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‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ is Non-Stop Cinematic Confetti

April 1, 2026April 3, 2026 Sabina Graves

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out this week, already poised to keep making bank by turning more game nostalgia into a pumped-up franchise for Nintendo and Universal Pictures. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) reprise their roles as the Mushroom Kingdom’s go-to plumbers to fix and fight well… anything you’ve seen in the games you grew up playing.

Interview, Streaming, Television

Brie Larson Talks ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ and Relating to Her Character

November 24, 2023 Sophia Soto

Brie Larson executive produced and stars as Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry. The season finale is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 324: Happy X-Men (Strike is Over)

November 13, 2023February 5, 2024 Hard NOC Media

Hard NOC Life is back! Keith gets the band back together as Dominic and Britney break down The Marvels, Loki Season 2, and what was nerd poppin’ when they were on hiatus. Later, Keith is joined by Broadway star James Monroe Iglehart to discuss his latest role in Spamalot and what theater has in common with pro wrestling.

Marvel, Movies, Reviews

‘The Marvels’ Finds its Savior in a Teenager

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023 Laura Sirikul

Marvel has been getting a lot flack lately, especially with the upcoming release of The Marvels. The film itself went through multiple reshoots and pushed its release twice. To many, especially the “film bros,” this marks the sign of a disaster waiting to happen. But, the end result of The Marvels wasn’t that bad.

Marvel, Reviews

NOC Review: ‘The Marvels’ is a Light and Breezy Blast

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023 Mike Manalo

It seems these days I start out every MCU review with some comments about how we’re in an era where “the death of Marvel” is prominently in the zeitgeist. And sure, a damning article from Variety and some online chatter, along with some lukewarm or worse receptions for certain projects here and there would have you think such a thing is imminent. Perhaps it’s true. Or perhaps it’s audience or critical cynicism at its worst.

Marvel, Movies, Video Games

How ‘The Marvels’ and Spider-Man Held Me Together: A Quantum-Entangled Timeline

October 16, 2023January 25, 2024 Dominic Mah

Don’t! You tell me to smile!
You stick around I’ll make it worth your while!
The Beastie Boys, “Intergalactic”

The last five years have not even been fooling around.

Animation, Streaming

New ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Trailer Launches Epic Battle with the Seven Evil Exes

October 15, 2023October 16, 2023 Michael Lee

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A brokenhearted boy from Toronto, who is dating a high schooler, meets a girl from New York. The boy falls in love but learns that to date that girl from New York, he will have to fight her seven evil exes. Such is the premise of the story for Edgar Wright’s film adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Mally’s Scott Pilgrim comic book series.

Streaming, Television, Trailers

Watch the Official Trailer for ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Starring Brie Larson

September 14, 2023September 14, 2023 Sophia Soto

Apple TV+ has finally released the trailer for Lessons in Chemistry, which is based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Garmus. The new limited series starring and executive produced by Brie Larson premieres on October 13 with the first two episodes. After that, new episodes will debut weekly, every Friday through November 24.

Animation, Streaming, Trailers

‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Trailer Teases Frenzied Animation Style and Rocking Music

August 16, 2023August 16, 2023 Michael Lee

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Edgar Wright‘s live-action adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel of the same name, now considered to be a cult classic, is getting the animation treatment from Netflix. The streaming giant has released first trailer Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Movies, Reviews1 Comment

NOC Review: Fun ‘Fast X’ is X-ceptionally Stupid

May 17, 2023May 17, 2023 Mike Manalo

At this point, I don’t have to preface this with any sort of message warning people about the Fast and Furious franchise being incredibly stupid. I did this for F9 in 2021. And it should be obvious we’re getting more of the same from Fast X. These aren’t good movies. But why in the world would you go in expecting them to be? You go to a Fast and Furious movie looking for guilty-pleasure fun. And honestly, for better or worse, they still deliver on that lowest common denominator sense of entertainment.

Movies, Trailers

The Final ‘Fast X’ Trailer Goes into Overdrive

May 15, 2023May 16, 2023 Mike Manalo

This Friday marks the beginning of the end for the Fast and Furious franchise! And we’ll have a review of Fast X for everyone coming later this week. But before we begin the countdown, Universal has just dropped a final trailer for the latest installment in the “family” franchise today. Check it out right here!

Movies, Trailers

The End of the Road Begins with the New ‘Fast X’ Trailer

February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 Mike Manalo

The engines are revving up once again, as Dom, Letty, Han, Roman, Tej, and the rest of the Fast Family gear up for one more ride in Fast X!

Interview, Streaming, Television

Brie Larson, Yara Shahidi, and Their ‘Growing Up’ Heroes are Ready to Inspire

September 6, 2022 Sophia Soto

Created by Brie Larson and Culture House, Growing Up is an innovative hybrid docu-series that explores the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of adolescence through ten compelling coming-of-age stories. Before the show premieres on Disney+, I had the opportunity to interview Larson (Executive Producer/Director), Yara Shahidi (Director), Alex Crotty, Sage Grace Dolan-Sandrino, Emily Flores, and Sofia Ongele!

