MOANA 2 Keeps On Top Of The Waves For A Second Week

As stated by boxofficepro, the record breaking movie MOANA 2 is still at the top of the list for the 2nd straight weekend:

Disney’s animated sequel Moana 2 maintained its top dog status for a second weekend as it brought in an estimated $52M from 4,200 locations (n/c) for a PSA of $12,381.

It looks to be at about the $600 million mark standing in 5th place overall for 2024.

Nice work if you can get it.

Joy Ride Was Funny As A MF (Overall) And The Asian American Cast Was AMAZING. That APIA Adoption Storyline Though Was Kind Of Problematic And Almost Tanked It (Tons Of Spoilers)

Before reading this, make sure to check out the previous post in April on "Joy Ride". 

I feel like the post title kind of sets everything up for what you need to know--as well as the previous post--so I'm just gonna get right into it.

THE AMAZING

1. I think EVERYONE UNIVERSALLY LOVED DEADEYE. The phrase "Deadeye is my favorite" could probably be a best-selling t-shirt.
2. The pussy tattoos (plural cause there's that last scene).
3. The really awesome bonding of so many different types of Asian American women and seeing them on screen together a la "Girls Trip".
4. The completely hot Asian American male buffet.
5. Bag #8 of cocaine.
6. Baron ASMR OMG YOU MF BOSS Davis.
7. Everything Lolo created.
8. DDK Cameo.
9. The Eiffel Tower.
10. Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu. Sabrina Wu, Sherry Cola
11. Brownie Tuesday, Cardi B, and WAP.
12. Lori Tan Chinn.
13. Alexander Hodge.
14. Chris Pang.
15. Ronny Chieng.

I could probably list more--and there's more for sure--but pretty much you are either going to love the raunchy goodness of this, or you just won't like it at all (but I'm guessing you also like soap in your mouth for fun then too).

THE PROBLEMATIC PIECES FROM AN APIA TRANSRACIAL/INTERCOUNTY ADOPTEE PERSPECTIVE THAT ALMOST TANKED THE FILM FOR ME

Here's the thing--I know this is a comedy. I know it's not a documentary and we have to give some artistic leeway--I get that. And I'm glad the writers had some friends who had been through the adoption system and leaned on some of that--just like for other types of character development--but--when you have a big ass feature film, with something so personal, where the historical representation and voice has not been there from actual real human beings who have been adopted but everyone else (albeit changing)--and it's such a big part of our ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY--just like when we say we have to have cultural expertise on films--I think the same argument can be made here--and I'm not just talking about your friends, but a cross section of people/academics, etc. Even with all the crazy behind Blue Bayou--they still hit up A LOT of people (and yes, I realize it was more dramatic, and we treat comedy different, but it's still something that needs to be taken into account).

At the same time, while people can argue that there are APIA Adoptees out there in different stages of their journey, and that the character of Audrey has similarities to some adoptees (some may say her character is in "The Fog"--though not everyone likes that term) just like the rest of the APIA community--we are not a monolith either--there's a lot of diversity and that's where I think we need to do better in the representation. 

In that way there were so many opportunities for the film and for Audrey's character to push back on those same stereotypes and old-school tropes, just like they did from an Asian/White perspective and Asian American female perspective---but while they had chances--nothing came to fruition and the word on the street, from APIA and other Transracial Adoptees (from what I've heard and read), and just adoptees in general--that portion of the film is pretty much DAP. It could have been WAP. But it ended up just being dry and crusty as a MF with no amount of lube to save the day.

