Is “The Authority” Gonna Be James Gunn’s New Justice League?

What if the Justice League ruled the world? A concept that’s been thoroughly explored in the world of DC’s alternate universes. Those who have grown up watching Bruce Timm’s phenomenal animated series “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” would have remembered the Justice Lords. A ruthless version of the team that seized control of the world’s governments to play protector and ruler. Then, of course, there’s the beloved “Injustice: Gods Among Us” universe that explored the civil war between Superman’s tyrannical regime and Batman’s freedom fighters. The “Injustice” video games and comic book series continued to push the intriguing possibility of what if the Justice League went too far. Well long before 2013’s “Injustice”, there was already a team like this within DC’s Wildstorm Universe. A team that had zero tolerance for crime and corruption, and would go to any lengths to eradicate it. Meet the Authority.

In his debut of the DCU’s first phase entitled “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters”, DC Studios CEO James Gunn announced to fans, with much excitement, that the team will be getting its own film, “The Authority”. So who are the members of the Authority? How will the team fit within Gunn’s new DC Universe (DCU)? More importantly, are they replacing the Justice League? Let’s find out!

Now before we get into the actual team itself, here’s a quick history lesson for DC Comics. In the past, DC Comics had two other existing imprints separate from the main DC universe. You had the Vertigo imprint in which darker stories like “The Sandman”, “Hellblazer” and “V for Vendetta” were told. Then you had the Wildstorm imprint with the WildStorm universe with its own unique characters and teams. Instead of the Justice League and Suicide Squad, you got StormWatch and WildCats. Sometimes, the characters from both imprints would show up in the main DC universe but it was never anything official.

Then in 2011’s “Flashpoint” event, Barry Allen merged both the WildStorm universe and the Vertigo universe to form a singular timeline. Now characters like John Constantine, Swamp Thing and Dream of the Endless from Vertigo are officially part of DC Comics along with the characters from WildStorm universe, which includes members of the Authority. With the addition of characters like the Authority and Swamp Thing into Gunn’s DCU franchise, it seems like this year’s “The Flash” will only not function as a reboot to the DCU timeline. Rather, like Flashpoint, it’ll provide a way for Gunn and Peter Safran to incorporate Vertigo and WildStorm properties into their DC cinematic universe. With that out the way, let’s meet the team.

After the destruction of the more law-abiding and peaceful StormWatch organisation, basically WildStorm’s Justice League, the world fell into chaos. Criminal organisations were running rampant and supervillains like Kaizen Gamorra were committing mass genocide using superpowered clones. The world needed heroes who would step up and save the day. So some members of StormWatch along with other vigilantes banded together to form the Authority and they soon became the most powerful force in their world.

The team is led by Jenny Sparks, a seemingly immortal electrokinetic who can draw power from any source of electricity and can even become electricity. She’s also joined by the Doctor, Jeroen Thornedike who is essentially the Sorcerer Supreme of the WildStorm universe, and the Engineer, Angela Spica, who possesses the ability to control technology and form any conceivable weapon from her metallic armour similar to Iron Man’s Mark 50 suit. By far the strangest member has got to be Jack Hawksmoor, a superhuman who draws his power from cities, as the state of what urban area he is in will affect his strength and abilities.

The most iconic duo within the team are Apollo and Midnighter. Apollo has all the powers of Superman with the added ability to project solar energy from his body. Midnighter is a deranged version of Batman with enhanced strength and the ability to predict his opponent’s moves ahead of time. Oh, and both of them are in a committed relationship as well. Rounding off the team is Swift, Shen Li-Men who possesses large wings, superhuman strength and speed, and is a skilled hunter.

Now while the characters of the Authority may seem like edgier versions of other more popular comic book characters, what sets them apart is their approach to justice. They aren’t villains to be overthrown like Superman’s regime, nor are they yet another black ops team of anti-heroes like the Suicide Squad. If a nation’s government is corrupt, the Authority will step in to overthrow it without any hesitation. Unlike the squeaky-clean Justice League, creators Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch wanted to craft characters who felt more grounded and real. They also wanted to explore the complex implication of how the world would react to a team of god-like beings holding a knife to the world’s throat while also defending it. The question is: how will heroes like Superman feel about them?

In case any of you were wondering if the Authority would be set in some other universe within DC’s multiverse, apparently, that’s not the case. In James Gunn’s announcement, he mentions that the film will be a “passion project” of his and that members of the team will “interact with all of our primary DCU characters”. Based on his statements, we can assume that Gunn will be highly involved in the film the same way he’ll be with 2025’s “Superman: Legacy”. Furthermore, we can expect characters like Superman and Batman to know of their existence.

Admittedly, it’s a little odd to have such a powerful team like the Authority come before the age of the Justice League. Especially seeing that they might overshadow DC’s most iconic ensemble in popularity, which could damage their brand. That being said, we may have an idea as to how Gunn and Safran could avoid this issue by having the original Man of Steel himself join the Authority! In a comic book series by Grant Morrison, “Superman and the Authority”, Clark Kent becomes the leader of a new, reformed version of the Authority. Morrison’s Superman, however, is a much older and weaker Superman who needs the help of the team to save the world.

The hero we’re getting in “Superman: Legacy” is a younger, more naive Superman who has yet to truly establish himself on the world’s stage. Perhaps Gunn could incorporate Superman into becoming a temporary member of the team before eventually discovering that his beliefs are incompatible with the Authority’s more violent ways. This would then inspire him to recruit Batman from “The Brave and the Bold” and other heroes to form his Justice League. Now that would be epic! Until that happens though, it seems like the DCU will have to deal with the Authority.


Las Vegas’ Phenomenal Party Claims Lives

The Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) 2012 that took place in Las Vegas last weekend was chaotic. Despite the number of authorities, police, and paramedics present to keep the crowd under control and attend to partygoers’ needs, a few casualties and at least two deaths have been reported.

But this wasn’t new to phenomenal Insomniac Events-presented EDC events. In 2010, the festival was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. That year, an overdose of Ecstasy claimed a 15-year-old girl’s life. Because of the death, the carnival was moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.

It has only been two years into the venue change and one again, the repercussions of a giant party befalls EDC.

First, it was a 31-year-old Florida man who was hit by a truck driven by a 61-year-old woman. He was crossing the Las Vegas boulevard after a few hard hours of partying and drinking when he was struck. He succumbed to his injuries at the University Medical Center.

Emily McCaughan is the other name behind one of the two deaths reported this year. She was a 22-year-old pre-med student at the University of Arizona who fell from the 27th floor of her Circus Circus hotel room to her death on the last night of the three-day EDC. She was believed to have taken MDMA (aka Ecstasy, a stimulant drug with hallucinogenic properties) and had paranoid delusions after, believing that a man was stalking her.

She left the festival early when her friends (who had all been taking drugs) failed to console her and calm her down. Upon arriving at the hotel room, she began sending distressed-sounding Facebook messages to her friends at the festival ranting about her paranoia and begging them for help. By the time her friends returned to the hotel, she was gone.

The hotel security initiated a search and found her body.

Lessons? Party hard but party safe, peeps. Drink responsibly. Don’t do drugs.

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Nick Carter Comes Clean About Music & Drug Abuse

Nick Carter isn’t only writing songs – he’s written a book. The Backstreet Boys singer will release a memoir, “Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It” on 24th September via Bird Street Books. The 33-year-old is the first in the group to release a book.

The autobiography and self-help book will include stories about Carter’s teenage years in the multiplatinum Backstreet Boys, his struggles with substance and alcohol abuse, and the hardships of his family. His younger siblings include Aaron and Leslie Carter. Leslie, who battled with substance abuse, died last year.

Aww. We applaud him for his bravery though. Not many celebrities can come out of drug abuse and live to tell the tale, really. Much less sit down for long enough to pen a book.

Nick Carter is currently engaged to Lauren Kitt. The Backstreet Boys will release their eighth album, “In a World Like This” on 30th July 2013.


Amy Winehouse: Asif Kapadia’s Documentary #Amy Receives First Official Trailer

The highly awaited, super controversial Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy” has its first official trailer. The slightly over 2 minute long clip shows a fascinating footage from the Grammy-winning singer’s life. The trailer includes footage from Winehouse’s upbringing, a quote from Tony Bennett, meditations on her struggles with fame and shots of Winehouse with her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.

“I fell in love with someone who I would have died for. And that’s like a real drug, isn’t it?” Winehouse asks at one point.

Prior to the official trailer release, a teaser trailer for “Amy” was released in April and the film screened at the Cannes to rave review. However, the documentary has been blasted by Winehouse’s dad, who insisted that Asif Kapadia’s team were misleading about their failure to help the late-singer overcome her drug and alcohol addictions. The “Back To Black” singer died in July 2011 at the age of 27.

“Amy”, directed by Asif Kapadia, is set to be released on July 3rd in the U.K.


Raja Permaisuri Agong Responds To Netizen’s Disgraceful Remark On Her IG

Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Maimunah Iskandariah, is never one to back down in dealing with online haters.

The Royal Queen took to her Instagram recently to expose the troll who left hateful remark on one of her posts. “It’s difficult if the person is mentally ill!” captioned Tunku Azizah.

In the photo, an Instagram user known as @faris_isbitch came up with a disgraceful comment that reads, “If you have diarrhoea, just go (to the toilet) and poop. Damn it.” Seemingly dismayed by the internet troll’s remark, the Raja Permaisuri Agong briefly replied, “What’s your problem with me?” At the time of writing (Friday, 2nd October), Tunku Azizah’s post has accumulated over 12k likes on Instagram.

