Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation, based on a book that was explicitly and heavily influenced by Middle East and North African (MENA) and Islamic cultures, is out, and we are joined by our friends and fellow MENA critics Hanna Flint and Roxana Hadadi to review it.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 31: ‘Dune’ Review”
When Chadwick Boseman passed away last year at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer, communities across the globe were stunned. His ability to battle the debilitating disease all while filming physically demanding roles spoke to his drive and commitment as a creator. Because of this, and his tireless efforts off screen, Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) will honor the beloved activist and creator with a special tribute by his wife Simone and host Anthony Anderson at this year’s fundraising special.
Continue reading “Stand Up to Cancer to Honor Chadwick Boseman With a Special Tribute”
Ava DuVernay’s work continues to put forward necessary conversations about identity, community, and society, and her newest unscripted series, coming to NBC in October, will again show off her creative genius. Home Sweet Home is equal parts social experiment and cultural exploration, as 18 different families from various backgrounds accept the challenge of exploring a world unlike their own. The series from the Emmy winning and Academy Award-nominated creator will follow two families in each episode who trade spaces to experience life outside their own home.
Continue reading “Ava DuVernay Brings Masterful Touch to New Unscripted Series ‘Home Sweet Home’”
With the success of McDonald’s collaboration with Travis Scott and BTS, Saweetie is joining in on the fun with her own McDonald’s meal.
Starting August 9, everyone can order The Saweetie Meal, which features a Big Mac, 4-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium World Famous Fries, a medium Sprite, Tangy BBQ Sauce and “Saweetie ‘N Sour” sauce — the same Sweet ‘N Sour sauce you know and love, re-named in honor of the new meal.
Continue reading “McDonald’s Collaborates with Saweetie to Create ‘The Saweetie Meal’”
This week, employees at Activision Blizzard plan to walkout in protest over work conditions and leadership’s poor response to workplace treatment of women — particularly women of color, transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups, according to a Kotaku report. On July 20, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit alleging that the company cultivated a toxic and sexist, “frat boy” workplace environment, and since the bombshell news dropped, scores of former and current employees, reporters, and gaming leaders have voiced their concerns over the lack of accountability on the part of Activision Blizzard.
Continue reading “Activision Blizzard’s Toxic Culture is Part of a Larger, Ongoing Conversation about Video Games”
Highland Film Group are handling the worldwide rights for Avan Jogia’s feature writing and directing debut, Door Mouse. Hayley Law, Keith Powers, Famke Janssen, and Donal Logue star in the new film, which has just wrapped production in Canada.
Continue reading “Hayley Law and Keith Powers Star in Avan Jogia’s Feature Debut ‘Door Mouse’”
For anyone who needs further reason of why Chloe Zhao made history as the first POC woman to win an Oscar for Best Director–behold!
The first trailer for Marvel Studios’ Eternals has FINALLY hit the internet! And as we anticipated, this looks like no Marvel Studios film we’ve ever seen up to now! But before I go into how special this is, take a look for yourselves now!
Continue reading “The Sweeping, Epic Teaser Trailer for ‘Eternals’ Appears”
The City of Santa Monica will celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with two virtual community events on May 19 and 20 celebrating the diverse cultures within the AAPI community, highlighting AAPI contributions, and exploring the challenges faced by the community during the pandemic.
You don’t need to be in sunny California to enjoy these events planned by Santa Monica. There are some interesting panels and performances being presented at the two-day event.
Continue reading “Santa Monica to Celebrate Cultural Diversity, Explore Identity During AAPI Heritage Month”
NOC Readers! Our friends over at Tremendous Communications, shared this brand new featurette from Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious 9, entitled, “The Originals“, which celebrates 20 years of the the blockbuster franchise!
F9 sees the return of Justin Lin as director, who helmed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of the series when it transformed into a global blockbuster!
Continue reading “Race Through 20 Years of ‘Fast and Furious’ in New Featurette”
We discuss the most recent IDF and Israeli government brutalization and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and East Jerusalem and discuss what the world and the US need to do to help those affected and end the occupation. We discuss what the daily reality is like for Palestinians in the West Bank through Farah Nabulsi’s brilliant short film, The Present, which you can watch on Netflix. Please do what you can to help Palestinians in need.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 26: ‘The Present’ in Palestine”
The beloved comedy, which is set in the ‘80s, stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, Jeff Garlin, and Sam Lerner. The season 8 finale is set to air on Wednesday, May 19, and is titled, “The Proposal.” If you’re looking for a new favorite comfort show, The Goldbergs has you covered.
Continue reading “ABC Has Renewed ‘The Goldbergs’ for a Season 9”
Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, and Morgan Freeman star in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which hits theaters on June 16. As we get closer to the film’s premiere, the cast shared an all new trailer and poster with fans on social media!
