WhatsApp To Start Sharing User Data With Facebook In February

WhatsApp was first owned by Facebook dating back to 2014. During that time, WhatsApp stated that user data will not be shared with Facebook. However, as times progress, shared user data between the social media platforms will come into effect on 8th February 2021.

Now, WhatsApp is giving its users two options, either agree to share their personal information with Facebook or delete their accounts.

According to a report by XDA, WhatsApp is sending in-app notifications to its consumers about a new change in policy. This involves the sharing of user data with Facebook that will be used for a variety of reasons.

Some of the reasons mentioned include providing assistance in developing infrastructure and delivery systems, ensuring safety, security, and integrity across Facebook Company Products, and integrating WhatsApp with others under the social media company’s umbrella.

One of the most notable reasons among them is that users’ WhatsApp data will be used to present users’ personalised advertisements. Fortunately, texts and voice, as well as video calls, remain encrypted for users.

Something similar already happened back in 2016, so this change isn’t in any form new. Although, the main difference back then was that users could opt out. Today, if you want to back out, you’ll have to stop using WhatsApp entirely. If you happen to live in the European Union, this doesn’t apply to you.

A reminder for anyone using WhatsApp to be on the lookout for an in-app alert that will direct users to agree with the changes in the company’s term of service.


#ALOFTSTARMTV: Starwood Kicks Off 2nd Asia Pacific Edition of #ProjectAloftStar

Think you have what it takes to be the next superstar? Or perhaps you just wanted to stand onstage and perform in front of a massive crowd?  Well then, you’ve come to the right platform.

Designed for the evolving global traveler, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ leading-edge Aloft brand announced the kick-off of the 2nd Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star amplified by MTV. The brand is strengthening their collaboration with MTV, the biggest and boldest global youth brand, for a 2nd year-running.

The music talent discovery competition aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music artistes throughout the Asian countries including China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Starting today through 20th July 2015, independent bands and artistes are invited to showcase their musical talent by uploading an original video showcasing their music to Project Aloft Star’s official website. Participants will stand a chance to win the prestigious title and recognition as Project Aloft Star winner.

Covering major Asia Pacific markets, the 3 contest clusters comprise of China, India, and a 3rd cluster consisting of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Shortlisted entries will have the opportunity to perform at the finals in late September in front of a panel of distinguished judges held in their respective clusters.

One winner from each of the 3 contest clusters will emerge and all 3 winners will walk away with USD$10,000 and a chance to be featured on MTV.

Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement:

Music is core to the Aloft brand’s DNA and we are thrilled to kick-off the second edition of Project Aloft Star— amplified by MTV— to identify the latest emerging music talents in the region. The response to last year’s debut of Project Aloft Star in Asia Pacific was resoundingly successful and we’re excited to continue to be the platform for supporting these great musicians with another dynamic instalment of this global competition.

“The partnership with MTV Asia has not only shown that we share the same passion for live music, pop culture and design-led initiatives, but also cements our objective to serve as platforms to be the driving force to discover great new music experiences across Asia Pacific,” Ong added.

Paras Sharma, Vice President, MTV and Digital Media, Asia, Viacom International Media Networks, said:

Project Aloft Star is an inspiring initiative that celebrates today’s young generation and their creative talents. Through our second year collaboration with Aloft Hotels, we’re unlocking the passion and creativity of our audience by providing them with an amazing platform to showcase their music talents and connect them with new opportunities and fans across Asia. We can’t wait to see what this year’s competition brings!

Public voting contest will begin from 23rd July to 13th August 2015. Public can visit Project Aloft Star’s official website and vote for their favourite videos from a panel of curated entries posted online. Fans in each cluster who cast their votes will stand a chance to win cash prize or prizes worth up to US$1,000.

Aloft Hotels and MTV successfully debuted the competition for the first time in Asia Pacific last year. The competition received over 300 entries from rising music talent alongside more than 170,000 fan votes. Both brands continue to be the platform for emerging artistes; with the inaugural Project Aloft Star Southeast Asia cluster winner, GTXperiment (previously known as Clinton and Ashley) from Malaysia performing at the grand opening party at Aloft Seoul Gangnam, South Korea. They are currently working on their debut album to be launched in August 2015.

Natania Lalwani, who is Project Aloft Star’s first India winner, has continued her winning streak with a series of nominations including “Best Independent Song” by the Global Indian Music Academy Award earlier this year for her single “The Letter”. She has also won 3 Radio City Freedom Awards for “Best Pop Artiste” by Jury’s choice, “Best Pop Artiste” by People’s choice, and “Best Young Indie Artist”. She is slated to release her EP titled “Gold” this year.

Project Aloft Star’s first winner from China, PandaBros were invited to compose and sing the theme song for a popular web sitcom and had the chance to record it with Xianzi, a Taiwan Golden Song Award nominee. They are currently working on their 2nd album to be released in the 3rd quarter 2015. In June, they will be performing at the Strawberry Music Festival in Beijing.

Project Aloft Star is expected to launch in The Americas and across Europe later this summer. Aloft Hotels will extend its support for emerging talent to local contemporary Asian artists through a soon-to-be announced partnership with Singapore-based online art platform, Art Loft Asia,

For more timely update, check out their official website.

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#COMEON: Canto-Pop Lengend Andy Hui To Hold Concert In Malaysia This August

Andy Hui Chi-On’s (許志安) will be stepping foot on Malaysian soil once again as part of his “COME ON” Live Tour at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands this August!

In conjunction with his 30th anniversary in the Chinese music industry, the veteran Hong Kong singer has already held several sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Macau, and Connecticut since last year.

Andy Hui debuted in 1986 through the 5th Annual New Talent Singing Awards (新秀歌唱大賽), a Hong Kong singing competition and was named as one of the “New Four Heavenly Kings” alongside Hacken Lee (李克勤), Leo Ku (古巨基), and Edmond Leung (梁漢文) in 2004.

Currently, the 48-year-old singer is one of the contestants in a Chinese singing competition, “China Star” (中国之星) and is the male lead for Hong Kong’s latest psychological-thriller film, “Nessun Dorma” (凶手还未睡).

The “COME ON” concert is set to showcase the artiste’s strong vocal chords and powerful choreography through his classic and recent hits. Do expect to see another side of the Canto-Pop singer as he is intending to wow fans with his recent bodybuilding results with a series of eye-catching stage outfits.

Presented by Robsonhill Residency and organized by Star Planet in collaboration with Sun Entertainment Culture, the details of Andy Hui’s “COME ON” Live Tour are as follows:

Concert tickets will go on sale 20th May (next Friday) from 11am. Fans can buy tickets through TicketCharge via Phone Booking (Star Planet 03-9223 3667 or TicketCharge 03-9222 881) or online at www.ticketcharge.com.my.

For more information, visit Star Planet’s website and TicketCharge’s website.


#RTBFest: Raising The Bar Festival 2016 At KLPAC

Since its inception in 2010, “Raising The Bar” has provided a platform for Malaysia’s talented and upcoming hip hop artistes an avenue to showcase their talents to crowds of fans in celebration of independent hip hop.

“Raising The Bar Festival 2016” is kicking off the new year with a lineup of local established artistes like Joe Flizzow and Altimet, international acts like Okasian and Heem, to YouTube sensations and other supporting acts.

For more updates on the festival’s lineup, hit up their Facebook page or their Twitter.


Ailee & Eric Nam’s Reactions To Amber Liu’s Steamy Scene In “Other People” Are Priceless

f(x)’s Amber Liu (엠버) is finally back with a music video for her new single called “Other People”!

In the video, the California-born entertainer portrays a more chic and playful side of herself as she moves on from her past relationship with her ex-boyfriend (played by YouTuber Sam Li).

OTHER PEOPLE MUSIC VIDEO OUT!! https://t.co/HBksWLluDs

— Amber Liu 刘逸云 (@amberliu) November 7, 2019

For those who haven’t watched the video yet, fret not because we won’t spill any spoilers here. But we just want to point out one of the major highlights of the video clip – a sultry kissing scene between Amber and Mike Bow, who appeared as the star’s new boyfriend in the video.

The specific scene manages to catch widespread attention from the internet community, with most of them claiming that they were “not ready” for the steamy part. Interestingly, even Amber’s closest friends – namely Ailee (에일리) and Eric Nam (에릭남) – showed their amusement upon watching the scene.

Amber Liu – Other People I remember when u showed us this scene to me and @realericnam and we just died. ????????? 나랑 릭나미 오빠 한테 이 장면 보여줬을때 기절 했던고 기억난다…. #부러우면지는거다 #theASSgrabtho #mybabyallgrowedup #우리엠버다컸네

A post shared by  itzailee (@aileeonline) on Nov 6, 2019 at 10:03pm PST

The “Heaven” songstress uploaded a clip of Amber’s kiss scene on her Instagram account. “I remember when u showed us this scene to me and @realericnam (Eric Nam) and we just died. ????????,” she wrote on the caption. Other celebs like Mighty Mouth’s Sangchu and Girl’s Day’s Minah also replied to Ailee’s post, expressing their astonishment towards the former girl group member.

Eric Nam also joined in the fun by simply commenting, “??”, showing his disbelief and shock towards Amber for willing to push the envelope. Ailee responded by writing “lol”, before adding, “yo I was watching the video and I was like ‘wait… this is the… is this the… IS THIS IT?? OMG IS THIS THE VIDEO?!?’ And the scene came out again and I died again.”

Ailee continued by joking that she almost spilled spaghetti sauce on her shirt due to her excitement upon watching the steamy scene between Amber and Bow. Amber replied her buddy by jokingly showing her disgust to the 30-year-old singer.

Not only that, Eric Nam also came out with a series of hilarious remarks on the star’s Instagram update. In this case, the “Heaven’s Door’ singer said that the scene was deemed too scandalous, and he joked about bringing Amber to church and also declared that she will be staying at home to take only Kumon lessons.

According to Amber, “Other People” is inspired by her own personal experience. She took to Instagram to share with her fans the inside story of the new track. “After the break up, I made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of dumb things. I’m so thankful for the friends that got me through it. You know who you are,” she wrote in the post.

She further added that she is “slowly learning that it’s better to replace the negativity with positivity, whether that be negative situations or people. Learning to replace the ‘fool’ with puppy cuddles, making music, going to escape rooms, watching anime, working out….and with boba :) Dedicated to everyone who needs more positivity in their life. What are YOU going to replace the negative with?”