Scrolling through the comments, the majority of online commentators came forth to slam the netizen over his disrespectful trait. On the other hand, they even advised Tunku Azizah to take necessary action and file a complaint to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commissions (MCMC).

The account @faris_isbitch is currently nowhere to be found. It’s ironic that the internet troll even used a photo of our Agong as his Instagram’s default photo (DP).


Rumour: #AsaButterfield Out As #SpiderMan; Casting News To Drop Soon

Earlier in April, a slew of young rising stars like Nat Wolff and Timothee Chalamet were reportedly being shortlisted to star as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel and Sony‘s “Spider-Man” reboot. “Hugo” actor Asa Butterfield emerged as the frontrunner for the role, as a source told Latino Review’s Kevin Chavez that “Marvel had liked him since day one”.

Sadly, you will need to scratch him off the “Spider-Man” wish list as a recent casting rumour indicated that he is no longer in contention to play the web slinger.

The Hollywood Reporter earlier broke the news that a total of 6 actors, including Butterfield, Tom Holland, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer, and Charlie Rowe, were flown to Atlanta for a “secretive, all-day screen-testing process” on 30th May. The location is, coincidentally, where “Captain America: Civil War” is currently being filmed.

Though it was rumoured that Butterfield already landed the role, TheWrap‘s Jeff Sneider revealed on the latest episode of “Meet The Movie Press Live” that Butterfield is apparently out of the picture as there are only 3 contenders left in the casting process.

As you may have guessed, the casting rumour quickly blew up the Internet. Sneider then went on Twitter to drop another piece of information, saying that the new “Spidey will be 18+”. He also clarified that he was just passing along the rumour that he’d heard about Asa being out:

Charlie Rowe might as well BE Andrew Garfield. My sources doubt it'll be him. Too classically good-looking. BUT point is, Spidey will be 18+

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 12, 2015

Also, to be clear, THE WRAP didn't report anything. Neither did I. I just passed along the rumor I'd heard about Asa being out. (continued)

What you people don't seem to understand is that if it was confirmed, I would have run it ON THE SITE. Not dropped it on my UNPAID podcast.

Meanwhile, Heroic Hollywood revealed that Butterfield could have broken his deal with Marvel and Sony due to the comments he previously left on Reddit.

The “Hugo” star created the verified screename, “Stimpers”, for an AMA session he did on Reddit a few years ago. After news broke that he was the frontrunner for the part as Spider-Man, a link to that story was posted on Reddit. The actor himself chimed into the discussion and made 2 comments before deleting them.

As many media outlets have been using his old images that made him seem like he was shorter than he looks, he eliminated the misconception about his height by revealing that he is currently 6′ tall. All his comments revolving Spider-Man have been deleted, but it is unclear whether Marvel or his agent instructed him to delete them.

As for the actors who are still in the running to play the web slinger, Sneider said that the contenders are down to Tom Holland, Charlie Plummer, and Matthew Lintz.

However, casting came to a standstill as Marvel prefers Plummer while Sony favours Holland. In fact, it was reported that Sony is desperate to cast Holland to the extent of pushing him ahead as the new frontrunner.

The final casting decision will be made as soon as this week, as the new actor may start playing Spider-Man on the set of “Captain America: Civil War” in July. The “Captain America” film will be released on 6th May 2016 while the Spider-Man solo movie will hit theatres on 27th July 2017.

So, what do you think of the casting rumour? Who do you think should play the new Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments box below.

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#HinduSangam: Religious Group Calls For Censorship On Violent Scenes In Tamil Films

Not all films are designed to entertain. Sometimes, a few mindless violent scenes would be featured in an action film to shock and disgust its viewers.

In an effort to prevent Indians youths in Malaysia from getting involved in crime, Malaysia Hindu Sangam president Datuk R.S. Mohan Shan said that violent scenes in Tamil films should be censored.

In a report by The Star Online, Mohan Shan told Bernama that the violent scenes should be cut from a film as the Indian youths in the country would try to recreate the sequences or copy their favourite heroes’ violent actions in real-life.

The violent actions in Tamil films are for entertainment purpose and not applicable in real life. But our Indian youths are easily influenced by the films.

He also provided a few examples of violent murder cases in Malaysia, citing the gruesome killing of Attorney-General’s Chambers officer Anthony Kevin Morais and the Tapah murders where 4 individuals were burned to ashes and bones.

“There are violent killing scenes in Tamil films which prompt youths to be involved in activities that contravene the law,” he added, before urging the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia to take into account these matters and control such films in light of the social ills taking place in the country.

Malaysian Crime Prevention Awareness Board president Datuk Seri Dr Saharuddin Awang Yahya echoed with Mohan’s views, saying that the matter on films containing violence should be taken seriously. He explained that they could contribute to an unhealthy culture, adding that any film produced must have a positive message.

However, a former policeman named R. Karniappan said that THE percentage of Tamil films contributing to social problems in the country is small. According to Bernama, Karniappan used to be involved in crime investigations in the country.

Having served in the police force for 36 years, he said:

Not many Indian youths are influenced by the violent actions in films despite often viewing such films.

So, what do you think? Should the violent scenes in the Tamil films be censored? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.


Another 5-Star Hotel In Kuala Lumpur Will Be Closing Down

Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur will be officially closing down on 1st September 2021. According to NST, a voluntary separation scheme has been offered to the employees that are affected.

It’s no secret that many hotels have been bleeding dry for the past 1.5 years. With the ongoing MCO in the country, it doesn’t look like the situation will improve anytime soon.

“We have arrived at this decision (to cease operations) after considering the present circumstances and all available options,” the hotel’s general manager Noorazzudin Omar told the English daily. “We are left with little to no choice other than to proceed with this closure.”

“The situation is now being aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic which has and continues to impact our industry and its ability to achieve normality,” Noorazzudin noted. “This has impacted our business, rates, returns and occupancy despite our best efforts. Even as a Quarantine hotel, we are incurring monthly operational losses. As such, after a proper evaluation of the hotel and its viability, we have decided to cease operations.”

Owned by one of the biggest hotel owners and operators, Tradewinds Corp Berhad, the 486-roomed 5-star hotel at Jalan Raja Chulan has been around for approximately 3 decades. In addition to Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur, Mutiara Johor Bharu also ceased operations 2 months ago in May.

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Fun Facts: 8 Things You May Not Have Known About Martin Garrix

“I want to show everyone that if you pursue your dreams, they can come true no matter what. That’s what I want to do,” – Martin Garrix.

EDM poster boy Martin Garrix first gained worldwide attention with his monster hit “Animals” which was released in 2014. “Animals” reached the #1 position in several countries including Holland, Belgium, and England, and also secured the top 5 position in Australia, France, Spain, and Germany.

Following the success of “Animals”, his remix of Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike and Sander van Doorn’s “Project T” received support by some of the biggest DJs across the world

The 19-year-old Dutch DJ and producer has since played festivals across the globe, fraternised with electronic dance music royalty and produce some of the biggest records to date. Undeniably, one of the most hardworking DJs in the industry, Martin has since traveled across the globe, played at some of the biggest festivals, and collaborated with A-listers including Afrojack, Tiësto, Hardwell, Dillon Francis and Usher.

Definitely one of the next big things to come our way, Martin was also listed on the Forbes 2015’s 30 Under 30 list. Now, in case you haven’t heard, Martin is making his way back to Kuala Lumpur in a couple of days. Brought to fans by Zouk Club KL, Martin is set to perform at KL Live on 17th May (Sunday) to give fans a much-needed fun night out.

In order to prep you for his show, here a couple of things that you may or may not already know about Martin:

There you have it, 8 facts about Martin Garrix to prep you for his show here this Sunday! Event details here.

We leave you today with “Don’t Look Down” by Martin Garrix and Usher:

For more on Martin Garrix, stalk him via these platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Facts via iHeartRadio and The Music Ninja.


Feel Belonged Anywhere With Airbnb Malaysia x #WhateverThereWas

Airbnb, the world’s largest community-driven hospitality company, has unique listings in 190 countries and travellers can belong anywhere. Although it hasn’t fully caught on in Malaysia just yet, it’s a community that has definitely grown over the span of just a few years as Malaysians are becoming more and more accustomed to discovering and booking unique accommodations around the world.

Recently, Airbnb Malaysia announced a collaboration with “Whatever That Was”, a series of online travel videos and articles of people, places and moments. The series was founded by Point8cam, a Malaysian film maker with more than 5 years of professional experience in the local industry.

Together with his wife and travel partner, Hanie Hidayah- a Malaysian blogger and social media enthusiast, they combined their expertise and passion to share their followers journeys filled with people, experiences and culture.

“Whatever There Was” was originally videos of people and places that the couples encountered throughout their line of work. After about 3 years of starting this project, it gained a loyal following among fellow travelers, social media followers and people who have interest in traveling. Starting mid 2014, “Whatever There Was” is on a new homeground – website and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to compile all traveling experiences whether in written articles, photos or videos in one hub.

To celebrate, and with much thanks to our friends from Airbnb Malaysia, we’re giving out 10 exclusive goodie bags to our readers!

The goodie bags will contain not just any random goodies, but official Airbnb merchandise ;)

Want ’em? All you have to do is share this post on Facebook and caption it as creatively as you can starting with, “I want to win ’em @AirbnbMalaysia goodies from @HypeMalaysia because..” Complete the sentence! Remember to add the necessary tags otherwise we won’t be able to see it.

We’ll comment on your post if you’re the winner. Contest ends on 23rd October (Thursday). Good luck!

P/S: Wanna earn RM82 to travel? We know how you can. Hit this link to claim your credit ;)

For more information, visit Airbnb Malaysia’s Facebook page.