1. Still The Same Tropes/Stereotypes/Infantilization Of APIA Adoptees. Do people just not understand that there's a huge amount of time between being a young kid and an adult who's had a lifetime in some cases to understand their culture, language, and to be comfortable in their skin and around their people? And that's not to say adoptees in their 20's/30's/40's/50's don't go through a journey just like everyone else--and absolutely there are differences and some things that may never be gotten--but it's the same stereotypical APIA Adoptees Are All Whitewashed perspective that gets under the skin, especially when you look at activism from an APIA perspective and look at all the amazing APIA Transracial goodness out there fighting for so many causes.
2. That Train Scene And Audrey Being Racist Against Her Own People. Again, I'm not saying this doesn't happen--because I've seen it and it's some bullshit--but it's the same as the creation and delivery of Dragon Lady characters throughout time, or the simple Hypersexualized-I'm-Your-Concubine flat characters. We all know some folks like that, just like I know some adoptees who call themselves White--but making that the de facto standard--that scene in particular really just laid it all on Ashely Park's character and her purely Adopted Self. Again, a big ass stereotype and something that we've all had to fight--just like APIA's having to fight that we're also American and that we can hold more than just our Asian-ness OR our American-ness. 
3. So She's Really A Korean Adoptee? Again, not saying there isn't some flexibility here, and many of us know Ashely Park from her Broadway or Emily In Paris work, where in the later she plays Chinese--that piece--and I wondered what they were going to do there--while it was a story turn to help keep it moving--there are also people out there that think the APIA Transracial/Intercountry Adoptee landscape is dominated by KADs. So to have this character who's billed as a Chinese Adoptee--getting Chinese Adoptees to go to out as well (let's be honest)--really turn out to a KAD--it was fairly disappointing. I realize this one could be a little more personal, but I've heard similar from both sides (Korean and Chinese). In that way it almost muzzles and hides Chinese Adoptees--like they don't exist in many ways--and let's take that one step further in that in the story no Chinese Adoptee was actually hanging out with Chinese Americans who were not adopted. You get this one?
4. Original/Korean Mom Leaves A Video? Again, I get it's a comedy, and we want to feel good and laugh, etc. and there's artistic license there--but my goodness--I actually almost made gagging sounds in the theater but held myself back. I mean for a movie that was being sold as subversive--this was anything but subversive or pushing boundaries, or even funny. 

At the end of the day, having an APIA Adoptee in the film, just like having a token Asian American in a film--doesn't do anyone any good when it's the same DAP we've seen before.

Gimme the WAP.

"Past Lives" Was A Beautiful Slow Burn (Some Spoilers)

If you like the slow burn, and a love story with A LOT of nuance, you will really like Past Lives. If you don't - honestly, I can't help you there - because this is a beautiful, nuanced, slow burn about what could have been, what might have been, what doesn't seem to be ever possible, but yet you still wonder if it still could be...at some time.

I mean - that's what I came away from after watching it (and I did actually get to see it the same weekend I posted about it not being in the Midwest (but they just hadn't updated the website I think). 

The way they played these parts, the subtle looks and phrases--understanding the thought of being in a relationship, looking back, and understanding the differences between the life that sometimes lives in your mind--or your heart--and the pragmatic life that helps guide decisions.

That last scene, where she walks alone and just falls into her husband's arms--it's just heartbreaking--you feel everything in so many ways--the loss she felt at her "past life", the remorse she felt for wanting what she couldn't and how it affected her husband, and this thought that maybe, if just a little different timing, because there was still a piece of her that wanted that, that in some ways she was ready for it. 

But in the end--who she really was--what really motivated her--it was something she couldn't escape.

Beautiful. Moving. See it.

Got Those Tickets: Snowpiercer + Bong Joon-ho + One Cut Only (And Harvey Weinstein Needs More Theaters)

The English debut of Bong Joon-ho, based on a French graphic novel with actors Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, Jamie Bell, Ewen Bremner, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, and Ed Harris - how can I not want to go see this? At least on the surface, it seems to have everything I hope for in movie trends - world literacy - and is the one and only cut of the film Bong intended for - because he didn't give in to Harvey Weinstein by cutting 20 minutes of film and putting in voice-overs at the beginning and end (and the eventual 8-10 theater release is now close to over 150 with a list on the film's website).

I'm hoping this becomes a mega-hit in the US if only to speak to the opposite of why Weinstein wanted it cut and voiced-over in the first place.

Apparently "The Hunger Games" Sucks Because Some Of The Characters Are Black?