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Jacky Cheung’s 3rd Malaysian Concert Date Will Be On 28th January

Ever since it was announced that Jacky Cheung (张学友) would be bringing his “A Classic Tour” to Malaysia in 2018, fans have been eagerly waiting to purchase his concert tickets.

Sadly, the superstar’s Kuala Lumpur concert for both dates (26th and 27th January) were snapped up like hot cakes before many other fans could purchase them. Don’t get dishearten fans, Star Planet (星艺娱乐) has released a new poster, revealing that a 3rd date has been added to his Malaysian pitstop.

“We at Star Planet would like to thank you for your constant and undivided support. We are pleased to announce that another show will be added on Sunday, 28th January 2018,” reads the official statement. Similar to his first 2 dates, the performer’s 3rd Malaysian date will take place at Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil as well.

Good news for Citi Cardmembers! Y’all will be given first dips to book Cheung’s “A Classic Tour” tickets on 10th November (Friday) from 11am onwards. Each member will be entitled to purchase 2 tickets. Take note that 2,000 units/tickets are reserved for Citi cardmembers, so be quick as this will be a first come, first served basis.

Public sale will only take place on 13th November (Monday) from 11am. Each transaction will be limited to 4 tickets. Good luck guys :)

Tickets will be sold online via www.myticket.asia. For more information, hit up Star Planet’s Facebook.


#AhBoysToMen: MM2 Entertainment Releases Poster For 4th Movie

Yes, yes, a million times yes! MM2 Entertainment will be rolling out the 4th instalment of “Ah Boys To Men” (新兵正传) soon.

On Wednesday (15th March), the Singaporean studio took to Facebook to share a new poster. Although the poster doesn’t show much, it has already gained immense attention. As at time of writing, the post has been shared over 12,000 times.

Directed by Jack Neo, the first “Ah Boys To Men” was released in November 2012 and is the first South-East Asian film to feature Dolby Atmos surround sound. The critically-acclaimed Singaporean army comedy starred Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Wang Weiliang, Noah Yap, Ridhwan Azman, Tosh Zhang, and Aizuddin Nasser.

In a 2015 interview, Neo said that he and his team will cooperate with Singapore’s Ministry of Defence for the franchise’s 4th movie. He also mentioned that they will approach Taiwanese actors like Darren Wang Da Lu (of “Our Times” fame).

He explained, “You can rest assured that the story will not be similar to the past 3 movies. My creative team and I have already started researching and developing the story. Our main concern is creating a strong story. To give a fresh perspective, on top of an open audition for new actors, we will also approach Taiwanese actor Darren Wang Da Lu since Taiwan has military service too. It will be an interesting angle. If Darren is not available, we will explore other Taiwanese actors.”

Moreover, MM2’s chief executive officer Melvin Ang added, “‘Ah Boys To Men 4’ will be very different from earlier instalments. The success of the previous movies will give us the edge in crafting a new movie that audiences want. We are confident that this will be the most anticipated production in 2017.”

No casting details or a release date for “Ah Boys To Men 4” have been confirmed yet, but we’ll be updating this post with more information as soon as we get ’em details :)

Sources: Ah Boys To Men’s Facebook page, Moviexclusive.


Tom Holland Filmed “Venom” Cameo But Marvel Got Sony To Cut It?

Oh snap! It looks like the drama between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures has been more intense than we thought.

MCU Direct/ We Got This Covered just dropped a bombshell that Tom Holland could have been in “Venom”. Unfortunately, Marvel intervened.

The publication claimed that Sony has been pushing to have Venom included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for quite some while. Given Sony’s interest to make this happen, it makes sense to get cameo from Peter Parker in Venom’s origin story. Disney disagreed though.

While Holland’s rumoured scene was ultimately axed, the 2018 anti-hero film still went on to make a ton of money at the box office. As writer Evan Lewis suggests, the success might have spurred Sony to stand up to Disney.

A post shared by  Bosslogic (@bosslogic) on Aug 22, 2019 at 5:52am PDT

Even though fans were devastated at Spider-Man’s exit from the MCU, Sony still believes that it can churn out a crowd-pleasing “Spider-Man” movie.

Still, we’d still like to see Holland’s deleted scene from “Venom” if it’s true.

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Blonde With Higher IQ Than Einstein

One would’ve never guessed that the one person to be able to score higher than Einstein on an IQ test is 16 years old and blonde.

Lauren Marbe shocked her teachers when she got a score of 161 on the Mensa-accredited brain test after she was entered with her Roding Valley High School schoolmates for fun. The IQ test is designed to test a range of abilities to determine the level of intelligence of the student – in the UK the average score is 100.

Her remarkable IQ score means that she is now officially smarter than world geniuses Professor Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and even Albert Einstein. All three men have an IQ of 160 respectively.

Following which, she was enrolled in the prestigious society Mensa, which also means that she is now officially in the top one per cent of cleverest people in the world.

Although the dedicated pupil was already considered bright after scoring a double A* in her science GCSE which she took a year early, Lauren Marbe insists that she’s your average everyday normal high school girl. The blonde loves fake tanning, blonde highlights, and manicures.

She wears make-up, she goes out, and she loves getting dressed up for parties – especially those themed around her favourite reality TV show. She is the daughter of a black cab driver and she dreams of one day being a performer in the West End (read: dancing and singing professionally).

She is now aiming to take A-Levels in art, physics and maths after her GCSEs, this summer, and would love to study architecture degree at the University of Cambridge. Hah! That sure shook the stereotype that blondes are dim/ditzy.


#CallOfHeroes: Eddie Peng, Louis Koo & Sean Lau Coming To KL This Month

Are there any fans of Louis Koo (古天樂), Sean Lau (劉青雲), and Eddie Peng (彭于晏) out there?

Your favourite stars from the Hong Kong action film “Call of Heroes (危城)” will be dropping by our shores very soon. These handsome actors will be in town to promote their upcoming movie, so you might want to clear your schedule ahead of time to make room for a meet and greet.

Hong Kong actor Louis Koo will be the 1st among the trio to visit Malaysia. In conjunction with another release of his drama movie “Line Walker (使徒行者)”, Louis will be making an appearance at eCurve, Petaling Jaya, tomorrow (5th August) night. The “Meet the Fans Gala Night” is open to public.

The details of the Louis Koo meet and greet are as follows:

His other co-stars Sean Lau and Eddie Peng will only be dropping by Malaysia later this month, 16th August (Tuesday) to be exact. The handsome duo will be here along with “Call of Heroes” director, Benny Chan, to promote their latest action blockbuster. They will be dropping by MY FM from 6pm to 7pm, so do remember to tune in.

After that, fans can catch them at Paradigm Mall (Upper Atrium, Level UG), Petaling Jaya, around 7.30pm, before their appearance at GSC Mid Valley for the Gala Premiere. Traffic around that time may be heavy, so to those who are planning on catching them up close and personal, do plan your trips carefully.

In case you didn’t know, GSC is currently offering a special Gala Premiere Package for fans who want to watch “Call of Heroes” with the cast members on that date. The RM38 package will not only score you a gala premiere screening ticket, an exclusive meet and greet as well as lucky draw session with Sean Lau and Eddie Peng, but there will also be movie merchandises!

For more information, visit GSC’s official website and Facebook page.

“Line Walker” opens in cinemas 11th August while “Call of Heroes” is slated for release on 18th August.

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#BatmanvSuperman: Final Trailer With More Batman Screen Time & More Answers Released

The full trailer for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” was released late last year and while it was exciting, it didn’t provide enough answers. Especially for Batman fans. As such, there was fear that it would turn out to be another “Man of Steel” film.

But the final “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” trailer, which was just released a couple of hours ago, just changed whatever you knew about the upcoming film.

For starters, it features the most badass Batman moments we’ve ever seen in a movie i.e. Ben Affleck’s Batman aka Batfleck taking down an entire room of thugs. In fact, the entire trailer seems very Batman heavy.

There’s also a scene where Batfleck as Bruce Wayne confides in Alfred about being burnt out. “Even you got too old to die young. Not for lack of trying,” says Alfred to an unamused Bruce. Could this be a clue to some fight scenes going horribly wrong in the film?

And speaking of fight scenes, of course, no “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” final trailer would be complete without showcasing a Batman and Superman confrontation – the one where Superman rips the doors of the Batmobile, shows his superiority and casually flies off. It’s safe to say that this final trailer is the 2 minutes that all hardcore Batman fans have been waiting for.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is slated to be released on 25th March 2016.

For more information, visit the movie’s official Facebook page.


#PlayClub: Vinai Brings The Party Back To Kuala Lumpur

Formed by brothers Andrea and Alessandro Vinai, the Italian electronic music duo are known for their collaborations with R3hab on “How We Party” and with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike on “Louder”.

After working on individual projects, the brothers joined forces in 2011 and have since conquered the EDM world with their highly energetic live sets and fierce progressive yet catchy groove and big room sound.

Having gained the support from the likes of Chuckie and DJ BL3ND, Vinai is also known for their collaboration with DVBBS on the extremely catchy hit “Raveology”.

No strangers to Malaysia, the duo who were last in town in November 2014, will be making their way back to Kuala Lumpur to take over Play Club @ The Roof.

Admissions: RM80 (cover charge) / Bottle entry: RM450/admits 3 pax.


Netflix’s “The Guilty” Review: Chilling Phonecalls That’ll Give You Nightmares For Days

Imagine, if you will, being trapped in the dark after you’ve been told that there’s a live tiger in the room? It’s quiet at first but then you hear the pacing. Then the low growl. You whimper, and very soon it’s anarchy. The terror and fury all around you but you just can’t see it. Your mind races to bridge the gap between the heard and the unseen. Engineering every gruesome and horrific possibility imaginable. Playing these scenes over and over again. The tension is so great, you’re just begging for the real to take you, just so you don’t have to suffer the hypothetical any longer. That’s what watching Netflix’s “The Guilty” feels like. Pure agonising adrenaline and dread, all captured through the eyes and ears of Jake Gyllenhaal’s 9-1-1 operator.