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IKEA Pulls Almond Cakes After Fecal Bacteria Found

Oh no, so soon after the meatballs are back in business?

International purveyor of self-assembled furniture and Scandanavian hors d’ouvres was recently throwing into the deep end of the horsemeat scandal when traces of horse DNA were found in their popular Swedish meatballs. Just yesterday, the IKEA in Malaysia declared that they were “all clear”.

But it seems that IKEA just can’t get a break.

According to the Guardian, IKEA’s almond cakes from its restaurants in 23 countries are being pulled after bacteria usually found in fecal matter was discovered. Also known as the Tarta Chokladkrokant cakes, the product is described as almond cakes layered with chocolate, butter cream and butterscotch The Swedish retailer has since stopped sales of its almond cakes after Chinese custom authorities found two batches that fell short of the country’s hygiene standards.

After tests revealed that the cakes contained a prohibitively high relief of coliform bacteria (a type of bacteria that can be found in soil, vegetation, as well as in the feces of humans and warm-blooded animals) the customs officials seized and destroyed a batch of 1,800 cakes imported from Sweden.

There is no health risk associated with consuming this product. The production batches have, as per safety and quality routines, been tested for bacteria that can cause health issues, such as E coli, and none of these pathogen bacteria have been found. However, since the product does not comply with our strict food quality standards we have decided to withdraw the concerned production batches from sale in the 23 affected countries. The UK and Ireland are not affected.


“65” Review: A Fossil Of A Film That Should Remain Buried

Whether you were beholding the wonder of practical animatronics in 1993 or giddy with excitement from seeing a mighty Mosasaurus ruin someone’s day, there’s a primal part of us that is simply drawn to giant lizard monsters of the past. Largely due to Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” series and the latter “Jurassic World” films. So the idea of a time-travelling Adam Driver being stranded on Earth 65 million years during the Cretaceous Period sounds like it would be a ton of fun. In theory.

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Adams of “A Quiet Place” fame, the film is set to be a rather dinosaur-heavy film with a small cast and a large emphasis on their journey of survival. So will “65” rekindle our sense of awe and terror of everyone’s favourite type of animal to shape into nuggets? Or will it prove to move the premise one step closer to extinction? Let’s find out!

The film’s plot is simple: Adam Driver’s Mills is stranded on planet Earth with a young girl named Koa. It is indeed the year 65 million B.C. but both Mills and Koa are from an advanced human civilisation. None of that is important though because the only thing that matters is both of them getting on an escape ship and heading back to their homeworld before the extinction event that kills the dinosaurs happens. There is nowhere to hide with “65”. The whole film rests on atmosphere, pacing and these two characters alone. Unfortunately, even with its relatively straightforward story, the film manages to feel utterly aimless.

In survival thrillers, there’s normally a sense of escalation that builds with the characters’ development. As they become more aware of the danger of their situation, the film is supposed to lull us into a false sense of security before it shakes us with something truly shocking. All while the threat is still proportionate to where our characters are in the plot. “65” is about as concerned about pacing as a Velociraptor is about empathy. The film sees our main two characters trudging along before being assaulted by a random assortment of dinosaurs, then back on their journey before yet another setback comes along. Rinse and repeat.

There’s no rhyme or reason to it. They don’t grow or learn anything from each encounter nor do they reveal anything meaningful about themselves. It’s like watching a possum react violently when poked in the nose before doing it again. It certainly doesn’t help that every 5 minutes, the audience is treated to a jarring jumpscare. When the arrival of several carnivorous predators is accompanied by the same auditory assault as a broken branch or belching geiser, the tension of every scene falls flat. “A Quiet Place” understood the importance of compounding terror with its deadly game of cat-and-mouse, human error and environmental perils. Then when the sound finally breaks the silence, there is the dread before all hell descends on our heroes. “65” is as subtle as a blown balloon pooting across the room.

Then there’s the score. The hallmark of an amazing film is when the score stays with you long after the film ends. Composers like Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, John Williams and Jóhann Jóhannsson, though unseen, have left an indelible mark on the audience with their sonic complexity. There is another name we’ll commit memory but for all the wrong reasons: Chris Bacon. If you need to telegraph moments of levity this loudly with a soundtrack that sounds like it should be followed by canned laughter, then someone is not doing their job. The jumpscares here…oh how we loathe them! They are as generic as they as they are grating.

The performances in the film border on parody at times. Adam Driver is a talented actor. His credentials in films like “A Marriage Story”, “BlacKKKlansman” and “Silence” have more than proven that. Here, however, he has all the charisma of an extra in an action film and delivers with all the passion of a man trying to pay off the mortgage on his second house. Even when Driver attempts to inject some dramatic weight into his scenes, he presents himself to be as stoic and inarticulate as granite. He only seems to have three modes throughout the film: injured, worried and sad. Ariana Greenblatt’s Koa is a poor man’s Ellie from “The Last of Us” and solely exists to be the obligatory emotional core of the film. A function that is as cynical as it is uninspired. So when the film inevitably shoves its father-daughter sentimentality in our faces, it feels unearned and contrived.

The only mildly entertaining feature of this hour-and-a-half slog through prehistoric Earth is the amusement park monsters that inhabit the world. They growl, they chase and they die. There is no majestic Brachiosaurus or earth-shaking T-Rex here. Only cheap knock-offs of what we assume are Velociraptors and oversized Komodo Dragons. While we wouldn’t necessarily say that the CGI creatures are stunningly bad, we wouldn’t exactly call any of them memorable either. Which is arguably worse. Beyond their size and the shape of their snouts, there is nothing particularly distinctive about their appearances. This is kind of a big deal when the best thing going for your film is the dinosaurs!

Against all odds, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ “65” is a failure of titanic proportions. None of the creativity and forethought found in the duo’s landmark film is present here. Any sense of suspense or tension in the film is quickly undercut by a violin-sting-happy composer and half-hearted performances by otherwise capable actors. Not even the inner child in us can find comfort in the thrill of seeing extinct predators on-screen again. We were honestly hoping that “65” could recapture the magic that the “Jurassic World” films tried so hard to elicit. Sadly, it only continues to endanger the relevance that this period of history holds in cinema.

For those interested in checking out “65”, you can watch it at theatres near you!

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Against all odds, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' "65" is a failure of titanic proportions. None of the creativity and forethought found in the duo's landmark film is present here. Any sense of suspense or tension in the film is quickly undercut by a violin-sting-happy composer and half-hearted performances by otherwise capable actors. Not even the inner child in us can find comfort in the thrill of seeing extinct predators on-screen again.


#24KMagicWorldTour: Bruno Mars Returning To Perform In Kuala Lumpur

[Update 27th July ] Its confirmed on 9th May 2018! Details here.

Forget Monday blues! Bruno Mars might be coming to Kuala Lumpur!

Just moments ago, PR Worldwide uploaded a golden image with the alphabets “XXIVk”. Nothing further was revealed other than, “Stay tuned for the magic!” Needless to say, fans are already losing it.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know that “24K Magic” is the title of Bruno’s latest album. Since its release, the singer’s 3rd studio album has spawn hits such as “That’s What I Like” and “Versace on the Floor”.

Bruno previously had a concert here in Kuala Lumpur back in April 2011 in support of his debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans”. If Ed Sheeran’s recent sold out “Divide Tour” is any indication, we predict that Bruno’s Malaysian concert tickets will be selling like hot cakes.

Thai music blog Torn Nee Ba Pleng Nai recently claimed that the Grammy winner will be making a stop in Thailand next year. Billboard also confirmed that the 31-year-old entertainer will be in several parts of Australia in March 2018. Perhaps his Southeast Asia tour will be scheduled around that time as well?

Tickets for the 24K Magic World Tour Live in Kuala Lumpur is scheduled to go on sale Monday, 14th August at 10am.

Stay tuned to www.prworldwidelive.com or www.myticket.asia for more info.


(UPDATE) #RootzClubKL: Loco Presents Dillon Francis Live In Malaysia

Dillon Francis is getting ready to “burn up” the dance floor this December in Malaysia!

Following the success of his debut album “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” and his latest EP “This Mixtape Is Fire”, the moombahton (a blend of house and Reggaeton music) and electro producer will bring forward his addictive party anthems with an exclusive intimate show on 5th December 2015 (Saturday) at Rootz Club, KL.

Francis first rose to fame after gaining the attention of American DJ/producer Diplo and eventually collaborating on “Que Que”, a hit song that featured Latin-pop artiste Maluca. Originally a 130 BPM house track, his moombahton track “Masta Blasta” further brought him international fame.

Since then, Francis has worked his way into EDM’s upper tier through a series of collaboration projects with EDM titans such as Skrillex and DJ Snake. He has also worked on a massive collection of remixes, further gaining a huge following among EDM fans for his unique moombahton sound.

The talented producer has been largely considered one of the pioneers of the Moombahton movement because he is the first moombahton artiste to reach the number one spot on the Beatport chart with the release of his EP, “Something, Something, Awesome”.

Having performed at many popular music festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival, Francis will be returning to our shores for a one-night-only show. This will mark his 2nd time in Malaysia since performing at Livescape’s NSFW’s “Fool’s Gold Special” in 2012.

Organised by Rootz Club and After Dark Agency (a subsidiary of The Livescape Group), the show is expected to attract close to 1,000 fans. Warming up for them are Naufal, I-Sky, and M.I.A.

Pre-sale ticket is priced at RM78 and it is available for limited time only. Tickets will be sold at the door as well for RM98. Tickets are now available for purchase online via The Ticket Fairy.

To reserve your table, please call Ezra (+60129784016) or Raz (+60133750046). For other general enquiries, please email: raz@entityc.my

Dillon Francis has taken to his Facebook page to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances, his upcoming Asia Tour is cancelled.

