Hard NOC Life 230: ‘What If’ We Stopped Comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther?

Keith rejoins Britney and Dominic to share final thoughts on The Suicide Squad, revisit Cathy Yan’s contributions to the DC canon, break down the whole Shang-Chi experiment “controversy,” and review the first episode of Disney+’s What If.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 230: ‘What If’ We Stopped Comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther?”

In Retrospect: ‘Birds of Prey’ and the Un-Fantabulous Omission of One Cathy Yan

I don’t typically like to compare movies. Sure, most films of recent are either a reboot, sequel or adaptation. At the very least, they take reference from kind of source material. But some movies are more comparable than others, like Suicide Squad (2016) and The Suicide Squad (2021). However, aside from confusingly similar titles, a couple of returning players, and a similar world-saving plot, these two movies have almost nothing in common.

Continue reading “In Retrospect: ‘Birds of Prey’ and the Un-Fantabulous Omission of One Cathy Yan”

Hard NOC Life 203: Damn Gina

Shawn is off this week, but Dominic, Keith, and Jamal are here to discuss another episode of WandaVision, as well as the latest look at Falcon and Winter Soldier. They also talk about Disney’s distancing from The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano and new (old) allegations against Joss Whedon. They also explore Pedro Pascal’s cinematic Dadverse.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 203: Damn Gina”

Follow Us and Get a Digital Copy of ‘Birds of Prey’

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Birds of Prey here at The Nerds of Color. Even though the film has been on demand digitally since the pandemic hit, Cathy Yan’s girl-gang opus is finally available to fans of physical media with its release on blu-ray and DVD. To celebrate, we’re giving away a digital copy* of the movie to one lucky follower on twitter!

Continue reading “Follow Us and Get a Digital Copy of ‘Birds of Prey’”

Hard NOC Life: ‘Birds of Prey’ and the Fantabulous Isolation of Self Quarantine

This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith are joined by fashion photographer and Birds of Prey superfan Lauren Nakao Winn.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: ‘Birds of Prey’ and the Fantabulous Isolation of Self Quarantine”

Hard NOC Life: Sir Gawain and the Dark Knight

This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith continue their discussion of Birds of Prey and share their thoughts on Robert Pattinson as Batman. Later, Friend of the NOC Preeti Chhibber returns to the show to talk about a couple of new Dev Patel movie trailers.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: Sir Gawain and the Dark Knight”

‘Birds of Prey’ is An Asian American Aesthetic Superhero Movie I’ve Always Wanted

Holy batshit, batpeople, Birds of Prey is powerful. It is an action-comedy escapade about a squad of DC Comics’ most beloved women characters, including Harley Quinn, Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain. The film also does a thing which may befittingly fly under the radar: it displays a distinctly Asian American artistic aesthetic in the context of a modern superhero movie. I’ll belabor the question of “WTF is an Asian American artistic aesthetic?” only upon request, because it is so arguable and amorphous and also other a-words, I would never get to blabbing about the movie. To paraphrase the dude in Gladiator, “anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.” To brutally essentialize it, some artworks are more Asian American** than they are Asian or American, although they still may be both, and neither. I’ll attempt to argue for why Birds of Prey is exactly this.

Continue reading “‘Birds of Prey’ is An Asian American Aesthetic Superhero Movie I’ve Always Wanted”

Fantabulous ‘Birds of Prey’ Really Takes Off

Separated from the Suicide Squad and dumped by the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), wants to move on but is not sure how. She’s kept the breakup a secret but wants to reveal it’s over.  She comes up with the bright idea to blow up the location where they confessed their love for one another. Harley Quinn gets away with just about anything around Gotham because people are scared of the Joker’s wrath. Once that relationship is gone, though, all hell breaks loose for her as this sends a message that she’s no longer under the Clown Prince’s protection. Oops.

Continue reading “Fantabulous ‘Birds of Prey’ Really Takes Off”

The ‘Birds of Prey’ Egg Sandwich Explained

With the release of DC’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of the One Harley Quinn), many have been wondering about one particular scene when Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) describes in detail about obtaining the perfect egg sandwich for her breakfast. The way Harley describes the egg sandwich could almost be told from a sexual point of view or just how we, and many people, describe food. Unfortunately for Harley, she does not get to enjoy the egg sandwich due to the fact she ends up being chased by Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) and it drops to the floor.

Continue reading “The ‘Birds of Prey’ Egg Sandwich Explained”

Ella Jay Basco is Ready to be Batgirl

When Ella Jay Basco got the call to play Cassandra Cain, aka Batgirl, in DC’s Birds of Prey, the first thing she did was cry tears of joy.