The concept of an entire film being played out over a series of phone-calls isn’t a particularly new one. As far as we’re concerned, 2013’s “Locke” starring Tom Hardy (go watch it) was the first known film to have ever utilised this ingenious plot device. By robbing us of our visual gratification for spectacle, the film forces us to keep our focus squarely locked on the its lead’s perspective and their state of mind. There’s no omniscient third-person knowledge. His ignorance, fear, rage and anxiety is all ours. Which is why its such a dangerous gamble because all this tension is gone if the lead fails to provide a compelling performance. There is no where to hide. Needless to say, there is an immense amount pressure on actor Jake Gyllenhaal to carry this entire film. Thankfully, the actor delivers and then some!

The film is a remake of a Danish crime thriller of the same name and is largely faithful to the source material. It follows the story of a disillusioned 9-1-1 dispatcher answering a call for distress before being sucked into a harrowing race against time. Now Gyllenhaal’s Joe Bayler must engage in a dire game of cat-and-mouse. One that requires him to draw out as much information as he can without arousing suspicion. One that will see him negotiate, leverage and threaten his way to justice. All this over a phone line.

It is hardly hyperbolic to describe the plot of 2021’s “The Guilty” as relentless. Much like the asthmatic Bayler, the film leaves us with little to no time to catch our breathes. With a lean runtime of an hour and twenty minutes, one would expect the film’s pacing to compromise the narrative quality in some regard. Miraculously, it doesn’t! The plot does a brilliant job of parcelling out each piece of this police drama puzzle at a deliberate pace. There’s never a moment that meanders too long but it also knows when to allow the audience to absorb the shocking twists and turns in each act. It all culminates in a heart wrenching, mind-breaking reveal that leaves Bayler and the rest of us devastated.

With writer Nic Pizzolota and director Antoine Fuqua’s foot on the pedal, how does the film find time to develop its principal star? Well, a good part of his character’s pathos and ethos rely on the audience knowing common cop tropes. The typical 24/7 on-the-job working man who has grown distant from his family. What sets “The Guilty” apart from its generic peers is that Pizzolota doesn’t merely stop at the trope. Instead, he uses it as a familiar springboard to dive deeper into the psyche of an obsessed man struggling to find his own salvation by rescuing an abducted mother. He doesn’t exactly innovate the staple of the crime thriller genre but he certainly makes it work to his advantage.

All this of course is brought to life by an emotionally charged and intense performance by Gyllenhaal. The actor had also played a lead in Fuqua’s 2015 gritty and bloody sports drama, “Southpaw”. There, Gyllenhaal brought an unhinged ferocity that exploded in every scene he was in. He brings a similar energy to the character of Bayler here. However, unlike Fuqua’s inconsistent comeback boxer flick, Gyllenhaal builds on the lived experiences of real-life 9-1-1 operators and law enforcement personnel. Long before we see him thrust into life-or-death stakes, there’s a guardedness to his demeanour. One that accurately mimics the PTSD of those who must engage with the violence of the streets on a day-to-day basis.

His frustration and rage is now further compounded by the disgrace of being reassigned as a call operator.  We’re never told exactly why but the longer we sit with him as he descends deeper and deeper into his crusade, we began to comprehend. It’s like being trapped on a car ride with the world’s angriest person. We were wholly expecting the film to embrace the all too common antihero sentiment. The loose cannon that gets the job done. Instead Fuqua and Pizzolota ops for a far more quieter and sobering conclusion. One that leaves us, alongside Bayler, questioning the nature of morality and justice.

Actress Riley Keough’s talent as the voice of Emily Lighton should not be overlooked. Keough’s captivating performance as a woman caught in the middle of a bad situation is a surprisingly complex one. Playing off our perceived sympathies before pulling the rug from under us to reveal a far darker truth hidden beneath the surface. In spite of the entirety of the film being confined to a call centre, the music, framing and editing all do a top-notch job in crafting a atmosphere of dread that holds throughout the film’s relatively brief runtime. We recommend watching “The Guilty” on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. It makes for a deeply immersive and satisfying experience!

Netflix’s “The Guilty” is more than just a non-stop thrill ride, it is a powerful exploration of the foibles, nobility and trauma of urban law enforcement. Through Gyllenhaal’s arresting performance, you’re transported into the disturbing reality of domestic violence. One that you cannot see but sounds all too real. One that you will not soon forget. In a genre that’s often populated with high-octane car chases and shoot-outs, it’s rare to find a film that’s able to capture of the excitement of those things in such a limited but novel premise. Be sure to check out “The Guilty” when it hits Netflix on October 1st!

If you are looking for something that’s a little more action-heavy, you should check out our review on Netflix’s Kate! Also, be sure to leave a react down below to tell us what you thought of Netflix’s “The Guilty”.

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Netflix’s “The Guilty” is more than just a non-stop thrill ride, it is a powerful exploration of the foibles, nobility and trauma of urban law enforcement. Through Jake Gyllenhaal’s arresting performance, you're transported into the disturbing reality of domestic violence. One that you cannot see but sounds all too real. One that you will not soon forget.


Mark Wahlberg To Produce Movie On Boston Marathon Bombing

Mark Wahlberg, Scott Stuber, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson and Michael Radutzky will produce “Patriots’ Day,” a movie surrounding the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing for CBS Films.

At the moment, no director or actor is attached to the movie but a source hinted that Wahlberg is eyeing one of the roles. “Patriots’ Day” is based on the account of Boston Police commissioner Ed Davis. Matt Charman is writing the screenplay and Nicholas Nesbitt is the executive producer of the movie.

Davis worked with the FBI, Watertown Police Department, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and local first responders to track down and arrest the suspected bombers. The announcement came on March 31st (Tuesday) as the defence rested its case in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of the attack in April, 2013.

“Patriots’ Day” makes for the first collaboration between “60 Minutes” and CBS Films. Radutzky is a “60 Minutes” senior producer who leads the broadcast’s creative development unit, 60 Minutes Productions.

CBS Films has secured Davis’ life rights as well as the information in connection with the “60 Minutes” story in which he appeared.

Wahlberg, a Boston native has portrayed Bostonians in “The Departed,” “The Fighter” and “Ted.”


FYI: Victor Kim + Andrew Garcia + JR Aquino

Last week, some of the world’s most popular YouTubers (also known as half of the YTF family) were in town for a cozy “on stage” session for their adoring Malaysian fans. Yes, they’re none other than Victor Kim, Andrew Garcia, and JR Aquino.

We hung out with them before their show, oh you know, just catching up and all that good stuff. Were we starstruck? Pretty much! After all, it’s always surreal to see our favourite YouTubers in the flesh. Always.

So, here’s what went on when we finally got to speak to the boys themselves:

JR Aquino: “When you type this out, type that we’re naked.”

Haha. Anyway, how are you guys liking Malaysia?

What was your initial reaction when you heard that you were coming to Malaysia?

JR Aquino: “Well, Ryan actually showed us videos from when he was in Kuala Lumpur a few months ago.”

Andrew Garcia: “Yeah he had a vlog from his travels and we saw it! It got us really excited to finally come here and perform.”

Speaking of performing, do you guys still get stage fright before you go on stage?

Andrew Garcia: “Uh. We used to. I think now it’s just excitement.”

JR Aquino: “I usually get a little jittery right before I get on stage, but after I start performing it goes away. Andrew’s a pro though!”

Victor Kim: “For me, well, it depends but not usually anymore.”

Is there something you boys do before you go on stage? Like some sort of a group hug or..

Andrew Garcia: “But before our YTF shows, before we go out on stage, we do this chant thing.”

JR Aquino: “We also hold each other, ever so softly, whisper sweet nothings..”

Bromance, huh? We’re feelin’ the love. There’s only three of you here today but within the YTF group, who do you look up to the most (individually)?

Andrew Garcia: “I have to say, really, that we each have our own individual styles and we’ve come together as YTF. We’ve got dancers, we’ve got singers, we’ve got YouTube geniuses – I get inspired by all of them every time I watch their videos.”

JR Aquino: “I feel like each and every one of us look up to each other. And that’s why we’re YTF. It really is bromance.”

Andrew Garcia: “We’re family. We’re not even brothers. We are lovers.”

This interview is going to go out and people are going to think, “Oh my goodness the YTF boys are gay!”

Andrew Garcia: “Oh well we are definitely ‘happy’!”

Haha. Okay, so, all jokes aside, which one of your shows would you say was your most memorable?

Andrew Garcia: “I would have to say..our first YTF show. That was when I was American Idol and to be on that tour with the YTF boys was a totally different experience. So many amazing different cities and the amazing fans. The best part was that..we controlled the stage, it was our show.”

JR Aquino: “What he said! Andrew answers all the good stuff!”

JR Aquino: “No, seriously. YTF in Hawaii. That has definitely got to be my most memorable show.”

Andrew Garcia & JR Aquino: “Yeah he is! (laughs)”

Victor Kim: “Uhm. The Australian tour. We just went on that a few days ago and a lot of memorable things happened.”

If you could turn back time and change the one thing you can change about your past, what would it be?

Andrew Garcia: “I would change nothing.”

JR Aquino: “I would change nothing too or I wouldn’t be here today, talking to you..”

Victor Kim: “I would change everything! Just kidding. You know, with enough time passing, even the negative things in that past have all made sense. It’s all part of the bigger picture.”

Again, aww. We miss them already. Let’s all hope that YTF will come back to Malaysia as a complete group sometime soon. We’re talking, Victor Kim plus Andrew Garcia plus JR Aquino plus Ryan Higa plus Chester See plus D-Trix. Yes? No harm in wishing!

For those of you who missed “FYI On Stage in Kuala Lumpur“, here, spy on this:

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Special thanks to our friends from M.E Malaysia for making this interview happen.

For more information, hit up YTF’s official website or Facebook page, or heck, stalk them via the YTF Twitter account. Also, the boys have individual Twitter accounts so feel free to follow up Victor Kim, Andrew Garcia, and JR Aquino. Don’t tell them that we told you to though. Sshh!

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YouTuber Isarb Shah Breaks Silence On Sexual Assault Allegation

There has been a slew of local public figures being involved in controversies lately! This time, a popular YouTuber was arrested for an alleged sexual assault case.

The incident reportedly took place at a homestay in Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan after the accused who is a content creator and a female victim completed a filming session for an online drama back on 1st August.

Although the police didn’t reveal the suspect’s identity, many have speculated that the individual in question is Isarb Shah, a member of the production team known as Isarb Clan. As a result, his official Instagram account, which has over 234k followers, was flooded with tons of remarks by netizens. He was remanded for 2 days to assist in the investigation.

