Gerald C.

While I enjoy the cinematic experience - large screen, booming surround sound, popcorn in one hand, soft drink in the other - I actually also very much enjoy simply snuggling (alone, sadly) on my sofa and catching a flick on my modest 40-inch widescreen TV.

While other channels (more on those later) screen more recently released films, the default channel on my television is actually HBO - mostly because their playlist / movie selection tends to have a nostalgic feel.

Likes:
HBO's website uses black as their background, which is very easy on the eyes, plus, their minimalist theme makes for very convenient browsing, Also, their timing / movie schedule is by the month (take note that latest movies are usually shown on Saturday night), so, if I miss a particular movie that I really wanted to watch (or if it was at an inconvenient time for me), I'll be able to plan to catch it on some other day / time slot.

Dislikes:
None whatsoever.

Wishlist:
Perhaps when I click on the movie name (or hover over it), a little introduction of the movie please? No need for a Wikipedia-like synopsis - just a little preview of the plot would be nice.

Overall:
The schedule differs by the country you are in, so do make sure you select accordingly. Definite bookmark.

Not that I'm really expecting anyone to actually read my reviews, however, if you are (thank you!), I previously wrote a piece about 8gw.com, a website that offers free streaming of videos, and this review is about a similar website, cmcm5.com.

Personally, I'm rather wary of websites that use a random mixture of alphabets and numerals as their domain name, so when the search engine directed me to this site in my quest of watching 'The Avengers: Endgame' online), I was first skeptical, then pleasantly surprised.

A minimalist-themed website, neatly sorted by popular categories ('Action', 'Comedy', 'Romance' etc) greeted me and offered a wide range of available movies, most of them very recently released too.

Likes:
Clean website template, making it very easy to navigate and choose movies. Also, unlike the previous website that I reviewed, this does not feature sleazy / shady ads littered all over their pages.

Dislikes:
If I key in a film's English name, their search engine will return odd results, usually, nothing close to what I was searching for. Keying in the Simplified Chinese name though will always result in me finding the movie I wanted in the first place.

Wishlist:
That their search algorithm would be able to recognize English. But since their engine works perfectly when keying in the Simplified Chinese names of movies, I guess it's best not to fix what's not broken.

Overall:
As this is a Chinese website, the website is purely in Simplified Chinese, which is cool if you speak (read) the language. No sign-up / registration required. Absolutely no fees involved. This is definitely one to bookmark.

If you are someone who loves watching movies online but don't want to pay for streaming service - welcome to the club.

It's not as if I'm some cheapskate who doesn't want to cough up two dollars a month for unlimited movies (maybe I am?). It's just I already pay monthly fees for plenty of subscriptions / services that I hardly use (or even remember now), all mostly spur of the moment decisions. Did I really have to upgrade my iCloud storage? How long has it been since I stored anything in Dropbox. And why the heck did I subscribe for unlimited music downloads on Spotify just because I listened to one song on the radio and liked it? Darn you Alan Walker.

Thankfully, there are plenty of websites that offer free streaming of videos. And I'm not talking about Hollywood B flicks with actors / actresses that no one has ever heard of or straight-to-video low budget movies. I'm talking about the latest Hollywood films. Think Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yessirree.

I know what you're thinking. "I'm going to be watching some secretly-recorded-movie-by-some-shady-dude-in-a-cinema-holding-a-camcorder right?". Nope. These sites (I will be posting reviews about several other websites that I have stumbled on very soon - like, right after this one) actually stream HD (that's High Definition, not Harley Davidson) movies with crystal clear audio too.

Likes:
No need to sign-up / register. No need to provide any credit card details. No need to download any software (which almost always come with malware). No pop-up ads before or during the movie. Just search for the movie you want, click on 'Play" and taa-daa - that's it.

Dislikes:
The entire website is in Simplified Chinese and offers no other language option. So, if you do not sprechen die Chinese, well, you're never going to figure this site out.

Also, since this is a completely free-to-use website, there are many ads littered all over their pages. Ads that 'suggest' you try your luck at some (several) online gambling portals, or, alternatively, watch live-sex shows. Clicking on these ads (I'm sure you clicked that scantily-clad photo accidentally) will then transport you to some other domain, which should light up your anti-virus software like a Christmas tree.