I'll admit it. I have no idea about this movie. In fact I just learned what the book is about from a couple of tweens a week ago - but that doesn't change the fact that apparently people can't stand that some of the main characters are (*gasp*) Black.

From Jezebel:

The tumblr Hunger Games Tweets has collected a smattering of Twitter postings, with the goal of exposing "Hunger Games fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books." What people are saying is disappointing, sad, stomach-churning, and just plain racist [...]

Some of the tweets go like:

"Why does rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie"

"Why did the producer make all the good characters black smh"

"Kk call me racist but when I found out rue was black her death wasn't as sad"

You people have some serious MF issues.

Get.A.Clue.

DramaFever, Fog, And The Things We Carry

A quick note that you can watch two new films down at DramaFever for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month including The Things We Carry and Fog.

Cool.

Snow Flower And The Secret Fan, Hugh Jackman, Wayne Wang, And WTF Is Going On Here People?

Somebody help me out here because this makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, and honestly - I'm going to give some benefit of the doubt and just ask the question - because I just don't get it:

There's a film being made by Wayne Wang - based on the Lisa See novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - and from all the reports I've read the male lead character - which was going to be played by an unnamed member of the former Taiwanese band F4 - is now going to be played by Hugh Jackman.

Now I haven't read the book myself - but comments (and a friend as well) tell me that there is no lead White Male in this book - and since the original lead was going to be played by someone who's Asian doesn't it just lead me to ask the question of WTF is going on here?

I mean am I really using the word WHITEWASHED and Wayne Wang in the same sentence?

Is that possible?

Maybe Wayne Wang doesn't know what's going on.

Maybe it is just a cameo.

Maybe all of these reports are completely false.

I'm hoping that there's a lot more to this story that I just don't know...

The Whitewashing Of “The Weapon”

Again? Really? C'mon.

From Racebending:

Well, Hollywood does it again, this time by casting Italian American Disney channel darling David Henrie to play–get this–an Asian American character named Tommy Zhou. Platinum Studios is making a film adaption of their comic book series The Weapon.
The filmmakers are emphasizing Henrie’s martial arts experience while de-emphasizing the fact that the character he plays is Asian American. This is again another example of Hollywood sending the message that white actors are more qualified to portray Asian characters than Asian American actors are.

The Weapon is written by comic book author Fred Van Lente, who is well known for helping popularize another Asian American comic book hero, Marvel’s Amadeus Cho. Amadeus, Jubilee, and Tommy Zhou are some of the very few Asian American comic book heroes in existence.

When will it ever end...

DVDs: I Corrupt All Cops, And The Longest Night in Shanghai

One a little newer, one a little older. Both begging to be watched.

I Corrupt All Cops



The Longest Night in Shanghai

Hollywood Bound: Choi Min Soo

Coming soon to a theater near you in a film called Serpent Rising (also starring Julian Lee).

DVD Fun: The Gene Generation

I've been meaning to post up on this, but I ended up catching The Gene Generation with Bai Ling (who's in Crank 2) and Parry Shen a little while ago and it's a pretty fun flick. Guns, assassins, futuretech - cool fight scenes - a little drama, a little romance - all in all - not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Robin Shou And Death Race

To be honest I don't know much about his role in the film other than I've seen him in some scenes in trailers and he's listed as 14K in the IMDB credits and down at his site (where you can also get some pics of his role as Gen in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) - but still wanted to post up on it (and the poster is pretty slick).

Death Race starts showing this weekend.

Dat Phan Goes To Rome

Screenshot from When In Rome from DatPhan.com

So I was thinking to myself "I wonder what Dat Phan has been up too" (because occasionally things like that pop into my head) so I checked out his site and apparently he's going to be in a new movie called When in Rome. Not quite sure how big his role is going to be - or what it actually entails - but it's good to see him getting some gigs.

I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

And in more Daniel Henney News

Because this is my third post on him in a week - I watched his movie My Father, and with exception to the really bad acting in the beginning during the first 2 minutes where his family is like "Do you really want to join the Army?" and "Be careful" - it was pretty good.

