Are We Rolling?

A low key one this week as the boys tackled two topics for this episode; China released their own version of Mulan to a less-than-enthusiastic reception and an 80's comic book God, Alan Moore, came out of his self-imposed media exile to give his latest take on the current climate of superhero movies. Also, this episode was recorded a few hours after the recent announcement of the CMCO by the ministry (to be effective Oct 14th 'till 27th). In the meantime, heed the rules and stay safe!
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Looking Forward To

1) Mank (David Fincher, Netflix) --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMzJW0XBImE&t=86s

It's back to our usual segment as the boys recap TV's biggest night in the 72nd Emmy Awards! They talk about their favorite winners, predictable outcomes and how the first virtual awards show really fared. Also, Lulu Wang has made headlines when she called out Ron Howard for being involved in a biopic movie about a famous pianist from China named Lang Lang. Where do we draw the line between representation and freedom of creative expression?

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Reach out to us! 

This is our spoiler-heavy review of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet so listen at your own risk!

We went. We saw. We had thoughts. This is probably Nolan’s most challenging film to date and we can tell that it’s not going to please everyone. A filmmaker of his stature has all the players and environments to play with, but when does it feel like it’s going too far? Or are we just not able to comprehend it thoroughly? Let us know what you think if you’ve seen the film and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Spotify if you enjoy our stuff.

Tenet is currently still playing in all theaters!

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Reach out to us! 

General consensus at the house of AWR: we love Charlie Kaufman and all of his glorious and idiosyncratic work of art. His new film, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, is going to be out on September 4th on Netflix so we thought we'd look back and discuss thoroughly at one of his masterpieces = 2004's Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

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The one where we briefly discussed about Disney's decision to put Mulan onto Disney+ and how it would/wouldn't affect future movies and we also gave our non-spoiler thoughts about Kuman Pictures' latest offering, Roh. From things we really like to certain parts that could've been done differently, it is definitely an exciting film to catch on the big screen and please do while it's still playing!

Also, we will have an exclusive sit down discussion with the writer/director himself, Emir Ezwan, on our next show and we're really excited to get all the spoiler-filled details from him so do watch this space.

The one where we gave our thoughts on the nominations for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. All the expected shows, surprises, snubs and the shows we'd rather make the cut. Which show deserved it more? Which actor was a surprise? Which was a total shock for us? All that and more!
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The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be "produced remotely" and will broadcast on 21st September, 2020. Watch this space for the local screening time details.
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Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. This week, we're joined by production designer and dear friend, Daphne Charmain, as we talk about all things art department as well as balancing expectations and budgets, her desire to one day build sets and our collective thoughts on the recent ministry's announcement regarding a certain FINAS license. All that and more on AWR numero twenty-four!
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AWR Recommends: 

We've started a film club! Well, an audio version anyhow. Every fortnight, we'll have a roundtable-style discussion with some of our favorite film geek friends because the more the merrier. It's also an excellent opportunity for us to find yet another reason to talk relentlessly and passionately about a particular movie we have or have not seen before. 

Reunited and it feels so good~~

We finally recorded in the same room after all those months of separation. Needless to say, there were lots of hugs. And, to celebrate our return we decided to have actress, Joyce Harn, as our special guest! We caught up with her about her plans thus far post-MCO, chat about her recent role in Zahir Omar's critically-acclaimed film, Fly By Night, and what it was like working on that set plus we even got to know a few horror audition stories from her. 

Also, if you've followed her on Instagram you would've known that she's a big bookworm and she really wants to set up a book club so hit her up if you're interested!

A bit shoutout to Theatresauce, Khairi Anwar & Kelvin for allowing us to use your space for our recording. Do follow them for any upcoming plays happening sometime soon. Also, much thanks to Cass for the amazing new jingle! 

Follow Joyce Harn here!

Our good friend and theatre buff, Tan Meng Kheng (people call him Meng) joins us this week! He's been in tons of stage and film productions playing all sorts of roles, which is why he's the perfect person to talk to about this week's topic. Due to the recent outburst of actors in Hollywood dropping out of their roles because of race/skin color issues, we wanted to know what the definition of an actor REALLY means. Do they still have the luxury of playing any character or are they limited by what they look like or who they are? Where's the line drawn between misappropriation and pretend performance? Meng shares his delightful insights and it's safe to say that we look forward to having him back again!

