Say ‘I Don’t’ to ‘Shotgun Wedding’

January 19, 2023January 20, 2023 Laura Sirikul

It’s hard to believe that rom-com royalty — Jennifer Lopez (The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan) and Josh Duhamel (Life As We Know It, When in Rome) — have never made a movie together until Amazon Studio’s Shotgun Wedding. It makes sense to put these two together in a romantic movie as both are beautiful people with experience in the genre. But unlike their sappy romantic films that follow the same formula, Shotgun Wedding gets mixed in with some action and adventure with pirates, money laundering, and lots of explosions.

Sci Fi, Streaming, Trailers

Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s Latest Futuristic Sci-Fi Thriller is ‘The Peripheral’

September 8, 2022September 13, 2022 Keith Chow

Hot off the heels of Westworld season 4, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are back with another mind-bending, futuristic sci-fi thriller with an adaptation of William Gibson’s bestselling novel, The Peripheral.

Movies, Streaming

Five Fun Facts from the ‘Samaritan’ Press Conference

August 23, 2022August 23, 2022 Mike Manalo

Stallone is a legend! There’s simply no question about that. As an actor, a humanitarian, a multiple Academy Award nominee, and now as a superhero! This week marks the release of Sly’s new film, Samaritan. And to celebrate, The Nerds of Color was given the opportunity to attend the press conference for the subversive take on the superhero genre, where we had the opportunity to learn more about the film from Stallone himself, along with co-stars Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), Dascha Polanco (In The Heights), and Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton (The Umbrella Academy).

Interview, Movies

Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo on Preparing for His Role in ‘Thirteen Lives’

August 3, 2022August 8, 2022 Laura Sirikul

Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo has a newfound appreciation for meditation. After being cast in Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives as the heroic coach Ekkaphon Chanthawong stuck in the Tham Luang caves in 2018 with 12 of his football players, Supapunpinyo had to do a lot of research for the role.

Interview, Movies

How ‘Thirteen Lives’ Represents the Humanity of Thailand and its People

August 2, 2022 Laura Sirikul

When westerners think about Thailand, there are many thoughts that come to mind: the food, Muay Thai, or martial artist Tony Jaa. There are also many harmful stereotypes of the Thai people that Hollywood gets very wrong. Movies like The Beach or The Hangover II that showcase Thai people as dirty, thuggish gangsters and the country as an untrustworthy place. With Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, based on true events from the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue, Thais are finally being seen as they truly are – people who love their country and its people.

Interview, Movies

Sukollawat ‘Weir’ Kanarot on Playing Real-Life Fallen Hero in ‘Thirteen Lives’

August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 Laura Sirikul

Playing a real-life tragic hero is never easy, especially when one also needs to reenact their devastating death scene in a large scale production. Sukollawat “Weir” Kanarot felt the pressure of his performance as former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan in Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives.

Movies, Streaming

‘Don’t Make Me Go’ Cast/Director on Telling a Universal Story about Parenthood and Grief

July 15, 2022July 18, 2022 Laura Sirikul

Talking about illness or death is not an easy subject for many families, especially for people of color. In Hannah Marks’ Don’t Make Me Go, John Cho plays Max, a single father who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is given less than a year to live.

Movies, Streaming

Trailer Revealed for Ron Howard’s Thai Cave Rescue Film, ‘Thirteen Lives’

June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 Laura Sirikul

In 2018, in a small rural village in northern Thailand, thirteen lives were changed forever after being trapped in a cave for 18 days. The junior football team, which consisted of twelve children and their adult coach, went hiking along the caves of Tham Luang, but a unexpected rainstorm caused the cave to flood — trapping them deep within the caves. It took a rescue team of over 10,000 people from all over the world to save these boys.

Cosplay, Interview

Cheyenne Ewulu on ‘Shades of Cosplay’ and Artistic Expression

February 10, 2022February 16, 2022 Bray Lawrence

Creating an influential and resonating documentary that digs into the heart of cosplay and Geekdom from a Black perspective as her first film wasn’t exactly Cheyenne Ewulu’s plan to begin with. What was supposed to be more of an artistic catharsis to express the frustration with racism and lack of awareness she noticed in the community she called home, became a beacon for Black cosplayers to find hope and admiration in their work.

Interview, Movies, Streaming

Hayley Orrantia is Back to Discuss Her New Movie, ‘Christmas is Canceled’

December 23, 2021 Sophia Soto

Hayley Orrantia stars as Emma in the new holiday comedy, Christmas is Canceled, which is currently streaming on Prime Video. She also released a new single for the movie called, “The Same Way.”

Interview, Movies, Streaming

Janina Gavankar Talks About Her New Film, ‘Encounter’

December 16, 2021December 16, 2021 Keith Chow

After four years since the last time she stopped by, Janina Gavankar returns to the NOC to catch up on the last few years. She and I discuss the projects she’s completed in that time, including the new film starring Riz Ahmed, Encounter, now available to stream on Prime Video.

Interview, Movies, Streaming

Janel Parrish Talks Her New Comedy Film, ‘Christmas is Canceled’

December 16, 2021December 16, 2021 Sophia Soto

Janel Parrish stars as Brandy in the new holiday comedy, Christmas is Canceled. The film will be released December 17 on Prime Video.

Horror, Interview, Streaming

‘The Manor’ Director Axelle Carolyn Wants to Know Why Everyone is So Afraid to Grow Old

October 19, 2021October 20, 2021 Bray Lawrence

Axelle Carolyn has been a lover of the horror genre from the beginning of her career. Ever since her jump from sitting in front of the screen to being behind the camera as a director, Carolyn has honed her craft to tell human stories through the genre that scares us most. For her new movie, The Manor, premiering on Amazon Prime Video as a part of “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” we were able to sit down and talk with Carolyn about life, death, and the fear of growing old.