It is unclear whether ticket holders will be refunded, but stay tuned to our site for more updates.

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Hype’s Must Watch: Cinderella (2015)

“Ella, you have more kindness in your little finger than most people possess in their whole body.”

If there’s one thing Disney’s “Cinderella” has taught us, it’s the virtue of kindness.

These days, Hollywood is all about twisted fairy tales but Disney has proven that they’ll stick with their family-friendly versions of their classic fairy tales instead. However, this time around, Disney is straying away from its iconic animated take on classic fairy tales by giving a major “facelift” to Brothers Grimm’s “Cinderella” and adapting it into a live-action feature film of the same name.

On 19th Nov, Disney debuted a new poster and a full trailer for its upcoming film adaptation of Brother Grimm’s fairy tale, “Cinderella.”

The studio previously gave us a first look at Lily James and Richard Madden as Cinderella and Prince Charming in a short teaser trailer of the film. Yes, everyone, Robb Stark of “Game of Thrones” is a Prince Charming now!

Directed by Kenneth Branagh (of “Thor” and “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” fame), the live-action version of “Cinderella” is written by Aline Brosh McKenna (Annie, The Devil Wears Prada) and Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Antz).

There are no drastic changes to the film’s storyline as the story follows the fortunes of young Ella (played by Lily James) whose father remarries following the death of her mother. Lady Tremaine (played by Cate Blanchett) and her daughters, Anastasia (played by Holliday Grainger), and Drisella (played by Sophie McShera) become part of the new loving family. But, when Ella’s father unexpectedly dies, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family. Despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, a romantic encounter with the kingdom’s Prince (played by Richard Madden) in the woods might just be the beginning of her new life.

As seen in the trailer, “Cinderella” stars Helena Bonham Carter as a fairy godmother who transforms Cinderella’s torn homemade gown into the iconic powder blue ball gown which is complete with a unique pair of glass slippers.

Scheduled for release on March 13, 2015, “Cinderella” also stars Stellan Skarsgård, Hayley Atwell, and Derek Jacobi.

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


Here’s How This Scalper Managed To Purchase Over 100 Coldplay Concert Tickets

If you went through the ticketing war for the Coldplay concert in Malaysia, you’d know how hard it was to grab tickets – especially since everyone and their families are also keen on seeing the band live. However, a personal contact of ours is exposing a woman for allegedly grabbing over 100 tickets in total, from both the CIMB pre-sales and the general public sales.

In the tweet, Reneesha said she didn’t realize she was following an alleged scalper, who is claiming to be “innocent”. According to the tweet, Reneesha got furious while watching the IG story of the woman she was following, continuing with, “Whether it’s queuing for friends or not, same difference because multiple tabs are open and tickets are bought on all the tabs.”

The tweet included a screenshot of the woman’s IG stories. Both IG stories showed a computer screen with multiple tabs opened for the Coldplay concert’s ticketing site with different captions. The first Story was posted a day before with the caption; “today’s success rate: 100%”, while the second Story was posted more recently and included the caption; “today another 54”.

Reneesha provided some context in a reply, saying that the woman managed to grab 48 tickets on the first day during the pre-sales and another 54 tickets during the general public sales, totalling 108 tickets. It’s especially curious when you realise that each user could only purchase up to 4 tickets per account so 108 tickets is definitely a huge jump.

We reached out to Reneesha, who told us that upon seeing the person’s IG Stories, she confronted the latter to which the reseller replied that she “isn’t a scalper” and that she’s only running a ticketing service, charging RM80 per ticket for the purchasing fee. She continued to explain that she “only bought tickets for 13 buyers who wanted to attend with friends.” However, she did not provide any further proof of her innocence.

Reneesha’s tweet garnered the attention of Twitter users, many of them sharing their opinions of the situation. Many shamed the woman’s actions and some even tagged authorities in hopes that this situation would be investigated. One user also pointed out that the woman’s Instagram profile bio writes “My side job is 黄牛 (huang niu or yellow cow)”. The term is widely used by Chinese netizens to mean scalpers, hinting that this isn’t her first rodeo.

However, some netizens also backed the reseller up, saying that ticketing services aren’t unusual and since there isn’t direct evidence showing that she’s reselling the tickets, she could be telling the truth. One user even said that she is one of the woman’s clients and provided additional information but was subsequently slammed by netizens who said that by using services like this, she is only letting scalpers flourish.

Twitter user Darren Jau also chimed in on the situation and replied to Reneesha’s tweet with a TikTok video that showed a slew of computers operated to automatically navigate the ticketing site. The context is that the computers belong to scalpers (shown briefly in the video) who used bots to automatically buy tickets at a rapid speed. The usage of ticket-buying bots isn’t something new and since these bots can be easily accessed by the public, it’s not unlikely that the reseller is using a bot herself to purchase that many tickets on her own.

Here’s a context i got from tiktok. Scalper are using bots to get those tickets. pic.twitter.com/88Fip2DIp7

What do you think about this situation? Do you think this reseller is just a quick-handed buyer? Or do you think she’s trying to make a quick buck by reselling those highly sought-after Coldplay tickets?

Make a formal report. With all evidence you have.

Scalpers. Resellers. Yes, even 'ticketing service'. https://t.co/OZNpVfebjF

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Shila Amzah Hospitalised After Going All Out During Concert At Plenary Hall KLCC

Shila Amzah kicked off her “Journey To The Future” concert tour at the Plenary Hall in KLCC over the weekend. Throughout the two-hour long show, the Malaysian songbird delivered a strong performance of over 40 hit songs.

However, fans were surprised to learn that Shila was admitted to the hospital after the concert wrapped up. She shared some photos where she was admitted at the hospital on her Instagram Stories. The 32-year-old can be seen wearing an oxygen mask, with her glittery eye makeup still on!

“Fail 😭,” Shila briefly captioned her post. It’s understood that the “Gegar Vaganza” alum had a severe asthma attack. Shila was not alone, though. Her beau, social media personality Ubai Mz, was also seen accompanying her at the hospital that evening. Taking to his IG Stories, he shared a photo of Shila donning the oxygen mask, along with heart emojis and a few of past songs written and sang by the talented vocalist.

In addition, Ubai (real name Muhammad Ubaidillah Mohd Zulkefli) posted a video of him sitting right next to the “Memori Tercipta” singer, along with a sweet “Get Well Soon” message for his partner, to which Shila cheekily responded, “Oh my God! You still have time.”

Shila poured her heart out during her first solo concert since the pandemic. With 4 costume changes, the pop star was also seen dancing with her backup dancers during her cover for “Uptown Funk”. We as audiences got to hear the highs and lows of her journey, but more importantly, we were able to witness her artistic evolution.

Speedy recovery, Shila! We hope you’ll get all the rest you need and recover well. ♥


Xbox One (With Steven Spielberg Tie-Up) Announced!

Microsoft Corp unveiled the “Xbox One” on Tuesday, its first new gaming console in eight years, and its strongest push so far to dominate consumers’ living rooms with an array of exclusive media content.

The Xbox One took four years to develop and will be the launchpad for a “Halo” live-action video series produced by acclaimed movie maker, Steven Spielberg. The device will also be the first platform to release the next instalment in Activision Blizzard Inc’s blockbuster shooter franchise, “Call of Duty”.

Microsoft hopes its third-generation Xbox console will attract video game fans who are increasingly sampling games on mobile devices, while also becoming a hub for living room entertainment. The new device interacts with a television, responds to voice and gesture commands, includes group video calling on Skype, 15 exclusive game titles, and original programming content.

The Xbox One will chiefly compete with Nintendo Co’s new Wii U and Sony Corp’s forthcoming PlayStation 4 for a bigger slice of the US$65 billion-a-year computer game market. Microsoft did not refer to the new gadget as a “console” but rather an entertainment system, signaling its renewed focus on making the Xbox a sort of window for media and entertainment content, said Forrester Research’s James McQuivey.

It will be sold worldwide “later this year”, games unit chief Don Mattrick told reporters at an event at the software company’s campus near Seattle, without providing details on timing or pricing.


Concert Postponements For Kim Jae Joong & Khalid

iMe Malaysia has just took to Facebook to announce that 2 more concerts have been pushed back.

They are Kim Jae Joong (김재중)’s Asia Tour, which was scheduled on 14th March 2020, as well as Khalid’s “Free Spirit World Tour”, scheduled for 4th April 2020.

As you may be well aware, majority of the concerts from this month till April have either been pushed back indefinitely or cancelled. Judging from the current coronavirus infection, it would be risky both for the artists and their production team, as well as concert-goers.

iMe Malaysia has informed that those who have purchased the tickets will get able to get the full refund from TicketCharge. Since fans will have to purchase new tickets for the postponed shows, you are encouraged to get your refund as the current tickets will be deemed invalid moving forward.

A post shared by iMe Malaysia (@ime.malaysia)

Stay tuned to their socials for updates on the full refund details.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


#WINNER: Mino To Appear As Guest For iKON’s Japanese Tour; Decision Angers Fans

You would think a collaboration performance between 2 rappers from different idol groups would warrant a celebration from fans, but sadly, the opposite happened.

On Monday (15th August), YG Entertainment announced that WINNER’s Mino will be appearing as a guest for iKON’s Japanese concert tour as part of the promotions for Bobby and Mino’s upcoming sub-unit. Unfortunately, because the entertainment mishandled the issue, it has caused both iKONICs (as fans of iKON are known) and Inner Circles (as fans of WINNER are known) to condemn the decision.