Follow Meng here!

This week, we got Derek back again with us! He shared a little about his busy work and we got to talking about space-related topics seeing as Earth hasn't been looking that good lately. We discussed about Tom Cruise & Elon Musk's potential movie in actual space, space movies that we could see ourselves living in and also that Azhar Ali/NASA scandal that circulated two weeks before. 

Recommendations:-

Howdy! Derek was away for work during this episode, but Garrick managed to talk to a fellow friend and scriptwriter extraordinaire, Andy Darrel Gomes! They broke down what scriptwriting really means to them, how to be better at it and also finding your true voice.

Recommendations:- 

This week, the guys are joined by none other than GrimFilm's founder, Jared Lee! Where they talked about staying creative during this weird period of time we're in, eccentric writing process, content we've been watching lately, mangas and animes, and that eternal debate on whether or not Hollywood should ever adapt Katsuhiro Otomo's masterpiece, 'Akira'. (Answer is No.)

(Hey guys, Derek here - suffice to say, I've fallen victim to yet another technical issue on my end and proceed to hear me battling my internal sanity with it. So yeah, you won't hear me at all in the first half hour at least BUT all good though, Jared's a great sport as usual and what a great chat that could've gone way longer. Now begone, press that play button!)

Greetings, fellow home dwellers! The guys got down and dirty this week as they discussed about the impact and changes that may hit cinemas post COVID-19 and how it might affect the movie-going experience altogether. That's why we want all of you to be good boys and girls by staying home so that we can go to the cinemas safely again. They also briefly talked about the Better Call Saul finale for season 5 and gave their recommendations to watch. Do check them out on Netflix!

Where the guys gloss over the tight-grip that Covid-19 pandemic has on the entertainment industry - from postponed movie release dates and event cancellations and our thoughts on why you shouldn't fight over toilet rolls. While everyone's self-quarantined at home, we also gave some suggestions on what movies to watch to pass those lonely times. Until then: stay hygienic. Sanitize yourself. Don't panic. And don't start a fight over tissue rolls. Please. (Ed: Really sorry for the incessant beeping noise in the background on the first half. It was a technical error. My bad. Keep listening though!)

Films discussed:  'Dogtooth' (2009, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos), 'Goodnight Mummy' (2014, dir. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala), 'Hush' (2016, dir. Mike Flanagan), 'Phone Booth' (2003, dir. Joel Schumacher), 'Buried' (2010, dir. Rodrigo Cortes), & 'Locke' (2013, dir. Steven Knight)

Ladies and gents of the pod-world: welcome to our very first Spoilercast! Where we tear apart movie endings and talk major, major spoilersss so heed upon this warning: Proceed with caution of pressing play in case you haven't seen the movie we're going to talk about. Because you're gonna find out who's dead and who's not. And then some.

This week, it's 'The Invisible Man', written and directed by Leigh Whannell (he who co-created 'Saw' franchise alongside James Wan and 2018's hugely-underrated sci-fi action 'Upgrade') and it's currently still playing in the theater near you. Suffice to say, well....we have opinions on it, ranging from how fantastic the first hour was...down to that slightly divisive ending.

Watch 'The Invisible Man' first though. You have been warned. Now, enjoy the pod...as we skulked around the corner of the room as you do. 

The movie is still playing over at GSC, TGV, and MBO Cinemas.

The one where the guys spoke to Malaysian legend, Hassan Muthalib, about his early years making animation, the current state of Malaysia's cinema voice and why certain films are just downright bad. He also shared a lot of knowledge on how to be a better filmmaker, ways to craft a story and what short films are really all about. Aspiring filmmakers, take notes!

Stuff we're sharing:

The one where the guys take a (brief) trip down memory lane on how they ended up in this creative industry, throw down some advice for y'all who wants to work on movies and how not-so-great directors can ruin lives! 

Please like, share and subscribe wherever you get your podcast and shoot some words back to us! We don't bite! We really don't. 

Stuff we're sharing: