In the second season of Kung Fu, Ryan (Jon Prasida) goes through a lot. The fresh-out-of-med-school youngest Shen sibling was healing from the break-up with Joe (Bradley Gibson) from the end of season 1, but finds love with Sebastian (JB Tadena), the new head chef of Harmony Dumplings.
Continue reading “Jon Prasida on Ryan’s Love Life and His Fighting Hopes for ‘Kung Fu’ Season 3”
Paramount Pictures has been on fire this year! With hits like Scream, Jackass Forever, Sonic 2, and now the mega blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, the studio has pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks in the history of studio market shares imaginable. In the past three years, they rocketed from a #6 rank to a #1 rank this year on the strength of their slate and the quality of their movies! Will they keep the streak going with the animated comedy Paws of Fury? We’ll let you be the judge.
Continue reading “New Trailer for ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’”
It’s fair to say that Evan (Gavin Stenhouse) has had it rough on The CW’s Kung Fu. In the first season of the series, Evan’s had to deal with the return of his first love Nicky (Olivia Liang); the breakup with his longtime girlfriend; Nicky ultimately choosing Henry (Eddie Liu) over him; and, realizing how shady the District Attorney’s office, where he works, is.
Continue reading “Gavin Stenhouse on Evan’s Rogue Mission and Finding His Place on ‘Kung Fu’”
Warning: spoilers for this week’s episode of Kung Fu, “The Alchemist,” below.
With Kung Fu’s midseason return tonight, we learn something shocking about Mia’s (Vanessa Yao) destiny as a hybrid.
Continue reading “Vanessa Kai on Pei-Ling’s Big Reveal and Wild ‘Kung Fu’ Theories”
There is so much to say about The CW’s Kung Fu.
It’s just so good.
Now in its sophomore season, Kung Fu is getting darker than ever with its’ big bad Russell Tan (Kee Chan) trying to take down Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang) and her family. Things become even more complicated with the return of baddie Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman).
Continue reading “‘Kung Fu’ Star Yvonne Chapman on Zhilan’s Course for the Season”
The CW’s Kung Fu returns this week for their second season!
We last left the Shooby (Shen family + Scooby) Gang with Nicky (Olivia Liang) defeating Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman) in the battle for the biange — sending the latter to prison; Althea (Shannon Dang) and Dennis (Tony Chung) finally tying the knot with her revealing everything to her newly-wedded husband; Ryan (Jon Prasida) truly coming out to his parents; and, Jin (Tzi Ma) and Mei-Li (Tan Kheng Hua) finally having Nicky back in their lives.
Continue reading “Olivia Liang Spills Some Juicy Details for a Darker ‘Kung Fu’ in Season 2”
There’s another Tan to be weary of this season of Kung Fu.
If Kerwin Tan’s (Ludi Lin) relationship with his father Russell Tan (Kee Chan) was any indication of a problematic family, wait until you meet the doting daughter of the elusive crime boss.
Continue reading “First Look at Russell Tan’s Daughter Juliet on The CW’s ‘Kung Fu’”
The trials and tribulations of indie filmmaking are taken to their absurd, action-y, lengths in Marc Price’s Nightshooter, a story about a film crew finding themselves at the scene of a harrowing gang (mob?) execution at an abandoned and soon to be demolished business center on the last night of shooting a zombie film.
Continue reading “‘Nightshooters’ is One of the Best Action Films This Year”
To celebrate the release of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings on Blu-ray and DVD, actress Meng’er Zhang sat down with The Nerds of Color to talk about all the good spoilers she couldn’t talk about before — Xialing’s relationship with her father (Tony Leung), her brother (Simu Liu), and the organization she has now inherited, The Ten Rings.
Continue reading “Meng’er Zhang on Working with Tony Leung and Their Relationship in ‘Shang-Chi’”
On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith, Britney, and Dominic welcome action designers Chris Cowan and Yung Lee to talk about their work on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings! The crew also break down the latest What If and the anime-inspired Star Wars: Visions!
Now that it’s breaking box office records, Keith, Britney, and Dominic are joined by HK cinema and martial arts movie expert Raymond Chow to break down Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on a new episode of Hard NOC Life.