After completing his remand period, the 22-year-old took to his Instagram Story earlier today (Monday, 14th December) to provide some updates . He wrote, “Let’s just wait for PDRM’s decision. Alhamdulillah, now I can differentiate between a friend and a foe”. He also shared a photo of him, along with the rest of his clan members following his release.

Previously, another member of Isarb Clan, Isa Isarb became the talk of the town after he smashed a Proton Iswara car just for a video content on his channel. Check out the full story here.


Husband Caught Wife Committing Adultery With Another Man

A woman was caught having an affair by her husband recently, and the internet community has been going cray-cray about this!

In a video posted by Twitter user @LiaJuju2, the couple was caught in close proximity in a hotel room. However, the exact location of the incident wasn’t disclosed specifically.

Unable to control his emotions, the husband proceeded to viciously attack the man. Though, both the wife and the partner insisted that they didn’t do anything in the room. The couple’s child was also seen amid the commotion. At the time of writing, the clip has been watched over 1 million times on Twitter.

The drama managed to catch the attention of fellow members of Twitterverse. Scrolling through the replies, the unfaithful wife and the guy were bashed for committing such a horrible act. Additionally, there were a few internet trolls out there who had jokingly requested for the person behind the camera to upload a high quality version of the clip.

To quote the original poster, “Out of all the fishes in the sea, why would you want to hook up with someone’s wife.”


#SulaimanYassin: Actor Has No Regrets Over Slapping David Teo During TN50

On Wednesday (17th May), actor and comedian Sulaiman Yassin aka Mat Over slapped Metrowealth Pictures film producer and CEO David Teo during the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) dialogue event for the entertainment industry in Putrajaya. It was also reported that the unexpected incident took place in the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

According to NST, the altercation between the 2 happened when Teo criticised award-winning actor Rosyam Nor, who was the session’s moderator, for not giving those seated at the back a chance to speak or ask questions. Seeing this, the security team immediately escorted Sulaiman and Teo out of the venue.

“I was just asking Rosyam about his use of the round stage, and the focus he was giving to only those seated in front. I also wanted to ask the prime minister some questions. But all of a sudden, he (Sulaiman) rushed over and slapped me,” Teo told Harian Metro.

However, Teo will not be taking legal action against Sulaiman. The Malaysian producer said, “I will not be taking any legal action against Sulaiman and have also forgiven him for his actions.”

Meanwhile, Sulaiman shared that he slapped Teo “to teach him some manners”. He explained, “I don’t think what I did was too extreme because it was done to teach him some manners. I did it mainly because we were in the presence of our leader who was hosting the event.”

“I have no regrets as David’s attitude was disrespectful towards the prime minister and Rosyam Nor as the moderator. As Malaysians, we should demonstrate better manners and respect,” he continued.

NST also noted that after the incident, Najib and Rosyam continued the dialogue session smoothly. Teo and Sulaiman, who were later brought in to the venue, shook hands and made up in front of Najib Razak.

What are your thoughts on the situation? Do you think that Sulaiman went too far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Sources: 988.com.my, NST, Free Malaysia Today, Harian Metro.

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(UPDATE) “Live Spectacle: Naruto”: Dates For Malaysian Leg Of Musical Tour Announced!

And some details for the “Live Spectacle: Naruto” live action musical have been released!

Earlier this month, we wrote that the live action musical version of the popular manga Naruto is slated to begin its run in March 2015 in Tokyo. The musical is part of the Naruto Shin Jidai Kaimaku Project (Naruto’s New Era Opening Project).

The play will be held over at the AiiA theater in Tokyo from 21st March – 5th April before heading to Fukuoka from 10th – 12th April, Osaka from 17th – 19th April. Miyagi from 23rd – 25th April, and then it returns to Tokyo from 19th April – 10th May. After which, there will also be performances in Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Miyagi as well as international performances in Singapore, Malaysia, and Macau. Yes, Malaysia!

Recently, the production team behind the stage adaptation announced on the show’s official website that it will be staged in Singapore on 6th and 7th June at the Resorts World Theatre. Apart from Singapore, the show, titled “Live Spectacle: Naruto”, will also be staged at the Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre on 30th (1pm and 6pm) and 31st May (1pm and 6pm), as well as at The Venetian Macao from 22nd – 24th May.

The production team also released a few more photos of the cast in costume, with Yuki Kimisawa as the veteran ninja Hatake Kakashi, Kazuhiro Hinakawa as the Third Hokage, the leader of a ninja village, Miho Imamura as the enigmatic ninja Haku, and Asahi Uchida as Momochi Zabuza. Actor Koudai Matsuoka plays the titular hero Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who has a demon fox sealed within him, while Ryuji Sato plays his rival Sasuke Uchiha, in the production.

No further details have been released as of yet but are you excited or what? Keep checking back with us and we’ll update this post with more details as soon as we have ’em ;)

The ticketing deets and seating plan for “Live Spectacle: Naruto” in Kuala Lumpur have been released.

Tickets can be purchased via TicketPro from 27th March onwards.

Sources: CNA, JS Concert Productions’ Facebook page, TicketPro.


WINNERS: Tix For “We Love Asia”!

So you think you can handle two days of partying? Then hats off to those of you who diligently tweeted your submissions to us for the “We Love Asia” festival tickets giveaway! If you haven’t heard (Gasp! Where have you been?), the festival will feature international world-class acts such as Redfoo (of LMFAO) and the Party Rock Crew, Yolanda be Cool, DJ Antoine, Steve Aoki, and Joachim Garraud.

We hope you’re ready because we hear that they’re ready to turn Sepang International Circuit upside down come 19th and 20th January 2013 (Saturday and Sunday). Yup!

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The THREE lucky readers/followers who will be attending the “We Love Asia” festival are:

Congratulations, peeps! You’ve bagged yourselves ONE PAIR of tickets each for you and a friend to attend the festival!

Kindly collect your prizes from our office on 18th January 2012 (Friday). Remember to bring your IC for verification purposes. Also, we need to stress that prizes are strictly are strictly nontransferable. Hype Malaysia reserves the right to refuse the collection of prizes for those who attempt to transfer it from one contest winner (in whose name it is registered) to another person.

B-19-4 Northpoint Office Suites, Mid Valley City,

Our office hours are 10am to 6pm (Monday to Friday only).

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#WorldCup: Goal for #GER In The Final + Awards

There was no greater way to mark the end of an epic World Cup than to have Germany lift the Trophy. Some might argue that Argentina, known to play with heart and flair, deserved the win but the fact is that both countries went into the World Cup final this morning with all that they have. As with any sports championships of any sort, it’s always a war between titans (read: #1 teams/countries) and the end result just proves which team or country is better. It certainly doesn’t mean that the #2 or #3 are bad per se.

But first, before the final climax, Colombian songstress Shakira headlined the closing ceremony, opening her performance of “La La La” with Carlinhos Brown. She was at the centre of a campaign to instill her new song as the official anthem of Brazil, and not the Pitbull (those pants), J.Lo, and Claudia Leitte one. Other performers included Wyclef Jean, Carlos Santana, Alexandre Pires, and Ivete Sangalo. Much to fans’ delight, of course.

Congratulations to the champion and the runner-up of this unforgettable #WorldCup! Shak

As for the deciding 2014 World Cup in Brazil game, for the 4th time in history, #GER bagged the #1 title after overcoming #ARG 1-0, courtesy of a stunning extra-time goal by “Super Mario” aka the 22-year-old attacking midfielder Mario Goetze. The sub managed to settle a tie (at the 113th minute) that lasted from the first minute until the last despite the circumstances, pressure, and surroundings.

Left with scarily little time, #ARG found themselves unable to respond.

#GER’s win added another star to their crest, with three others from their previous wins in 1954, 1974, and 1990.

And the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil glories didn’t end there.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Best Young Player Award

21-year-old Paul Pogba is no stranger to Juventus fans. The dynamic young midfielder played a huge part in France’s run to the quarterfinals and for his efforts, he bagged the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil’s Best Young Player accolade. The boy beat out Holland’s Memphis Depay and fellow Frenchman Raphael Varane for the award.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Golden Boot Award (Top Scorer)

Although his country was ousted in the quarterfinals, Colombian striker James Rodriguez proved worthy of the Golden Boot award, having scored 6 goals throughout the entire World Cup. At 23 years old, he beat Germany’s Thomas Miller (who has five goals) followed by Lionel Messi (who had four).

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Golden Glove Award (Best Goalkeeper)

German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer earned the Golden Glove award after posting a clean sheet in the final. It’s self explanatory, really. He single-handedly beat Argentina’s Sergio Romero and Costa Rica’s Keylor Navac to the chase. An award well earned for the winning country’s integral part of the team.

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil Golden Ball Award (Best Player)

Millions of #ARG fans around the world watched the 2014 World Cup in Brazil final hoping to witness Lionel Messi assist his countrymen to their 3rd World Cup win. Despite Argentina not taking home the trophy this time around, this was the Messiah‘s chance to put himself on par with his idol, retired Argentine footballer, Diego Maradona. Messi beat Germany’s Thomas Müller to the chase.

And with that, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is officially over. Relive some of our #WorldCup memories here:

So, what will you miss most from the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil? Sound off in the comments!

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Hype’s Exclusive: Joel Fletcher Works The Melbourne Bounce In Malaysia

In case you missed it, the prodigal son of Melbourne’s underground dance music, Joel Fletcher recently made his way to Kuala Lumpur for a one-night only gig at Zouk Club KL. Having released various tracks via labels including MinistryOfSound and Ones To Watch, the “Melbourne Bounce” superstar’s rise to the top has been a quick and well deserving one.

The 22-year-old DJ/producer who has come a long way since scoring his first club residency at the age of 16, released the triple platinum, chart topping record “Swing” featuring Savage. Apart from achieving triple platinum status, the track also won Joel a nomination for the 2014 ARIA’s “Song of the Year” and was aded to the airwaves of every mega radio network around Australia.

Definitely, someone to keep a look for, we sat down with Joel on Friday (24th April) night for a quick chat:

Hey Joel, welcome to Kuala Lumpur! This is your first time here yes?

Hey! Thank you and yes it is. I’m really excited to see what’s going to happen tonight. I’ve heard a lot of good things about KL and it’s a beautiful city.

Let’s talk a little about when you first started. You scored your first club residency at the age of 16, what was that like and how did it feel?

