‘Fightin’ Words’ Episode Two: Nerdcore Rapper Mega Ran

July 28, 2021July 29, 2021 Jamal Michel

Super nerd, Guinness World Record holder, and hip-hop extraordinaire Raheem “Mega Ran” Jarbo sat down with The Nerds of Color blog for another episode of Fightin’ Words and talked gaming, hip-hop, and adjusting to life during the pandemic. The former teacher turned elite nerdcore rapper has had his hands full, juggling live events, his Twitch channel, making music, and of course spending time with family.

Interview, Martial Arts, Television

Ludi Lin is Ready to Show His Dark Side on ‘Kung Fu’

June 23, 2021June 28, 2021 Laura Sirikul

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.

Interview, Video Games

‘Fightin’ Words’ Episode One: Gaming Icon Tanya DePass

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 Jamal Michel

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. She’s also a gaming icon, having been named one of the “Gamers of the Year” for 2020 by Kotaku, as well as a 2020 Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellow at USC.

Interview, Movies

From Amazon to Zombie Hunter: Samantha Win Reflects on Her Career

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 Keith Chow

Samantha Win is blowing up. It’s only May, but it’s already been quite a year for the actress / martial artist / stunt performer / Amazonian warrior / zombie hunter. In March, she wrote, produced, and starred in a genre-bending shortfilm called Unwelcome. She can currently be seen on HBO Max as Euboea in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. On May 14, her latest Snyder-collab, Army of the Dead opens in theaters nationwide — making it Netflix’s widest release ever — before coming to the streamer the following week on May 21.

Martial Arts, Reviews, Video Games

HBO Max is Hosting a ‘Mortal Kombat’ Watch Party with the Kast Tonight

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy NOC Readers! It’s Kuya P and I just got word from my friends over at HBO Max that they have gathered some of the amazing cast to do a watch party for Mortal Kombat currently in Theaters and streaming now on HBO Max!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies, Streaming

Hard NOC Life 214: Oscars So What

April 26, 2021May 15, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Before Dominic, Jamal, Keith, and Britney break down the finale for Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the trailer for Shang-Chi, or the #1 movie in America, Mortal Kombat, the crew has to talk about all the WTF moments from Sunday’s Oscars telecast!

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Martial Arts, Reviews, Video Games

FIGHT! The NOC Team Review ‘Mortal Kombat’

April 24, 2021April 24, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy! It’s Kuya P and I got together a few of the NOC Family members’ Laura Sirikul & Mike Manolo to discuss… okay, FIGHT over Mortal Kombat out now in Theaters and HBO Max! Who will win? Place your bets now.

Interview, Martial Arts, Streaming, Video Games

NOC Exclusive Interview: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Star Joe Taslim

April 23, 2021May 15, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with another NOC EXCLUSIVE! I was lucky enough to sit down for a quick conversation with Actor, Joe Taslim who will be appearing as Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat premiering in Theaters and HBO Max this Friday!

Reviews, Streaming, Video Games2 Comments

NOC Review: ‘Mortal Kombat’ is Not a Flawless Victory

April 22, 2021August 17, 2021 Mike Manalo

It’s ironic that this would be a review I’m covering following Godzilla Vs. Kong because it actually has the opposite problem. It’s great from a POC standpoint. But it’s just not a very good movie, I’m afraid. Yes, it’s my unfortunate responsibility to tell you that Mortal Kombat is a dud. It’s a bland entry to the list of barely passable video game adaptations that would ultimately leave Shang Tsung starving, because it has no real soul to suck from it anyway. While not completely atrocious, it is about as forgettable and lifeless as, say, 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot.

Interview, Streaming, Video Games

NOC Exclusive Interview: Ludi Lin and Max Huang of ‘Mortal Kombat’

April 22, 2021May 15, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with another NOC EXCLUSIVE! I was lucky enough to sit down for a quick conversation with Actors, Ludi Lin & Max Huang! Both will be appearing as Liu Kang & Kung Lao respectively in Mortal Kombat premiering in Theaters and HBO Max this Friday!

Interview, Martial Arts, Streaming, Video Games

NOC Exclusive Interview: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Star Chin Han

April 22, 2021May 15, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with another NOC EXCLUSIVE! I was lucky enough to sit down for a quick conversation with Actor, Chin Han who will be appearing as Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat premiering in Theaters and HBO Max this Friday!

Movies, Video Games1 Comment

Get Over Here… and Watch the Opening of ‘Mortal Kombat’

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 Keith Chow

In anticipation of the film’s theatrical and streaming release on Friday, April 23, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have released the opening seven minutes of Mortal Kombat, the reboot of the famed 1995 adaptation of the legendary fighting game. Watch it below in all its gory glory:

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies, Streaming, Television

Hard NOC Life 205: Up, Up, and A Witch

March 1, 2021May 15, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Dominic, Keith , and Jamal return to speculate about what the title Spider-Man: No Way Home means for the franchise, break down the role of grief in the latest WandaVision, analyze the news about JJ Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates working on a Superman reboot, the controversy behind The CW’s Superman and Lois, and more!

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Movies, Streaming, Video Games1 Comment

Prepare for ‘Mortal Kombat’ with the New Trailer

February 18, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

It’s finally here! Warner Bros and New Line unleashed the first official trailer for Mortal Kombat! And with every blood-soaking, bone-snapping moment, they’ve made it clear that this is the uber-violent gore fest that we never got in the original campy (yet classic) 1995 film! This is the R-rated brutality initially promised to us when we first picked up the controllers to our Sega Genesis and selected our fighters! And I guarantee, that’s something so many of us have been waiting so long to finally see! And at long last it is finally here. So prepare yourself… for Mortal Kombat!

Movies, Streaming, Video Games

Get Over Here, Character Posters from ‘Mortal Kombat’

February 17, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

T-Minus 18 hours until the trailer drops for the Mortal Kombat reboot, and WB has revealed more character posters than Shang Tsung has souls! The character posters are our first glimpse at characters like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, Kano, Sonya Blade, Mileena, and more! The motion posters are all on Twitter and look really epic, like this one of Scorpion:

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies

Hard NOC Life: Crazy Rich Legacy

September 13, 2019January 30, 2020 Hard NOC Media

One year after Crazy Rich Asians was released to the world, Keith and Dominic look back at the film’s legacy on this week’s Hard NOC Life.

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Crowdfunding, Interview, Martial Arts

Interview with Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted Director Patricio Ginelsa

October 23, 2015March 9, 2016 Nels

The same day that the final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer hit this week, a lesser known project called Black Tiger: Hunter Hunted released its 20-minute pilot episode on YouTube. Black Tiger originally started off as a comic book mini-series in 2004. In 2014, a Kickstarter project to fund a short film based on the comic book was successfully funded. The short film, starring WWE Diva Angela Fong and Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat), premiered at WonderCon in 2014 and went on to screen at other conventions, winning the 2014 Spirit of Comic Con award at the Atlanta Comic Con’s Wizard World Film Festival. Director Patricio Ginelsa took time out to talk to us about the film and the funding effort to continue the web series.

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