertainment and technical accomplishment. I don't think I've seen a single film so fun, energetic, emotional, pumped, well produced, balanced, acted or directed before.

The only real flaw is that as a standalone movie it probably won't make a lot of sense. This has to be watched as the 19th episode of an epic, but I'm guessing for most people that's not really a flaw at all.

Absolutely stunning and sublime, Infinity War gets nothing less than an utmost recommendation. I'm still buzzing just thinking about it, and I expect that to last till my next viewing of the movie.

Film: Rampage

Ah, Rampage. It's one of the first games I remember playing with excitement - the characters! The destruction! The ability to play with three players! So yes, I will fully admit I went into this with some expectation of a nostalgia fix.

But it turns out that Rampage manages to balance precisely on that fine line between flagrant fanservice and having a decent identity of its own - yes homages were paid, but the good (and bad) of the film were wholly owned by it.

Other than that, Rampage is an action film with CGI and Dwayne Johnson, so you don't actually need a review to tell you what to expect. It provides exactly what is promised, and so whether that's something you'll want or not is for you to decide. I for one really liked it so it receives a hearty recommendation from me.

Film: A Quiet Place

At 90 minutes long, A Quiet Place is a blessed example of efficiency in film-making. There's not much fat in a film that is already lean - along with the plot device that means there's not much talking means that the film has to rely on some really great production and depth to carry itself.

And it really does. There really isn't much to complain about here. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it, the story flowed at a steady pace from the start, and by the end of it all I was so invested in the family around which the film is centered that it all become more than just another scary film for me.

Definitely recommended.

Book: Caliban's War, James S. A. Corey

A marked improvement on the first book, Caliban's War brought me some of the things I felt were missing from the world of a well explored solar system. We now have politicking, some out there science, dogfights and even a bit of character progression. It's still not perfect science fiction, but if it continues on the trajectory it does promise to be something great.

In the meantime I have watched the first book's worth of the TV show (which perversely took me to the middle of season 2), and it turns out that my hope that the visualisation of a book would be better entertainment was once again misplaced; although a decent enough show it did feel a little bit rushed and patchworked. It remains to be seen if it can pull the same trajectory as the books so far do.

Film: Ready Player One

I wrote about my thoughts of the book here, making a bold claim that by virtue of its medium a movie would fix all the issues I had with the novel. I actually happened to be right for once - most of the flaws had been fixed as visuals trumped expectations of depth. What I was implicitly wrong about however was that the movie would be a better experience overall - as while it did fix the issues with the source material it brought just as many of its own to the table. The result is a film that will not be the classic it deserved to be, but more of a cash in for the millennials.

Kudos to the makers for not relying on the fanservice too much, but that which was there wasn't as relevant to the plot as it had been in the book. It appeared that it had been included only for the reference hunters ("runters"?) amongst us, and not to further the story. As a result, the film lost most of excellent "referential depth" which made the book so enjoyable. The moralising was dumbed down (and as a result felt a little patronising) while no space was left for any of the characters to develop much - I didn't really care for much of them.

There were also pacing issues, with none of the challenges seeming that challenging, and the whole thing kind of ends a little too quickly.

Like the book, Ready Player one is probably not a movie I'm going to watch more than I need to - it'll probably get a rewatch on home release but that's about it. It's pretty disappointing to consider what a missed opportunity it turned out to be.

Film: Cake

Apart from a few shaky plot developments, Cake was actually quite good. It was a bit of a Kapoor and Sons lite, exploring the reunion of a family taken apart (and put back together again) by tragedy and deceit. The excellent acting came second to the production, with some of the most mature cinematography taking centre stage, and overall the story was a solid one.

There are flaws however: some mild schizophrenia from some of the characters and some slight pacing and timing issues - these led to the aforementioned shaky plot developments, but overall you would be able to look past them if you wanted to.

If this is a sign of Pakistani film-making to come then I can't wait. For now though Cake gets a firm recommendation in my book.

Film: Tomb Raider

Despite the rebooted games being brilliant, Tomb Raider (the film) fails to live up to the expectation and standards set. There are various pacing and plot issues, and the film suffers as a whole due to this lack of depth and balance. This all in spite of the valiant efforts by the sublime Alicia and co to fight through with their acting skills.

It remains to be seen whether the franchise as a whole will do any better, but for now Tomb Raider is one to avoid.

BAHfest London 2018

I attended this year's BAHfest in during a period where I've actually been pretty hermit-like, thus is the allure of the nerdy fun event hosted by Imperial one a year. This is the third time it's been in London, and has cemented itself as a must-date in my diary. Today's show was of no disappointment.

