NOC Review: ‘Bring Her Back’ is as Horrifying and Heartbreaking as Cinema Gets

May 30, 2025May 27, 2025 Mike Manalo

As a critic and film fan, I find myself drawn to movies that make me smile and weep in equal measures. I’m much less accustomed to movies that make me scream and weep. However, surprisingly, those are just as effective, as I have recently discovered with The Philippou Brothers’ Bring Her Back, a modern-day horror masterpiece.

Horror, Interview

Talking Fears and Tears with the Cast and Directors of ‘Bring Her Back’

May 29, 2025 Mike Manalo

When The Philippou Brothers showed the world that low-budget original concepts can make a huge splash on the industry with their incredible horror film Talk to Me, the world waited with baited breath to see what these two horror nerds would come up with next. They didn’t disappoint. Bring Her Back is one of the scariest films you’ll see this year, but also one of the most emotional. So it was a true honor to talk to the horror auteurs, as well as the incredible cast of the film: Sora Wong, Billy Barratt, and Jonah Wren Phillips.

Horror, Movies1 Comment

The Philippou Brothers Talk to Us About Their New A24 Horror Film ‘Bring Her Back’

March 31, 2025May 5, 2025 Mike Manalo

There’s no greater victory in this fickle industry than seeing truly gifted storytellers and actors showing audiences of unpredictable taste everywhere that amazing movies can still be made. Back in July of 2023 Danny and Michael Philippou, a twin duo of horror short filmmakers known on YouTube as RackaRacka, did just that with their breakout hit, Talk to Me.

Interview, Movies

Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, and Omar Apollo Discuss ‘Queer’

December 2, 2024 Sophia Soto

Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, and Omar Apollo star in Queer, which is based on the novel by William S. Burroughs. The movie is now playing in NY and LA theaters and will be released nationwide on December 13.

Interview, Movies

Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson on How ‘A Different Man’ Tackles Identity and What They Learned

September 21, 2024September 21, 2024 Sophia Soto

Sebastian Stan, who also serves as an executive producer, and Adam Pearson star in A24’s A Different Man. The new thriller is now playing in select theaters and will be released nationwide on October 4.

Movies, Reviews

‘A Different Man’ is Body Horror Comfortable In Its Own Skin

September 16, 2024September 17, 2024 Michael Lee

Body horrors often tap into who we are and perceive ourselves to be as we watch the characters on screen change as they go through bodily transformations for the better or mutilations for the worse. The images that appear before us range from subtle to unsettling, yet, like most great horrors, are a powerful kind of social commentary with something to say.

Interview, Streaming, Television

Rashida Jones on ‘Sunny’ and the Challenge of Guiding the Audience

July 16, 2024 Sophia Soto

Rashida Jones portrays Suzie in Sunny, which she executive produced as well. The show is based on Dark Manual by Colin O’Sullivan and new episodes will premiere every Wednesday through September 4 on Apple TV+.

Movies, Trailers

Watch the Official Trailer for A24’s ‘A Different Man’

July 16, 2024July 17, 2024 Sophia Soto

Ready for a new A24 trailer? Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man stars Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson. The new dark comedy will be released in theaters on September 20.

Movies, Trailers

Watch the Official Trailer for ‘We Live In Time’ Starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh

July 10, 2024 Sophia Soto

A24 has shared the trailer for We Live In Time, a decade-spanning romance starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. The film will be released in theaters on October 11.

Streaming, Trailers

Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for ‘Sunny’ Starring Rashida Jones and Hidetoshi Nishijima

June 13, 2024July 16, 2024 Keith Chow

Apple TV+ just dropped the trailer for the highly anticipated series Sunny, starring Rashida Jones and acclaimed Japanese actor Hidetoshi Nishijima. The series stars Jones as Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose life is upended when her husband (Nishijima) and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash.

Streaming, Television

The Latest Teaser Trailer for HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’ is Here

February 15, 2024February 15, 2024 Laura Sirikul

HBO Originals and Max has finally released the teaser trailer to the anticipated new drama The Sympathizer. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.

Interview, Movies, Sports

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Stanley Simons Discuss ‘The Iron Claw’

December 20, 2023December 20, 2023 Sophia Soto

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Stanley Simons star as Kevin, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich in The Iron Claw. You can see the film in theaters everywhere starting Friday, December 22.

