Disney’s new ‘Mulan’ film is a cultural representation disaster like its animated predecessor

The story of Mulan (花木蘭) is a story that I grew up with. As a Chinese kid, this was one of the most important stories that I had to know. It is similar to America’s Johnny Appleseed story. The story originated from a ballad but has now become one of the most important folklore in Chinese culture.

Trying to create this beautiful story into a movie is a daunting task. It’s been done many times but for a mega company like Disney to take it on was a great joy for me in 1998. Finally, my people’s faces and story gets a spotlight on the big stage. The people of America and around the world will get a chance to my people. We don’t get the spotlight very much so this is very special to me. I was hopeful that the movie would do the Chinese culture and people justice.

It did not.

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is perfect and we need more!

Crazy how my last blog post here was about the trailer to this movie. Now I return so I can share it all with you.

I remember telling my friend that this movie was going to be my people’s “Black Panther” in which all the Asian folks will flock the theaters and be so proud of their heritage. This movie had so much high expectations for me. I wanted it to be that important for my people. And even though it won’t live up to the hype of T’Chala and Wakanda, I couldn’t have asked for a better movie for my people.

The hype leading up to the movie’s release was the same narrative: First major Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club” 25 years ago. And that narrative needed to be repeated over and over again. I was too young to even know about “The Joy Luck Club” and the portrayal and representation of Asians in American pop culture is so minimal. There are few leading roles and they’re a lot of stereotypes. And also there are a lot of whitewashing Asian roles. It’s a hard thing for me to grow up with not having any true representation.

The ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ trailer is here! YES!!!

When was the last time Hollywood had a movie featuring an all-Asian cast?

Yeah, it was “The Joy Luck Club” and that was released nearly 25 years ago.

I loved the book and I really was excited to see that it was being made into a movie. Now as we get closer to the release of the movie, I am very anxious about it.

‘I Can Only Imagine’ is a rare Christian movie that isn’t awful

 

So last week I finally got to see this movie because there was a lot of buzz surrounding it. It was presented to me as a movie that is a must-see because it is a Christian movie that isn’t bad.

Because nearly 95% of all Christian movies I see are so bad. But this one wasn’t. It wasn’t super amazing, but I actually viewed this as a pretty decent film.

But this was a rare treat because unlike all the other Christian movies I have seen, this had a believable story (well, it was based on real events), the acting was competent, and the basic structure of lighting, sound, etc all seemed pretty good.

I found a Christian podcast that is going to piss off Christians

Last week I was driving and decided I wanted to see if I could find a podcast to listen to on my drive. I found a wrestling one which was fun but I decided that I wanted to listen to a Christian podcast. After all, as a Christian, I must be listening to Christian things when I drive. Whether it’s Christian music, Christian radio or sermons, I must listen to Christian things.

I stumbled upon Good Christian Fun and the title was misleading. But after listening, I realized it’s the perfect title.

The first podcast I listened to was actually their most recent episode, which was a live commentary on the awful movie “God’s Not Dead.”

I think Caroline and Kevin the hosts already stated that they are Christians so I think this was OK listening, right?

Netflix’s ‘Death Note’ was trash and here’s why

It’s quite simple. You white wash this classic Japanese story you will get some confusion.

Of course if you watch this with no knowledge of the original you might think it’s OK. But even at that, this story had no character development and felt rushed. The attempted infusion of Asian culture (or lack thereof) in this sense is not good either. Worst of all, it felt so confusing.

The plot is good but what makes this so bad was that it’s a complex story that you can’t fit in only 100 minutes. The characters need to develop. The background of L needs to be explained more. The love interest needs to be so much more complex.

This movie lacked a lot. On its own, it’s OK. But if you know the original, then you know that this was just an awful attempt to make an extra buck off someone else’s great idea.

I watched it. I wanted to like it. But I couldn’t. It just fell flat.

I felt bad for Tupac’s legacy after watching ‘All Eyez on Me’

Let me first tell you that I am a huge Tupac fan. I am a fan that owns all his albums. I am a fan who researched and downloaded all his original recordings (which would later be put into his posthumous releases). I also have two posters of him in my childhood room. I have seen all his movies. I am a huge fan.

With that said, I came into “All Eyez on Me” with the knowledge of the critics’ less than enthusiastic reviews of the film. Jada Pinkett-Smith and 50 Cent have expressed their dislike of the movie as well. I was hopeful that maybe my perception wouldn’t be swayed. But it was. And when I watched the film, I was disappointed.

Overall the movie was decent for the casual fan who may not know his story. But still, the struggle to fit in 25 years of his life into a film is hard. Rather than focus on a part of his life, we got a directionless film that went all over the place. We struggled to identify with the character and that unfortunately led to the anti-climactic end which really didn’t give much to the enigmatic rap star.

‘The Circle’ movie was decent but the book is still better

Remember when I expressed my concern over The Circle? Well I saw it a few days ago and it wasn’t as bad.

BUT THE BOOK WAS BETTER!

Hey, I am going to go into some spoilers so prepare yourselves. 

Isn’t that always the case? The book is a lot more detailed. But I understand the difficulties a movie has to go through with time constraints and limitations in all details.

I really hope ‘The Circle’ doesn’t disappoint me

About a year ago I saw “The Circle” at Barnes & Noble and put it on my list of books to read. I would later find out that the book was being turned into a movie.

Why wouldn’t it be? The idea and concept of the story was intriguing and I wanted to read it. So I bought the book and read it about a month before the movie’s release date.

I liked the book. I felt compelled to sympathize with characters. It wasn’t overly serious but it also was a perfect commentary on what we have become as a society.

The ‘Power Rangers’ movie was a beautiful story of empowering America’s youth

I just watched the Power Rangers movie and I have things to share. The second half of the post has spoilers so be careful when you get there. But first, some general thoughts.

It was nostalgic. Oh they had Bryan Cranston back which was nice! The names were the same and the whole premise was great. If you grew up watching the show as a kid, I think you would like this.

However, I do have to say that it was hard for me to get into this movie first because I held on to the past. I wanted to compare so much and find things I didn’t like. It was only until a little ways into the movie that I realized I had to let go. There were some great parts that took me back but it was a new chapter in the storytelling of Power Rangers. It was for the nostalgic kid in me and for the new generation to have their new heroes. Overall, I felt that they captured everything I needed to see in the movie. There was enough comedy, a little cheesy but a whole lot of fighting that gave me all the feels.

It was targeted to a PG-13 type audience and that was fine for me. I felt that anything less wouldn’t work for a movie coming out in 2017. It seemed like it was going in the direction of a movie like Spy Kids, but this was Spy Kids on steroids. It was action-packed and it was a simply fun movie. Letting go of the past allowed me to embrace this future.

NOW HERE COME THE SPOILERS!!!!

THESE SPOILERS DISCUSS EACH RANGER’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. 

STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW. 

ARE YOU READY?