NOC Spoiler Chat: ‘The Matrix Resurrections’

The Matrix is back, baby! Last week The Matrix Resurrections hit theaters and HBO Max just in time for the holidays. And our very own Lauren Lola shared her thoughts on the film in her spoiler free review here on the site. But now that everyone has seen it, it’s time to go deeper, and break down the film and all its kung-fu goodness!

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Thoughts From Watching ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ For the First Time

In February 2020, a month before the initial shelter-in-place order for California went into effect for the then yet-to-be-declared COVID-19 pandemic, filming began for the fourth installment of The Matrix film franchise on the streets of San Francisco. Thinly veiled under the code name Project Ice Cream, reports circled online of sightings of film locations from all over the city; including one tracked down by yours truly.

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‘Shang-Chi’ Is Not NOT Like ‘Black Panther’

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.

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The Timing and Timeliness of ‘Hamilton’

The following is a slightly altered cross-post, originally published on Lola By The Bay.

Last weekend, I finally got to see a matinee performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton, at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.

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Seeing San Fransokyo: Thoughts on Big Hero 6

by Sean Miura | Originally posted at Down Like JTown

Last week was a big week for Big Hero 6. Not only did the film take home an Oscar, but its DVD and Blu-ray releases hit stores Tuesday and owned the Best Sellers list on Amazon.

I’d been anticipating Big Hero 6 since the first teaser slowly revealed a jaw-dropping rendering of San Fransokyo, the Tokyo/San Francisco hybrid that sets the stage. Though I am wary of any films that feature Asian… anything, there was a certain nostalgic familiarity in the Kingdom Hearts-style pan over the city.

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Celebrate Black Comic Art From Coast to Coast

Get ready. This weekend is going to be a huge one as our very own John Jennings has organized two comic art festivals on either coast that will celebrate Black comic art and artists with day-long events featuring panel discussions, film screenings, and more.

Festivities kick off in New York City on Saturday, January 17 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for its third annual Black Comic Book Festival. The scene then shifts to San Francisco on Sunday and Monday for that city’s inaugural Black Comix Arts Festival — which John announced in October. Both events are free and open to the public.

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Announcing San Francisco’s Inaugural Black Comix Arts Festival

I’m extremely pleased and honored to be a co-organizer of the inaugural Black Comix Arts Festival with the NorcalMLK Foundation of San Francisco! Our committee has put in a lot of work over the last few months to make this happen. Starting in January 2015, in conjunction with the city’s Martin Luther King Day celebrations, the first ever Black Comix Arts Festival will become an annual event.

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Godzilla: King of Nitpicks

by Oliver Wang

A quick introduction: I enjoyed Godzilla. A lot. I wanted spectacle; it delivered. In the end, whatever MUTO-sized plot holes or character shortcomings weren’t that big of a deal in terms of my enjoyment. But I found so much of the film completely inexplicable on some very basic logic levels that I wanted to have fun with those. So I invited friends to join in with their “huh?” moments from a film that we all agreed was quite fun. If it helps, imagine hearing this being read by the Red Letter Media guys.

(These are in loose chronological order based on events in the film. Also, spoilers).

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