Tag: Los Angeles

Cosplay, Marvel, Movies

Photos from 20th Century Fox’s “COSMIX” X-Men Event!

Mike Manalo

Last week Fox, IW Group, and The Nerd Reactor teamed up to put on a pretty x-citing event to commemorate 19 years of the X-Men film legacy at Downtown Los Angeles’ Wisdome LA! The event featured three EDM musical acts, including up-and-coming rising star Wenzday, as well as some amazing fire dancers and, of course, the immersive art pieces that you could only see at the Wisdome. Check out the photos from the event below:

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Cosplay, Marvel, Movies

Calling LA NOCs: Join Us for a ‘Dark Phoenix’ Party

Mike Manalo

Admit it. You’ve wanted to join the X-Men since you were a kid! You’ve wanted the cool powers, the costumes, and the chance to be X-Traordinary (not that you’re not now, everyone’s special — but like, I mean superpowers special, dude)! Well now’s your chance to rock your X-Men best and party like a mutant!

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Movies, Reviews

LAAPFF Review: Charming ‘Blinded by the Light!’ is a True Film for Every POC

Mike Manalo

The 35th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival has come and gone, and among one of the gems The Nerds of Color had the privilege of watching was  Gurinder Chadha’s (Bend it Like Beckham) latest film, Blinded by the Light. The film is inspired by British journalist, Sarfraz Manzoor’s real-life story of growing up as part of a conservative Pakistani family in a racist 1980s England. It chronicles how Manzoor, called “Javed” in the film rose above the challenges of growing up during that era through his discovery of Bruce Springsteen’s music.

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Art2 Comments

Moonlight Forest: Magical Lantern Festival Lights Up Los Angeles

Laura Sirikul

For the first time ever, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden will host a beautiful lantern festival called the Moonlight Forest. Celebrating nature, art, and culture, the gardens have been transformed into magical night landscapes illuminated by beautiful, hand-crafted lanterns.

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Conventions, Fandom, Fashion1 Comment

Happy Spoopy Los Angeles Comic Con 2018

Josephine Chang

Who needs Halloween when you can go to Los Angeles Comic Con for three days in a row and indulge in all the spoopy cosplay goodness surrounded by all the fandoms you know and love? There’s no place like Los Angeles Comic Con (formerly and fondly remembered as Comikaze, may you rest in pieces) during this time of year where people converge to bring out their best to help end the year of conventions. Come join LACC as it celebrates its 8th anniversary!

Curious as to what there is to check out at this ever expanding convention? Here are some highlights that may pique your interest!

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Anime, Conventions, Fashion

What To Do For Anime Expo 2018!

Edward Hong

Anime Expo, one of my favorite conventions of the year has come around again and I can’t wait to share the cool things I look forward to doing there with you all! With my writing partner Josephine Chang we’ll be attending for all of the days from July 5 to July 8 so here are the highlights you should most definitely check out:
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Conventions, Movies

Groovy Times at the 2018 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Edward Hong

May is now upon us and for those of us in Los Angeles, that means the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is here!

Starting tomorrow, from May 3rd to May 12th, a whole community of Asian American artists and creatives in the entertainment industry will gather together and showcase their work throughout multiple venues from the Director’s Guild of America to the Aratani Theatre. Now in its 34th year, this festival sports a rather groovy intro. Check it out in the video below:

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Anime, Conventions, Cosplay

Good Times at Animé Los Angeles

Edward Hong

Hey guys, Edward here. My fellow NOC writer Josephine Chang and I seriously like to geek/nerd out at all the major SoCal conventions, especially the anime ones. So with that being said, it gives us great pleasure to talk to you all about Animé Los Angeles.

Established in 2005, ALA is a medium-sized, community-focused anime convention with a more moderate-paced environment. And these days where many conventions are rather chaotic in size and nature, ALA has become a nice reprieve. If you’re a first timer when it comes to anime conventions, this is the one for you.
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Art, Conventions

#AACC2017 and Failing to Get a Photo with Lewis Tan

AJ Joven

To get to my failure, I should start with a childhood that took place in Los Angeles. Hawthorne, California is a small community situated in Southwest Los Angeles. With Inglewood to the north, Gardena to the east, Torrance to the south, and the glamorous beach communities to the west, it was basically the edge of working class/POC Los Angeles butting up against the elite.

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Anime, Conventions, Cosplay, Fashion

Having a Ball At The 2017 Anime Expo Masquerade

Edward Hong

Following the heels of our Anime Expo intro article this year, our first main event we went to last night was the Masquerade, a cosplay and performance competition that has been running for over 20 years. This year’s event was MCed by Ezra Weisz and without a doubt, I can already say that this is perhaps the best masquerade I’ve gone to, solely from the strength of the MC himself.

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Anime, Conventions, Cosplay, Manga1 Comment

Bigger, Badder and Hotter than Ever: Anime Expo 2017

Josephine Chang

It’s the second day of July and Anime Expo 2017 is well under way! While the first official day has come and gone with a bang (along with the unfixed misfortunes of horrific Line Con), there are still three big days filled to the brim with events, guests, panels, and anything anime related. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, still don’t have plans, and want to check something out this July 4th weekend, definitely give Anime Expo a go!