Movies, Reviews

‘Just Mercy’ Effectively Calls for Justice with Emotional Impact

January 10, 2020January 10, 2020 Lauren Lola

It’s no secret that the justice system in the United States is a mess like no other. However, the odds of navigating it and coming out unscathed — if at all — are worse for the Black community. Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and founder/executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, witnessed just how brutal it is, as he worked tirelessly to free Walter McMillian from death row, after being arrested for a murder he did not commit. Just Mercy tells that story.

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Movies

‘Just Mercy’ Trailer: Michael B. Jordan Stars in Inspiring True Story

September 4, 2019September 5, 2019 Laura Sirikul

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s biographical drama Just Mercy has released their trailer about the true story of modern-day hero Bryan Stevenson, played by Michael B. Jordan.

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Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies

Hard NOC Life: When ‘Captain Marvel’ Met ‘Shazam’

April 12, 2019May 8, 2020 Hard NOC Media

There are two superhero movies dominating the box office right now, and they both happen to have the same name — well, historically at least. Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson and Warner Bros.’ Shazam! starring Zachary Levi both center around a superhero named Captain Marvel, though neither use that name in their respective movies.

On a recent episode of the DC TV Classics podcast, Keith and Britney discussed the 1970s Shazam television series but also reviewed both movies. On this special crossover pod, we’ve isolated Keith and Britney’s movie talk to focus on their reactions to both movies.

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Marvel, Movies2 Comments

The Avengers Assemble for the ‘Endgame’

April 7, 2019June 11, 2021 Mike Manalo

“We’re in the endgame now.” The ominous words of Doctor Strange rang in everyone’s ears almost one year ago today. After months of crazy anticipation, and intense speculation by fans, we’re finally going to get closure and see what those words truly mean.

Marvel, Movies

Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ Movie Has a Director

March 13, 2019 Keith Chow

Hot off of Captain Marvel’s $500 million box office domination, Marvel Studios is already hard at work assembling the future phases of their Cinematic Universe. After announcing Shang-Chi as the next hero to get a feature, Marvel Studios has tapped director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm their first ever Asian American-led superhero film.

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Marvel, Movies, Reviews2 Comments

‘Captain Marvel’ Goes Higher Further and Faster For the MCU

March 5, 2019September 8, 2019 Laura Sirikul

Sorry to burst your bubble, haters, but Captain Marvel is really good.

With all the controversy surrounding Captain Marvel, created by internet trolls, it was refreshing to watch the film and see how wrong they were about it. Captain Marvel has been labeled a feminist film, and it is, but it does so without dragging men down. Instead, the film focuses on women empowerment, sisterhood, and friendships.

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Marvel, Music, Nerd Nostalgia1 Comment

Here’s The ‘Captain Marvel’ Cast’s Karaoke Go-To Playlist, In Case You Were Wondering

March 4, 2019October 15, 2023 Dominic Mah

According to today’s live Q&A event hosted by Marvel Studios at a re-created Tower Records in West Hollywood, which also featured live sets by Bush and L7.

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Marvel, Movies2 Comments

The “Marvel”-ous Ms. Danvers: The ‘Captain Marvel’ Press Conference

February 23, 2019February 23, 2019 Mike Manalo

A restless crowd found itself eagerly awaiting the commencement of an important event on Friday afternoon in the gorgeous ballroom of a luxurious Los Angeles hotel. High spirits were palpable all around, as everyone had come from seeing one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year a few days before the event: Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel. The film, a turning point for the ever-expanding success that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, represented something more than just a typical superhero FX-driven origin story — it was to become Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero movie. And as such, the crowd was anxious for the announcement that they would soon be joined by the captain, herself, Brie Larson, as well as co-stars Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and producer-extraordinaire Kevin Feige to discuss candidly what indeed makes her a hero.

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Interview, Marvel, Movies1 Comment

‘Captain Marvel’ Directors Dive Deep into Carol Danvers and Brie Larson

February 12, 2019April 11, 2019 Laura Sirikul

Captain Marvel is set to release in less than one month, and fans have been anticipating for more juicy details about our awesome HERo and the woman playing her, Brie Larson. During a set visit in May, Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck revealed the importance of Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, being the first woman-led superhero film for Marvel and the first being directed by a woman director.

“I feel incredibly honored to be given the opportunity to, to be here with this awesome group of people,” Boden told The Nerds of Color. “It amazes me that I am the first female director to be doing one of their films. But I, you know, [I’m] just kind of trying to tackle it like I would any other job. And the more I think about that stuff, the less focused I am. Just kind of trying to work every day, and one of the things that I love about this movie is that what a collaboration — what an amazing collaboration it is.”

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Marvel, Movies

‘Captain Marvel’ Set Visit: Everything We’ve Learned About the MCU’s Newest Hero

January 8, 2019January 8, 2019 Laura Sirikul

Back in May of 2018, a group of reporters visited the set of Captain Marvel on the Sony lot in Los Angeles to experience Marvel’s newest superhero in person. Although we have not been officially introduced to the feminist hero yet in the MCU, we were given signs of her arrival at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.

As we have seen in the trailers and released photos, we are introduced to Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers (Brie Lawson), in the 1990s. This isn’t an origin story. From her first introduction, she already has her powers and is part of the elite military force on the Kree planet Hala. Her Starforce teammates include Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan). There are flashbacks to Danvers’ life as she embarks on her adventure on Earth and meets a young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Together, they must work to stop the Skrulls, led by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), from completing an evil plot.

Want to know more?

Be warned. Below are spoilers.

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