When tickets for the tour went on sale, iKONICs were appalled when they found out that the company also opened ticket sales to Inner Circles, which meant that there will be less seats for the former. In contrast, Inner Circles are angry at the company for planning to send their beloved rapper to and fro Japan for a total of 28 times, just to belt out 2 songs.

Fans of iKON also claim that it is unfair for YG Entertainment to allow Bobby and Mino to have a collaboration stage in an iKON concert, as not even the iKON members “have a unit stage of their own”. “Having a guest perform 14 times at iKON’s arena tour is a selfish decision by YG without consideration for either fandoms,” said several iKONICs.

This is also not Inner Circles’ first instance of being upset with the company. WINNER’s EXIT “E” series was released in February, but despite YG Entertainment’s promise that the remainder “X”, “I”, and “T” series would be released this year, nothing has surfaced.

iKON’s tour will be held at 5 cities in Japan, spanning a total of 14 shows and with an expected audience reach of 150,000. More specifically, they will be performing in Chiba, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka and more.

WINNER and iKON were previously pitted against each other in the reality survival program “WIN: Who Is Next” on Mnet as Team A (known as WINNER now) and Team B (known as iKON now). Team A emerged victorious and had their debut in 2014 while iKON debuted in late 2015.


“Fake News”: Disney Officials Deny Disneyland Theme Park Plans For Melaka

After news broke that a Disneyland or Disney City Theme Park will be built in the state of Melaka, everyone was quick to voice their thoughts on the ambitious project. Some were excited by the news as they wouldn’t have to travel to another country to visit the “happiest place on earth”.

Others were not so convinced and speculated how this could be fake news, or simply a misunderstanding. After the announcement went viral, local and international news outlets tried to reach out to Disney to confirm the news – and it looks like we finally got our answer.

Heather Chen, a CNN reporter covering Southeast Asian news, tweeted that Disney officials confirmed that there are no plans to build a Disneyland or Disney City theme park in Melaka, Malaysia, quoting “Not true. It’s fake news and purely speculative.” The reporter apparently reached out to Disney to verify the news and even deleted an earlier tweet linking back to the announcement.

Heather then tweeted that the announcement by local officials was misunderstood and highlighted the quote from State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Exco member, Datuk Muhammad Jailani. She cleared the confusion by pointing out that the Exco member wanted to do a theme park project that will be big enough to attract Disney’s attention.

Heather later clarified that the previous tweet was removed as requested by Disney. As much as we would want a Disneyland theme park to be built in our own backyard, perhaps Melaka may not be the most suitable location.


(UPDATE) Video Of Boy Abusing Helpless Puppy Angers Malaysians

Here’s a piece of news that our hearts simply cannot take yet it can’t just go unnoticed!

A video of a boy in Malaysia swinging a puppy by its tail and eventually killing it by flinging it into the air has sparked outrage among Malaysian netizens, with many calling for him to be arrested or be subjected to legal action. According to the present Animal Act 1953, animal abusers face a fine of RM200, or 6 months in prison, or both.

The 50-second long video was originally posted on Malaysian portal PenMerah’s Facebook page on 6th September. It showed a boy who looked like he was enjoying himself with a friend. The said boy was holding a puppy by its tail, violently swinging it around as the panicked puppy yelped helpless. He then threw it up into the air and attempts to catch it, but fails.

At this point, the puppy appears to be dead but that didn’t stop the boy. He then continued battering it before flinging the puppy into nearby bushes.

As seen in the screenshot above, the video has since been shared over 8,000 times. We won’t embed the video because it really isn’t for the weak-hearted but if you want to watch it, hit this link.

The exact time and date hasn’t been confirmed but the incident was rumoured to have happened in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.

This is not the first time that such a case of animal abuse has come to light. In 2011, the story of “hell hotel” Petknode raised concerns and collective anger from fellow Malaysians. Before that, the story of Sushi, the toy poodle that was brutally abused by its owner broke hearts. And let’s not forget the case where a sun bear and a retired racehorse were poisoned to death at the Malacca Zoo and Night Safari.

As such, last year, an Animal Welfare Bill was proposed, calling for first-time offenders to be fined between RM20,000 and RM100,000, or face a jail term of up to three years. The Bill, which was tabled in Parliament in February last year, has yet to be passed.

An online petition has since surfaced, addressed to Mohamad Hassan, Chief Minister of the Negeri Sembilan Region. The petition is calling for action and demanding justice for the puppy.

On the other hand, according to this Facebook post that was shared by Puspa Rani (the founder and president of Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue), the boy in the video is 15 years old and he has never really been showed true compassion and love. We’ll not post up his name here because he’s a minor. The story is, his mom left him when he was very young and he was mentally tortured by his dad’s second wife. So much so that his dad’s second wife sent him to his aunt’s house in Bahau, Seremban. This was all communicated to Puspa Rani by the boy’s aunt.

Puspa Rani is now planning to see the boy and bringing him to the animal shelter to show him what is life and how dogs suffer. She hopes that by opening his eyes to what it means to love and care for animals, perhaps it’d in return instil some compassion and love in the boy too.

We applaud Puspa Rani for being such a kind-hearted soul!

According to Friends of BN – Barisan Nasional, the culprit behind the dog abuse case has been arrested by Royal Malaysia Police and will be taken to court for abusing the dog.

As we have previously mentioned, animal abusers will face a fine of RM200, or 6 months in prison, or both. Considering that the kid is still a minor, it is not certain that the kid will receive the same punishments.

No further information has been released but we will keep you updated!

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Contest: Win An Autographed #JeremyWade #RiverMonsters Book + Other Goodies!

Extreme angler, freshwater detective and biologist Jeremy Wade takes viewers on an all-new spine-tingling, mystery-filled freshwater monster hunting expedition in RIVER MONSTERS 6. Premiering Tuesday, July 8 at 10pm on Discovery Channel (Astro Channel 551), the six-part series is one of his most challenging, with Jeremy having to travel over the course of a year to extremely remote locations across the Amazon to get to the bottom of inexplicable mysteries surrounding some of the deadliest human attacks by the most vicious RIVER MONSTERS on the planet.

The amount of water flowing through the Amazon is greater than the flow of Ganges, Congo, Mississippi, Nile and Yangtze – combined. These tropical waters are so abundant that the concentration of fish species is 10,000 times that of the ocean, and this includes some very real RIVER MONSTERS.

“I’ve been fishing the world for decades, but it’s the Amazon that keeps calling me back. Now, I’m returning to solve the mission of a lifetime to spend an entire year going farther, deeper and more remote than I’ve even been before,” notes Jeremy.

Some of this season’s mysteries include:

For fans who are hooked and cannot wait for the new season to reel in, relive the most petrifying moments of RIVER MONSTERS seasons 1 to 5 daily, Mondays to Fridays, starting May 12 through to June 30 at 8pm. RIVER MONSTERS 6 encores every Wednesday at 3 pm and Sunday at 3pm and 11pm.

In conjunction with the premiere of the all-new River Monsters season 6, Discovery Channel is giving away River Monsters books, autographed by Jeremy Wade, plus exclusive River Monsters goodie bags to FIVE of Jeremy’s biggest fans! To stand a chance to win, simply tell us:

For more information, hit up River Monsters’ Facebook page.


#LoveWins: Celebrities Around The World Celebrate Marriage Equality

If you’ve seen #LoveWins and rainbow-coloured images flooding your social media timelines over this weekend, there’s a sound reason for the ongoing celebrations.

Imagine being told that you are finally legally allowed to marry the person that you love.

On Friday (26th June), the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it is legal for all Americans, no matter their gender or sexual orientation, to marry the people they love.

The justices found that, under the 14th Amendment, states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognise same-sex unions that have been legally performed in other states. Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor.

In the majority opinion, the justices outlined several reasons same-sex marriage should be allowed. They wrote that the right to marriage is an inherent aspect of individual autonomy, since “decisions about marriage are among the most intimate that an individual can make”.

The decision is a historic victory for gay rights activists who have fought for years in the lower courts.

Almost immediately, celebrity support flooded social media, with many (heterosexual and homosexual alike) taking to Twitter and Instagram to rejoice over the beautiful day, dotted with colourful and bright emoticons. Heck, even Google chimed in for the occassion! You’ll see what we mean right at the end of this post ;)

— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) June 26, 2015

— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) June 26, 2015

👏👏👏👏💍💍💍💍💍💍😍😍😍😍🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈❤💙💚💛💜 PROUD to be American today.

— olivia wilde (@oliviawilde) June 26, 2015

Proud to celebrate a historic victory for marriage equality—& the courage & determination of LGBT Americans who made it possible. -H

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 26, 2015

BREAKING: It’s official! #MarriageEquality comes to America! #LoveWon pic.twitter.com/ZnrM5lmVM8 /via @outmagazine

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) June 26, 2015

Retweet to spread the word. #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/JJ5iCP4ZWn

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 26, 2015

Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins

— President Obama (@POTUS44) June 26, 2015

— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) June 26, 2015

A post shared by Kate Hudson (@katehudson)

A post shared by Zachary Quinto (@zacharyquinto)

A post shared by J O E J O N A S (@joejonas)

A post shared by Kelly Osbourne (@kellyosbourne)

Indeed it’s a beautiful day time for America. One step forward for humankind :)

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


#AirAsiaGo: Mobile-Savvy Travelers Get Additional 5% Discount Off Hotel Deals

AirAsiaGo, Asia’s leading one-stop online travel portal, has announced an exciting hotel stay promotion today especially for its mobile-savvy customers!

Beginning from now until 12th July 2015, travellers will get to enjoy an additional 5% off when they book hotels-only via the AirAsiaGo Mobile App with the special promo code:AAGMobile5. The travel period for this campaign is between 3rd July 2015 to 30th September 2015, for hotel stays in destinations within Southeast Asia and North Asia.

