The Sun (Malaysia)

Blunt about love

> The British singer proves there is more to his music than what many perceive as merely romantic songs

- BY S. INDRA SATHIABALA­N

Ready Player One something, but as the name implies, the time after the initial passion has died down.

“[It’s about] when a relationsh­ip is ended or when the lust [is] ended, and you’re left with the ashes of that, and something a lot more longterm.

“[It’s

Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Mark Rylance

Director: Steven Spielberg E-Value: 8 Acting: 7 Plot: 8 like] when someone has died, when the addiction is over, the love of a drug or alcohol is over … after the fame has gone, and touched you in different ways.” The album’s lead single, Love Me Better, written with Ryan Tedder of OneRepubli­c, is a playful take on the lyrics of You’re Beautiful, with Blunt singing: “I’ve used that line before.” It’s also about things that aren’t necessaril­y pleasant to hear, like being “called a dick” that the English singer alludes to, particular­ly, on social media, and how nasty people behind keyboards can get.

“We should be more kind to each other. Just because you can say something horrid about someone, it doesn’t mean that you should,” he proclaims.

Another track from the album that stands out, Someone Singing Along, has a deeper mission. The song’s accompanyi­ng music video shows displaced Syrians, and the devastatin­g destructio­n in the war-torn country.

Despite the images, the song is positive and uplifting, and when asked about the need to tell this specific story, he says it was written about how politician­s instil fear in people.

“I’m involved in the really awesome business of music, which brings people together, and strangers stand shoulder to shoulder in a room listening to music.

“No matter how different [the] colour of their skin, they seem to still connect to the song, to the same human emotion, and so I don’t see the difference­s they’re talking about. I only see their similariti­es.” avatar is a giant half-robot black man. They take part in a race where they meet Art3mis (Cooke), who is one of the frontrunne­rs.

Somehow, Watts figures out the answer to the first clue, and finds the first key out of three that he must collect to secure the Easter egg.

He shares details on how to win with friends Aech, Art3mis, and two other players he befriended, Daito (Win Morisaki) and Shoto (Philip Zhao), allowing all of them to cross the finish line and be listed on the leader board.

However, their success does not not go unnoticed. We meet the film’s antagonist, Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), the CEO of Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a company that produces top-of-theline virtual reality equipment.

Nolan wants to control the Oasis by any means necessary, and will do anything to make that happen including murder those in his way.

All in, this is a highly-entertaini­ng movie that pays homage to tech gurus as well as pop culture, and should appeal to a wide audience of film fans, not just gamers.

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 ?? AMIRUL SYAFIQ MOHD DIN /THESUN ?? (left and below) Blunt having a good time in Kuala Lumpur during his recent tour to Asia.
AMIRUL SYAFIQ MOHD DIN /THESUN (left and below) Blunt having a good time in Kuala Lumpur during his recent tour to Asia.

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