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!
Keith, Britney, and Dominic are back on Hard NOC Life to break down the new trailer for The Matrix Resurrections and tumble down the rabbit hole of Marvel movie speculation. They also give their thoughts on the latest episode of What If and the merits of Marvel Zombies.
This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about, but seriously, Suki needs to return to the Fast franchise in these last two movies!
Continue reading “FDI Cast 119: Justice for Suki”
Recently and on their own initiative, my 11-year old child became interested in Greek mythology. As a single co-parent father continually desperate for reasons to relate to and bond with my child, this delighted me, because by coincidence I became infatuated with Greek myths when I was young. As a broke Vietnamese refugee nerd kid, I’d go to the Franklin library and read up about the messed up Gods, the flawed heroes, the fantastic creatures.
Continue reading “Why Asian Americans Feel Compelled to Defend ‘Shang-Chi’”
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 will not 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’”
Keith and Dominic tap into their Chinese American backgrounds to provide YouTube’s definitive explainer on how to pronounce “Shang-Chi,” a name that the entire world will want to know now that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the biggest movie in the world!
Continue reading “Two Chinese Americans Explain How to Pronounce ‘Shang-Chi’”
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters tonight! Be safe, be curious!
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ and the Ten Asian American Things (To Be Aware Of)”
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”
On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith, Britney, and Dominic revisit the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, worry about the discourse surrounding Shang-Chi, how the Free Guy creative team should bring Deadpool to the MCU, and recap the latest episode of Disney+’s What If. They also look back at the one-year anniversary of Chadwick Boseman’s passing.
In just one week, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is set to premiere in theaters everywhere. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, with a predominantly Asian cast, Shang-Chi is about to get its very own #GoldOpen.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is Getting a #GoldOpen”
While Britney and Dominic await the long-rumored Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, they share some quick thoughts on the Eternals trailer, Jurnee Smollet’s return as Black Canary, how to pronounce “Shang-Chi,” and why Chadwick Boseman’s appearance on Disney+’s What If was so emotional.
Whether it’s an overall sense of fatigue from mainstream audiences who aren’t into comic book films, or perhaps a general sense of pandemic malaise from folks unsatisfied with the state of entertainment these days, it seems like the momentum and good will the MCU has cultivated the past 12 years has turned to mixed sentiment for most of this year.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Shang-Chi’ is Spectacular”
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”
Keith rejoins Britney and Dominic to share final thoughts on The Suicide Squad, revisit Cathy Yan’s contributions to the DC canon, break down the whole Shang-Chi experiment “controversy,” and review the first episode of Disney+’s What If.
The “Chi” part is easy. “Chee.” Rhymes with “Kree.” Technically the “Ch” is not precisely the same as in English “Chad” or “Chocolate,” but it’s close enough for conversation amongst non-fluent Chinese speakers.
The “Shang” is said the same way as the “Shang” in Shanghai, the city in China. But here’s the thing, if you’ve been saying “Shanghai” as if it rhymes with “Fang Sky” all your life, that’s not really how you say “Shanghai.” And that’s okay.
Continue reading “How to Pronounce ‘Shang-Chi’ Because it’s Super-Important for the Marvel Universe”
Marvel Studios just released Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings character posters. The posters features Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy (Awkwafina), Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), Jiang Nan, and Wenwu (played by legends Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung, respectively). It also includes the Death Dealer, who we have no idea who plays them.
Continue reading “‘Shang-Chi’ Gets Up Close and Personal With Character Posters”
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”
Keith returns to Hard NOC Life to debate Britney and Dominic on the merits of the Shang-Chi and Snake Eyes trailers, as well as episode 3 of Loki on Disney+.
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”
Like most folk, I’m not too keen on reminders of my ever-increasing age. But this one, well, it’s not too bad of a milestone reminder.
Miles Morales, Marvel’s best Spider-Man, debuted nearly 10 years ago! You read that right, it’s been almost a decade since Miles inherited the Spidey title from Peter Parker and immediately one upped the kid from Queens.
Continue reading “Marvel Celebrates Miles Morales’ 10th Anniversary with Variant Covers”
Sticky post
Behold and enjoy The NOC’s Upcoming Marvel Studios Slate Tracker! Your Nerds of Color source for all upcoming projects and release dates for the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
Continue reading “UPDATED: The NOC’s Upcoming Marvel Studios Slate Tracker”