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Art, Conventions1 Comment

The Asian American ComiCon Presents: A Summit on Art, Action & the Future

The Nerds of Color

In 2009, the Asian American ComiCon was held in New York City, bringing together Asian indie and mainstream comics creators for a historic gathering to celebrate the unique and flourishing graphic storytelling of our community. Now, eight years later, AACC is hosting its second event: a Summit on Art, Action and the Future. In a time where diversity and creativity are both under attack, the Summit will feature diverse creators talking about where we’re going next.

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Conventions, Video Games

A Washed Up Gamer Goes to E3

Ren Hsieh

There were more than 68,000 total attendees at E3 this week, and I’m almost certain all of them have been gaming more than I have in the past five years. I’m retired. Too many consecutive days of realizing I’d played through the night until dawn had me putting the sticks down. Not to mention, I just can’t keep up with these kids. I’m washed.

Yet here I got the fortunate opportunity to cover E3 for NOC in the conference’s first year open to the public. I had to do this, for the culture, for the kid inside who never finished Mario 2, and for the same kid that reached the end of Streets of Rage and chose to kill my brother to take over the gang.

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Art, Music1 Comment

Getting Geeky With The Hollywood Fringe Festival

Edward Hong

For those living in the Los Angeles area, the Hollywood Fringe Festival is upon you. Perhaps you might have seen their flags flown throughout the city or perhaps you might have heard whispers of it from your actor friends yapping away about which fringe play to watch. And you go, “What the heck IS the Hollywood Fringe Festival?”

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Movies4 Comments

Our Picks For The 2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Edward Hong

 

The Annual Gather-up of Los Angeles Asians in Entertainment is upon us.

I mean, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Starting tomorrow, from April 27 to May 4, the LAAPFF will showcase a week of films from the opening of Better Luck Tomorrow for its 15th anniversary, the centerpiece Gook starring Justin Chon, the closing film Columbus with John Cho as the romantic lead, and a whole slew of shorts and features in between.

To be exact, there are 45 features and 139 shorts to choose from. Here are the few select ones that have caught my attention as Josephine Chang and I will cover the festival:

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Interview, Movies1 Comment

One-on-One with “Oscars Tourist” Yulree Chun

Laura Sirikul

When Yulree Chun stepped off Starline’s tour bus on Sunday, she didn’t expect herself to be in the center of attention at Hollywood’s biggest night — The Oscars. She and her husband, Patrick Tio, who recently returned from their honeymoon, were just planning on enjoying a nice day walking around Hollywood before they were asked by Starline “employees” to try out their new tour for free.

Chun and the other unexpecting tourists were told they would be viewing a special Oscars fashion exhibit but found themselves in front of the Dolby Theater among Hollywood’s elite.

While Chun and Tio were mingling with the celebrities such as Meryl Streep and Ryan Gosling, host Jimmy Kimmel called on Chun and asked for her name. Chun told him, “My name’s Yulree. Rhymes with jewelry.” This followed an exchange that would cause a bit of controversy on Twitter. Chun remained cool as she was too starstruck to think anything of it.

We got to chat with Yulree Chun about the event and how she’s now happy that everyone is able to pronounce her name correctly.

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DC Comics, Guest Post, Television7 Comments

Supergirl: An L.A. Story for Today

AJ Joven

by AJ Joven

It must have happened when I noticed Kara running in front of a slightly obscured monument that could only have been at Pershing Square. The flat sky scrapers, palm trees, and the technicolor brightness of the world all felt so familiar. An alien, misunderstood and hiding in plain sight, here in DC’s analog of Los Angeles is what makes Supergirl such a watershed moment: it takes this specific angle of the City and wears it unabashedly. As I’ve been playing catch up on the series (sorry… as a Filipino, I’m generally late to everything), I’ve found lots to like about the confident voice in Supergirl. Often steeped in questions of identity, Supergirl’s writers send up the concepts of being a professional woman, a millennial, and, most personal to me, an immigrant with swagger and intent. Seeing National City be so clearly depicted as Los Angeles (seriously, that flat top sky line is unique, y’all) and all of the auxiliary connotations involved in that is not, to my mind a mistake. It is, however, a first.

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Animation, Art, Toys6 Comments

Hello Kitty, Not Actually a Kitty — Or Asian

Keith Chow

In a stunning development, it has been revealed that Hello Kitty, Sanrio’s iconic — and forever mouthless — character is not, and has never been, an actual cat. How is that possible, you ask? Beats me.

The Los Angeles Times broke the news today — in advance of a special exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo — in an interview with noted Hello Kitty scholar Christine R. Yano:

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Comics4 Comments

Genius from Top Cow: An Endorsement

Shawn Taylor

This image does not do the book justice.
This image does not do the book justice.

After reading this book, I was hesitant to review it. It is one of those rare books that transcended the four-color realm and hit me in my real life. I was also unsure if my endorsement of the book was an endorsement of some of the messages in the book. Artist Afua Richardson and co-writers Marc Bernadin and Adam Freeman’s Genius is a book that I am still digesting. First introduced in 2008 by Top Cow via “Pilot Season,” Genius is a book that challenges me in a way that I haven’t felt in a while.

Comics are my escape from a stressful job. I want to read snikt and see folks teleport, and leap off buildings — it is a great way to decompress after days of seeing people in pain. Hell, even the more serious fare can act as 22-page escape pods — escaping into the fantastic from the sad and mundane. But this book read more like a possibility than a fantasy. In light of the killings of Eric Garner, Pearlie “Miss Sully” Golden, and Kathryn Johnston at the hands of the police, Genius is almost prescient. And it is a little foreboding.

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