Recasting Zuko for ‘The Legend of Aang’ is Unnecessary at Best, Tasteless at Worst

August 6, 2025August 5, 2025 Lauren Lola

It’s the 20th anniversary year for Avatar: The Last Airbender, and both fans as well as the cast and creators of the show came together to celebrate at the most recent San Diego Comic-Con. From an anniversary panel to announcements about what’s to come in the future for the franchise, there was a lot to go around.

Interview, Movies, Sci Fi

Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, and Toni Collette Talk About ‘Mickey 17’

March 5, 2025 Mike Manalo

A brilliant director is only as good as the cast of players he works with. This has always been true with the works of Bong Joon Ho. From The Host to Parasite, Bong has the incredible ability to bring out the best performances imaginable from stellar ensembles. His latest film, the stunning sci-fi satire, Mickey 17, once more features a cadre of the best actors working today, and it is our honor to say we were able to chat with three of the film’s biggest stars: Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, and Toni Collette.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi1 Comment

NOC Review: Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ is Weird, Wacky, and All Too Relevant

February 15, 2025March 6, 2025 Mike Manalo

Why does cinema need satire? Because sometimes we need to be reminded that society is broken. It allows us to question the way things are, how they got there, and gives us hope that somewhere along the way, reels of celluloid will allow us to see ourselves, and help us learn to fix our flaws down the line. This is something that director Bong Joon Ho does masterfully. We’ve seen this in Snowpiercer, Okja, Best Picture winner Parasite, and now, Mickey 17.

Movies, Sci Fi

Finding Meaning in the New Trailer for Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Mickey 17’

January 22, 2025January 22, 2025 Mike Manalo

Few directors working in cinema today are as passionate and outspoken as the incredible Bong Joon Ho. From Snowpiercer to Parasite, the legendary Oscar winner has taken sharp, scathing looks at the inequality that exists in society; particularly within its socioeconomic caste systems. This March he’ll be doing it once more in his latest sci-fi satire, Mickey 17!

Animation, Streaming

Reasons Why ‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’ Will Remain Memorable

November 27, 2024November 27, 2024 Lauren Lola

Voltron: Legendary Defender is departing Netflix. That’s right. The DreamWorks 2016 reboot of the 1984 series that straight up opens each episode with the reveal that it’s “A Netflix Original Series” is being removed from the platform, six years following its series finale.

Movies, Sci Fi

Behold the Trailer for Bong Joon Ho’s Latest Film, ‘Mickey 17’

September 17, 2024February 26, 2025 Mike Manalo

Director Bong is back! One of the greatest filmmakers of this generation, the visionary Bong Joon Ho is following up his historic Oscar-winning Parasite with an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s Mickey 17! And we just got a trailer for it right now!

Streaming, Television

‘Beef’ Star Joseph Lee Finds Humanity in Being Collateral Damage

April 5, 2023April 5, 2023 Laura Sirikul

What happens when you are the casualty of two opposing forces who threaten your way of life? How does that affect a person — being the collateral damage? For Beef actor Joseph Lee, who plays George, a man whose wife Amy‘s (Ali Wong) battle with the stranger she had a road rage incident with, he thinks about his own experiences dealing with people and setting boundaries.

Interview, Streaming, Television

Netflix’s ‘Beef’ Thriller Vibes Came as a Surprise for the Cast

April 4, 2023April 5, 2023 Laura Sirikul

It was a road rage incident in real life that inspired showrunner Lee Sung Jin to write the dark comedy, Beef. As he was driving on the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles, Lee was cut off by a white SUV — very similar to the car that Ali Wong’s character drives in the series.

Movies, Sci Fi

First Teaser for Bong Joon Ho’s Next Film ‘Mickey 17’

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 Mike Manalo

The name Bong Joon Ho is one that instills excitement into every cinephile out there. Right up there with Spielberg, Tarantino, del Toro, and Nolan, any time a Bong project is announced, the film world stops, and speculates about what the master has up his sleeve.

Horror, Interview, Movies

Brandon Perea Finds New Messages with Each Screening of ‘Nope’

July 21, 2022July 21, 2022 Laura Sirikul

Brandon Perea is still pinching himself over the very idea of himself in Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, Nope. Perea plays Angel, the Fry’s employee who befriends siblings OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer) as they embark on their mission to capture images of the U.F.O. that terrorizes their horse ranch.