“I didn’t think it was real,” said Basco over the phone. “I broke down into tears. I never really expected that it would be like this because it’s just so crazy. I really broke down into tears. I couldn’t believe it. It was super emotional, but I was so happy.”

Still reveling from the Birds of Prey premiere in London the night before, Basco was enjoying her first full press junket. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Basco as she prepares for a full weekend of questions.

Continue reading “Ella Jay Basco is Ready to be Batgirl”

Changing “Harleywood” with the ‘Birds of Prey’

Change is in the air, ladies and gentleman! And this weekend, Los Angeles got a taste of that, when Margot Robbie, director Cathy Yan, and the full cast and crew of Birds of Prey took over Hollywood, in a gloriously chaotic stunt that turned the city into “Harleywood” for four-straight mayhem-fueled days. The massive Hollywood and Highland Center was home to the outfits, vehicles, and props of the film, as well as special photo activations and makeup demonstrations.

Continue reading “Changing “Harleywood” with the ‘Birds of Prey’”

The ‘Birds of Prey’ Wish You a Happy Lunar New Year

This weekend marks the beginning of the Year of the Rat. To celebrate, one of the stars of the upcoming Birds of Prey movie — Cassandra Cain herself, Ella Jay Basco! — recorded a special Lunar New greeting exclusively for The Nerds of Color in front of the latest trailer. Check it out!

Continue reading “The ‘Birds of Prey’ Wish You a Happy Lunar New Year”

Happy Holidays from the NOC and the ‘Birds of Prey’

Recently, the cast of the upcoming Birds of Prey movie — including Ella Jay Basco, Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Rosie Perez — recorded a special holiday greeting exclusively for The Nerds of Color. Check it out below and have a Happy Holiday season:

Continue reading “Happy Holidays from the NOC and the ‘Birds of Prey’”

15 Things We Learned from the Set of ‘Birds of Prey’

With the holidays around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with news from the anticipated Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. The Nerds of Color was invited to the set of Birds of Prey this past April to explore the dangerously fun production of the all-women led “superhero” movie and chat with the cast and creatives of the film. 

Continue reading “15 Things We Learned from the Set of ‘Birds of Prey’”

The ‘Birds of Prey’ Hit ComplexCon

Anyone who visited ComplexCon in Long Beach, CA this weekend was in for a fantabulous surprise, as Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey hit the convention floor! Join them and make yourself a hell of a stylish video! Here’s a look at the fun booth!

Be sure to check it out when you visit ComplexCon between now and November 3!

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits theaters in February 2020!

Continue reading “The ‘Birds of Prey’ Hit ComplexCon”

The ‘Birds of Prey’ Trailer Officially Lands!

In anticipation of New York Comic Con coming this week, WB and DC have dropped the first trailer for the highly anticipated return of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, and the introduction of the Birds of Prey. The trailer gives us an awesome, surreal first look at the mayhem to come, including our introductions to the DCEU’s Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain, as well as Ewan McGregor as the nefarious Black Mask.

Continue reading “The ‘Birds of Prey’ Trailer Officially Lands!”

Hard NOC Life: Crisis of Infinite Supermen

On a new episode of Hard NOC Life — which was recorded before the reveal of Brandon Routh as Superman! — Keith and Dominic get excited about all of the Superman, especially the inclusion of Smallville in this fall’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover on The CW.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: Crisis of Infinite Supermen”

DC and WB Unveil Colorful New ‘Birds of Prey’ Poster!

This week the folks at DC and WB unveiled the first poster for Birds of Prey! The film brings back Margot Robbie in her iconic portrayal of Harley Quinn, but also brings a plethora of amazing actresses into the DC Extended Universe, such as Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett as Black Canary, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya!

Continue reading “DC and WB Unveil Colorful New ‘Birds of Prey’ Poster!”

The Joker is Having a Moment

This morning, while all of you were trying (and mostly failing) to buy Avengers: Endgame tickets, Warner Bros. quietly dropped the first official poster for this fall’s Joker — with the first trailer set to drop any minute now. (UPDATED April 3, 2019 — trailer is below!) How’s that for the Day After April Fool’s?

Continue reading “The Joker is Having a Moment”

‘Birds of Prey’ is Already the Greatest DCEU Movie of All Time

Maybe I’m being a little hyperbolic with the headline, but Warner Bros. and DC Films set the internet on fire when it released a 20-second “teaser” featuring our first looks at the main cast for the upcoming Cathy Yan-directed Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), including Margot Robbie as the titular Harley, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary,  Mary Elizabeth Winstead as The Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain. Also, that cast though!

Continue reading “‘Birds of Prey’ is Already the Greatest DCEU Movie of All Time”