As Bruce Lee might say, we must start with dispelling what is not useful and replace it with what is useful. I won’t rehash any arguments comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther which are based in speculation, impulse-tweeted, or otherwise made in bad faith. The phrase “Asian American Black Panther” has been tossed around (including by me), in various contexts, since Black Panther came out in 2018.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ Is Not NOT Like ‘Black Panther’”
Marvel’s Shang-Chi premieres this week. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, there’s a lot of pressure to get this character and story right, given the comic book’s problematic history being rooted in stereotypical Asian tropes. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter Dave Callaham did a lot of research on Shang-Chi’s comic book origins and knew what they wanted to do with him.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ Screenwriter Dave Callaham on Keeping it Authentically Asian American”
During the global press conference for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this morning, director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) say they are strictly platonic.
Continue reading “Shang-Chi and Katy are Just Strictly Friends”
The Paper Tigers, the indie martial arts film starring Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins that went from Kickstarter to Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes will culminate its improbable journey on the biggest streaming platform in the world when it debuts on Netflix this Saturday, August 7.
Continue reading “‘The Paper Tigers’ to Stream on Netflix”
Marvel Studios released an all-new featurette titled “Destiny” for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In the two-minute clip, producer Kevin Feige, stars Simu Liu and Awkwafina, and director Destin Daniel Cretton talk about Shang-Chi’s backstory and his connection to the Ten Rings and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.
Continue reading “New Featurette & Poster Offer More Details on Shang-Chi’s Backstory”
Marvel Studios is really kicking up the promotion for the September release of the anticipated film, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.
In the new promo called Need, after going into hiding from his past, Shang-Chi (played by a very ripped Simu Liu) is found by his father, Wenwu (Tony Leung), the leader of the Ten Rings, who wants his son to be his right-hand man and eventually take his place. Shang-Chi doesn’t want to follow that path. In a voiceover, Wenwu tells his son, ‘You can’t outrun your destiny.’
Continue reading “New ‘Shang-Chi’ Promo Teases Family Drama and Shirtless Simu”
Disclaimer: I would like to apologize in advance to everyone out there who is a huge G.I. Joe fan, because you’re about to read a review from someone who isn’t a hardcore fan. I have heard mixed things about the film from a hardcore fan perspective, and I know some of the fans aren’t happy the mythology was changed. I would like you to know that if that’s the case, I’ve been there.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Snake Eyes’ is a Win for the ‘G.I. Joe’ Franchise”
In one week, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins hits theaters everywhere, and Paramount is introducing each of the main characters via these short video promos. The NOC is proud to be the first place you get to see and hear Haruka Abe in action as one of the Arashikage’s deadliest warriors: Akiko!
Continue reading “NOC Exclusive: Meet Akiko, Played by Haruka Abe in ‘Snake Eyes’”
In a survey conducted by The Asian American Man Study that asked “Who is the Asian American man you most admire and why,” the person with the second most votes was Bruce Lee.
The most votes went to “I don’t know/can’t think of one.”
Continue reading “Number One Son: Tarantino’s Bruce Lee Disrespect is Not New in Hollywood”
During ESPN’s Broadcast of NBA Countdown before Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Marvel Studios released a brand new trailer for Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. The film features Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), a young super hero and martial artist whose journey of self-discovery unfolds in this never-before-seen origin story.
Continue reading “New ‘Shang-Chi’ Trailer Displays the Power of the Ten Rings”
Actor Ludi Lin has always played the good guy. Whether it be as a Power Ranger or an Earthrealm warrior in Mortal Kombat, Lin has always been on the right side of the law. Now, in The CW series Kung Fu, Lin is getting a taste at playing the bad boy aka the villain.
Continue reading “Ludi Lin is Ready to Show His Dark Side on ‘Kung Fu’”
Few comic book characters mean more to me than G.I. Joe’s resident Ninja Commando. Created by Larry Hama and based on the Hasbro action figure designs, Snake Eyes wasn’t just my favorite action figure, he unlocked my imagination as a child. A silent warrior with a classified name and background meant that anyone could be beneath that iconic all-black mask. So for years, Snake Eyes looked like me until the comics eventually revealed the man underneath was yet another white-guy-who-happens-to-be-best-Asian.
Continue reading “Actions Speak Louder than Words: Henry Golding on Being ‘Snake Eyes’”