Movies

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‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is what we needed after such a long wait

This is a sports blog, but sometimes, I have to write about other things that are important to me. And we will dive into the world of “Crazy Rich Asians.”

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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.

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You want ‘Space Jam 2’ to happen? This is what needs to go down

As you have heard, they have found a director for “Space Jam 2” and the reboot/sequel is finally getting the necessary things in motion to make it happen. The idea, though not confirmed, is that the movie will focus on LeBron James as the main character.

This is a bad idea.

First of all, the idea of this sequel happening is completely unnecessary. The original was a little off the wall and it featured a good storyline that followed it. Michael Jordan’s abrupt retirement allowed this storyline to work through. The silliness of Bugs Bunny and the rest of this crew recruiting Jordan to an intergalactic basketball game against aliens who have stolen his friends’ talents is perfectly a 1990s idea. It should stay there. Anything similar would not work today.

But here we have LeBron James. He isn’t as likable. (Although one can argue that Jordan wasn’t very likable as well but he was way more revered during his era than James is now.) The timing of this is terrible. If they made this to coincide with James’ return to Cleveland, then there might have been something.

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My ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ movie review

If you liked Man of Steel, then you are going to like this new movie. I just got back from the theater and I loved this movie a lot. But of course, this movie isn’t perfect and it has its flaws. But what I have come to understand that this is Zack Snyder’s universe he has created. I already threw out all I knew about all the characters in the movie and have accepted this new world of Batman and Superman.

One thing that you will notice that this movie is a little messy. There are a lot of complicated situations, misunderstandings, and a whole lot of fighting and building destruction (Hey! Isn’t that why we have this movie in the first place?). But to really capture the essence of the movie, you have to look at two really different characters who are bound together because of different viewpoints of things. But in reality, these two characters in Batman and Superman share similarities. That makes the situation even more complicated.

Lex Luthor’s character is the nucleus of the film. His attempt to pit the two together in a battle to the death is the genesis of his attempt to be an all-powerful warlord. That unfortunately doesn’t properly get developed in terms of character. There isn’t much to take from Wonder Woman either in terms of character development either. But it really is just to set up her own film that is to come. She did get the biggest pop in the theater.

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I just saw ‘Concussion’ and it attempts to make the NFL look like the bad guys

I came into this film thinking that it will shed new light on the concussion situation but it really was not much new information to me. But of course, I am a football fan so I am very aware of what goes on with the league. In fact, I feel that this was more of a movie that showcased Dr. Bennet Omalu.

For those who may not know much about the NFL and the concussion case, this is a good starting point in getting the basics in. They talk about some notable suicide cases by former players and how Omalu was able to study their brains and discover traits of CTE. Then the movie starts getting into Omalu’s faith and his relationship with his wife.

This movie became more of a triumph story for Omalu then a revealing movie about the NFL and its negligence. It seemed to me that they wanted to make the league look like the bad guys, but they instead made the focus on Omalu instead of the problem itself. I am not sure how much the NFL had in the hand in directing the movie’s theme, but it was clear that there was a lot of potential that was left out of the film.

Still, it’s a good film for any football fan. Sure, the movie focuses more on Omalu’s triumph in his discoveries, it still shows that the NFL was willing to turn the other way for the longest time. The NFL is pretty lucky that this film didn’t make them look worse than they could. But they can no longer ignore the seriousness of CTE and head trauma.

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How I got to spend ‘Back to the Future’ day chatting with Lea Thompson

Me and Lea!

Me and Lea!

As you know I am a huge “Back to the Future” fan. Like real big fan. I got the shirts, I got the movies, I got the LEGO set. I quote the movie over and over again. In fact, I held a mini marathon at home last night watching the films.

In fact, I shared about a little adventure I had yesterday at the mall.

But the coolest thing so far about today, which is the day Marty arrives in the future, is that I got a chance to chat with Lea Thompson. She plays Lorraine in the trilogy and this actually isn’t the first time I’ve interacted with her. Last summer at a screening, she was part of a Q&A and I was able to get her to sign my DVD copy of the trilogy.

But with today being the day Marty arrives, she was doing some interview touring and Huffington Post was able to get her for a live segment. I was asked the day before about it by a rep from Huff Post. They saw that I was a huge BTTF fan from my tweets probably and asked me if I would be willing to join in on a Q&A with her live. We went over the details of what questions I would ask and what kind of setting I would get ready using Google Hangouts.

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Are you cheering for the Cubs because ‘Back to the Future’ said so?

As you know I am a huge Back to the Future fan. As part of a side note from the movie’s sequel, the Cubs win the World Series in 2015. It’s a funny little piece of movie history but now that we are in 2015, this could actually happen.

I was real glad to see the Cubs win last night and advance to the NLDS. I am cheering for them to win it all solely because the movie said they would. Wouldn’t it be a great story and a cool tie in with the movie? A movie’s prediction almost 30 years ago predicts the World Series winner. How crazy is that?

The team I still think is the best in all of baseball are the Blue Jays and they probably have the most balanced team right now. However, you never know how things will turn out. I also like the upstart Astros. Something about them really stands out to me as a fun team.

But if I had to prioritize it, it’s the Cubs first, then the Astros. The Jays come next. The rest I am indifferent.

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The ‘Concussion’ movie doesn’t even look that good

You can’t really judge a movie’s potential solely on the trailer. But then again, the trailer is supposed to display the movie’s best scenes and what it has to offer.

I am sure this movie could be great and I hope it isn’t just an NFL-bashing film. But something about this trailer doesn’t really capture me. I still will plan to see it but for a very first impression, I’m not that impressed.

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Pacers wearing Hoosiers throwbacks is a faulty great idea

The Pacers announced that they would be wearing these uniforms for several games next season. This is the uniform from the “Hoosiers” movie. It is a very important movie in Indiana history and it captures the state’s love for basketball. It’s one of the best sports movies of all time and the Pacers celebrating the 30th anniversary of the movie is a great idea.

But this is a professional team wearing a uniform from a movie based on a high school team. That doesn’t sound right.

The homage is great but somehow the Pacers wearing a throwback like this seems kind of minor league. It isn’t but a gimmick like this really cheapens the product. But it’s still a nice homage. I’m torn between how I really feel about this. It’s a movie, not an actual historical evvent. It just seems very out of place.

It’s a great idea but it isn’t perfect. I just don’t think a professional team should have to wear uniforms from a fictional movie.

Tennessee’s sharp new alternate uniform pays tribute to the Smoky Mountains
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Tennessee’s sharp new alternate uniform pays tribute to the Smoky Mountains

I wouldn’t say sharp. It’s just OK.

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My review of ‘Jurassic World’

On Wednesday night, I got a chance to see ‘Jurassic World’ a couple days before it hit theaters nationwide. I grew up dreaming of becoming an archaeologist before the first movie ever came out. My love for dinosaurs grew with this and when they announced that this movie was coming out, I could not wait to see it.

I saw it in IMAX 3D and unfortunately, I was stuck in the second row way up front. I was afraid I would strain my neck but it wasn’t too bad. The only thing was that I had to move my head left and right throughout the film.

So how did I like the movie? I enjoyed it. But this wasn’t something that WOW’d me at all. The storyline goes like this: There is an amusement park where genetically created dinosaurs are the attraction. A chain of dinosaurs escape and the humans must find a way to stop the dinosaurs before the chaos causes damage.

Just like the first movie.

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