Hard NOC Life: Across the DC Universe
Dominic Mah returns to guest co-host Hard NOC Life as he and Keith speculate about the future of DC Entertainment!
Tag: Gal Gadot
Hard NOC Life: ‘Spider-Man’ Into the Multiverse
This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic Mah returns as guest co-host to join Keith for additional spoilery Endgame thoughts. This time with more Spider-Man: Far From Home!
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: ‘Spider-Man’ Into the Multiverse”
Details on the Home Media Release of ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’
This February, Disney’s hit animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet will makes its way to digital libraries and home theaters. The digital release will be available February 12, and the blu-rays will be in stores two weeks later on February 26. And stay tuned to @TheNerdsofColor on twitter — because we might be giving away some cool swag from the movie soon!
Continue reading “Details on the Home Media Release of ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’”
Wonder Woman, Now the World is Ready For You
After shattering box office glass ceilings with a $200 million global debut, Keith breaks down the latest, and most successful, entry in the DC Extended Universe with two Wonder Women in their own right: N’Jaila Rhee (@BlasianBytch) — who also wrote the official NOC review — and Britney Monae (@HiBritneyMonae). Together they rank Wonder Woman against other comic book superhero movies and why the “No Man’s Land” scene is the best, discuss the problems with the last act of the movie, break down the argument that Gal Gadot is a person of color and/or a Zionist, and determine which Chris is the Ultimate Champion White Actor Dude Named Chris.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman, Now the World is Ready For You”
Wonder Woman: The OG Feminist SJW Finally Arrives on the Big Screen
So… Wonder Woman is out. I volunteered to review it. Holy Heck, How do you review a film like Wonder Woman?
Continue reading “Wonder Woman: The OG Feminist SJW Finally Arrives on the Big Screen”
The Red Capes Are Coming: A Batman v Superman Retrospective
One year ago, history was made when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Wonder Woman Justice opened in theaters.
Why is this a cinematic milestone?
For the first time in history, the Man of Steel, the Caped Crusader, and the Amazon appeared together in a live action story. This is of monumental importance because not only are these iconic heroes the flagship franchises of DC Comics, they are also the cornerstones of western media and western culture.
Continue reading “The Red Capes Are Coming: A Batman v Superman Retrospective”
DC vs. Marvel: Which Movie Franchise Represents Its Audience More?
Originally posted at Just Add Color
With the culmination of the San Diego Comic-Con, we’ve been getting a lot of DC Comics movie franchise news. Some of which includes the new footage of the Justice League movie, featuring Batman (Ben Affleck), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and Superman (Henry Cavill).
With the introduction of DC’s superhero team, I started wondering — which movie franchise represents its diverse audience more?
Continue reading “DC vs. Marvel: Which Movie Franchise Represents Its Audience More?”
Battle On, Amazons
Prior to Gal Gadot being tapped to portray Wonder Woman for the DC Extended Universe, there was an online campaign where fans wanted to see actress Gina Torres play the iconic superheroine.
Understandable. Much like Gadot — and for that matter, Lynda Carter — Torres is the perfect blend of grace, beauty, power, and wisdom.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Confirmation Bias
I’m examining Batman v Superman from the perspective of the ridiculous and (not) unprecedented fan “outrage” and critical overreaction.
First thing, let’s take a look at the phrase “confirmation bias.” Here’s the definition:
Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.
Simply put, if people desperately wish to cling onto or believe in a certain conclusion, there’s nothing in the universe that can change their mind. They will not entertain — nor have the ability to entertain — anything that falls outside of their way of thinking.
Continue reading “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Confirmation Bias”
Things Other Movies Did Better Than Batman v Superman
I didn’t hate Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I walked into the theater last night fully expecting to hate it. Two and a half hours later, I ended up merely not liking it. That’s progress, I guess?
That said, there were a couple things I actually liked (most having to do with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman) and I can’t deny that Ben Affleck looks like Batman (even though he sure doesn’t act like him). But the thing that distracted me throughout the movie was the fact that it contained a lot of elements that were executed better in other live action adaptations.
Continue reading “Things Other Movies Did Better Than Batman v Superman“
The Epic Failure of Batman v Superman
Before I begin this review, I want you all to watch this clip from Man of Steel.
I remembered watching that scene from that film and actually yelling out loud how incredibly stupid and unnecessarily melodramatic that was.
That’s exactly how I felt after watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Guess We Don’t Need to See Batman v Superman Now
Since when did Jimmy Kimmel Live become the go-to place for movie studios to drop their most anticipated trailers? It made sense before to have all-Marvel or all-Star Wars editions — Disney owns ABC, after all — but using Kimmel to reveal Warner/DC’s formal entry into the cinematic superhero wars was a surprise. Like, why not use The CW’s two-part Flarrow crossover1 to show off their big guns? Corporate synergy, remember? Still, like a proper nerd, I tuned in to Kimmel to see the latest tease for what will be the biggest movie of March 2016.
Continue reading “Guess We Don’t Need to See Batman v Superman Now”
The Pristine Balance: The Role of Wonder Woman in the DC Trinity
In honor of Women’s History Month…
Musician Janelle Monae has an empowering motto that she shares with other women: “Come in peace, but mean business.”
There couldn’t possibly be a better motto that sums up Wonder Woman, more specifically her role in the DC Trinity. Too often Wonder Woman is conflated for Super Woman, i.e., a female version of Superman and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Themysciran Princess has her own agency and a most vital purpose. She’s the pristine balance.
