Benutzerrezensionen

### **"Close Your Kopitiam" Review: A Coffee Shop Owner Faces Cyberbullying from Influencers**

*"Close Your Kopitiam"* is a Malaysian comedy film filled with local internet jokes and well-known influencers that only Malaysians would fully appreciate. The movie brings together a host of popular Malaysian internet personalities, effectively capturing the essence of local internet culture. It tells the story of a kopitiam (traditional coffee shop) inherited from the protagonist Ah Biao's mother, highlighting the growth of its employees and vendors. However, the narrative takes a turn when they encounter online influencers, leading to a series of cyberbullying incidents. Ah Biao, the protagonist, initially manages his employees with strict discipline. Under immense financial pressure to sustain the business, he even contemplates raising rental fees.

### **Plot Overview & Narrative Style**

The story revolves around Ah Biao's struggles after falling victim to cyberbullying, which causes his kopitiam to hit a financial low. To survive, he decides to join an influencer branding masterclass. As the plot unfolds, both he and his employees face dwindling sales and the impending closure of the kopitiam. The director cleverly integrates numerous internet-famous influencers and viral jokes that resonate with Malaysian audiences, fostering a strong sense of familiarity. Ah Biao gradually pieces together the key moments that lead to his turning point, ultimately making a major decision but later regretting his choice to compromise. This narrative approach keeps audiences engaged, as they experience a series of emotional ups and downs alongside the protagonist.

### **Visuals & Music: A Perfect Blend**

*"Close Your Kopitiam"* leverages the familiar shooting techniques of YouTubers while incorporating the professional cinematography required for a feature film. Some scenes are shot in a single take, allowing viewers to appreciate the continuous and immersive visual experience. The lighting is well-executed-not too dark or overly bright-creating the right atmosphere for each scene. The precise use of lighting enhances different moods and emotions, ensuring the characters' facial expressions and eye contact remain clearly visible.

In terms of music, the background score effectively enhances key moments, such as action sequences and scenes where tourists dine at the kopitiam, elevating the film's atmosphere. However, in some non-climactic scenes, the absence of background music makes certain moments feel slightly flat, impacting the emotional build-up.

### **Character Development & Performances**

The internet influencers, despite being newcomers to acting, show noticeable improvement compared to their usual short-form online content. The employees, stall vendors, and influencers all sport modern and relatable character designs. The influencers manage to portray a range of emotions, including despair, anger, sadness, and resignation. Several experienced actors play supporting roles, guiding the internet personalities into their roles effectively.

**Ratings:** ⭐ **Storyline:** 8.5/10 (A simple but meaningful story with relevant social themes) ⭐ **Acting:** 7.5/10 (Internet influencers exceeded expectations but still have room for improvement) ⭐ **Visuals & Cinematography:** 8.5/10 (Professional filming techniques with well-executed lighting and framing) ⭐ **Music:** 8/10 (Some scenes lack background music, affecting emotional depth)

### **Final Verdict**

*"Close Your Kopitiam"* presents modern influencer culture and cyberbullying in a lighthearted yet thought-provoking manner, making audiences laugh while reflecting on digital-age societal issues. Although there are areas for improvement, such as the consistency of performances and better utilization of music, the film successfully brings a refreshing and locally relevant story to the Malaysian film industry. It is a must-watch for fans of local humor, social satire, and internet culture.

I've been watching their YouTube channel for many years. Although not all of their storylines are great, they have stepped out of their comfort zone to venture into movie production. I think that's something local YouTubers have never really done before, and 90% of their crew are newcomers to the industry. For a first-time transition from YouTube to movie production, they deserve a chance. Despite being newcomers, their production team and efforts have resulted in a high-quality storyline that only locals can relate to more, along with above-average movie editing. They are considered smart for incorporating actual events into their storyline, making it more relatable to the local audience.

Poor storyline. Not really funny. Feels like a long youtube video that dissy usually make. Some parts are funny. But the storyline doesnt really match. You get to see all the characters from dissy. They try to combine few elements from different movies, and try very hard to incorporate funny laughable moments. Acting by all of them are mediocre at best. I really dunno how to describe further. Lets just say lucky i have discount to buy them tickets to gsc cinema. If i had paid in full i would be very regretful. But i would say its good to see them able to produce movie. At least still better than namewee movies.

I have been following Dissy for quite some time, and it's commendable that they are putting in effort to produce movies. However, the recent film fell short of expectations and lacked originality or the courage to fully express a unique vision.

The main and best actors from Dissy barely had any presence in the movie, and the overall acting from the cast was subpar. The editing was poorly done as well, which was a stark contrast to the quality showcased in their usual YouTube short movies.

Dissy needs to take substantial steps to improve the overall quality of their films. They should stay true to their roots, bring back the original main cast, and focus on delivering a better cinematic experience. Additionally, they should not rest on the laurels of great box office numbers, as they often dismissively say, "fans are always blind."

Close Ur Kopitiam

My Review

From the title and genre mentioned in the introductory, i think people already know that the film dont synchronize at all. People laughing at the film, because of how bad the acting is. Almost all actors have stiff movement, as if they were like just training yesterday like where are the direction for this film? Even though some of them are supposed to be veteran actors.

The story its just placed all over the place. Influencer this and that without giving much spotlight to the MC. Compare that to Bukan Hantu Biashe Biashe who have lower budget, but have better comedy despite feel foreign (Nigerian Influence).

I'm a huge fan of their YouTube videos, and I do believe they always produce great content. But this movie, THEIR FIRST MOVIE on the silver screen was unfortunately not up to par. Firstly, the trailer looks great and exciting but in the theatre it's actually quite tiring to watch because most scenes are at the kopitiam. According to them they wanted the audience to be aware of Malaysia social media toxicity but I'd say not much audience will be aware of what they are trying to say in the film unless they watched the behind the scenes video on YouTube. Because the storyline is not very touching nor intense enough. Every characters lacks of depth in their scripts and most of the characters uses their own name so somewhat you'll still see them as YouTuber. Therefore makes it difficult to lure you in to focus in the movie. The jokes were okay just like their usual YouTube videos. I was let down after the movie...

I hope they will learn from this first film and produce more great movies!

The film has substance and isn't just filler, but there's plenty of room for improvement. One major issue is how quickly scenes are cut after the action ends, leaving no room for characters' emotions to transition naturally. The kopitiam storyline feels thin, relying on group scenes to fill space. The lack of narrative continuity makes it difficult to build up characters properly for key moments, reducing anticipation-events just happen abruptly. While this might work for an online short film, it's not effective for a full-length movie.

The inclusion of social commentary adds relevance, but it often feels more like an attempt to generate buzz than a deep exploration of issues. On the performance side, considering their background as an influencer, the acting is decent-at least it doesn't feel exaggerated, and the key is to maintain a natural approach. However, the comedic timing struggles with the longer runtime, sometimes leading to awkward pauses, and the jokes don't always land as intended.

One recurring gag involving the big bald guy starts off funny but loses impact due to overuse. If they can refine the script further and blend it more effectively with their influencer style, they have the potential to create something truly distinctive.