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The Three Movies we are most excited for this 2019

We are set for a bumper year when it comes to movies. The new Star Wars trilogy will come to an end, and we will see another Quentin Tarantino movie. Animation is continuing to evolve and as such more and more incredible movies are being released. Here we cover three movies that are set to be a huge success later this year, in which you can learn more here on the offers available on each to top the grossing lists come the end of the year.

Toy Story 4

One of the most successful animated series in the history of film, brings the four installment of Toy Story. The animated comedy will again be produced by Pixar animated studies for Walt Disney pictures. This will follow on from Toy Story 3 in 2010, and is already gathering high praise upon its release later this year. Josh Cooley has been put at the helm directing the film, which includes the usual characters of Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. The movie is expected to be one of the highest grossing movies of 2019 and a classic for years to come. No pressure.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

A movie directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, will be expected to be a major force on the movie scene. The previous two mentioned of course played a starring role in the success of the Wolf of Wall Street movie. So in the shape of Once upon a time in Hollywood, we could have a classic on our hands. The movie is set to be released at the end of July in the US and will be distributed by Sony Pictures releasing. This is yet another movie in 2019 that is expected to be a huge success.

The Lion King

The most anticipated animated movie in history and one that is set to amaze. This will be the remake of the 1994 classic of the same name and is being produced by Walt Disney pictures. The movie is being directed by Jon Favreau, who has quickly made a name for himself in directing animated movies, following the success of the Jungle book. Plans for this remake have been in the works since 2016, and an incredible voicing cast has been assembled. Some of the stars include Donald Glover, Seth Rogen and even Beyoncé. This Lion king remake is expected to be a huge success and will be released at the latter stages of 2019. We simply cannot wait.

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Digressions Geek

Elias Wicked Ales opens a proper craft beer tap room in BF Homes with brewery behind it

Finally, a proper craft beer tap house right beside the Aguirre Ave gate.

The history of BF Homes’ drinking culture goes back a decade and a half with affordable bars like Central and Tides selling cheap cocktails and mixers by the tumbler (Blue Illusion for P120 for a tumbler — why not?!). Fast forward to the past couple of years, Metro Manila’s F&B scene has been undergoing a golden age with new food concepts popping up around Bonifacio Global City, Makati and of course, BF Homes in the south. I’ve written extensively about great finds in BF such as our very first 3rd wave coffee shop, Magnum Opus Fine Coffees and my hands-down favorite tantanmen at Mensakaba Geishu.

Local craft beers and hard ciders from Wednesday to Saturday starting 6PM

What the south seemed to be lacking though was a proper craft cocktail scene. Or if not that, perhaps a tap room that was serious about their beer. many bars have offered beer on tap as an option but none have gone fully committed towards the challenge, as craft beer is by nature more expensive.

Since Elias bought out the previous brewery, they’re selling Bel Ale;s remaining stock for only P300.00 for a 6 pack. This is authentic Belgian Beer folks, and I highly recommend taking this home after enjoying a few glasses of the local tap.

Enter Elias Wicked Ales — the name has been around for quite some time as a local beer player together with the likes of Pedro and Katipunan, but nothing spells dedication as to buying out Bel Ale’s complete paraphernalia, lock stock and barrel. For those who don’t know, Bel Ale was a south player I so wanted to succeed, but then I learned that their office by the BF gate was nothing more than, well, an office and not a proper tap room. Elias bought everything last year and today are still selling the remaining stock of beer (SO YES IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR REALLY GOOD BELGIAN BEER, PLEASE DROP BY AND BUY P300.00 FOR A 6 PACK WHICH IS A STEAL!)

Elias Wicked Ales is open from Wednesday to Saturday starting 6PM. They’re closed from Sunday to Tuesday because a lot of back of house brewing work happens on those days — it doesn’t get any fresher than that. Apart from craft beers, they also have a range of hard ciders (a moment of silence for Spiffy’s Grove in BF Homes — we miss you). The bartenders (BEER-tenders heh) tell me that since they don’t serve food, guests can opt to order from restaurants around the vicinity. Since they’re located right at the BF Homes Aguirre Gate (by China Bank, the BF Park and Pergola), choices for food as well as parking won’t be a problem.

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Mostly Everything

Boost your Android Phone with these 5 tricks

You just bought a new Android phone and it is terrifying to realize after a few months that it is not as fast as it used to be earlier. This issue has been occurring not only in budget phones, but some high-end mobile phones also tend to show their age over time. Although you can buy a brand new phone at extremely low prices through Bydiscountcodes.co.uk, but then you have to go through the hassle of backing up and transferring data. Before you decide to buy a new mobile device, try these simple tricks to get back your Android phone operating at full speed.

#1 Delete or Clear Cached Data

The most common way to speed up your phone is to clear cached data. Cached data contain information from certain apps to help them boot up more rapidly. But, if your mobile phone is running low on memory, then cached data will hurt more than helping. Therefore, clear all the cached data to free up some storage. Go to phone Settings>Storage>tap on Cached Data>tap OK to clear it.