Yes, it was a pretty unreal experience. When I was 16, I was..well..I wasn’t this tall so people thought I was a little kid. But it was pretty crazy because I was 16, deejaying in a club, and I would get a pretty good reaction. It was surreal yeah, I was 16 and not many people have done that.

Was having to arrive at the club just 5 minutes before your set and leaving right after troublesome?

(laughs) Yeah, we were supposed to do that but I used to have friends who went to the club with me so I kinda stuck around every now and then. Don’t tell anyone though (laughs).

I won’t! ;) What are you working on at the moment – collabs/originals?

Both. I just did a remix. One with FatMan Scoop and J-Trick and just a lot of singles as well.

In May, I’m going to have the one with J-Track and FatMan Scoop released on Dim Mak. I’m not too sure of the date, but it’s in May.

You wrapped up 2014 with the bus tour, what did you enjoy most and least about it?

I guess just being on tour with friends. Being on tour can get kind of tiring and when you’re alone, it can get lonely so when you’re with your friends, it makes everything better. But the downside to it was that we did 46 shows so it was tiring, very tiring. But apart from that, it was really fun.

And what is it that you like most about performing in front of a massive crowd?

It gives me energy, it’s like a drug, you know what I mean? It gives me adrenaline and to see a crowd react positively to your music, it’s just out of this world. It’s such a good feeling so yeah, I love it.

I heard you’re a hip hop fan. If you could collaborate with one hip hop artiste, who would it be?

Yes! I’d love to work with a hip hop artiste but I guess it’s a hard thing because I’m not big enough yet. Erm…my dream collaboration would be with Dr. Dre.

You recently had a fan put peanut butter all over her face just by replying her message. Any other crazy things your fans have done?

(laughs) Yeah, I did. It was hilarious (laughs). I couldn’t believe it. I have a fan who is a rapper in Australia and a girl messaged him saying the same thing but it was nutella, so I showed him the message and he said I had to reply to her so I did and she did it. It was hilarious. But yeah, crazy things. Hmm…this one girl got a tattoo of me, Timmy, Tigerlily, and Will – all tattooed on her arm. I thought it was a bit weird but flattering at the same time (laughs).

What else is in the pipeline for you this 2015?

I want to start playing festivals internationally. I’m playing all the festivals back home so to start doing international ones would be great.

Last one, if you had to pick, would you rather immerse yourself in a bathtub of spiders or a bathtub of cockroaches?

I hate spiders. Spiders or cockroaches? (laughs). Hmm…cockroaches. Yeah, I hate spiders, they’re one of my worst fears so definitely cockroaches.

I would have expected spiders actually. People tend to fear roaches. Thanks so much for your time, Joel!

Nah, I hate spiders (laughs). Thank you, hope you enjoy the show tonight.

Big thanks to our friends at Zouk Club KL for arranging this interview for us.

Here’s “State Of Emergency” by Joel Fletcher. Enjoy!

For more on Joel Fletcher, stalk him via these platforms: Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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PN Lodged Police Report Against Namewee’s Latest Movie “Babi”

A recent film created by Malaysian director and rapper-singer Wee Meng Chee, popularly known as Namewee, has been receiving many contrasting reactions.

The film, which is said to depict a real life racial conflict that took place in 2002, holds the title “Babi”, meaning “pig” in Bahasa Malaysia. Additionally, the movie’s poster also shows other discriminatory words that have been turning heads and raising voices – especially by those in the Malaysian government.

According to the director, “Babi” is based on a true story about students from a multi-racial school. The students are said to have waged a race-war against each other, where the conflict turns fatally violent. However, the incident was never reported or spoken about as the government allegedly covered it up.

Since Namewee talks about difficult topics through his film, it was no surprise when it gained backlash for its storyline, title and even its poster.

According to the hip-hop artist, the film is already banned in Malaysia, while FMT additionally reported that the Federal Territory Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth have now lodged a police report against the movie’s poster as well.

The Federal Territory PN Youth information unit member Mohammad Azwan Azmi lodged a police report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters yesterday morning (19th November). The police report was made against the movie’s poster because it contained racial slurs, such as “Melayu Bodoh”, “India Keling” and “Cina Babi”.

Azmi also stated that his party had asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block the content related to the film on Namewee’s Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts, in order to restrict Malaysians from accessing it.

“This insult and provocation is seen as outrageous and is a rude and insolent act. We fear it can cause interracial tension in Malaysia,” stated Azmi.

While Namewee’s latest release is gaining negative criticism locally, the film has been internationally acclaimed in multiple parts of the world.

The 37-year-old’s new film is his most successful thus far, securing nominations at the Berlin International Film Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and also the renowned Golden Horse Awards.

Other movies directed by Namewee include “Banglasia”, “Nasi Lemak 2.0”, “Hantu Gangster”, “Kara King”, and a short film called “The Game of Las Vegas”. From these, the original version of “Banglasia” was also banned in Malaysia.


#KonsertHighNote2016: Ziana Zain, Jaclyn Victor, & Azlan Typewriter To Hold Special Concert In November

3 homegrown vocal powerhouse artistes are coming together to thrill fans with a special concert, “High Note 2016”, in November.

The Malaysian singers are Ziana Zain, Jaclyn Victor, and Azlan Typewriter. As the title suggests, the 2-hour long “Konsert High Note 2016” will see the trio hitting all the right notes that will surely give you goosebumps.

The idea of this concert first came about when Ziana and Azlan collaborated at the 2011’s Anugerah Bintang Popular (ABPBH), performing a spectacular medley of “Anggapanmu” and “Lagu Untukmu”. Since then, the 2 singers have been bombarded by fans for more performances together.

“I agree that our collaboration should not just stop at ABPBH. But to have such a collaboration right after the awards show would not create much of an impact. So, I figured we let fans wait a little so that they will long to see us collaborate again. It is important to build up the momentum, you know and the right time to bring back that magic is now,” said Azlan, whose real name is Nor Azlan Rosle.

According to the 34-year-old rocker, the legendary singer Ziana will be the main star of the event, while being supported by the winner of Malaysian Idol, Jaclyn Victor, and himself. “To include Jaclyn, is a bonus… it’s perfect. We all know her capability, there’s no question about it. Besides, it goes well with the 1Malaysia concept,” he told NST.

The details to Ziana Zain, Jaclyn Victor, and Azlan Typewriter’s “Konsert High Note 2016” are as follows:

Tickets are available via TicketPro. You can also check out Konsert High Note 2016’s official Facebook page for more information.

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CNY 2013: Psy To Gallop Right Into Penang!

Just slightly more than a month ahead of Future Music Festival Asia 2013, where Psy is expected to gallop in front of tens of thousands of partygoers, it has been confirmed that his maiden “Gangnam Style” performance in Malaysia will come earlier than expected.

The South Korean and international superstar Psy has been booked and is expected to appear at Barisan Nasional’s Chinese New Year open house on 11th February 2013 (Monday). The event, to be held at Han Chiang High School in Penang will see the attendance of some 60,000 guests, including Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Psy will be performing alongside local singing sensation Shila Amzah, who became a household name when she beat 32 singers from seven countries at the Asian Wave 2012 in Shanghai, China.

Penang BN publicity chief Tan Cheng Liang confirmed yesterday that both Psy and Shila had agreed to entertain guests at the event, and that Psy would be backed up by a team of dancers from South Korea. He also said, “Everyone, especially those celebrating the Chinese New Year, is invited to attend the event. We urge the rakyat to come out in full force to welcome Psy.”

Well, we guess we know where Psy will be celebrating his Chinese New Year this year!

Note: The Chinese and the Korean share the same “first day of the lunar calendar” celebrations. This year, the Korean New Year aka “Seollal” will fall on the same day as the Chinese New Year; 10thFebruary 2013.  In celebration of “Seollal”, most people go back to their hometowns to perform ceremonial rites and pay their respects to their ancestors. It’s considered the most important of the traditional Korean holidays during which, Koreans would dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing called “hanbok”.


Mulan Review: An Uneven & Frustrating Spectacle That Brings Dishonour To Itself

At long last, after six months of waiting, “Mulan” has finally avalanched her way out of solitary confinement. To be honest, we are one of the lucky nations to be granted a theatrical release for this film.

Considering the fact that in other regions with access to Disney+, the studio decided to premiere “Mulan” exclusively on that platform for an additional fee, indeed, the provision of the theatrical experience in our region is a blessing.

So, was the half-year wait worth it? Let’s get down to business.

The 1998 animated film starring Ming-Na Wen as the voice of the titular character was praised for its lively animation, comedy, and timeless songs. Such is the legacy of the animated film that even after all these years, we can’t resist belting out “Reflection” whilst staring at the bathroom mirror, invoking our warrior from within.

Directed by Niki Caro (“The Zookeeper’s Wife”), this new adaptation of the famous Chinese folk legend starring Liu Yifei (“The Forbidden Kingdom”) aimed to be a marriage between the animated 1998 feature and the original literature from which the character originated: “The Ballad of Hua Mulan”. As such, for fans of the original animated film, this may be a far cry from what you’re generally used to.

For starters, the adorable critters have been given the boot. Crikey. That’s bad news for our four-legged cricket and rapid-fire-breathing lizard Mushu. However, before you go on a rant, pronouncing dishonour on every living creature on earth, you have to understand that the decision was to allow for a more “realistic” portrayal of the historic legend.

The next big change comes in the form of boxy general Li Shang, who is noticeably absent in this version. His spirit, however, has been divided into two distinct characters which take the form of Donnie Yen’s (“Ip Man”; “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) stern Commander Tung, and the dreamier Chen Honghui, played by Yoson An (“The Meg”; “Mortal Engines”).

In an apparent whole new world, the prologue introduces our young warrior. Mulan, a brash and highly skilled (read high chi level*) young woman is about to be matchmade with a suitor, adhering to the traditional views of gender roles within the community. However, things take a disruptive turn when imperial guards show up at her village, declaring that every family must send a male representative to fight. Mulan’s father, Hua Zhou, is too old and weak to fight. As a result, she takes it upon herself to bear the family name and serve the Emperor as a soldier in the imperial army, carrying with her the family sword and armour.

Can she rise up with courage to be loyal to her country? Can Mulan still be true to herself, pretending to be someone she’s not?

Well, as much as we sorta know how that question will be answered, I too gotta be true to myself and say that this film was a major disappointment.