Wishlist:
They stream many Hollywood flicks in their original version (in English, with no voice-overs) which is rare for Chinese websites (listening to Iron Man speaking in Mandarin is so odd), so perhaps they could consider having the site in dual language? Would make browsing so much easier.

Overall:
Can't complain. Managed to find (and watch) all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (best week of my life). A website worthy of my bookmark.

In all fairness, I'm actually writing about the App and not the website. It's a positive review about the company though, so I doubt they'll mind.

Likes:
As the title of my review suggests, Grab has many everyday use(ful) features, all rolled into one App.

Want to avoid the lunch time crowd, or at home but lazy to cook? Order Grab food, which offers snacks, local delicacies, a wide variety of cuisines, and even Michelin-starred restaurants to choose from - delivered straight to my doorstep.

Going to work and want to avoid crowded public transportation, or want to beat the long taxi-stand queues? Order Grab Transport, which even offers the option of choosing more spacious and luxurious rides (cars).

Have a date and want to watch a movie together, or just wanna relax and catch the latest Hollywood flick? Use Grab Tickets to book seats at a nearby cinema.

Dislikes:
For Grab Food, out of ten orders, three will probably come with missing items, or worse, spilled in their packaging. While missing items in an order is the fault of the food vendor, spilled items are almost certainly because the delivery person was careless and / or in a rush. However, my gripe is not with these delivery people. They're only human, and, well, accidents do happen.

My main problem is when I have any sort of complaint, be it against Grab Food (missing / incorrect order, or spilled foodstuff / beverage) or against Grab Transport (rude / reckless driver), trying to get a response from their customer service is not only time consuming, but almost certainly to illicit an unsatisfactory response.

Their default method of appeasing an angry customer seems to be simply awarding vouchers - which basically means if I'm an unhappy user, I've no other choice but to keep on sticking and spending with Grab so as to use said vouchers to get a discount, when honestly, all I'd like is actually a straightforward refund, or, action taken against errant vendors / drivers.

Wishlist:
As mentioned above, I'd prefer a straightforward cash refund as opposed to low-value vouchers not even equivalent to a messed-up order.

Overall:
The convenience it offers outweighs the hassles of dealing with poor customer service. Besides, most transactions tend to be successful, satisfied experiences, so, I'm sticking with Grab.

Lived in China for close to twenty years (before deciding to move back to Singapore), and in China, believe you me, every man, woman and their pet canaries have this installed on their phone - WeChat is the predominant software used to communicate.

Likes:
Ooo, this can go on forever. Where do I start? The software supports communication with people added to my friend list in multiple languages; communication is not limited to just text-based but also supports video chats with multiple people simultaneously; it's freeware and costs nothing to use; I can post photos / videos in my 'Moments' section ("Ooo, I just bought this outfit", "Ooo, I'm having this for lunch", "Ooo, there's a rainbow in the sky" etc) so I can be the envy of all my friends; I can take photos with it which can be sent directly to friends via chat or uploaded to the aforementioned 'Moments' section; I can leave voice messages, which is v helpful since I my fat fingers on my small keypad results in a tonne of typos (plus, I'm just plain lazy); I can send files (nothing over 25MB); and it even acts as a phone, allowing phone calls to one or multiple parties.

Dislikes:
As with all Apps, there are and will always be bugs. The people behind WeChat always seem to fix bugs and quickly as they find them (because there are many) which means there are new versions pretty often. This is really helpful if you're using a rather new phone (say, the iPhone 10,11, or whatever number it is these days. 138?), however if you're not, these new updated fixes normally will result in slowing the program, or worse, your phone, down.

Also, while one of the most powerful features of WeChat is the ability to use it as an payment portal, paying for everything from utility bills to street food vendors, it's also their most problematic and irritating attribute.

For starters, in order to access the financial features of WeChat (the ability to send and receive payments, or 'auspicious' red packets from friends and family say, during Chinese New Year - whooo hoo!), I have to first register and be authenticated. To do that, I'd have to have a bank account in Mainland China (I don't have to be a Mainland Chinese, but the bank account needs to be opened in Mainland China - just in case you wondering if I can open an account with say, The Bank of China in Singapore and link it to my WeChat account).

That's all fine and dandy if I were still in Mainland China and can waltz into any bank to open a savings account, but since I'm not, well, I cannot access their payment abilities.