Horror, Interview, Streaming

Gigi Saul Guerrero on Campy Horror and Respecting Your Elders in ‘Bingo Hell’

October 15, 2021October 15, 2021 Bray Lawrence

In Bingo Hell, co-writer and director Gigi Saul Guerrero creates a world of horror that harkens to the campiness of early ’80s schlock with a tale that feels as old as time itself. But it’s also a labor of love and reverence for the people in our lives that came before but are often never the protagonist of our stories — our elders.

Horror, Interview, Streaming

The Haunting History of Vampires and Blackness is Captured in ‘Black as Night’

October 11, 2021October 12, 2021 Bray Lawrence

In the film Black as Night, screenwriter Sherman Payne pens a haunting and alluring tale of vampires and their victims through a lens not much often looked through. Crafting a story that centers Shawna, a 15-year-old African American woman, as she battles vampires in a modern day New Orleans against a backdrop of not only the history of Hurricane Katrina but also the generational and systemic trauma of being Black in America.

Movies, Reviews, Streaming

Steve McQueen Highlights Necessary Histories with New Documentaries

September 25, 2021September 25, 2021 Jamal Michel

Director Steve McQueen’s newest Prime Video documentaries on West Indian and Caribbean life in 20^th century London are necessary viewing. In a style similar to Ava DuVernay’s 13^th, the Academy Award-winning director stitches together archival footage and thoughtful interviews that spotlight the violent history of some of London’s most vulnerable communities. Subnormal: A British Scandal, Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, and Uprising document the racially motivated atrocities that plagued black and brown neighborhoods across London in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, and captures the delicate maneuverings of McQueen’s cinematic eye.

Interview, Movies, Streaming

NOC Interview: Idina Menzel Discusses Her New Film, ‘Cinderella’

September 2, 2021 Sophia Soto

The talented Idina Menzel plays the role of Vivian in the Amazon Original movie Cinderella. The new film is a musically-driven bold version of the traditional story you grew up with, following an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow. Cinderella is coming to Prime Video on September 3.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi

‘Nebulous Dark’ Can’t Time Travel Enough to Be a Strong Movie

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 Bray Lawrence

A nightmare-fueled time-traveling plot unravels in Shahin Sean Solimon’s new film, Nebulous Dark, a sci-fi movie about the world’s last human man as he wakes from deep sleep to find the Earth has been conquered by aliens. This sounds pretty straight forward for a plot, but this is only how I could fully understand the film after watching it and reading the synopsis again. If you were to watch Nebulous Dark after only seeing the trailer, as I did, you would find an almost surreal, nihilist nightmare of a film that I can’t tell if it’s poorly edited and poorly written, or if it’s actively trying to attack the viewer on a subconscious level. What I was left with was an art piece that genuinely intrigues me and is unintentionally funny, by a film that takes itself incredibly seriously.

Streaming, Television

Official Trailer Debuts for the Second Season of Amazon’s ‘Modern Love’

July 15, 2021July 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

Last year, Amazon debuted its groundbreaking anthology series, Modern Love to solid reviews and an enthusiastic fanbase. I’m happy to report that the acclaimed series is coming back for another season, and this time it’s bringing some heavy acting talent with players like Dominique Fishback and Gbenga Akinnagbe, along with Zoe Chao, Kit Harrington, Anna Paquin, and a host of others!

Interview, Streaming, Television

Constance Wu on How Her Past and Motherhood Shaped Her for ‘Solos’

May 17, 2021June 11, 2021 Laura Sirikul

The new Amazon limited series Solos, set to debut on May 21, consists of seven separate inspiring stories that are all loosely interconnected. The anthology explores the strange, beautiful, heart-breaking, hilarious, wondrous truths of what it means to be human. In the trailer, Morgan Freeman’s voice describes the mutual feeling of loneliness that all of the characters feel, “We all feel alone in different ways; in feeling alone, we are somehow all together.”

Fantasy, Movies, Music

‘Cinderella’ is Arriving on Prime Video in September

May 13, 2021 Sophia Soto

Cinderella wrapped last year and fans have been ready to see it ever since. Now, we can finally get ourselves officially ready for the royal ball because the film will hit Prime Video in September of this year. As if that announcement wasn’t exciting enough, some first look images were also released!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Literature, Streaming, Television

Barry Jenkins and the Cast of ‘The Underground Railroad’ Discuss the Powerful Limited Series

May 13, 2021November 5, 2021 Jamal Michel

Colson Whitehead’s novel The Underground Railroad is a necessary reading for the ways it transcends a violent history and navigates the magic of self determination and Black personhood. The novel, published in 2016 and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book awards for fiction, follows the life of Cora and Caesar, two slaves in 19th century Georgia who take on the treacherous journey that is their freedom. The novel is bold, loving, and powerful, and with its serving as the basis for director Barry Jenkins’ (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) Amazon series by the same name, it has become necessary viewing.

Movies, Music, Streaming

Get Ready, ‘P!NK: All I Know So Far’ Hits Amazon Prime Video on May 21

May 12, 2021May 15, 2021 Sophia Soto

P!nk’s new film, P!NK: All I Know So Far, is almost here and we are counting down the days! The singer just recently received the ICON Award at the Billboard Music Awards and has a very exciting month, sharing a new song, album, and movie with the world. “All I Know So Far” came out on May 7, while her new live album AIKSF: Setlist and movie will be released on May 21.