Here's the synopsis from Wikipedia:

The movie, which is based on a true story, is about an adopted son who is searching for his biological parents in South Korea. During his search he meets his real father, a condemned murderer on death row. Daniel Henney plays the lead role of James, who works as a volunteer in the United States armed forces in Korea. He asks questions of why his father is on death row and finds out things that he always wanted to know. Then he finds more and more truths unravel about his father and his life.

The release of the movie inspired controversy because the family of the father's victims did not support its production. In its first week on release it topped the South Korean box office sales charts

Next up on my DVD list - Seven Days (because I want to see the movie that got Kim Yun-jin her Best Actress Award).

DVD: Miss Gold Digger & Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

So I sat down and watched two films last night, the SK romantic comedy Miss Gold Digger and the Andy Lau/Maggie Q epic Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, and while I didn't mind the first, because it was kind of a fun romp through singledom and trying to find the right person - the ending was a nice surprise too, and I can see why it caught Han Ye Seul a New Actress award - I'd have to say that unless you just have to see every Andy Lau or Maggie Q movie, I'd probably wait until you were kind of bored to see the other.

It's not that Three Kingdoms was the worst flick you could see - it had some nice scenes and some good cinematography - but they used this stutter-step filming of the action segments that made a lot of it look like a bad Made For TV movie and at the same time the story moved too fast while it tried to fit in too much. You never really got to feel attached to a particular person in it versus something like The Warlords or Protégé, and in the end when you put everything together - it just wasn't that epic.

Here's the trailer for Miss Gold Digger



Here's the trailer for Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

P.S. Kung Fu Dunk

I can't believe I had more than one post on you, because while you might chalk it up to me seeing you on a plane - which I don't really think made a difference - you just weren't that good.

Don't worry. I still love you Charlene.

2nd isn't bad: Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

At least it was Tina Fey that Harold and Kumar lost first place too on their opening weekend.

V is for Valentine - or - Vaginas with teeth

A special post for V-Day

If you don't think Valentine's Day is a mass marketing scheme to drain you of your hard earned cash for things that you should really be doing all year round - hats off to you, and may you enjoy the day with your loved one.

On the other hand - if you find Valetine's Day to just be an excuse for people to say I love you to someone they just met in the hopes that they'll put out - then you'll probably enjoy the trailer for the film Teeth.

View the trailer

Mallika Sherawat, The Aquarian Gospel, Shilpa Shetty, and Quantum of Solace

Bollywood's taboo-breaking blockbuster celibate yogni actress Mallika Sherawat (aka Bollywood's Bardot) will be starring in an upcoming Hollywood film about Jesus Christ called The Aquarian Gospel, where she'll play the character Saraswati, a loyal friend of Christ, when he travels through India - and like some of her other roles, this one's starting to make conversation too.



At the same time, after winning the UK Celebrity Big Brother and getting kissed by Richard Gere (that picture still makes me queasy) - it seems one of the next stops for Shilpa Shetty is in the next James Bond movie Quantum of Solace where it's rumored that her role will be more like Madonna's in Die Another Day.

Short Film "Touch": Loving mannequins Asian Style

This short film Touch, which will also be playing down at the DisOrient Film Festival, has Kiki Yeung and Yuji Okumoto (from Karate Kid 2 and Pearl Harbor) and was created by the same people (the 1/2 Asian production team) that also brought you the direct to video/dvd flicks The Life and Times of MC Beer Bong and Simply FOBulous.

Here's the synopsis for the short:

A lonely immigrant woman spends her life sewing day after day, watching the world go by from the window of her small tailor shop. Longing for human interaction, she attempts to connect with the passersby, only to be met with rejection and humiliation. She looks to her wooden mannequin, who watches over her daily from the corner of the store, to fill the void in her heart. Her hope for love is realized when the mannequin comes to life and the customer of her dreams sweeps her off her feet.

Because I know you want to see the trailer:



Go to the Touch MySpace page or Kiki Yeung's MySpace page.