Conventions, Fandom

Impact24 PR Panel Superblock Series at 2023 Los Angeles Comic Con

November 30, 2023December 1, 2023 Edward Hong

Get ready to dive into the world of entertainment with the Impact24 PR Panel Superblock Series, the ultimate destination for Los Angeles Comic Con 2023 attendees seeking a unique film and television behind-the-scenes experience.

Interview, Movies

Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi on Telling the Long Overdue Story of ‘Priscilla’

November 6, 2023 Sophia Soto

Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi star in Priscilla, which is based on the memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. The movie is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

Interview, Movies, Sports

Ryan Coogler and Erick Payton Explore the Life and Times of Steph Curry in ‘Underrated’

July 21, 2023July 21, 2023 Elijah Isaiah Johnson

In anticipation of the upcoming sports documentary, Stephen Curry: Underrated, I had the chance to have a sit down with the film’s executive producers, Ryan Coogler and Erick Payton, to discuss the intricacies of the year-plus long shoot, what makes this a unique documentary among others in its class, and their views on the legacy of Steph Curry as well as his impact on the game.

Movies, Sci Fi1 Comment

When Something is Nearly ‘Everything’

March 16, 2023November 25, 2024 Bao Phi

There’s no fucking way they’re gonna be able to land this, I thought to myself.

I’m in a movie theater seeing Everything Everywhere All at Once for the first time. I had heard about it long ago, and was cautiously optimistic.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies1 Comment

Hard NOC Life 303: Winning Every Oscar Everywhere All At Once with Jeff Yang

March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 Hard NOC Media

Keith is joined by his friend, writer and critic Jeff Yang — author of the forthcoming book, The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America — to reflect on a historic Oscars ceremony that saw Everything Everywhere All at Once become the most awarded film in Academy history.

Streaming, Television

Netflix’s ‘Mo’ Will Return for a Second and Final Season

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023 Swara Salih

With audiences left hanging on a drastic cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, Netflix has thankfully renewed Mo for a second and final season that will conclude the story of Mo Najjar (Mo Amer), his girlfriend Maria (Teresa Ruiz), and their family and friends.

Streaming, Television

Mo Amer Brings the Palestinian Experience to the Screen with Netflix’s ‘Mo’

August 9, 2022August 9, 2022 Swara Salih

When Hulu’s Ramy premiered in 2019 on Hulu, it was heralded as a landmark for Egyptian, Arab, and Muslim representation in Western media. Representation for Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) people remains scant, even with the small gains made, but it’s been especially rare for Palestinians, who must constantly endure attempted erasure in their homeland in Palestine and abroad.

Movies, Sci Fi

Exclusive Deleted Scene from ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ on Blu-Ray

June 28, 2022July 8, 2022 Keith Chow

In less than one week, the year’s best multiversal adventure will be released on home video. To celebrate, we have an exclusive, never-before-seen clip from the release’s loaded special features!

Horror, Movies, Reviews1 Comment

The Projection of ‘Men’ May Lead to the Projecting of Men

May 20, 2022 Adonis Gonzalez

I don’t doubt that when Alex Garland began work on his latest project, Men, that he suspected it would release at such a relevant time. Civil unrest is at an all-time high for a number of reasons — one of which involves a large percentage of the population daring to ask for basic rights over themselves — really any time since the founding of this great nation could be considered a relevant time. But it’s true, Men was already shaping up to be quite the controversial movie before the general audience got a chance to see it.

Books, Movies, Television

More AAPI Supernatural Recommendations for Fans of Disney’s ‘So Weird’

May 3, 2022May 3, 2022 Lauren Lola

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month everyone! Last year, to acknowledge both this annual commemoration of contributions from the AAPI community and the ever-present following of the ’90s Disney Channel original series, So Weird, I compiled together a list of supernatural recommendations, created by and about people of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Explores the Multiverse with Chaotic, Emotional Range

April 11, 2022November 25, 2024 Lauren Lola

Reading the synopsis for the Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once, it already hints at a story that starts off simple enough that immediately takes a left turn: An overwhelmed, middle aged woman is trying to file her taxes when she suddenly finds herself in the position of having to save the world, by borrowing skills from her multiple alternative universes.