Tonight we were told of how setting of a nuke might be the best way to combat global warming, how the black death is directly responsible for how bad we are at romantic relationships, why and how we should prevent attacks on sharks, why the moon is so obnoxious (and how to remedy that), the importance of thinning the atmosphere (via mass and gravity reduction) in order to reduce the greenhouse effect and finally why symmetry is so important in evolution (which is actually probably true but not in the way it was presented tonight). Oh and also why cuteness is a genealogical disease.

There were a few repeat presenters (no bad thing), and the quality of the laughs and presentations were clearly on an upward trend. I'm not sure how I feel about that - for me part of the charm of BAHfest is the grassroots amateurishness of it all - but so far there's no sign of any of the geekiness dumbing down.

On to next year then!

Food: Yard Sale Pizza

The thing about pizza is that it's pretty easy to get right. That's both a good thing (it's hard to get it wrong) but also a bad thing (it's hard to make it special). And so is the case here at Yard Sale Pizza, where, although the food was great, there was no real apparent reason to visit them over any other pizza place. In fact I would cite not being halal as pretty criminal given the vicinity.

So yes, a recommendation of sorts, but only if you happen to be passing and crave pizza.

Food: P.F. Chang's

Although I always struggle to answer questions about my favourite cuisine, I generally have no problem saying what doesn't rock my boat. It's not that I dislike Chinese, but more that that I find it really difficult to get excited about it. And so that's how I felt tonight on approach to P.F. Chang's.

It turns out however that not all Chinese is made the same; I actually really enjoyed the food here. It was clean, flavourful and although we exclusively stuck to the chicken dishes (everything except, well, the pork is halal) everything was varied enough to keep us interested. The service was great in a familiar non-poncy sort of way, and there really wasn't much to complain about.

The bill came to £25 per head which I suppose fairly reflects the experience I had. P.F. Chang's definitely comes recommended, which for a Chinese is quite exciting for me after all.

Film: Red Sparrow

For me, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy remains the epitome of the mind melting spy thriller sub genre - I still don't think I quite fully understand what the heck goes on in that film, and I'm always in two minds about whether its complexity works for (since it's a challenge) or against (since who wants to watch a film that makes them feel stupid?) it.

Whatever the case, TTSS makes for a decent benchmark against which other films of the genre can be positioned. So finally then to the point: if TTSS is a 10, Red Sparrow weighs in at around 5 or 6. It's certainly more accessible, easier to follow and ultimately... more enjoyable as a result. Jennifer Lawrence does a decent job as the torn spy who we can't quite figure out the allegiances of, and apart from the acting the film is really well put together.

The cost, however, of this accessibility is the sense of implausibility that comes with it. It's difficult to believe that a prima ballerina can so easily be turned into a master spy for instance. It was kind of like seeing a more serious version of Eggsy from Kingsman.

So yes, as long as you don't let the caricaturisation of the spy world bother you too much there's not much to dislike about Red Sparrow. Recommended.

Film: Black Panther

At first glance, Black Panther is a great film. It has great tech, good humour, decent action and even ties it all together with a decent enough plot. The effects were a little rough around the edges, but not enough to spoil the film... all in all on the surface it's a fun film and all the stronger as it stands on its own without having to lean on the rest of the MCU.

... But of course we can't just leave it at that. It's also a black film and although I'm the last random guy on the internet to assess the credentials of the film in that context I did find myself considering how the film tackled the inevitable baggage it was always going to carry.

So yes, on the whole I felt that Black Panther initially did well with handling its heritage and colour - it wasn't apologetic about what it was, yet managed to not caricaturise itself on the way. It was a little unfortunate that the film ended up being about black on black war, but I can see how anything else would have attracted criticism too, so overall I think it did okay on this front.

Aside from that Black Panther makes a great entry in the MCU - the last before the really big event starts. Recommended.

Film: Padmavati

If indeed Padmavati is to be considered the third in the SLB-Padukone-Singh epic period set of films, it is also by far the weakest entry in the trilogy. Apart from the shallow plot, the acting is shoddy, the special effects laughable, the music forgettable (and I mean that literally)... and although I really should be above this in a work of fiction, the portrayal of Muslims as nothing less than douchebag extraordinaires was kinda jarring.

This is both unfortunate, but also a relief since it highlights just how brilliant and good Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani respectively were. You can't just expect magic; no, that requires something special that even established dream teams struggle to continually always provide. I guess things would just be boring otherwise.

