M.O.D.O.K was just the beginning! This November, Hulu is continuing to crank out the epic Marvel animated shows, with its latest ambitious adaptation of Marvel’s Hit-Monkey!
Continue reading “Make Way for Hulu’s ‘Hit-Monkey’”
Animator and cosplayer Vishavjit Singh has experienced tremendous trauma in his life. He survived a genocide against Sikh people in India as a young boy, and after he and his family fled to the US, he’s constantly experienced racism and Islamophobia (despite not being Muslim) in the pre- and post-9/11 era. Despite all of this, he remains an optimist for people to treat each other better, and found through his regular cosplaying as Captain America that he could somehow achieve that. But what drew him to this initially?
Continue reading “Why this ‘American Sikh’ Cosplays as Captain America”
Two years ago, in the midst of the Keanussance, I took the red pill and didn’t look back when I watched The Matrix for the first time. It was an intense yet awesome first showing and it has since come to be one of my favorite films.
Continue reading “Thoughts and Reactions to Watching ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ For the First Time”
It looks like we’re getting another Asian-led career series from Netflix. Fresh off the success of Sandra Oh’s The Chair, the streaming giant announced a new series based on Helen Wan’s novel, The Partner Track. Created by Georgia Lee, Partner Track tells the story of Ingrid Yun (Arden Cho), an idealistic young lawyer as she struggles with her moral compass and passion for law as she fights to club the partner track at an elite New York City firm.
Continue reading “Arden Cho Stars in Netflix’s ‘Partner Track’”
Recently and on their own initiative, my 11-year old child became interested in Greek mythology. As a single co-parent father continually desperate for reasons to relate to and bond with my child, this delighted me, because by coincidence I became infatuated with Greek myths when I was young. As a broke Vietnamese refugee nerd kid, I’d go to the Franklin library and read up about the messed up Gods, the flawed heroes, the fantastic creatures.
Continue reading “Why Asian Americans Feel Compelled to Defend ‘Shang-Chi’”
Mixed Asian Media (MAM), formerly known as Hapa Mag, have announced their inaugural festival to celebrate mixed Asian and Pacific Islanders and their creative art forms — including film, theatre, art, dance, and many more! Partnering with Leviathan Lab and CRUX XR, the virtual celebration will take place on the platform Bizzabo.
Continue reading “Mixed Asian Media Presents First Annual Mixed Asian Media Fest!”
Now that it’s breaking box office records, Keith, Britney, and Dominic are joined by HK cinema and martial arts movie expert Raymond Chow to break down Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on a new episode of Hard NOC Life.
As Bruce Lee might say, we must start with dispelling what is not useful and replace it with what is useful. I will not rehash any arguments comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther which are based in speculation, impulse-tweeted, or otherwise made in bad faith. The phrase “Asian American Black Panther” has been tossed around (including by me), in various contexts, since Black Panther came out in 2018.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ Is Not NOT Like ‘Black Panther’”
Keith and Dominic tap into their Chinese American backgrounds to provide YouTube’s definitive explainer on how to pronounce “Shang-Chi,” a name that the entire world will want to know now that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the biggest movie in the world!
Continue reading “Two Chinese Americans Explain How to Pronounce ‘Shang-Chi’”
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters tonight! Be safe, be curious!
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ and the Ten Asian American Things (To Be Aware Of)”
Marvel’s Shang-Chi premieres this week. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, there’s a lot of pressure to get this character and story right, given the comic book’s problematic history being rooted in stereotypical Asian tropes. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter Dave Callaham did a lot of research on Shang-Chi’s comic book origins and knew what they wanted to do with him.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ Screenwriter Dave Callaham on Keeping it Authentically Asian American”
Celebrating their 30th Anniversary, The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, aka CAPE, have recently announced their inaugural program for the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator — powered by Sony Pictures Entertainment, the same studio that brought you Into the Spider-Verse and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines.
Continue reading “CAPE Partners with Sony to Launch AAPI Animation Directors Program”
On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith, Britney, and Dominic revisit the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, worry about the discourse surrounding Shang-Chi, how the Free Guy creative team should bring Deadpool to the MCU, and recap the latest episode of Disney+’s What If. They also look back at the one-year anniversary of Chadwick Boseman’s passing.