Next, let me delve into their payment feature. Called WeChat Pay (or WeChat Wallet), it truly is a very powerful payment tool (accepted by vendors in many many countries, not just in China). Using it is as easy as scanning a QR code or transferring to and between friends on my list. It's a convenient way to pay for my phone bills or even pay for cigarettes (this is while I'm back in Singapore since many vendors accept WeChat Pay as a payment method), but when there are 'too many' (sometimes as little as two in quick succession) transactions, WeChat will simply disable your account because it apparently deems buying Coca-Cola from 7-Eleven as 'suspicious activity'. Frustrating with a capital F.

Ooo, and remember I mentioned above about the 'Moments' feature? I'm in the personal protection equipment business (no, this is not an advertisement), so I like to take photos (good lighting and all that) of my newly arrived products (masks and stuff, and no, this is still not an advertisement) and proudly showcase it on my 'Moment's. Guess what? Account disabled yet again. Why? No idea. Perhaps something vaguely related to 'marketing unsuitable material'.

Trying to contact customer service is near impossible. I'd have better luck discovering the Abominable Snowman. Writing in to WeChat asking for help, or at least to understand the reason (which of the rules and regulations did I flout?) they disabled my account will always result in me chatting with a bot, whose response is never helpful. No matter how specific you phrase your question, their reply will always be the equivalent of 'nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah'.

Wishlist:
I understand that there are about a bazillion people in China, and thus, a bazillion WeChat users, so, customer service must be really busy, what with the amount of bugs the App frequently has, however, it would be nice to actually have real customer service agents around to reply (eventually) to questions. But since I don't expect this to happen (imagine how many WeChat would have to hire to cater to their bazillion users) any time soon, perhaps a clearer definition of the do's and don'ts would be very much appreciated. For example, stating very clearly that marketing / selling of items is not allowed, or, a certain number of financial transactions can only be conducted within a certain time frame - instead of just disabling my account because some bot 'detected non-conformance activity'.

Overall:
I still use WeChat and always will. I tend to use my payment features only when I have to these days, and choose what I share on my 'Moments' carefully to avoid any unnecessary lock-down of my account. It truly is the predominant communications software that the world, not just China, uses.

Am new (both for selling and buying, but mostly for selling) on this website and am thus far a very satisfied user.

Likes:

User-friendly template for posting products that I wish to sell. Allows uploading of multiple photos and unlimited text to describe the listing, which is very helpful, especially from the standpoint of potential buyers who would like to know more about said item before making a decision.

I especially appreciate the fact that this is a free portal that truly serves as an intermediary between buyers and sellers in that there are absolutely no fees involved (most sites charge sellers a fraction of a successful transaction), even allowing the posting of my contact information in the listing itself so that interested parties can get in touch directly.

Additionally, I have options to pay, at very reasonable prices, for certain advantages such as 'bumping' my listing or profile, which essentially means my product(s) appear first when a potential buyer searches for it, and allows more visitors to read / view my information to learn more about me, which makes it a great website to truly introduce / advertise myself and my business.

Finally, the benchmark for all ratings - customer service. Short of around my living room doing cartwheels over their customer service, I was pleasantly surprised that they offer a live-chat option for users to chat directly in real-time with their agents. Knowledgeable, polite, and very patient while assisting me with my issues (I have contacted them twice), it took mere seconds to get me connected with their agents.

Dislikes:

As with any seller, receiving feedback, especially good ratings from buyers, are appreciated and important. Much like what Sitejabber uses, their rating system is up to a five-star and is determined by the reviewer clicking on said stars before leaving feedback in text form. The really irritating part of this is that if a reviewer incorrectly / accidentally clicks on say, 3 stars instead of 5 (fat fingers, small keypad / keyboard?), the action cannot be undone as there is no 'undo' nor 'edit' function. Many a time have I received glowing reviews in text form accompanied by a low star rating due to this (mishap of a) function.

Wishlist:
Apart from the rating system mentioned above, the only other thing I'd love to have changes to is notifications when receiving new messages from users. Presently, the only way for me to know if I have any message(s) is to keep logging on and refreshing the darn page, which is a chore.

Overall:
Highly recommended to both buyer and sellers. It's accessible on both computers and phones, and as mentioned earlier in my review, it is completely free-of-charge.

I am torn between giving this terrific portal full marks and less one for the teeny weeny issue I have in regards to their rating-system. So, let's just take it as if I really wanted to give five stars but pressed incorrectly eh?