With over 510,000 hotels across the globe to choose from, the AirAsiaGo Mobile App caters to the needs of bargain-hunting travellers who seek efficient solutions when planning their last-minute getaways. Offering a simple and intuitive navigation path, the app allows users to track their holidays while on-the-go, and receive real-time itinerary notifications. On top of that, you can save up to 75% off on hotels when you book via the app.

All set for the next holiday adventure? ;)

The AirAsiaGo Mobile App is available for free download on both AppStore and Google Play.


Contest: Win Exclusive Marvel Studios’ Black Panther Merchandise

Calling all Marvel fans, we’ve got exciting prizes from Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” that are up for grabs!

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” is making history as the franchise’s first film to feature a lead black superhero. You may have already booked tickets to watch the upcoming potential blockbuster-hit. To celebrate, we’re giving away exclusive goodies to our lucky readers.

The plot synopsis of “Black Panther” is as follows:

“Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther’ follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.”

Do note that the merchandise will be given out randomly and are subject to availability.

Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” arrives in theatres on 14th February 2018.

For more information, hit up the movie’s Facebook page.


#Jumanji2: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s New Facebook Video Reveals Film’s Jungle Set

Dwayne Johnson is hilarious on social media. Earlier today (23rd September), the 44-year-old wrestler-turned-actor posted a video on Facebook that gives fans a closer look at his costume and the jungle set of “Jumanji 2”.

In his caption, he wrote, “My character’s one of the greatest explorers in the world and I’m deep in the jungles of #Jumanji and discovering new land…never mind Hiram ruined the damn shot”.

As aforementioned, production for Sony Picture’s “Jumanji 2” is officially underway and the actor also announced earlier this month that his character is Dr. Smolder Bravestone.

The Facebook video features The Rock talking about discovering new land and ranting about his life in the jungle (ie. no human contact, no water, no food, and so on). While he complains about his outdoor life, the cameraman, known as Hiram, turns the camera away, focusing on the film crew. The actor’s comical response after that is priceless.

“Jumanji” is a 1995 American cult classic directed by Joe Johnston based on a screenplay by Greg Taylor, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Jim Strain. It is the film adaptation of the 1981 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg.

The film starred the late Robin Williams as Alan Parrish, which later became one of his most memorable roles. It also starred Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, and Bebe Neuwirth.

Slated for release on 28th July 2017, “Jumanji 2” also stars Kevin Hart as Moose Finbar, Jack Black as Professor Shelly Oberon, and  Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse.

Sources: Dwayne Johnson’s Facebook page, Coming Soon.

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Adele Shares That Her Son’s Favourite Singer Is Taylor Swift

Adele may be an international superstar and has legions of fans around the world, but to her 9-year-old son Angelo (whom she shares with ex-husband Simon Konecki), she’s just mom.

In a rare interview with Vogue, the 33-year-old Grammy and Oscar winner opened up about one time when Angelo was blown away by Taylor Swift’s stadium tour back in 2018. After witnessing his reaction, a “really annoyed” Adele even playfully reminded her toddler that she’s a huge deal too.

A post shared by Hype Malaysia (@hypemy)

To put things into perspective, the “Hello” hit-maker tries her best to stay away from the spotlight, especially when it comes to her baby boy. Although he would follow his famous mom on tour, he would leave the venue with his dad or nanny before the crowd arrives.

The first time he saw a stadium filled with concert-goers was Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” Stadium Tour 3 years ago. “His jaw dropped,” Adele recalled. “I got really annoyed! I was like, Excuse me! This is what I do, you know. He said, When we go on tour, should I have a seat next to me with Taylor Swift’s name on it for Taylor to come?”

Recently, Tay Tay announced that re-release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” has been brought forward a week earlier. Fans seem to speculate that it might be due to Adele’s comeback. Either way, it’s a win-win for us music lovers ;)


Join In The Fun And Come Play With Bombshell DJ Tenashar!

Bombshell dj, DJ Tenashar will be making her way to Malaysia. Currently based in Hong Kong, she has a galaxy of EDM under her belt which ranges from electro, trance and progressive to big room house. No doubt a force to be reckoned with, DJ Tenashar has attracted over 250,000 fans to her Facebook page and over 400,000 views on YouTube with her mixes and mashups. She has also claimed the #1 spot on the most downloaded Podcast on iTunes and is one of Asia’s most sought after cover models for FHM and Hypertune.

Having travelled across the globe, DJ Tenashar will be making her way to Malaysia on November 23rd, 2013 (Saturday) and she will be playing at Play, The Roof, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya. For enquires and booking please call 013 270 3111.


iPhone 12 Pro Only Costs Apple Less Than RM1,700 To Manufacture

The cost to make high-end expensive products are obviously lower than the price consumers have to pay.

Nonetheless, you’ll be surprised to know that certain items are way cheaper than their selling price, and it’s no different for the newly-released Apple iPhone 12.

It was recently reported that the iPhone 12, which can cost up to RM6699, doesn’t take even half of its price to make. As per Asia Nikkei, the high-end iPhone 12 Pro only takes Apple $406 (RM1652) to make for every unit, which is around the average price for middle-end phones on the market.

Despite the expensive price tag, it’s no doubt that one of the main reasons people buy the iPhone is for their high-grade camera quality. However, reports have shown that Sony’s CMOS image sensors used in iPhone 12 Pro’s camera lenses are priced at around $5.40 (RM21.97) to $7.40 (RM30.11) each, which is lower than expected.

Even though Apple has a really high profit margin when it comes to their products, there are many things to consider. Manufacturing costs is just one part of the equation when you add-on the price Apple has to consider for their products R&D (Research & Development), marketing, packaging, etc.

To make their products worth every penny, Apple spends a lot on R&D to make it all work great, posing the greater cost. According to Statista, the tech giant spent a record $18.75bil (RM76.32bil) on R&D in its 2020 fiscal year, which is $2.5bil (RM10.18bil) more than what they spent in 2019.

If it ever crossed your mind that Apple is cheating you out with their expensive price tags, keep in mind that they spend a lot themselves to make high-quality and top-notch products


#Warcraft: New Poster & Movie Stills Released; Trailer To Debut This Friday

When it comes to video games-turned-movies, only a few of them managed to become box office success while the rest just fell flat. In other words, similar to novels-turned-movies, the film adaptations of popular video games is filled with potential failures.

We can’t be certain if we’re going to enjoy watching the upcoming “Warcraft” movie, but we must admit that its newly-released official movie poster looks incredibly stunning.

Original creator Blizzard Entertainment first announced that they’ve teamed up with Legendary Pictures to develop a live-action movie set in the Warcraft universe back in 2006. Director Sam Raimi was originally attached to helm the project, but it was stuck in development for more than 8 years. Raimi later told Crave Online that he won’t be directing since he was committed to direct the movie “Oz the Great and Powerful”.

Fortunately, it was later announced that the film, which is newly-named “Warcraft: The Beginning”, will be helmed by director Duncan Jones (of “Source Code” fame).

Written by Charles Leavitt, the plot is said to be based on the novel “Warcraft: The Last Guardian“. Production on the film began earlier in January this year after Blizzard Entertainment announced its full casting and concept art of the locations during BlizzCon 2013.

Jones aand his effects team are currently putting the finishing touches to the movie, which promises to demonstrate the bitter war between man and orc when a portal opens between their 2 worlds.

The orcs in the film are being brought to life via performance capture across a 87-day shoot and a long post-production process.

“Viking” actor Travis Fimmel will play Anduin Lothar, a character that is described to be a war hero who sacrificed everything to keep the people of Azeroth safe. “Dracula Untold” actor Dominic Cooper is set to portray King Llane Wrynn, the leader of the Alliance city of Stormwind. Cooper previously appeared in “Captain America: The First Avengers” as Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark.

Other characters that will be included in The Alliance includes Ben Foster’s Medivh, Ben Schnetzer’s Khadgar, Ruth Negga’s Lady Taria, and Paula Patton’s Garona.

As for The Horde, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” actor Toby Kebbel will play Durotan, the noble Chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, battling to save his people and his family from extinction.

Durotan’s right hand, Orgrim, will be played by “Pacific Rim” actor Rob Kazinsky and the character is described to be a brave warrior destined to wield the Doomhammer, a weapon of orc legend. Clancy Brown is set to appear as the orc kind’s most fearsome and titanic warchief, Blackhand aka “The Destroyer”.

Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu is the only Asian cast in the film and he is set to portray Gul’dan, the supreme orc ruler who is fueled by a dark magic that even he cannot control.

And once again, all thanks to Empire Magazine, we finally have a new look at Jones’ upcoming “Warcraft” movie through 3 new movie stills.

The characters shown in the pictures are Fimmel’s Anduin Lothar Fimmel), Kebbell’s Durotan, and Kazinsky’s Orgrim Doomhammer.

Check out the new movie stills in the gallery below:

The film, which is a Legendary Pictures, Blizzard Entertainment and Atlas Entertainment production, is produced by Charles Roven, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Alex Gartner. Stuart Fenegan, Jillian Share, Brent O’Connor, and Blizzard Entertainment’s Michael Morhaime and Paul Sams are serving as executive producers.

In conjunction with Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon!, the first official “Warcraft” trailer is expected to arrive this Friday.

“Warcraft: The Beginning” is due to be released on 3rd June 2016.

Sources: Empire via Coming Soon, Flickering Myth.

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Sony To Adapt Marvel Comics’ Silk, A Spin-off Of Spider-Man

Looks like another new female superhero may be getting its very own movie adaptation very soon.