I have been critical of Disney’s live-action endeavours in the past. Aside from Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book”, most of them have been unspirited, bland remakes which never really brought anything new to the table. Indeed, I was truly appalled by last year’s biggest offender, “The Lion King”, which was a lifeless travesty of a National Geographic documentary, bringing no emotion to the succulent grubs it was meant to feed us with.

But… “Aladdin”, a movie which initially drew ire from fans due to a cheap-looking trailer back two years ago, turned out to be fairly enjoyable due to its fresh interpretation of the characters. It was a glimmer of hope in the dull rays of unoriginality. While I did not think that 2019’s “Aladdin” was by any means a Disney masterpiece, it still managed to stay fresh and entertain audiences.

So, when the producers and filmmakers of this 21st-century adaptation decided to shake things up, I was intrigued. I was rooting for it. This revamping had my eyes and ears on the production as new developments continued to pour in. I didn’t want a shot-for-shot remake of the 1998 film. That would be dull. Bring us something new.

However, all that goodwill got torn apart when I sat in the theatre, wide-eyed, placing my hopes for a good adaptation of a fan favourite. Oh, what a grave miscalculation I had made. What woes were in store for me and the rest of the unfortunate audience.

The problem here is not the lack of a scarlet motormouth reptile or powerful uplifting ballads (although they were key to the animated film’s success). Indeed, it is the lack of grace and depth in which the narrative was written that undermines the film’s capacity to succeed. The plot is an atrocious mash that barely makes the audience care for its characters. Its baffling brand of humour falls straight to the ground consistently.

When the audience is first introduced to Mulan, she is out pursuing a chicken, performing some acrobatic moves as she bounces around the tulou, ascending to the summit of the structure. However, Mulan slips from the roof and with a miraculous cat-like adroitness, manages to land on her feet, topping it off with a spin of her staff in the most cringe-worthy manner possible (I kid you not, this is not as cool as it seems to be). Indeed, it was this very scene at the start that set the tone for the subsequent narrative as the movie attempts to push forward.

Having no songs in it, the filmmakers had to prepare a new take on some of the memorable animated scenes. Some work, such as the matchmaking scene, which I felt utilised its time and props to full effect, created something that was dissimilar to the animation but also possessing its own charm. However, when you come to Mulan’s big decision to leave her family, it’s done in quick cuts, undermining any emotion that could have been conveyed through the scene.

Mulan’s message of empowerment has also been lost in the hollow shell of a narrative so haphazardly constructed that it gives little to no room for any actual growth for the character. We all remember the hair chopping scene during Reflection and how it was a pivotal moment for the character. None of that exists in this version because there apparently was an urgency to get on with the plot despite having no reason to.

As for the faces of villainy, we have Jason Scott Lee (“Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”) as Bori Khan and Gong Li (“Memoirs of A Geisha”) as the shapeshifting witch, Xian Lang, to provide the falcon-tyrant dynamic that was also present in the animated feature. Nevertheless, the motivations behind the characters are as weak as a lone feather. In all honesty, this could have been rectified if they had made Li’s character the main antagonist with Khan as a seemingly powerful tyrant who no one messes with as well. Her character had a whole lot of potential to be developed. She seemed as if she was brought on to be a polar opposite to our heroine, and could have made the movie a tad bit smarter but ultimately falls short due to iffy writing.

And oh, don’t get me started on Little Cricket, my god. They massacred our boy. Thinking about how an innocent little fantastical creature that was meant to be a good luck charm made it into the movie albeit in a different form makes my body quiver in wild frustration. The character’s entrance is so out-of-place and probably makes for one of the most laughable scenes I have watched in recent memory. There’s no precedent, no explanatory context, just a frightful introductory scene that had me gritting my teeth in disbelief.

Another aspect that was absent in the film was with regards to the martial arts talents. They had brought in Jet Li, Gong Li, the friggin’ Wing Chun maestro himself, Donnie Yen. And what do these remarkable performers do in the film?! Almost next to nothing. There is one scene in which Donnie Yen showcases his splendid expertise with the sword, handling it in a showcase of speed and dexterity. But no matter folks because said glittery ability is only utilised in the battlefield for a few seconds. We don’t actually see him in action that much. For a movie that had no songs, and could have lent some focus on the action and war itself, there is no urgency, no desolate circumstance that truly reminds the viewer that this was certainly, a war.

When things actually do happen, it’s edited in a choppy manner, giving rise to the notion that the production had no idea how to craft the martial arts scenes. Seeing that there is significant use of wirework, I can’t help but wonder if they were actually emulating wuxia epics, because if it was such, Disney really did not know how to shoot much less choreograph them. Take a look at films such as “Crouching Tiger, The House of Flying Daggers” or even milder films such as the Liu Yifei/Jet Li collaboration, “The Forbidden Kingdom”. When the knights are in action, gliding across the screen, we get to see them do it with a fair amount of grace. But NO. Over here, it’s a quick alternation of cuts and slow motion, which absolutely did not work well for the film.

Of the dumpster fire that this movie essentially was, one of the very few aspects I actually dug was Harry Gregson Williams’ upbeat score. Intertwining the powerful new Christina Aguilera ballad “Loyal, Brave & True” with the narrative. This is especially heightened when familiar musical cues from the 98′ movie are utilised such as “Reflection” and “Honour To Us All”, making hairs stand on end when they came on.

Furthermore, as much as I would criticise the filmmaking technique, some of the shots were actually pretty well-defined. Such a case would be the matchmaking sequence which was well-paced and shot, along with the aftermath of the avalanche, silhouetting figures in the white of snow.

Legendary actor, Tzi Ma, also did a fine job at playing Mulan’s stoic paternal figure. Continuing his brilliant streak from “The Farewell”, his performance is most likely the only bright spot in an otherwise dreary film. It is one that is done with a good amount of gravitas, bringing a certain heft to his pained role.

In the end, the film was a frustrating affair that becomes worse the more I ponder upon it. As much as I relish the fact that I got to experience the film on a big screen, the faltering events that unfolded were of dour contortions, making for an uneven narrative that did not bring honour to the character’s legacy.

I was prepared to fall in love with it. I really wanted this movie to succeed. I mean, it had the ingredients, a formula, and almost everything else it had to make an epic tale to be enjoyed by all. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon, Disney somehow found a way to mess it all up with a cringe-fest of splotchy writing and baffling action sequences.

Loyal? Brave? True? These may have been significant to this adaptation’s overall message. However, the craft itself is an antithesis to these elements. While I would have applauded the changes, giving the studio any benefit of the doubt seemed to have been futile as the end-product is unspirited, bland and lacking much-needed nuggets of emotion.

My message to the studio that made this?! Understand first how to handle the property with grace, honour, and dignity. This was a foul misaligned attempt at making Mulan relevant in the 21st century. To exile, it should be sentenced to. Folks, if you want a good “Mulan” movie, look no further than back to twenty years ago. At least THAT film was true to its heart.

Look at this. It will never pass for a decent piece;
Or a splendid remake;
Can it be, this was not meant to play this part?
Now I see;
That if modern-day Disney was to truly be itself, it would bring dishonour to us all.

While we do not recommend watching the remake of “Mulan”, there is an array of other worthy movies that you can now conveniently watch by booking tickets through Klook.  Klook is a leading travel-activities and services booking platform that easily allows you to find more local things to do with a simple click of a button. Accordingly, to offer locals even more things to enjoy in Malaysia, Klook has recently released a brand new category: movies!

This recent launch allows you to discover and book tickets for any movie showing at the GSC and TVG cinemas nationwide. Additionally, movie buffs in Malaysia can also enjoy benefits and savings when they book movie vouchers from Klook.

And that’s not all, in celebration of Klook’s Movies in Malaysia, Klook’s Facebook page will run a contest from 4th September to 20th September 2020, where five lucky winners will have the chance to win Disney’s “Mulan” official merchandise. The public can also discover which Mulan character they are by participating in Klook’s “Discover Your Inner Warrior” quiz.

So, next time you plan on heading out for a movie, you know what to do and where to look! Simply log on to klook.com and choose which movie you’d like to watch, along with a cheaper and more convenient experience. Enjoy!

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What We Know About HyunA’s “Babe” Comeback So Far

Cube Entertainment’s sexy solo artiste HyunA (현아) is making a comeback and to be honest, we’re very excited to see what kind of music she’ll release this time around.

In anticipation of her 6th mini-album, the idol has released the music video teaser for her new title track, “Babe” (베베), earlier today. “Tell me I’m you babe, babe,” she can be heard singing in the short clip.

If you’re curious to know more about her comeback tomorrow (29th August), here are some quick facts:

1. The title of her forthcoming mini-album is “Following” and besides “Babe”, it consists of 4 other tracks including “Party (Follow Me)” featuring Wooseok of Pentagon, “Purple” with E’Dawn of Pentagon, “Dart”, as well as “Self-Portrait”.

2. This is her first solo release since “A’wesome”, which holds the title track “How’s This” (어때?), in 2016. It also seems that the mini-album is not part of her “A” series.

3. According to Cube, HyunA co-wrote “Babe” while Shinsadong Tiger and Beom & Nang co-produced it. The company also revealed that the star participated in writing the rap lyrics for her other songs.

4. Her teaser images are all shot in black-and-white.

5. She was supposed to make her comeback in September. However, Cube decided to release her mini-album sooner because HyunA couldn’t wait to meet with her fans again.

6. As part of her promotions for “Following”, the former 4Minute rapper will appear on “Ask Us Anything” alongside NU’EST’s JR and comedian Park Sung Kwang. The episode will be aired on 9th September.

The 25-year-old singer made her solo debut in 2009 with “Change” and to date, she has released 5 singles/mini-albums: “Bubble Pop!” (2011), “Melting” (2012), “A Talk” (2014), “A+” (2015), and “A’wesome” (2016). She was also a member of Troublemaker alongside ex-B2ST member, Jang Hyunseung, and is currently a member of Triple H.

For more info, hit up HyunA’s official Facebook page and Instagram.

Are you excited for HyunA’s comeback? Let us know what you think of “Babe” in the comments box below!

Sources: HyunA’s Instagram, Soompi / Featured image: HyunA’s Instagram.


New Straits Times Set To Retrench Over 500 Staffs In March 2020

Local news agency, New Straits Times Press (NSTP), will see over 500 of their employees out of their job, come 12th March 2020, following a retrenchment exercise by parent company Media Prima Bhd.