In just one week, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is set to premiere in theaters everywhere. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, with a predominantly Asian cast, Shang-Chi is about to get its very own #GoldOpen.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is Getting a #GoldOpen”
In the Marvel comics, Spider-Man’s final-boss-level foe is the Sinister Six. Not the Fatal Five, not the Frightful Four, not the Seven Samurai, although those are also all things. In the Internet-breaking first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, there are distinct teases and reveals for at least five villains: Electro, Sandman, Lizard, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus. Who will be the sixth adversary in the much-anticipated Spider-Man film, to be released this December from Marvel and Sony Pictures?
Continue reading “Who Is the Sinister Sixth Villain in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home?’”
After more than a decade in development, director Evan Jackson Leong is now ready to unveil his magnum opus, Snakehead, to the world. Starring Shuya Chang, Sung Kang, and Jade Wu, Snakehead tells the story of Sister Tse, a woman who rises through the ranks of a Chinatown crime family before having to reconcile between personal success and her family. Check out the trailer below:
Continue reading “‘Snakehead’ to Finally Hit Theaters and Digital in October”
Whether it’s an overall sense of fatigue from mainstream audiences who aren’t into comic book films, or perhaps a general sense of pandemic malaise from folks unsatisfied with the state of entertainment these days, it seems like the momentum and good will the MCU has cultivated the past 12 years has turned to mixed sentiment for most of this year.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Shang-Chi’ is Spectacular”
During the global press conference for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this morning, director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) say they are strictly platonic.
Continue reading “Shang-Chi and Katy are Just Strictly Friends”
Recently, I had the pleasure to talk to the icon Daniel Wu about his role in the new Warner Bros. film, Reminiscence. In it, Wu plays the villainous Saint Joe, but does so in a way that upends the stereotype of the “Asian villain.” Of course, The NOC is no stranger to Wu’s body of work, having championed every season of AMC’s Into the Badlands.
Continue reading “‘Reminiscence’ Star Daniel Wu is a Saint”
This Friday, Warner Bros. will be releasing Reminiscence, an original high-concept, sci-fi film noir, in theaters and on HBO Max. In a world where IP reigns supreme, to have a non-franchise, non-sequel get such a wide release is almost unheard of nowadays. The only person in recent memory who has been able to open an original blockbuster is Christopher Nolan. But, as Reminiscence points out, we can’t always rely on memory. What matters is the here and now, and right now is Lisa Joy’s time. If anyone can successfully tell a high concept sci-fi story, I’ll put my money on the co-creator of Westworld — who just so happens to be Nolan’s sister-in-law.
Continue reading “On a Journey with Lisa Joy, Director of ‘Reminiscence’ + a Clip From the Movie”
The Protégé isn’t just your typical action movie. And Maggie Q is absolutely not your typical Hollywood action hero. Indeed, Q and this movie represent something special for Asians like myself; more so especially for Asian women. In the history of American-made action films, how many have been led by Asian women? And no, Scarlett Johansson doesn’t count for obvious reasons. I bet if you’re counting at home, you have barely finished counting on one hand.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Maggie Q on Representing Powerful Asian Women in ‘The Protégé’”
The “Chi” part is easy. “Chee.” Rhymes with “Kree.” Technically the “Ch” is not precisely the same as in English “Chad” or “Chocolate,” but it’s close enough for conversation amongst non-fluent Chinese speakers.
The “Shang” is said the same way as the “Shang” in Shanghai, the city in China. But here’s the thing, if you’ve been saying “Shanghai” as if it rhymes with “Fang Sky” all your life, that’s not really how you say “Shanghai.” And that’s okay.
Continue reading “How to Pronounce ‘Shang-Chi’ Because it’s Super-Important for the Marvel Universe”
This week, news broke that Lucasfilm was ramping up production on Ahsoka and looking for an actress to play a live action version of the popular Rebels character, Sabine Wren. Naturally, I was taken aback by the phrase “looking for” because an actress already plays Sabine and her name is Tiya Sircar.
Continue reading “Why Tiya Sircar Should Be Sabine Wren in ‘Ahsoka’”