Meeting the Masterminds Behind ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’

For decades, the legend and sounds of Godzilla have remained iconic. But less known about the mythology (at least in the latest iteration of Legendary’s MonsterVerse) are the shadowy figures that monitor Godzilla and other titans across the planet: the organization Monarch! Now, with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters debuting on Apple TV+ this Friday, November 17, the world of monsters will finally be brought into the light. And to celebrate, we were able to sit down with the showrunners and creators Matt Fraction and Chris Black, as well as director Matt Shakman, and producer Sean Konrad, to discuss the journey of bringing the MonsterVerse to streaming.

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NOC Exclusive Clip: Meet ‘Monarch’ Scientist Dr. Miura

The MonsterVerse is back! Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is almost here! The spin off of the epic Godzilla/Kong franchise is officially hitting Apple TV+ this Friday, November 17. And to celebrate, we have an exclusive first look clip for all of you to check out!

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‘The Suicide Squad’ Set Visit: It’s Harley Quinn’s Multiverse, We’re Just Living and Dying In It

In late 2019, which seems a whole world ago, The Nerds Of Color were invited to Atlanta, GA to visit the set of The Suicide Squad, which premieres on HBO Max and in theaters this Friday, August 6. Early reviews of the sequel/not-a-sequel are already out, and here’s a few more things we learned from the set visit about the “shitty supervillain” war caper film, based on the DC Comics.

SPOILERS FOLLOW! Also, possibly, opinions.

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NOC Review: ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ is Giant Fun but Has Giant POC Problems

As you, our loyal readers know, The NOC was created to provide input on the pop culture stories and trends we all love, but with a perspective that assess them from the greater lens of representation for people of color; fans like you. Sometimes in my reviews, I’ll assess a movie purely from an entertainment standpoint. But sometimes, a movie will come along that honestly needs to be looked at closer with both lenses. And Godzilla Vs. Kong, of all things, is actually one of those movies. To be frank, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like this movie. From an entertainment standpoint it’s actually a huge blast! But for a film in a franchise so heavily tied to Japanese roots, and prior to this installment, honored those roots proudly, it honestly gets me a bit angry whenever I think about it. So, with your permission, and because it’s cheaper than therapy, I’d like to use this review to talk about the things I loved about the film from an entertainment standpoint, the things I disliked from an entertainment standpoint, and the things I hated from a cultural standpoint as a fellow Nerd of Color.

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NOC Greetings from the Cast of ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’

What’s up nerds! In t-minus one week, we’re about to have our faces melted by the absolute blast that is Godzilla Vs. Kong. While you’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the movie, we’re excited to share with you a fun shout out from fellow NOCs — the stars of the film — Brian Tyree Henry and Shun Oguri!

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A Clash of Kings: The ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ Trailer has Arrived!

Here we go! After months of fans begging Warner Bros. in the comments section of every social media post they publish online to release it, we finally have a trailer for literally the biggest movie event of the spring: Godzilla Vs. Kong! And it. Kicks. Ass!

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NOC Review: ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Review: King Me!

I’d like to start the review by posing an analogy: Why do we go to and love John Wick movies? Is it because of the story or character? Hell no! We go because we want to see Keanu capping people left and right with well-choreographed action sequences of hardcore violence and badassery. And when we get that, we appreciate and shower praise on a film like that because our expectations are met (89% on RT). The filmmakers know consciously what kind of movie we want, and that’s what they give us.

Therefore, if we are going to shower praise over John Wick for delivering what we expect and what it promises, we must do the same for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. For me, this is a perfect summer blockbuster through and through, and the first time an American-made, big-budget Godzilla movie genuinely felt like a real Godzilla movie! In other words, this movie delivers what it promises — on what it’s supposed to be — and more!

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Making a Modern Day Monsterpiece with ‘Godzilla’ Director Michael Dougherty

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is stomping back to theaters this week! And to celebrate, The Nerds of Color will be publishing our series of interviews with the cast and crew to countdown to the opening of the biggest monster hit of the summer! As part of the series we had a chance to chat with the man with the vision — director/co-writer Michael Dougherty!