Continue reading “Check Out the New Trailer and Poster for ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’”
Do you see that line up? Whom do I give my money to?! I need this now. Yes, NOC readers! Some of our faves are coming together for a brand new project and my friends over at Lionsgate came thru with the 411 to get us hype and ready! Check out the new trailer and official teaser poster for the film!
Continue reading “Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson Star in ‘The Protégé’”
It’s about time we have a sex-fueled teen adventure comedy starring an Asian woman, particularly a South Asian woman. Most of the tween/teen shows have been surrounded by East or Southeast Asian leads and South Asians teens not getting their chance to be horny. Sure, we have Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, which is excellent, but that seems to be it. Also, depictions of South Asian teens have been stuck in a bubble where they are always the straight-laced high school girl who does want to get in trouble, but in the end, decides not to act on it.
Continue reading “Hulu’s Teen Sex Comedy ‘Plan B’ Trailer Has Women of Color Leading the Charge”
Who in the world green lit a sequel to Meet the Blacks? Well, Hidden Empire Film Group did, and they announced today that they will release the highly-anticipated horror comedy The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2, the follow-up to the 2016 indie hit Meet The Blacks, in theaters on Friday, June 11. Okay, so, when I first read the press release I was like, “You can’t be serious?” But… yes, it’s happening NOC readers! Check out the new trailer and official poster for the film!
Continue reading “Mike Epps and Katt Williams Star in ‘The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2’”
With the upcoming Mother’s Day episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by SpaceX billionaire, Elon Musk, fans of the variety show and some of the cast members have been up in arms regarding why the viral dogecoin guy is even performing. Musk isn’t an actor, and his IMDB is only filled with parody versions of himself. It’s a little suspicious why the space tycoon is even performing at all.
Continue reading “Let’s Just Focus on Keegan-Michael Key and Anya Taylor-Joy’s ‘SNL’ Episodes”
For the fourth year in a row, Gold House has unveiled its annual A100 List, spotlighting the year’s most impactful Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in entertainment, business, politics, and beyond.
Continue reading “Gold House Unveils its Annual A100 List for 2021”
Today Marvel Studios dropped a promotional video celebrating a glorious return to theaters, and shared with us a brief look at things to come.
Among what was seen in the footage was our first glimpse at the highly anticipated Eternals, set to hit theaters November 5, 2021! While not a whole lot at this juncture, what we do see feels like an authentically Chloé Zhao film. Fresh off her historic Academy Award wins for Best Director and Best Picture for Nomadland, Zhao’s films are known for their gorgeous cinematography and beautiful landscapes, emphasizing the natural picturesque elements of scenic desert locations. And it looks like she’s taking that approach to tell the story of Marvel Studios’ gods. Here’s a quick breakdown of the limited look we got at the film.
Continue reading “A First Glimpse at Chloé Zhao’s ‘Eternals’”
Kevin Feige, you sly dawg! Earlier today Marvel Studios dropped a very inspiring video commemorating our return to the movies. And as wonderful as it was to see footage from our favorite films within the MCU legacy, they rewarded everyone who watched it with a truckload of very cool updates about their slate coming between now and 2023. Before we break down what all of it means, watch the video first and get hyped:
Continue reading “Marvel Studios Sneakily Drops a TON of Movie Announcements”
Start counting down the days because The Kissing Booth 3 is coming to Netflix on August 11! The romantic comedy follows the first two The Kissing Booth films and stars Joey King, Jacob Elordi, Joel Courtney, and Meganne Young.
Continue reading “‘The Kissing Booth 3’ Officially Has a Release Date”
Netflix has the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day weekend. Fatherhood is described as the inspirational true story of a father who must raise his daughter on his own. A film about overcoming grief and growing up… together.
Continue reading “Kevin Hart’s ‘Fatherhood’ is Coming This Father’s Day Weekend”
August 20 is bringing the action with Netflix’s Sweet Girl. The film follows a father-daughter duo, played by Jason Momoa and Isabela Merced, on the run. The cast also includes Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Amy Brenneman, Adria Arjona, and Justin Bartha. Brian Mendoza serves as director.
Continue reading “Jason Momoa’s ‘Sweet Girl’ is Heading to Netflix in August”
Ever since the official reboot was announced last year, fans have been dying to know when the new series was going to drop so we could fall in love with the show all over again in a new way. Now, the wait is finally over, the official Gossip Girl social media accounts shared that everyone should mark their calendars for this July, and you better believe we dropped everything to do so.
Continue reading “Get Ready Upper East Siders, ‘Gossip Girl’ is Officially Coming to HBO Max This July”