Sony and producer Amy Pascal are currently in the early stages of developing a movie adaptation of the Marvel comic book series based on the superhero “Silk”, a character created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, who first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #1”.

The superheroine is the alter ego of Korean-American high school student Cindy Moon, who was bit by the same radioactive spider that turned Peter Parker into Spider-Man.

Her superpowers are similar to Spider-Man; she has eidetic memory, can shoot webs out of her fingertips (instead of wrist like Peter), possesses Silk Sense (an advanced version of Spider Sense), has superhuman speed (faster than Peter) and strength (but not as strong as Peter).

Cindy even goes to the same school as Peter, in fact, she has already appeared briefly on the silver screen twice. Tiffany Espensen played the character in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”. She is a member of the decathlon team alongside Peter Parker.

Espensen reprised her role in “Avengers: Infinity War” during the brief scene on the bus.

Though the character has appeared twice in two Marvel films, she has yet to show her super-powered alter-ego on the big screen, but her repeated inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may indicate that the studio has already planned to let Espensen portray Silk in her own solo film.

Details on the movie are scarce, but should the project goes on, the film would be another major push for diversity and inclusivity in the superhero and blockbuster films.

A post shared by Tiffany Espensen Bates (@tiffypics)

Amy Pascal is known for her strong female-led features such as the “Ghostbusters” reboot, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”, and “Barbie”.

She is also well-acquainted with the “Spider-Man” property, as she also produced “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, “Venom” and also “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”.


Ryan Reynolds Mourns The Death Of Female Stunt Rider In #Deadpool2

Hours after a tragic accident took place on the set of “Deadpool 2“, star Ryan Reynolds has released a statement, sharing that he and the production are “heartbroken, shocked and devastated”.

This morning (Tuesday, 15th August), a female stunt rider lost control of her bike and crashed through a glass-enclosed building at Shaw Tower in Vancouver. She was reportedly pronounced dead on the scene.

“Today, we tragically lost a member of the crew while filming ‘Deadpool’. We’re heartbroken, shocked, and devastated… but recognise nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment. My heart pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world,” Reynolds tweeted.

Director David Leitch also expressed his condolence, saying, “No words can express how I and the rest of the ‘Deadpool 2’ crew feel about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and loved ones in this difficult time”. This was echoed by film studio 20th Century Fox’s statement, “Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.”

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 14, 2017

Witness of Deadpool 2 crash: motorbike picked up speed, missed pedestrians https://t.co/W237VlDggr pic.twitter.com/cyDhCZSmvP

— The Star Vancouver (@starvancouver) August 14, 2017

According to Daily Mail, the aforementioned stuntwoman has been identified as professional motorcycle racer Joi ‘SJ’ Harris. It is believed that Harris was a double for Zazie Beetz’s character, Domino. TMZ also reported that she was the first African-American woman to be licensed in the sport of professional road racing.

Word on the street has it that Harris had performed the bike scene 4 times in practice. Unfortunately on the 5th attempt, her vehicle lost control after turning a corner on a Vancouver street. Shooting for “Deadpool 2” started in late June and is expected to hit theatres on 1st June 2018. No word yet if this incident will affect the production schedule.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Mail, LA Times, Deadline/ Featured image: LADbible/

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Angelina Jolie & Richard Madden Was Rushed Off The Eternals Set

Filming in general is a very dangerous business, because at any given moment something horrible can happen. Angelina Jolie and Richard Madden were rushed off from the set when a bomb was discovered during the filming of “The Eternals”.

The incident happened earlier this week, in Canary Islands Fuerteventura, on the set of the upcoming Marvel film. The discovery led to massive panics, with everyone at the scene being ordered to get back to a safe distant. Disposal units then arrived moments later to handle the situation.

It was reported that the explosive device was likely from World War 2, as the Nazis have used the island as a military base during that time. The entire situation was a very haunting experience for the people on set, with an insider recalling the terrifying event.

“It was obviously terrifying — the bomb could have been there for decades untouched but who knows what might have happened if it was disturbed,” the insider told The Sun. “Some of the biggest stars in the world were on set and nobody was taking any chances. Fortunately, experts dealt with it.”

The two stars on set at the time were the “Maleficent” star, Jolie, and the “Game Of Thrones” actor, Madden. The former plays the leader of the group called Thena, while the latter plays the character Ikaris. Thankfully, those present were uninjured during the initial panic.

The Marvel film about the immortal superheroes is slated to be released in November next year.


Ballet Illuminations: Singapore Dance Theatre Brings Ballet Tour To Penang

Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) will return to Malaysia this May to share their love and passion for dance with the Malaysian audience, through Ballet Illuminations!

After 4 consecutive years of successful performances at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac), SDT has been invited back to present a selection of classical and contemporary favourites from the repertoire, with three choreographic works presented for the first time at Performance Arts Centre of Penang (penangpac) from 8th – 10th May 2015.

SDT will perform in Stage 1 at penangpac on 8th May at 8:30pm, 9th May at 3pm, and 8:30pm and 10th May at 2pm. This performance is made possible with the support of YTL Corporation Berhad, National Arts Council, and penangpac.

SDT will also be performing at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) from 1st – 3rd May.

Ballet Illuminations (penangpac) will feature a medley of diverse and exquisite works by award-winning choreographers, showcasing the finest examples of choreography to the Malaysian audience. The performance line-up includes stunning works of choreography by world-renowned choreographers including Singaporean choreographer Choo-San Goh, Japanese choreographer Toru Shimazaki, Edmund Stripe, and choreography after Marius Petipa.

The annual Ballet Illuminations is a perfect display of versatility and talent that is synonymous with SDT’s unique identity as a company that is equally adept at these challenging and varied genres of dance.

Be captivated as Singapore Dance Theatre brings to the stage a fine mix of classical and contemporary ballet at this year’s Ballet Illuminations!

Tickets can be purchased via TicketPro or call or walk-in: penangpac @ Straits Quay (+604 899 1722/ 2722).

Ballet Illuminations (penangpac) is a joint collaboration between Singapore Dance Theatre and penangpac.

For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.

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#Flatlay: Step Up Your Instagram Game With Our Quick Flatlay “How-To”s

In January, we featured some of our favourite minimalist Instagram accounts. As we continue to feed our Instagram addiction and yours too, another trend has recently been receiving a lot of attention, as well as chockfuls of hearts and likes from us. That thing called. “flatlay”.

Whether or not you know the official term for it, you’ve probably gushed over the gorgeous posts as much as we have, if not more. Not only has it become a bit of a thing on Instagram lately, it has become to big that there are even individual accounts and hashtags dedicated the tens of thousands of photo collages of objects on a flat surface.

From fashion bloggers to food bloggers, to travellers and your standard everyday person, flatlays are pretty handy to showcase your favourite things. But do you step up your Instagram game with the perfect flatlays?

Actually, this applies to most pictures, not just flatlay ones. Always try to go for the most natural lighting. Lots of natural lighting! But that doesn’t mean that you park your items and yourself in direct sunlight because it will cast nasty shadows if it’s coming in from an angle. Morning and late afternoon sunlight, especially, will cause harsh shadows over your picture. Best to avoid artificial light and dim lighting as well because it’s likely that you’d end up with under-exposed photos that even the best filter won’t be able to make up for graininess.

Avoid from “busy” backgrounds for the fear of overcrowding the overall look of your flatlay. In this aspect, less is more so always try to keep it simple with a neutral or plain background. Some of the best flatlay photos I’ve seen are those with purely black or white backgrounds. A bit of texture is fine to give the photo some depth but make sure it’s not from a heavily patterned background. Plain background will also allow you have space to add accessories and decorations, and really make the things in your shot pop. If you don’t have a proper background, get large pieces of coloured paper.

The very, very other important aspect to making a flatlay shot successful is to take the picture from a high angle. You also need to be kinda hovering directly over the top of your items for it to look flat. If it’s still hard to include everything into your shot while standing up, then get a step stool or find a higher platform. Just make sure that you don’t get your reflection or shadow in your shot. And make sure you don’t fall over while trying to get that perfect picture!

If you’re planning to do a fashion shot, fold clothes for structure – but not too perfectly. You will also need to go beyond just folding clothing items to keep it fresh and interesting e.g. add a tube of lipstick, stick a rose in a shirt pocket, place a bottle of perfume on the surface, angle that shoe to face the opposite direction, cuff your jeans like how you would wear them. Be sure to leave some space between items so that it doesn’t look too cluttered, and pay attention to the proportions e.g. balance out larger items with small ones to create some scale. Remember to shoot your picture in a square setting to ensure that everything fits in the frame.

What if you’re a food blogger or an avid baker, you ask? Then you need to get messy! If you’re baking something, arrange some utensils around your focal item. For example, if you’re trying to take a shot of some cupcakes, stick a baking spatula or an oven mitt in there, or grab a handful of flour and scatter some cupcakes cups to make a bit of an “organised mess”. It’d also be nice if you left your cookbook open in the background.

Don’t stray away from your focus. Whether it’s in terms of colour, types of items, to commemorate occasions, in conjunction with a certain season, so on and so forth, be sure come up with a theme for your flatlay shot and stick to it as much as possible. For example, a monochromatic cap will probably not belong in a colourful food shot. This also comes handy when you want to refrain from over-cluttering your shot with too many ideas. If you have extra interesting ideas, keep them for your next flatlay picture(s).

Why let one shot make or break your picture? In fact, why settle for that one singular shot when you can take and have various shots to choose from? Things like flatlay pictures, especially, tend to be a process of trial and error so go ahead and be trigger-happy! Experiment by rearranging your items, test out as many backgrounds as possible, find the best lighting, so on and so forth. You may also choose to play with filters or correct the brightness/contrast/temperature levels of your flatlay shot after with VSCO Cam. And of course, remember, practice makes perfect.