Horror, Movies

New Poster for Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’ Has Us Saying ‘Neigh’

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 Mike Manalo

Please forgive me. I couldn’t resist. Universal just released a new poster for their horror Summer tentpole, from the mind of Jordan Peele, Nope. And the movie continues to look bonkers!

Horror, Movies1 Comment

‘Nope’ Trailer Teases Jordan Peele’s Latest Scares from Above the Clouds

February 13, 2022February 13, 2022 Michael Lee

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Jordan Peele’s Nope. Peele promises to bring a new kind of pop nightmare to the expansive horror genre for his third directorial effort. Though the trailer doesn’t reveal too much about the plot, we can only assume that the kite string attached to the dark cloud that hovers above the dusty California gulch means doom for all those underneath it.

Horror, Movies

Jordan Peele Reveals Poster for ‘Nope’ Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 Jamal Michel

We have it, folks. We finally have the name, movie poster, and official release date for the next Jordan Peele cultural masterpiece. Nope, starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun will be dropping July 22, 2022, with a note highlighting how select sequences were filmed with IMAX cameras.

Animation, Movies, Streaming

Netflix Just Dropped the Full Trailer for ‘Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans’

June 15, 2021June 17, 2021 Sophia Soto

Netflix has released the official trailer for Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans! The film will serve as the conclusion of the Arcadia saga. The talented cast includes Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin, and Cheryl Hines.

Animation, Movies, Streaming

Get All the Details on Netflix’s ‘Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans’

May 28, 2021July 20, 2021 Sophia Soto

Are you ready for your next Netflix adventure? The heroes from Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards are teaming up to face a mysterious enemy in Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. The film will premiere on July 21.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Streaming1 Comment

Hard NOC Life 209: Rated-R Super Starro

March 29, 2021August 2, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Dominic and Keith are back to continue talking about HBO Max’s Snyder Cut (now that Dom has finished it) and the just released Suicide Squad sequel trailer. They also break down the latest episode of Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, as well as Marvel’s decision to split from Diamond and San Diego Comic-Con’s in-person return. What’s nerd poppin’: Amazon’s Invincible animated series and Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-nominated film, Nomadland. Finally, the NOC’s newest contributor, Sophia Soto, speaks to Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller, the executive producers of The CW’s Supergirl, about the show’s final season.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 209: Rated-R Super Starro”

Movies, Streaming

Gold Open Celebrates API in Film with Inaugural Gold List

January 25, 2021August 19, 2021 Laura Sirikul

Gold Open, the Gold House-movement to push box office success for multicultural films, and CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) have launched their own list honoring the most outstanding Asian and Pacific Islander achievements in film called the Gold List.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies1 Comment

Hard NOC Life: Mystery Science Theater Oakland

July 27, 2018May 8, 2020 Hard NOC Media

This week on Hard NOC Life, Shawn and Keith recap the week in Nerd Pop, by running down what happened at Comic-Con and diving into the rise of the Black Auteur and Afro-Surrealism.

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DC Comics, Movies1 Comment

Ava DuVernay to Direct ‘New Gods’ for DC

March 15, 2018June 12, 2025 Keith Chow

On March 15, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment announced Ava DuVernay will be directing a live action New Gods film, based on Jack Kirby’s fabled Fourth World characters. Of course all of twitter lit up with the news! To be honest, DuVernay’s involvement in the DC Universe is a sign that Walter Hamada is really looking to turn DC Films around after the disappointing box office of Justice League — which is available on blu-ray now.

Continue reading “Ava DuVernay to Direct ‘New Gods’ for DC”

Movies, Television

Entertainment Weekly’s Asian AF Covers

November 2, 2017December 11, 2019 Keith Chow

This morning, Entertainment Weekly unveiled Shirley Li’s cover story featuring the highly anticipated romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians — which is set to hit cinemas on August 17, 2018. Seeing Constance Wu and Henry Golding looking fab on the cover got us thinking, how many EW covers* have featured Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders? So we dug into the EW archives and unearthed the following.

Continue reading “Entertainment Weekly’s Asian AF Covers”

Comics, Hard N.O.C. Life

Amy Chu Live at the CTRL+ALT Reading Lounge

December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 The Nerds of Color

In another live edition of Hard NOC Life recorded exclusively from the NOC Reading Lounge at CTRL+ALT — the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s pop-up culture lab in the former Pear River Mart location in SoHo — writer Amy Chu stops by to talk about angry Asians, adding diversity to the world of Poison Ivy, and being a woman of color in the comics industry.