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The King of Bling Meets the ‘King of the Monsters’

8,500 stones, including black diamonds. Seven inches tall. Five inches wide. That’s what it takes to bring a monster to life. And the only one that can accomplish such a task? Why celebrity jeweler Johnny Dang, of course.

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Long Live the Cast of ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’

When the world needs the King of the Monsters, the King of the Monsters needs his entourage!

This week, the cast of Godzilla: King of the Monsters came out in full force to discuss the next epic installment of Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Monster-Verse franchise with members of the press, and The Nerds of Color were there to bear witness! Present at the event were stars Millie Bobby Brown, O’Shea Jackson, Thomas Middleditch, Kyle Chandler, Bradley Whitford, Ken Watanabe, and director and co-writer Michael Dougherty. The ensemble got together, to discuss monsters, fandom, and the fun and challenges of putting together the $200 million action-monster spectacle.

“So… About last night…” Brown jokingly began to laughs within the crowd.

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Final ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Trailer Boasts “One King To Rule Them All!”

Aw snap! It’s going down everyone! On May 31, Godzilla returns, and he’s taking on a whole lot of kaiju!

Warner Bros. just released the final trailer for the Michael Doherty (Trick r’ Treat) helmed sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, and man, by the looks of it, it’s going to be a hell of a monstrous summer!

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New Poster for ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Stomps Online

I think we can all agree that blue beams in the sky are a bit played out nowadays for sci-fi and action genre films.

BUT — When that blue beam in the sky is FREAKING ATOMIC BREATH, I’m going to get hyped! And you should too!

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The Happy Hour Review: Colossal is Basically White Feminism

I watch, I drink, I spit hot fire. Yup, you guessed it, spoilers ahead.

Colossal checked off a lot of boxes for what I would theoretically enjoy in a movie. Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, it is often funny, surprisingly dark, and an inventive new take on kaiju movies. I like all those things. The lead, Gloria, is easy to root for as played by star Anne Hathaway. And Jason Sudeikis impresses as Gloria’s friend and eventual foil, Oscar. For about half of the movie, I found this all very enjoyable.

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Making Monstress: An Exclusive Conversation with Marjorie Liu

I spent this past weekend at New York Comic-Con. When I wasn’t manning the Epic Proportions booth, I was able to sneak away and meet with writer Marjorie Liu. She makes her long-awaited return to comics with Image Comics’ Monstress, reuniting her with X-23 artist Sana Takeda.

In the first part of this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Marjorie and I discuss the origins of the book, her childhood obsession with the apocalypse, the influence of pre-World War II China, and what it was like reuniting with artist Sana Takeda.

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Godzilla, the World’s Most Famous Japanese American

by Gil Asakawa | Originally posted at Nikkei View

Although Hollywood has been making monster movies since the original 1933 King Kong, the monster with the most staying power and screen incarnations didn’t come out of California, but from Tokyo. Godzilla is back with another cinematic reboot produced by Hollywood featuring the usual array of mega-special effects, including a digitized monster instead of a man in a monster suit. Whether costumed or computer-generated, Godzilla is the most famous Japanese American in the world. He’s starred in 28 movies, stomping his way through cities on both sides of the Pacific.

Godzilla, or the Japanese pronunciation, Gojira (a combination of the words for “gorilla,” gorira and “whale,” kujira) made its first Japanese appearance 60 years ago, in 1954. The film was edited and had scenes starring Raymond Burr as an American journalist inserted for its 1956 release in the U.S. as Godzilla, King of the Monsters. I always thought this was to make the movie more palatable to American audiences, but now I realize there was a more political reason for the reworking of the first film.

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Mako Mori Battles Giant Kaiju

It’s not a secret that I wasn’t the biggest fan of this past summer’s giant-robots-punch-giant-monsters-in-the-face flick Pacific Rim. In fact, there was a whole segment of “Hard N.O.C. Life” dedicated to me disagreeing with Jenn about the merits of the movie.

That said, I do realize that I am in the minority in this opinion, at least among the fanboy set. I get that. I ain’t hatin’. Whatever floats your jaeger, right?

One of those fanboys who loved this movie more than me is my friend, artist Jamie Noguchi. It’s probably safe to say Jamie loves this movie more than most — even Guillermo Del Toro. Probably. Jamie feels so strongly about this movie (because SWORD!), he wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it? Hear it go.

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