Last but not least, have fun and keep experimenting until you get your most perfect, prettiest flatlay shots!


(UPDATE) #TamanOUG: Owner Leaves Dog On High-Rise Ledge; SPCA To Lodge Report

A dog owner in Kuala Lumpur has been leaving his dog on the ledge outside his apartment unit. The dangerous and abusive act was caught on camera by a fellow resident.

As seen the picture, the narrow ledge on the 27th floor of the Taman OUG apartment block has no railings. According to a resident who lives in a building facing the apartment unit, this was not the first occurrence as the dog has been repeatedly placed on the ledge.

The Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) confirmed that they’ve received complaints regarding the above issue and said that they will be taking the matter up with the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS). “It is understood that the management of the condo issued a warning to the dog owner yesterday but the owner refused to stop,” Selangor SPCA chairman Christine Chin said.

Chin added that the dog owner (whose identity is still unknown) should be charged under the Animal Welfare Act for putting the dog’s life at risk.

The dog walked onto the ledge on its own, it seems.

When visited by a 4-member team from the Kuala Lumpur Veterinary Services Department, the owner of the dog said that he was unaware the dog walked away from the balcony and onto the window ledge. The owner, a 52-year-old taxi driver, and hi family (wife and 2 children) are in the process of packing as they’re moving house. While packing up, he put his 5-year-old male mixed mongrel out on the balcony to prevent it from messing up their packed belongings.

Kuala Lumpur Veterinary Services Department enforcement division officer Masdin Ubin confirmed that the dog was healthy and normal.

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#Emoji: Indonesia Bans “Gay” Emojis On Messaging Apps, Orders Removal

The Indonesian government has ordered messaging apps to remove “gay” emoji and stickers from their apps or face a ban in the country. This follows the latest crackdown on gay rights in Indonesia.

In January, Indonesia’s higher education minister Muhammad Nasir said openly gay students should be banned from the University of Indonesia’s campuses. It was a statement that sparked public controversy in Indonesia for weeks, with objections from human rights groups but support from the Indonesian Ulema Council, an influential board of Muslims clerics.

Popular instant messaging app Line was the first to face a social media backlash for having stickers with “homosexual themes”. Line has since removed all LGBT-related stickers from its local store after complaints from Indonesian users. The company also posted up an official statement on its Facebook page to apologise for making its users “uncomfortable” and promised to ensure that it will not happen again.

“At Line, we stick to the global benchmark for screening and filtering of content that is sensitive from the perspective of the local culture. Line appreciates all the feedback from users and other parties related to the products and features, and we realise how sensitive this matter is and will work hard to ensure that things like this do not happen again,” the statement read.

WhatsApp was also not spared as it has emojis depicting same-sex couples holding hands, a girl kissing a girl, a boy kissing a boy, and same-sex parenting/families.

And the Indonesian government isn’t stopping at just Line or WhatsApp.

Let’s not forget that not too long ago, Facebook added a slew of pride stickers in celebration of Pride month. In the announcement, the social media giant said, “We see this as one more way we can make Facebook a place where people can express their authentic identity.”

20 LGBT-themed stickers were included in the free set, which was released on 31st May 2014.

AFP quoted Ismail Cawidu, a spokesman for the Communication and Information Ministry of Indonesia as saying, “Such contents are not allowed in Indonesia based on our cultural law and the religious norms and the operators must respect that.”

One of the concerns in particular was that the colourful emojis and stickers could appeal to children. “Those things might be considered normal in some Western countries, while in Indonesia it’s practically impossible,” he added.

Technically, homosexuality isn’t illegal in Indonesia (outside of the Aceh province), but it’s still a taboo subject in the socially conservative Muslim-majority country. In October last year, the Aceh province in Indonesia enforced strict laws against homosexuality that punishes gay sex by public caning (100 strokes of the cane) and subjects even non-Muslims and foreigners to the region’s strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Sources: engadget, BBC, Line Indonesia’s Facebook page, AFP via MMO, The Guardian.


5 New Heroes Set To Make Their Marvel Cinematic Universe Debut

2021 has come and gone, and so we enter the second year of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase 4. With the hole 2020 left in its wake, a ton of releases in both theaters and streaming services were released last year. We saw some familiar faces like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Wanda, Loki, Hawkeye, Falcon and the Winter Soldier returning in a post-Thanos universe.

This was great but as far as new heroes went, we found that the MCU left much to be desired in that regard. Sure, we saw the rise of Shang Chi, the Eternals and Kate Bishop from “Hawkeye” but it still felt very much like we were living in the shadow of the “Infinity Saga”. With 2022 finally here, the MCU seems to be gearing for Phase 4 to finally come into its own! Here’s the rundown for all the new heroes coming into the MCU this year!

We’re excited to announce that Tatiana Maslany, who played Sarah Manning in “Orphan Black”, will be making her debut in the MCU this year as She-Hulk! When Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters, finds herself in a life-threatening situation, Banner makes the fateful decision to undergo blood transfusion to save Walter’s life. Walters does indeed make it but finds her life forever altered in the process. She now has the same powers as the Hulk. So what does she choose to do with her newfound abilities? Does she go on to become a full-time superhero or join the military? Nope. Instead, she presses on doing what she’s always does best: being a lawyer.

Maslany’s “She-Hulk” series is a rather novel take on legal dramas. Walters in the series, much like her comic-book counterpart, is a lawyer who specialises in cases involving superhumans. This would be a really refreshing and great way to introduce new characters into the MCU, by having them be Walters’ clients. Expect to see some big comic-book level action but we’re honestly hoping that the series will stick to the character’s legal roots. The first season “She-Hulk” will be premiering sometime in 2022.

Last year, we saw the MCU’s first Asian superhero. This year, Muslim fans of the MCU are finally getting some representation with Kamala Khan, or Ms Marvel. In the comics, Kamala was your ordinary average Pakistani-American teenage girl. All that changed when she was exposed to the Terrigen Mist, a substance that awakens latent superpowers from a host’s Inhuman lineage. Now with the power to stretch and morph her body at will, she aspires to walk in her idol’s footsteps, Carol Denver’s Captain Marvel! She’s your everyday, ordinary teenager but when crime is afoot, she’s Ms Marvel!

Iman Vellani will playing the role of Ms Marvel in the first season of a Disney+ series, “Ms Marvel” is set to come out in the middle of 2022. Barring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, we rarely see how younger heroes in the MCU cope with issues of identity, parents and the angst of growing up. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how young Kamala comes into her own by the end of this season. One thing’s for certain, you’ll be seeing Ms Marvel stand alongside her hero, Carol Denvers in 2023’s “The Marvels”. Till then, she’s on her own solo adventure…or is she?

Joining the cast of “Ms Marvel” is Aramis Knight as a friend of the Khan family, Kareem. Another young Pakistani student trying to make his way in the world. During Kamala’s visit to Karachi, Pakistan, she learns that the both of them share something in common. He too is a secret crimefighter. When night falls, Kareem dons his crimson cloak, patrolling the streets of his city and meeting out justice as Laal Khanjeer, or the Red Dagger. Later on, Kareem, and the Red Dagger, would visit Kamala in America. Leading to them teaming up once again to save the day. In the comics, the Red Dagger and Ms Marvel are quite close to another. One might even say there’s a bit of a romance between them.

Now what would a high-school superhero drama be without a little bit of romance? We’re expecting to see some sparks fly between Knight’s Kareem and Vellani’s Kamala throughout the series. That being said, Red Dagger isn’t just there to be hunky eye-candy. In the comics, he’s also a member of a group of young heroes led by Ms Marvel. They’re known as the Champions. Could his appearance in the series be laying out the groundwork for a new superhero team? We’ll just have to wait till “Ms Marvel” comes out on Disney+ to find out.

In our breakdown of the teaser for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, we couldn’t help but notice the appearance of one Xochitl Gomez. We have confirmation Gomez will be playing the role of America Chavez in the film. She’s better know by her other name, Ms America. In the comics, she was born in a dimension called Utopian Parallel and was given power of strength, speed and inter-dimensional travel by a being called the Demiurge. She travelled across multiple realities and worlds, looking to prove herself as a hero. She would eventually find her place in a team known as the Young Avengers, one led by Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye.

While her exact role in “Multiverse of Madness” is unknown, we at least know that her character will definitely have a connection to the wider multiverse of the MCU. In fact, she nearly appeared in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” before it was decided she would debut in “Multiverse of Madness”. Now that Kate Bishop is in the MCU, we could see America Chavez meeting up with Hawkeye’s protege in an end-credits scene. It seems the seeds for a Young Avengers film or series is in the works.

Come 2022, the Moon Knight will be making fearsome debut in the MCU with a Disney+ series of his own. The series follows the story of a mercenary, Marc Spector with Disociative Identity Disorder (DID) who is resurrected by Khonshu, an ancient Egyptian moon god. He’s brought back to life on the condition that he acts as Khonshu’s agent of vengeance. In the day, Marc learns to find balance between multiple personalities. When night falls, though, he becomes the caped crusader known as Moon Knight. We did a whole breakdown of his character if you’d like to get info on Marvel’s very own version of the Dark Knight.

One thing we loved about Netflix’s MCU like “Jessica Jones”, “The Punisher” and “Daredevil” was their depiction of street-level heroes. While Iron Man, Thor and Captain Marvel were out there saving the world and universe, they were doing the dirty work. Fighting against the violence and terror of the criminal underworld. So when we heard that their Netflix series were cancelled, we were sorely disappointed. Hopefully Moon Knight will bring back the grounded reality of urban crime and street justice we so miss.

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