Book: Elantris, Brandon Sanderson

I can see why Elantris is seen as "a decent enough start" to the Cosmere. From the first page it contains such characterisation and construction of plot that you can't but help marvel at the genius and scope of what is yet to come, yet the whole thing collapses under its ambition toward the last few chapters. In short, it seems to be full of the kind of mistakes you just know will be fixed in future stories, and that's something which, if true, holds great promise for what's to come.

I can see why Sanderson was asked to complete The Wheel of Time, and its the accessibility he gave to that series that I see here in Cosmere.

Karachi 2018

My annual trips to Karachi are quite well established now, up to the point where I actually start itching to go back 10-12 months after my previous trip. This one was a couple of months overdue due to South Africa, but it did coincide with a couple of weddings so it worked out pretty well.

I find it to be a humbling habit, somewhat rooted, and that not in a "I wish I could save them all poverty porn" sense. I'm not a tourist here, I'm family. This makes it personal not just because there's blood involved but also for the more pragmatic fact that the life I see around me could have been my own if my grandfather had made different decisions in his own life all those years ago.

Things are always relative and perhaps this is why I don't have the same sense of ambition or success that others back in the UK have - I already have these things in a way, no matter how they were earned (or not). My peers aren't necessarily the people I live and work with in London, but my cousins, relatives and the 25m other people who reside here in Karachi. In the same way I find myself also more conservative and traditional, whether it's the manner in which I dress or the fact that I prefer squatters to commodes.

It's a cliche but despite the poverty and hardships people do seem more happy and content here than they do elsewhere. One can accuse them all of living in ignorance of course - how can they miss something they've never had - but us who spend the time to visit do know what's out there... and yet there's much more of a sense of peace where choices are much more limited.

Film: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

I am not ashamed to say that, for me at least, this film was saved by Karen Gillan. Without her Jumanji would have been a bland, paint-by-numbersfest that even Dwayne Johnson wouldn't have been able to salvage. It's the kind of film that you'd enjoy most by letting it just wash over you - in fact in writing this review I've probably given it too much effort.

It wasn't a disaster and had its moments (some which didn't involve Amy Pond), but overall it's still probably one to save to watch at home with family. Tenuously recommended.

Food: The Great Chase

So here's something brave: a fine dining restaurant that's fully halal, down to the lack of alcohol being served - and not even having Coke on the menu due to some ethical concerns. I think any business person in the food industry would have signed the death warrant of such a place before it even opened... but it's something that will probably thrive in a city where enough Muslims have more money than sense, and care more about the social media implications of a meal than the food itself. I could turn this into a post about how Muslim businesses need to start doing more than just Islamifying what's already out there, but that's probably out of scope for this review. Either way the point probably stands that the existence of places like this is less about the businesses and more about us as a demographic.

The food was decent enough, the service less than I would have expected in a place like this. We were also disappointed when we were told the cod (the listing of which made 1/4 of the total number of mains on offer) ran out. The portions were small (as is expected in a place like this) and even though sometimes that doesn't matter (see: Ceviche) I did appreciate the extra pasta we ordered to share.

Surprisingly enough the bill wasn't too bad; £34 per head with starters and teas is nothing to complain too hard about. I can imagine the bill being even more acceptable with a more discerning customer.

I don't think this would be the last time I visit The Great Chase, and I'll even admit that I was seriously impressed by the lack of Coke on offer. Who knows, perhaps its places like these that will pave the way for more originality in the halal space? In either case I guess I shouldn't complain at having the option.

Film: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Within minutes of the film opening I had my head in my hands. That whole "Poe fakes a bad line when speaking with General Hux" just felt so out of place, so muddled, any hope I had for another Force Awakens was quickly dashed. I don't think I was proven wrong, what with the first half of this film having been a bit of a mess.

But then the turn happened and everything changed. For sure, it wasn't enough to save the film, but the pay off did make the wait a little more digestible. Its a bit of a shame really - the film was otherwise well produced and well acted out... and if I could be so brave I'd even suggest it could be made into a much better film with a few edits.

But as it stands The Last Jedi end up subject to the same curse as the original trilogy - it is as very much a "middle" film as The Empire Strikes Back was, but this actually gives me a bit of hope that not only will the next film be more of a triumph, but that The Last Jedi will come into its own as the film that ties the whole trilogy together.

Food: Hakkaland

The idea of a place offering indo-chinese cuisine will always ring alarm bells in my head: choosing "jack of many trades" as a business plan is never going to break barriers. And yet the popularity of such places is a testament to their demand, and I guess a lot of people want to have chicken corn soup with their naan kebabs.