Remove Any ‘Task Killer’ Apps You Have Installed

Android is pretty efficient in managing its own memory. Using task killing apps can make other apps slow to start. When an app is left midway, Android tries to run it in the background by supplying the memory it needs, but task killers actually kill the app. Then, it takes more time for an app to start and even uses more battery. If you start an app that needs more space, Android will automatically kill the apps that are less important to free up memory.

#3 Remove or Disable Any Unused Apps

New phones are always integrated with pre-installed apps from the phone manufacturer or carrier. The good thing is you can uninstall or disable most of the applications if you are not using them. Also, look out for apps on your device that you have installed and not using them for months or years. They all consume space and end up slowing down your phone. Go to Settings>Apps to see the list of all the applications.

#4 Disable Animations

Animations make all the transitions and interactions done with your phone look smoother. But, when your phone starts to slow down, these animations appear like a disrupted motion video. If animations are not working well anymore, switching them off will free up a little processing power and makes everything seems faster. Just go to Developer Options>Window animation scale>tap Animation off

#5 Optimise Chrome Browser

This particular trick helps in boosting up browsing speed. Locate ‘Data Saver’ option in Chrome and enable it. Enabling Data Saver will not only help in speeding up browsing, but also in saving some data if you don’t have an unlimited data pack active on your phone. In Data Saver mode, Google will compress the pages and media content so that less data is consumed and the pages load faster.

Now just try all these tricks and let us know how much they helped in improving the performance of your phone.

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Mostly Everything

Top movies set to be released in 2019

2019 is already looking set to be a great year for entertainment with a large number of offers available, such as at the Caesars online casino. The film industry on a whole continues to grow and as such there are an endless list of fantastic films set to be released. Here we cover two of them you do not want to miss over the next 12 months.

  • Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

This upcoming action movie is being direct by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan. It is set to be a spin-off of the hugely successful fast and furious franchise. This will feature two of the leading characters in Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. The film will then of course star Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, as well as Idris Elba, Roman Reigns and Helen Mirren. It has led to mixed reviews due to the fact neither were in the original cast of the early years of the franchise, but it can be expected to be a huge success as all the films are. The film will be released by Universal Pictures at the latter stages of the year.

  • Joker

Set to be distributed by Warner Bros, this crime film is of course based on the famous character Joker, from the DC comics. It is set to be both directed and produced by Todd Phillips, in which Joaquin Phoenix has been tasked with the difficult job of playing the lead role. The film is also going to star a number of big names such as Robert De Niro, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy and Douglas Hodge. The plot is set to focus around the ‘Joker’ being driven insane following a failed attempt at becoming a stand up comedian. The film is scheduled to be released later in the year, in which the release has been anticipated for some time. This can be expected to be a success in what is going to be the first in a series of DC based films, that are separate from the shared DC extended universe.

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Best of Digressions

Oh Japan, that happy place

It’s 2019, three years since my first trip to Japan. I never realized I had a happy place until I actually experienced separation anxiety when I flew back. I always thought that these “happy places” were abstract constructs. It didn’t matter where I was or what state I was in. The happy place was always a video game in some form. In my room. On my phone. But I never thought it to be a place.

And it’s weird, really. I enjoy the travel. The journey does excite me but the contrast of being in a place that is more foreign planet than country makes it so much interesting. In 2006 when I was writing for another tech publication, the editors would joke around to having “news” from “Planet Japan” because everything was just so over the top. I mean, the mere Japanese toilet that comes with background music to hide your farts were a pragmatic work of art.

Cheap bucket list thrills: see a snow man

So that was it. A foreign place with a language I cannot understand and yet I can easily make my way around town with these unlimited JR bus passes and order food without talking to anybody thanks to push button menus in almost every modern restaurant. I recommend Japan to anyone that wants something new. There’s wanderlust in the city where shops sleep at 7PM and the salarymen make their drunken shuffle to the karaoke. Where two-year-olds accompany each other to school without the help of grown ups because they know they can trust strangers. Where there are robots just because.

In 2016 I visited Tokyo for the first time. The streets of Ginza, Japanese whiskey, BIC Camera, Izakaya, Don Q. This opened my eyes to text book Japan.

Later than same year we went to Osaka and from there made our way to Kyoto (for the market), Narra (for the deer), and Kobe (for the beef). This trip expanded my perspective of how easy it is to get around a country. That you can cram 10 destinations in one day with efficient public transport.

snow is like dirt, but cleaner



Then early this month — first quarter of 2019 found me on an impromptu trip to Hokkaido for work. I was researching Hokkaido, as this tropical body has never felt snow when I got a call from a friend, “hey we’re sending you to Japan.” Speechless, my phone kept buzzing — it was a series of messages from another colleague, “Go to Japan.” Making sure that there were no hidden cameras around my office (as this may have been an elaborate prank by psychics), I said,

“OK but I should tell my boss.”

“Hi boss, I’m supposed to go to Ja —“

“We know. Enjoy! It’s minus 20 so suit up.”

And that was it.

I’ve written about my Hokkaido trip for the Manila Bulletin so you can read that. A huge thanks to Japan Airlines for sponsoring this trip. #FlyJAL #GetMoreJapan