A few companies have been downsizing their workforce just to keep businesses afloat. This year alone, it was reported that the number of retrenched workers have climbed up to 37,260 due to a global downturn.

The reasons for these many retrenchments may be due to low domestic consumption rates, decline in exports and disruptive business models. Additionally, the rise in technology advancement (such as robotic assistants and the internet) have resulted in many traditional labour intensive works being replaced with more tech-savvy solutions.

NSTP National Union of Journalists chairman, Farah Marshita Abdul Patah, told reporters that the 543 axed employees will be from New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro. She also stated that their bureaus will also be trimmed down from 14 to 5, with some departments around Malaysia being merged together. Each bureau will then have 2 reporters to cover their assigned areas.

According to Free Malaysia Today, the workers affected were given no choice to appeal to the termination letter. This resulted in many of the staffs feeling cheated by the present leadership. This sentiment was also echoed by Muslim Nazari, who posted his opinion on his Facebook page regarding the incident.

As mentioned, the retrenchment exercise was part of Media Prima’s restructuring of their operations. This undertaking is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year. Currently, the Media Prima staffs who lost their jobs were urged to seek Sosco for help in finding themselves new opportunities.

Sources: Free Malaysia Today, New Straits Times.

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Contest: Win Passes To The Premiere Screening Of #Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of new characters. 30 years after the beloved original took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his take to the supernatural comedy, joined by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth.

And thanks to our friends from Sony Pictures Malaysia, we’ve got a couple of premiere screening passes to give away to our lucky readers ;)

“Erin Gilbert (played by Kristen Wiig) and Abby Yates (played by Melissa McCarthy) are a pair of unheralded authors who write a book positing that ghosts are real. A few years later, Gilbert lands a prestigious teaching position at Columbia University, but her book resurfaces and she is laughed out of academia. When ghosts invade Manhattan, Gilbert reunites with Yates, teaming up with a nuclear engineer, Jillian Holtzmann (played by Kate McKinnon), and a subway worker, Patty Tolan (played by Leslie Jones), to save the world from a mysterious evil and powerful demon known as Rowan (played by Neil Casey) who can exercise control over human forms.”

Deets of movie screening are as follows:

Each winner walks away with 4 tickets per person! There are limited tickets and this will be based on a first-come-first-serve basis so go on and start sending in those submissions via the above form :)

“Ghostbusters” will be released in cinemas nationwide on 14th July 2016.

For more information, visit Sony Pictures Malaysia’s Facebook page.


#GRAMMYs2017: Watch Beyonce’s Stunning Full Performance

Leave it to Beyonce to slay the 2017 Grammy Awards.

To quote many fans on social media, this was no typical Beyonce performance. Although there were neither acrobatic entrance nor frenetic dancing, the 35-year-old singer gave a show-stopping performance with “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles”.

The theme was rebirth, regeneration, and healing, as the pregnant pop star took the stage, clad in a floor-length gold, sheer belly-highlighting gown with a matching headdress, while assuming full goddess mode.

A pre-taped recitation from her visual album “Lemonade” was played during the opening speech. “Do you remember being born? Are you thankful for the hips that cracked, the deep velvet of your mother and her mother and her mother? You look nothing like your mother; everything like your mother. You desperately want to look like her,” she said.

Beyonce continued, “How to wear your mother’s lipstick? You must wear it like she wears disappointment on her face. Your mother is a woman, and women like her cannot be contained. I think of love as trees, growing to and from one another, searching for the same light. Why are you afraid of love? You think it’s not possible for someone like you, but you are the love of my life. The love of my life.”

From there, Beyonce was joined by 24 female dancers, all dressed in pastel-coloured outfits while wearing similar gold headpieces and necklaces. The 2 songs belted out – “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles” – from “Lemonade” were slower jams, both showcasing the softer and more vulnerable side of the vocalist.

In terms of backdrop, viewers got chills when Queen Bey pulled off a gravity-defying chair stunt and didn’t even flinch. It was an ode to motherhood and childbirth. “Love Drought” was followed by a heartwarming rendition of “Sandcastles”. As her performance came to a close, she shared the verse from the album, “If we’re gonna heal, let it be glorious“.

Going into the award ceremony, Beyonce was nominated for 9 gongs for her visual album, “Lemonade”, but only won 2, including 1 for best urban contemporary album. Despite not winning album of the year, the sweet moment was shared with Adele, who dedicated the award to the pregnant mother.

“This album for me – the ‘Lemonade’ album – was just so monumental and so well thought out and so beautiful and soul-bearing and we all got to see another side to you that you don’t always let us see and we appreciate that,” she said. While Beyonce teared up, the “Hello” singer added, “I love you. I always have. And I always will“.

To check out the full winner’s list, go here.

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#NickVujicic: Disabled Evangelist & Motivational Speaker To Get His Own Film

Nicholas James “Nick” Vujicic is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of all 4 limbs.

As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of 17, started his own non-profit organisation, “Life Without Limbs”. The organisation was started with the intention of spreading the message of hope, something that he believes should be the most accessible thing in the world.

Nick Vujicic promotes his work through television shows and through his writing. He also presents motivational speeches worldwide which focus on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life. And now, as reported by CNA quoting Nick Vujicic himself, a feature film on his life story should be out by 2016 and shown in cinemas all around the world. Also in the pipeline is an online show, slated for a weekly broadcast.

Of course, Nick is not entirely new to the silver screen because in 2009, starred in the short independent film, “The Butterfly Circus”, which won the Doorpost Film Project’s top prize of 2009. In 2010, the film also won 2 awards as the “Best Short Film” at the 2010 Method Fest Independent Film Festival.

For more information on Nick Vujicic, visit his Facebook page.


Hype’s Must Watch: Krampus

Have you been nice this year or have you been really mean?

Santa Claus will be coming to town in a few more months and he’s gonna check his list twice to find out who’s naughty or nice. However, being in Santa’s naughty list isn’t as bad as getting punished by Krampus for the lack of festive spirit.

Universal Pictures has offered us a first look at Legendary Pictures’ upcoming holiday horror movie, “Krampus”, through a series of official movie stills and a trailer.

The film stars Emjay Anthonhy (of “Chef” fame) as young Max, who has reached the age where he clings to the idea of Santa. However, he is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas when his fractured family clashes over the holidays. The lack of festive spirit in Max’s family unleashes the wrath of Krampus, a horned-and-hooved anthropomorphic figure that punishes non-believers every Christmas.

All hell breaks loose as Krampus and his mischievous helpers lay siege to the dysfunctional family’s home, forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.

Co-writer/director Michael Dougherty told USA Today that he has “long wanted to make a scary movie that embraced the magical aspects of the season”, just like how he focuses on Halloween through his 2007 horror film “Trick ‘r Treat”.

For “Krampus”, his focus is on “the bearded guy living at the North Pole and elves that make toys for all good little boys and girls”. He said, “There is some sort of supernatural entity that keeps an eye on you all year long and determines if you’re naughty or nice.”

Dougherty’s inspiration on the look and character of “Krampus” was retrieved from some postcards and illustrations of the horned figure over the years. His take on Krampus is that the creature is not just “judge, jury and executioner”, but also the “shadow” of Santa.

However, Dougherty said that Krampus is “more complex and nuanced”, rather than just being evil. For this film, he wanted to keep the antagonist’s mischievous side from the Krampus mythology.

He’s not Freddy (“A Nightmare on Elm Street“) or Jason (“Friday the 13th“) or Leatherface (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), this unstoppable monster that kicks down your door and rampages and grabs you.

He added, “If you study the myth, there’s something darkly playful about him. He’s having a good time doing what he does and he enjoys the cat-and-mouse aspect of it.”

The heartwarming aspects of the Christmas season will be featured in this film, as Dougherty said:

“A Christmas Carol” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” are kind of nightmares that show you these broken characters who experience a darker side of divine intervention. They need to be scared straight. So it was important to elevate it.

He also added, “If you do a horror film without an emotional core, you don’t really have much.”

“Krampus” stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Stefania Lavie Owen, and Krista Stadler. Krampus and his sinister underlings are created by the combined efforts of Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, both renowned for their epic work on “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies.

Besides Dougherty, “Krampus” is also co-written by Zach Shields and Todd Casey. Alex Garcia serves as the producer alongside Dougherty and Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni.

The film is slated for release on 3rd December 2015.

For more information, visit the movie’s official website and Facebook page.

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#TigerTranslate: 5 Reasons Why We Loved This Arts & Music Festival

One of the most delightful aspects of attending an arts and music festival is getting the chance to see your favourite musical act performing onstage while having a good time with your friends. If we’re allowed to use only one word to describe Tiger Translate, it has got to be “spectacularawwrrrrr”. We know, that’s not a word, but you get the idea.

The event last Saturday (13th June) night saw a plethora of music and arts enthusiasts gathering under one roof for a wonderful time. Tiger Beer brought its renowned art and music festival to the city of Kuala Lumpur by holding the one-of-a-kind arts and music festival at Art Printing Works in Bangsar. With 5 bands, 7 visual artists, and 2 gourmet food trucks, this year’s Tiger Translate drew a record-breaking crowd in its 2nd year as one of the most celebrated festivals in Kuala Lumpur.

With a strong blend of global creativity of music and arts, Tiger Translate was definitely a not-to-be-missed event. But for those who missed it, here are the reasons why you should’ve been there to have a good time with us:

1. Basking in the glory of art explosion

Everyone has a different idea of having fun at an arts and music festival because we are, after all, people with different distinct personalities. For arts enthusiasts like us, the best part of Tiger Translate was being surrounded by art, literally. Everywhere we looked, there was art and being in that kind of scene was nothing short of amazing.

Sure enough, just after an hour wandering around the place, our phones were already filled with drool-worthy Instagram shots. Though music is a staple of the festival, the art installations cannot be overlooked. This year, Tiger Translate assembled a team of international and local artists which includes Thai artist Rukkit Kuanhawate, Hong Kong-based artist collective Parent’s Parents, Malaysian artist Louise Low, Malaysia-based Portland artist Andrew T-Crum, and Lightforge, an artistic project by John Kuan and Ammar Khalifa.

Local artist Nicholas Choong too was commissioned by the brand to design all Tiger Translate key art featured on all posters, and merchandising. We must say, festival goers were basking in the glory of art explosion even if they didn’t know it.

