What Did I Miss?: March 2022

Published Works

Depths of Unexpected Emotions Unravel in Kogonada’s ‘After Yang’– For The Nerds of Color, I break down my observations and thoughts about this director’s second feature film.

“Turning Red” Animators on Anime Influences and Working with Domee Shi – For the Center for Asian American Media, I spoke with two Pixar animators on what it was like to work on the studio’s 25th feature film.

Review of Hollywood Heroine by Sarah Kuhn – For Goodreads, I go over my general thoughts about the fifth entry into the Heroine Complex series.

Plays

Rainy Day Artistic Collective 2022 | Not in Kansas by Lauren Lola – Following the performances of the Halfway Historical Festival, the director of this very personal play gave it a home on her YouTube channel for audiences to continue to discover and, hopefully, learn from. Inspired by true events, two PhD students from the Philippines are on a road trip to New Orleans, when they experience the opposite of Southern hospitality at a rest stop in Mississippi.

Comics

My Journey with Journals – In collaboration with This Asian American Life, I look back on 20 years of journaling and how much it has shaped my life. (The companion personal essay can be read on the TAAL website.)

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What Did I Miss?: December 2019

Appearances

Long Distance Calls Vol. 1 | Long Distance Radio – I was one of many listeners whose voice messages appear in this first volume of Long Distance calls about our experiences in the Filipino diaspora (mine starts around 19:00).

Published Works

Review of Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater History by Walter Ang – For Goodreads, I give a brief overview on my thoughts on this heavily detailed account about a part of theater history that hasn’t been as thoroughly explored before.

CAAMFest Alumnus Edwin Chang Explores Immigration and Family in Pixar Directorial Debut “Wind” – For the Center for Asian American Media, I speak with the writer and director of the latest release from Pixar’s SparkShorts program.

Review of I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels – For Goodreads, I provide a brief rundown on my thoughts about this insightful account into the making of all nine Skywalker saga films from the one person who has been in all of them.

Some Things are Thicker than Blood: The Core Theme of ‘Star Wars’ – For The Nerds of Color, I provide a counter for one of many arguments being made about the latest “Star Wars” film.

Force Healing and Its (Re-)Emergence in ‘Star Wars’ – For The Nerds of Color, I dive into a fan theory I have about the first live-action appearances of Force healing in two recent “Star Wars” productions.

What Did I Miss?: November 2019

Published Works

Doug Jung’s Screenwriting Debut Will Be Available on Disney+ – For The Nerds of Color, I dive into an early work from this “Star Trek” screenwriter, ahead of its availability on Disney’s new streaming service.

‘Jojo Rabbit’ Sends a Timely Message via Satire, Fascism, and War – For The Nerds of Color, I provide my non-spoilery thoughts about the latest feature film from director Taika Waititi.

Review of From Rufio to Zuko by Dante Basco – For Goodreads, I give my input on this informative memoir from someone who’s seen and done a lot in the entertainment industry for over three decades.

The Director and Producer of Pixar’s “Float” Discuss Filipino American Representation and Bringing a Personal Story to Life – For the Center for Asian American Media, I go behind-the-scenes of this groundbreaking short film from Pixar Animation Studio by talking to two of the people that made it what it is today.

Review of Cyber Shogun Revolution by Peter Tieryas – For Goodreads, ahead of its 2020 release, I give a rundown on what I make of this latest entry into the United States of Japan series.

Appearances

About Tita | TFAL Podcast – Over two years after its initial release, an audio essay I did for the This Filipino American Life podcast is now available on their YouTube channel.

An Offbeat Kind of Coming-of-Age Story: About “The Good Dinosaur”

Over the course of the past year, I’ve made the effort to expand my dialogue about storytelling by going beyond the boundaries of books and out into the mediums of TV and movies. I do so by devoting a least one post every other month to an overview of a TV show or movie that’s reached a significant time in its history (i.e. series premiere, series finale, film release, anniversary of a release/premiere, etc.). Previously, I discussed my thoughts about the enthralling Philippe Petit biopic, “The Walk.” Today, I go over the second Disney/Pixar film to come out this year, “The Good Dinosaur.”

From the Mind to Real Life: Going Inside “Inside Out”

Television and movies; both do the exact same thing as books- storytelling- but in a different way.  As of this year, I’ve expanded my blog to exploring the storytelling in these respective mediums periodically.  Whether it be on the day of a significant anniversary since the release of a television series, or in honor of the release of a much anticipated film, I do my best in expressing my thoughts in not only the overall content, but in particular, the storytelling and the themes intertwined into the text.  Previously, I explored the world of “Tomorrowland.” Today, I bring you my thoughts on the latest Disney/Pixar creation, “Inside Out.”