We all stuck to Chinese today however and what can I say? The food was solid if not uninspiring, the service adequate, the decor and atmosphere of the place sufficient for us all to have had a decent time. The truth is that this place was never going to make waves... but sometimes that's precisely the point, as by keeping the food straightforward and unobstructive we were able to enjoy each other that much more.

At £20 (after a discount) it wasn't the cheapest meal to be had, but for some reason no one had any complaints after. That alone says a lot, and I can see us returning to Hakkaland again if we ever happen to be in the area.

Food: Pizza Pilgrims

I don't think anything consistently excites me more than pizza, but as I type this I realise that's only because of how much of a sure bet it is for me. I tend not to be too particular when it comes to food already, so it's really difficult to mess up a pizza for someone so easily pleased.

So yes this does mean it's difficult for me to properly critique the food at Pizza Pilgrims. Suffice to say it was good stuff - the, erm, size was right and the menu selection was perfectly balanced between the exotic and the standard. Although the Kingly Street restaurant we visited was a little cramped, service was great and we were left to our own devices to eat and talk at our leisure despite the waiting list of people wanting to grab a meal.

The price wasn't the cheapest but as expected - £14 for a pizza and drink, but all in all it was the experience that mattered; we left content with the food, drink and conversation we had tonight and that makes Pizza Pilgrims worth visiting alone.

Food: Ceviche

So it turns out that Peruvian food has the rare quality of being small on the plate but large in the stomach. Volume wise I can't really remember eating much, but I did leave very satisfied both in terms of the quality and quantity - food was ordered for our whole party and dishes were passed around, resulting in a smashing of tastes, cuisines and even colour.

The restaurant itself was a little disappointing, although that was probably more our fault as it became clear how inadequately it could cater for our party of 10. Some items had run out, space was at a premium and it was impossible to have any kind of conversation over the noise. This is probably a place for a small fun group rather than any kind of intimacy.

Which brings us to the biggest failing of Ceviche: its price. Paying around £42 per head for not much food (no matter how satisfying) has made my first trip to Ceviche also my last, which is a shame since there really is no reason for them to have picked this particular market to price to... that said the food was ripe for Instagram so perhaps its canny on their part to cater to the extra-restaurant experience.

Goodbye, South Africa

And just like that, it's over. I wrote on my arrival to South Africa the mixed feelings I had returning to a place I had found so striking all those years ago, and the fears I had of this trip not quite living up to the nostalgia did, to some extent, come to be pretty justified.

But now that I'm leaving (our final meal having been at Nandos, naturally) I've realised that I was being a little unfair; it's not South Africa's fault that my previous trip was so memorable, and even if it wasn't able to give me that time back I doubt that neither would plenty of other countries. In other words, rather than see this as a return to South Africa, I've begun to see it as a new trip to a country I didn't really explore as much before.

And in that framing it has been quite the trip. Five weeks, four countries, almost 4000km driven, 3300 photos (of which I kept 1190) and nine different beds has made this by far my most ambitious and involved trip ever. I'm still deciding if that was to its detriment or not, but overall I'm glad of the experience (as well as filling in those gaps I had missed on my last visit here). The trip was so long that we were reminiscing about parts of it before the whole thing had even ended.

That said, I did also enjoy the more dossy time I had in Johannesburg and Durban, and it was great to catch up with friends both old and new. And in some ways the pressure is off - if I was ever to visit South Africa again I know I won't have to do much of the tourist trail.

Of course considering how long it took me to go back this time around, whether its a given that I'll visit again is yet to be seen.

Drakensberg, Day Five: Taking A Dip

As this was our last day, we decided to have another go at visiting the Royal Natal National Park.

It actually did happen to be much less busy than it was on Christmas Day, and so we spent the bulk of the day enjoying the activities it had to offer, including a hike up to a rock pool.

The weather was perfect for kicking off those shoes and taking a dip.

It was nice way to spend our final day up in the mountains - we plan on making our way back early tomorrow to have some decent time in Durban before we leave South Africa altogether.

Book: Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey

The last really decent science fiction I can remember reading is, perhaps unsurprisingly enough, anything that had been written by Asimov. Perhaps it's the rose tinted specs talking (typing?), but any new fangled sci-fi just doesn't seem as science fiction-y as the old school stuff. The trouble is that I'm not entirely sure why.

But using Leviathan Wakes, the first in the series of books that make up The Expanse, as an example it could be because where the classic scifi tomes were unapologetic in their geekiness, modern stuff aims to be a bit more accessible - both in the standard of writing and plot concepts.