A post shared by Hype Malaysia (@hypemy)

Where art and music intersect, wonder is born. Hailing all the way from UK, DJ Tim Exile sampled the sounds of Kuala Lumpur and pieced them together into a live composition for a remarkable DJ set at Tiger Translate. He turned his chill beats into an artwork with Lightforge, which created the cutting edge visuals for the backdrop of his DJ set.

Festival goers saw a phenomenal breadth and depth of the music scene in Malaysia as Tiger Translate featured astounding performances from both international and local musicians including Wonfu, My Little Airport, Twilight Actiongirl, and Blood Red Shoes. Local indie rock band They Will Kill Us All were originally slated to perform that night, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they asked their buddies from Love Me Butch to replace them.

There wasn’t a single moment of the festival where the hype eventually died down as it started since 5pm. Once UK rock duo Blood Red Shoes emerged onstage as the final performer, the venue was instantly filled with both local and international fans who were saving their energy for a head-banging session.

3. A picture at Onitsuka Tiger’s photo booth and creating our own limited edition coasters

At first, we thought we’d be going home empty-handed after the arts and music festival ended. But after we wandered around the festival grounds, we discovered that Tiger Translate prepared a ridiculous amount of awesome activities for festival goers.

Onitsuka Tiger opened a booth located near the ticket redemption booth at the entrance of the festival venue. With the props provided by the brand, festival goers were invited to take free pictures at their photo booth machine or join their creative colouring contest so that they can stand a chance to win a pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes of their choice.

Tiger Translate also allowed us to make our own limited edition coasters through a stamping press that was located near the stage. There was even an arcade section that took us down the memory lane as it brought back some old gaming memories for us.

When thinking of an arts and music festival, food instantly came to our minds. And now, we can officially calling ourselves the “food trucks chasers”. Just kidding, of course.

Unlike Urbanscapes or Good Vibes Festival, there weren’t any food villages at the Tiger Translate event. However, food trucks Babarittos Delight and Flaming Wheels parked themselves at the festival, with Pulp Cafe (one of our favourite cafes in town, by the way) located right next to them.

Some festival goers (including us), who couldn’t stand the humid weather or were getting a little stressed out by the crowd, also walked into the cafe to order a cuppa and indulged in a piece of cake while waiting for our favourite musical act to appear onstage and perform.

Naturally, all these wonderful activities boiled down to one thing: Tiger beers. This creative arts and music festival wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for Tiger Malaysia. The brand certainly made it a point to interact with their consumers through a wide variety of programmes. By encouraging people to “uncage” their passions, it seemed like the brand has already established a trademark which may last forever.

Special thanks to our friends from Tiger Beer Malaysia for inviting us to this spectacular, awe-inspiring arts and music festival.

We will see you next year, Tiger Translate! ;)

For more information, visit Tiger Translate’s website or Facebook page.

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Man Resells Gardenia Bread For RM699 On Social Media

A lot of Malaysians were taken aback knowing that everyone’s favourite bread brand, Gardenia isn’t able to cope with increasing demands in supermarkets and convenience stores. The issue even became a trending topic on social media.

Recently, a Twitter user @rizarul shared that he’s re-selling the bread for a whopping price of RM699 per loaf! He further explained that the bread comes with the exclusive “shop scent” and will expire on 27th March (Friday).

Amused, others started to jump on the bandwagon by offering their own Gardenia bread to potential buyers online. In addition, some even left hilarious remarks by bargaining for a better deal from @rizarul himself.

To quote one netizen named @eiffkamal, “Now those living in Peninsular Malaysia get the idea on how rare the Gardenia bread is.” We couldn’t agree more though! For those interested, check out some of the bone-tickling comments below:

Of course, this was a just a joke. Did you managed to snag your own stock of Gardenia bread though?


Hype’s Now Playing: Shogun ft. Adara – Dragon

American born Taiwanese DJ/producer Andrew Chen, more recognisable from his stage name Shogun, has just released the lead off single from his upcoming album.

Shogun has long been revered as one of the most consistent, solid producers to grace the Armind label. A mainstay of A State of Trance, he’s well known for his tracks “Zanarkand”, “Erhu”, “Abduction”, and “Find Me” (featuring Tania Zygar). Now, he has been given the chance to show what he can do in a full length album, something that we hear has been in the making for about 4 years now.

So if you’re about to say, “It’s about damn time!”, then you’ve got that pretty much spot on – and we share your sentiments:

“Dragon”, the album that’s forthcoming on Armada Recordings, will feature 10 tracks highlighting the absolute best side of trance, progressive, and electro music. Ranging from vocal bangers like “Underwater” to fierce, beat-driven tunes like “Laputa”, “Dragon” is a tour de force work from one of the most inspiring producers in the game.

The track is already receiving support from Armin’s radio show and podcast, injecting soaring vocals infused with uplifting synth hooks and mesmerising melodic breakdowns into the ears of the ever faithful #trancefamily. Did 4 whole years seem like it was well worth the wait now for Shogun’s full-length album?

As Armin van Buuren said, “All good things come to those who wait”. Listen to “Dragon” here:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175639956″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Want the track? It’s out on Beatport here. Shogun’s album is slated for a 12th December release.

For more information, visit Shogun’s Facebook page. He’s also on Twitter and Instagram, so hit him up!


CONTEST: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day At Malones!

This St. Patrick’s Day, Malones Irish Restaurant and Bar is bringing to you an energetic, cross-cultural rendering Celtic rock band to Malaysia. Yes, it’s none other than Johnson’s Motorcar – the fun-loving band we interviewed a little earlier. And now, thanks to Malones Irish Restaurant and Bar, we’ve got a special St. Patrick’s Day “Irish experience” contest for all y’all!

How would you like to enjoy a night out with Johnson’s Motorcar’s rockin’ Irish tunes while sipping on cold beer? We’ve got five exclusive invites to giveaway to FIVE of our lucky readers. Invites will include:

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M’sian Man Gets Slammed For Reselling His PS5 For RM6000

Since the brand new Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) opened its pre-orders in Malaysia back in November, many game freaks have been eager to get their hands on the item.

Recently, a Facebook user named Abang Srikk II shared (on the group PS5 Malaysia Gang) that he’s re-selling his PS5 for a whopping price starting at RM6,000! The price includes the console, a controller and three video game CDs.

For those who don’t know, the official price of the Sony PlayStation 5 Digital Version in Malaysia costs RM1,869, while the version with a Ultra HD Blu-ray drive is priced at RM2,299. Additionally, the wireless controller is available for ~RM349.

So what prompted this fella to let go of his “beloved” PS5 console? According to him, he wanted to use the money from selling his PS5 to pay his house deposit. “I bought it back on 12th December and I only played it a few times. But I had to sell this item so that I can pay my house deposit,” the netizen expressed.

The reseller’s Facebook post was also reshared on Twitter by a user known as @bartbhrdn, which has in turn received quite the attention online. In this case, a lot of them argued that it’s ridiculous for Abang Srikk to be reselling his PS5 way higher than the actual cost.

Take a look at some of the reactions here:

Then again, it’s up to the person if someone is willing to fork out that much cash.


Ex #EXO Member Kris Wu Yi Fan Releases Self-Penned Song

A few days ago, it was reported that ex EXO member Kris Wu Yi Fan was recording a song for his upcoming Chinese movie, “Somewhere Only We Know“. The movie is said to be based on the romantic endeavours of a career woman and star other rookie actors, although Kris will play the male lead.

The biggest surprise was that not only was he recording the song, word has it that he also penned the lyrics for it! There were also rumours that Kris would be releasing it on his birthday.

Fitting, if you asked us, because we just heard it and it’s absolutely beautiful. For starters, we didn’t expect that it would turn out to be such a sweet and romantic ballad. Something tells us that fans, upon hearing “There Is A Place”, would find it hard not to fall in love with the idol all over again.

Did you like it? Would you have guessed that he had such a great hidden talent? Are you looking forward to the movie more so now than ever, having heard Kris’ “There Is A Place”? We honestly can’t wait!

The official music video for Kris Wu Yi Fan’s “There Is A Place” has been released and we absolutely love it.

“Somewhere Only We Know” is slated to be released on Valentine’s Day, 2015.


WebTVAsia Welcomes Bruneian Singer Syafiq Into Its Family

WebTVAsia Malaysia is introducing its very first Malay artist, 19-year-old Bruneian singer Syafiq Abdilah, who officially becomes the company’s third music artist, joining local singers Pricilla Abby and Hao Ren.

For the welcoming party, Syafiq also launched his debut single “Sakit” as his greetings to his fans and new audience from Nusantara.

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“I can’t imagine that I get to be an artist in Malaysia. I always thought that I’m going stay only in Brunei. But Alhamdullilah, my hard work paid off, and I’m here now. So I’m very grateful,” Syafiq said when met at the launch party in Starling Mall.

Syafiq has been singing since he was young, but he professionally sang in front of an audience in 2015, and that’s also the same year when he started to pick up the guitar. His talent was discovered by one of the DJs in Brunei, DJ Daffy who then introduced him to WebTVAsia.

“When I first heard Syafiq’s singing, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is a very unique 19-year-old voice.’ Having such a unique voice and being so talented, I believe that he can go far. Plus, he is still so young!” WebTVAsia founder and group CEO Fred Chong said.

“Our slogan for WebTVAsia is ‘Celebrate Asia’. We feel that a lot of talents and artists across Asia are undervalue. We want to be the company that discover, nurture and bring talented artists to international platforms,” Chong added.

Following the footsteps of his fellow Bruneian friend Aziz Harun, Syafiq who is dubbed as the “Ed Sheeran of Brunei” wants to prove that it is possible for someone from a small country like Brunei to succeed outside of his country. He also hopes that his talent will be recognised not only in Malaysia but Southeast Asia.

“I try to be as honest as I can. I hope that the way I strum my guitar and project my voice will be my selling point,” Syafiq said, understanding that he will have plenty of talented competition in the region.

Syafiq’s music style is mostly pop with influence of jazz, funk and R&B. But Syafiq said that he is opened to experiment with other genres as well.

When asked about dream collaborations, Syafiq revealed his love for hip hop music, saying that he would love to collaborate with the artists from Kartel Records such as SonaOne, Alif, and Joe Flizzow. “I can’t rap but I would love to work with artists from Kartel.”

Syafiq’s debut single “Sakit” is a love song that narrates the story of a man who hopes his love interest comes back so they can rekindle their relationship.

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