I’m a little tired of manly manliness in cinema. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always have a soft spot Predator, Die Hard, or a good Spaghetti Westerns. But it’s 2018 and I’m kinda tired of that being the MO for male characters, especially manliness for the sake of manliness, like that 50s stoic, silent masculinity.… Continue reading First Man(liness)
Author: Joshua Tong
Classically Petty
Don Quixote is a pretty important book, to put it mildly. Often counted one of – if not the – greatest book ever written, it’s definitely something you can categorize under Serious Literature. It’s also home to some outstanding pettiness and a magnificent middle finger to fan-fiction. The book was hugely popular right from when… Continue reading Classically Petty
A Dearth of Asians
I was talking with a friend at work the other day about Silk. The superhero, not the fabric. I’ve mentioned her on the blog before, and I do really like her, and am bummed her book ended. My friend quipped that I should be, she’s, like, the only Asian hero in Marvel. I protested, there… Continue reading A Dearth of Asians
Spidey’s New York
Narratives are a two way street. What you bring to them is what you get out of them. So let’s talk Spider-Man, the video game (again). Spider-Man, of course, takes place in New York. Because, well, duh. Now, I happen to live in New York and have lived here for most of the past six… Continue reading Spidey’s New York
Captain Marvel Trailer
It’s happening. It’s finally freaking happening. On Tuesday we finally got a trailer for Captain Marvel, a movie I’ve been looking forwards to quite incessantly since it was announced way back in 2014. And now, at long last, we’re getting a glimpse of the movie itself and what all it’s gonna be. Needless to say,… Continue reading Captain Marvel Trailer
I’m Swinging Here
It wasn’t long after I first moved to New York that I found myself really wanting to be Spider-Man. Not for having spider-like strength or the responsibility entailed; nah, what I really wanted were those web-shooters. Confronted by the architectural chasms that make up the city’s downtown, I figured that being able to swing from… Continue reading I’m Swinging Here
On Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy Rich Asians is an odd beast for me. It’s a movie based on a book I didn’t really like, but oddly it’s one where I do like the movie over the book. More than that, though, it’s a book set in Singapore, a country I’m not used to seeing on screen. Also where, of… Continue reading On Crazy Rich Asians
Yellow (流星)
I have A Lot of thoughts about the movie adaption of Crazy Rich Asians. Far more thoughts that I’ve had time to write down. Much of that is wrapped up in the fact that it’s set in Singapore and I have a very complicated relationship with that country, owing to it, well, being where I… Continue reading Yellow (流星)
Watch This Web Series
Essays, Not Rants! 335: Watch This Web Series Back in February I got hired to direct a web series. Which is a pretty cool sentence to get to type. The web series, The Invincible Osiris Jackson, is quite easily described as a nerdy, gay romance. The showrunner and I both used Scott Pilgrim vs The… Continue reading Watch This Web Series
Hogwarts Housing
I’ve been on a bit of a Harry Potter kick lately. One reason is that LEGO revived the sets based on the movies so I’ve been seeing a lot of it at work. Another is that my girlfriend’s parents got us tickets to see Cursed Child (which is amazing) so there’s that too. Having recalled… Continue reading Hogwarts Housing
Essays, Not Rants! 