Continue reading “The Pristine Balance: The Role of Wonder Woman in the DC Trinity”
Warner Finally Unveils its DC Superhero Movie Slate
Looks like Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment have responded to the gauntlet thrown down by the folks at Disney and Marvel Studios. After the nerd community was rocked by the news that Robert Downey Jr. was joining the Captain America threequel, DC hit back with its entire slate of DC-based superhero films for the next five years.
In a special presentation to shareholders, Warner Brothers head Kevin Tsujihara revealed which DC heroes would be getting movies through 2020. Remember, there have been rumblings all year that this ambitious slate of superhero films would be coming out eventually. Now that we know which films will be coming out and when, all I can say is… meh.
Continue reading “Warner Finally Unveils its DC Superhero Movie Slate”
Captain America vs. Iron Man vs. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of OMG, is This Really Happening?!
That screeching sound you heard last night was the internet grinding to a halt when Variety broke the news: Robert Downey, Jr. was in final negotiations to star in Captain America 3, aka the movie that made the Justice League blink. Now you might be wondering, why is it still a Captain America movie if Robert Downey, Jr. is in it and not, say, Avengers 2.5? Well, I’m glad you asked!
If all the rumors turn out to be true, the casting of Downey essentially confirms that the popular “Civil War” storyline from the comics is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a move that fans have been clamoring for ever since Stark and Cap almost came to blows in the first Avengers flick.
Stay Classy, San Diego Comic-Con
Another year, and another San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone. In the wake of the annual ritual of nerds gathering in Southern California, the Hard N.O.C. Life crew convene to discuss the biggest announcements that emerged from the convention!
Joining Keith on the panel are Comics and Cosplay host Ian (@ComixNCosplay), ODU criminology prof Shawn, and nerdcore extraordinaire — and Comic-Con attendee — Random aka Mega Ran (@MegaRan).
Wonder Woman on Gaza: What Would Diana Do?
Now that San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, the geekosphere is slowly recovering from yet another event-filled summer week of blockbuster teasers, secret announcements, and surprise reveals. The biggest news of the weekend was probably Zack Snyder surprising Hall H with an exclusive first look at Gal Gadot in full Wonder Woman regalia. DC’s new cinematic trinity — Gadot, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill — even joined Snyder on stage to tease actual footage from the movie.
The move made Batman v Superman the buzziest movie presentation to emerge out of San Diego by far. And to be honest, I think Gadot looks fantastic as Wonder Woman. Yeah, the internet’s got jokes, but I think the costume successfully threads the needle between comic book accurate and live action practical. For me, though, the thing that I find disconcerting about Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman isn’t how she looks, but what she believes.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman on Gaza: What Would Diana Do?”
Wonder Woman: kNOCking heads
Wonder Woman polarizes the ongoing debate over live-action female superhero movies. Advocates for a Wonder Woman movie routinely pen supportive op-eds that offer suggestions to Warner Brothers and DC Comics, while detractors decry a live-action Wonder Woman movie as an obnoxious waste of movie funding better spent promoting other female minority superheroes.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman: kNOCking heads”
How Avengers is Ruining the Superhero Movie
As of April 2013, The Avengers had grossed more than $600 million dollars in the US, a box office performance that has nearly tripled its (already bloated) production budget. It would be fair to say that if you’re a Hollywood movie producer, The Avengers makes you very, very, very happy. In fact, you’re hoping to make as many Avengers franchises as you possibly can.
Against this backdrop of undeniable success, it seems major Hollywood production companies are hoping to do just that. For the last few months, the Internet has been a-buzz with casting rumours for Man of Steel 2: first with news that Ben Affleck was being tapped to play an aging Batman, and last week with the announcement that virtually unknown actress Gal Gadot (of Fast and Furious franchise fame) was assuming the mantle of Wonder Woman. Although fans have long clamoured for a live-action Justice League adaptation, the fact that all three members of the heralded DC Trinity will be making an appearance in Man of Steel 2 — a movie that we all expected would be just another Superman solo vehicle — is clear indication that WB/DC has drawn inspiration from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is looking to fast-track the Justice League movie by rapidly introducing other characters to the silver screen. Fans have since speculated that while Gadot might make a minimal cameo in Man of Steel 2, it’s likely that she will subsequently headline her own Wonder Woman movie that would further stoke the fires for a full Justice League film.
Continue reading “How Avengers is Ruining the Superhero Movie”
2013: The Year in Review
As we barrel toward the end of the year, we figured it was a good time to go on hiatus and take stock of Hard NOC Life before returning on the other side of the new year with a better experience for the viewers. If you have any suggestions on how to improve the show, please feel free to let us know in the comments!
For our special year-end wrap up, Keith (@the_real_chow) has asked a roster of panel all-stars to come back one more time to the topics of the day. Joining the show are Raymond Chow, Julie Kang (@JulieKang), N’Jaila Rhee (@BlasianBytch), Shawn Smith, and Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria (@rscspokenword). As always, Hard N.O.C. Life is directed by the indomitable Nelson Wong (@aarisings).
The Conversation We Should Not Have About Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman
Zack Snyder cast Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman for the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, thereby ending months of speculation about the possible portrayal of DC Comics’ oldest nod to feminist virtue and grrl power. Previously seen by American audiences in the recent Fast & Furious movies, Gal Gadot’s casting has been met with equal praise and derision. My initial response is hearty, heartfelt, and honest.
I told you so.
Continue reading “The Conversation We Should Not Have About Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman”