We had so many movies to watch in March! We review some faves/dislikes, before moving on to Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs. Find out how we rate it on the Abacus!
LA Times' Justin Chang piece: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-isle-of-dogs-review-20180321-story.html
Vulture's Emily Yoshida Piece: http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/what-its-like-to-watch-isle-of-dogs-as-a-japanese-speaker.html
Honest Trailers Every Wes Anderson Movie Ever:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWLY6NrS2Q
Awards season is officially over! We wanted to watch the Oscars and give our own thoughts to the biggest award show of the year. We talk Shape of Water, 3 Billboards, Call Me By Your Name, Abicus: Small Enough To Jail, and so much more! Big thanks to special guest Anne Hu (Cake).
We're back! On Valentine's Day, we talk about Melissa's OTP, the lovely and talented Kelly Marie Tran, and why fan boys are in such a tizzy over TLJ. Featuring a tribute to the late Carrie Fisher.
We put out 10 episodes, had some great guests and talked about some great (and not-so-great movies.) This is the end of Season 2, and we talk about all the things we're thankful for! Thanks, everyone!
Comedian Jes Tom and Melissa sit down to talk about their Ghost In The Shell PSA (the viral video from this spring), their shared Japanese Internment history, and the responsibility of artists.
It's a bonus with special guest Anna Suzuki! We talked the controversy surrounding director Ana Lily Amipour, rabbit cafes, and reclaiming the name of the Jewish American Princess.
We break down Ana Lily Amirpour and her summer movie starring Jason Momoa and Keanu Reeves. We have varying opinions but boy are they strong! With special guest Anna Suzuki (AZN-POP!)
It's a Big Sick Bonus! We talk about growing up in Asian-American families, interracial relationships, model minorities, and how there are no Asian on SNL.
Kumail Nanjiani shared his true life love story and we are here for it! We talk interracial dating, immigrant parents, relationships between the North and South, and who would play us in the story of our lives.
Read Emily's Lenny Letter about the experience at Girlfriend In A Coma.
Chung Tsang and Mark Singh from KAFFNY (short for Korean American Film Festival New York) joined us this week! We talk about their upcoming film festival in Brooklyn on Saturday, October 14th. The festival features films about food, fashion, migration, and more. Filmmakers from around the world will be showcased, and the guys discuss some pretty amazing films. RSVP to their free screening on ethical fashion, or use discount code NOTNINJA50 for 50% off! Check out their website for more information: http://www.kaffny.org/program/
Spider-man: Homecoming was a summer hit, but not without it's controversies. We talk Miles Morales, Jacob Batalon as the Asian Sidekick, and Tom Holland interviewing in Korea. All with the help of special guest, Joy Regullano. See her in Filipino AF at UCB LA on October 13th! Tickets on sale here: https://ucbtheatre.com/performance/56668
Anne Hu, New York based Editor and film director sits down with us to discuss her short Cake (www.cakethefilm.com). We talk horror films, the Museum of Sex, internet trolls, her Washington Post article, and much more!
Website: www.annehu.com
Washington Post, An Asian Sex Robo Aims to Challenge Stereotypes (www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/a-movie-about-an-asian-sex-robot-aims-to-challenge-stereotypes/2017/05/19/e047effa-3b37-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html?utm_term=.22e26625d4b7)
In our first bonus episode of Season 2, we talk about Jake Gyllenhaal, animal sex, and Obama's War Room picture.
TW (5:40) for the slaughterhouse scene, and forced animal breeding, as well as rape scene choreography.
We're Not All Ninjas is a proud member of Hard NOC Media.
After a shakey Cannes start, Okja hit Netflix early this summer. We break down the plot, director Bong Joon-Ho, Steven Yuen portrayal of K, that slaughterhouse scene and more, with the help of special guest Eunice Bae.
Steven Yuen's Vulture Article: http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/steven-yeun-interview-okja-walking-dead.html
Season 2 is here! Catch up on what's you've missed, what we'll be discussing this season, and what we're totally gonna skip (coughDeathNotecough).
We're Not All Ninjas is now a part of Hard NOC Media, a podcast collective focused on producers of color. Like Hard NOC Media on Facebook and Twitter. And remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast on Itunes!
In our final episode of Season 1, we have Will Choi (Drunk Monk Podcast) and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls; 13 Reasons Why.) They produce and host a monthly all Asian American variety show at UCB and this year made their NYC premiere! We talk comedy, representation, casting and more!
Filmaker, producer, and a founding member of the Taiwanese American Film Festival, Roxy Shih, sat down with Rachel in LA. They talk, they laugh a lot, and talk some more about film, representation, and inspiration.
The Taiwanese American Film Festival is on July 8th in Los Angeles. Tickets are on sale now! https://www.taff.la/
Happy Pride Month! In honor of our friends in the LGBTQ+ community, we (and guest Orville Mendoza) watched Spa Night. Spa Night is the directorial debut of Andrew Ahn, and was featured at Sundance in 2016. This indie flick is more than a coming out story. It's about family, immigrants, class, and more.
This week, we talk in depth about Asian American Poverty in Power Rangers, as well as just how fun and silly this franchise can be.
That's right! We watched the latest Power Rangers reboot. And guess what? We don't regret it! This episode we talk about cutie pie Ludi Lin, filling a diversity quota, and using Power Rangers to promote Asian male role models.
We're back with guest, actor Orville Mendoza (@orviactor). We talk Vin Diesel, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Orville's current gig, a sold out production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures with Classic Stage Company.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 made a gajillion dollars opening weekend. So we went to check out it. Helping us talk about Dave Bautista (Drax) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is NYC actor Orville Mendoza.
Deathnote, the beloved Japanese anime series, has been given a Netflix adaptation. The trailer is out and it stars......not a lot of Asian folks. Not like they didn't try. According to actor/producer Masi Oka (Heroes) "our casting directors did an extensive search...[but] the actors we did go to didn't speak the perfect English." What??? Well, Zoe Kim, Jenapher Zheng, and Sylvia Ray were having none of these shenanigans. They put together a great video explaining why these statements are ridiculous, and they also feature several Asian American actors who DO speak perfect English.
Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/theLLAG/posts/10106496593770908
Edward Zo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdxz2htgPiQ
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We place each Kubo character into Hogwarts houses, wax poetic about Harry Potter (cos we're big nerds), and rant about representation in voice overs.
After Wes Anderson's poster for Isle of Dogs was released, we thought it was pretty important to cover another stop motion animated film that used animals in a Japanese backdrop. In this episode, we talk about monkeys, gender steretypes, and seriously, why was Matthew McConaughey in this movie?