That's not to say that Leviathan Wakes was a bad book; no it just didn't manage to give me the scifi fix that I was after. In fact I'd go as far as saying that I quite enjoyed reading it and will certainly consider continuing with the series - I also look forward to watching the television show which I perversely think will be better entertainment.

That doesn't solve the scifi gap I have right now - but after recently finishing the Wheel of Time, perhaps the real answer is to look beyond a genre and seek the fix elsewhere?

Drakensberg, Day Four: Taking A Hike

Deciding that we had had enough of driving, we decided to keep things closer to home today. Our resort had a few hikes available to its guests, and we picked the one most appropriate for the mixed group that we were.

Despite it being one of the more shorter hikes available, it did present some nice paths and decent views and the waterfall at the end of the trail was worth our efforts.

As we were close to home we spent the rest of the afternoon at our chalets, playing boardgames and hanging out. After four days it does feel like our time in Drakensberg is beginning to stretch a little.

Drakensberg, Day Three: A Christmas In

For whatever reason, we all thought that Christmas Day would be pretty dead in and around Drakensberg. In turns out that we couldn't have been more wrong - enough so to have us turn from the Royal Natal National Park and head back to our chalets.

On the other hand this did result in a chill out day, with us spending most of the time playing mini golf, bowls and various other activities on the resort.

Drakensberg, Day Two: Exploring The Mountains

A lazy start had us driving north though a bunch of assorted terrain and views. Sterkfontein and its dam was a marvel to to see, but the real sights started as we entered the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Although we mainly stuck to the main roads, we still managed to catch some great scenery.

We eventually ended up at Clarens, a cute little artisan town. It was a nice enough little stop, and a perfect place to spend a couple of hours.

Due to the geography of the land, our fastest way back home was to backtrack down the way we came. Although that meant revisiting what we had already seen, it did make the return drive pass much faster. Oh and we also managed to catch a tremendous sunset, in this instance made all the better due to the cloudline over Sterkfontein dam.

We got back to our chalets in good time, leaving the evening to unwind and relax.

Drakensberg, Day One: Getting There

After the 2000km or so that we had already driven the idea of more hours in the car was less than appealing. On the other hand, Drakensberg promised to be much more of a chill out than the trips we had taken so far - it was to be just the ticket after such a busy vacation so far. The few games of Jenga we played in our cabin today was just the ticket.

Still, I have to admit than I'm feeling more than a little ennui as we enter our last week of our time in South Africa. I do expect to read a lot on this stint.

Coming Back to Durban

Our time in Durban, largely by design, was very social, very lazy and very domestic. It was kept so firstly to recover from the intense tourism of the past few weeks but also to leave space for the respective socialising my parents and I wanted to do. That said, it was less of a social whirlwind my previous stint here was (and for the better). In summary:

• On my first full day here I went to three nikkahs and a Jummah. That's so Durban.
• I visited the African Art Centre to check out the work of an artist friend (as one does in Durban).
• North Beach evoked good memories, but new was La Lucia Beach where we had a decent little family chill out.
• We were able to take a mini tour of a clothing factory (via family friends)
• We finally got to have some South African prawns, as well as some Bunny Chow (which was more novelty than I remember)
• At great personal cost I managed to grab a Crystal Steak Sandwich, which for me was the clear winner of this year's South African junk food trail
• I even managed to get a dive in which gave me sharks, an amazing reef and some excellent visibility.
• And finally I spent a lot of time (read: eating food and cake) with friends first met in both continents, including a meeting that made skipping ticketed cinema screening look easy.

That last point made me both regret not managing to do the same in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but also even more appreciative that I was able to find it here.

Other comparative observations: Durban seems less tolerant and more segregated than I remember it being, but that could be due to the nature of my trip being more family than friend orientated.

Coming Back to Johannesburg

After we had all agreed that we were done with safari, we decided to make an early run back to Johannesburg in order to make some real time of it there. Johannesburg wasn't originally on our itinerary, so this was a neat little bonus that came out of nowhere. On the other hand, since I hadn't planned on spending any time here I didn't really organise any friends or meetings.

Luckily, as I had previously found, South Africans are the generously social sort and after a few phonecalls and messages I was able to spend the afternoon with an ex-pat friend of mine, and then the evening with more local friends that I hadn't seen for the seven years since my last visit. This included a trip to the Mail and Guardian where we ate an AK-47 and Wonder Why pizza from Akhalwayas (which, for those keeping track, is one of my four must-eats of South Africa).

It was like the essence of Johannesburg good times had been squeezed and distilled into half a day, and a brilliant reflection of good times past. My only regret is that I didn't get to visit Laudium (snigger).