Culture Feature

Slow News Day: There's Just Not Much Going On

The world seems to have just taken a break from newsworthy stuff today.

As a pop culture news site, we here at Popdust uphold our sacred duty to keep the public informed of the major events of the world.

If Scarlett Johansson gets cast as Muhammad Ali in a new biopic, or Drake "accidentally" tweets a picture of a Jonas brother's junk, we know that you're counting on us to keep you up to date with all the hot takes and fresh perspectives on the situation.

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Film Features

How Asian Men Became Hot in Hollywood

In order to be accepted and celebrated by mainstream audiences, Asian-American men run the double-edged risk of being perceived as "too Asian" and also feeling like an imposter of their own race.

Director Randall Park

Photo by Taylor Jewell (Invision/AP/Shutterstock)

Randall Park is hot like a burned-out high school shop teacher who's nice even when he's hungover.

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FILM

The Subtle Art of Asians Not Giving a F**k in "Always Be My Maybe"

Did you miss the hidden cultural references, Keanu Reeves improvising, or the ultimate secret to good Asian food?

Keanu Reeves, Nahnatchka Khan, Ali Wong, Randall Park at the "Always Be My Maybe" Premiere

Photo by Kathy Hutchins (Shutterstock)

Always Be My Maybe is the long-awaited result of Ali Wong and Randall Park's shared love of rom-coms, their years of working the San Francisco stand-up comedy circuit together, and mainstream cinema's sore need for more Asian-American representation.

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FILM

Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend of May 31

King Ghidora is #1 kaiju: CONFIRMED.

Welcome back to "Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend."

This week, Godzilla smashes scaly monster bods with King Ghidora.

WIDE RELEASE:

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

The plot of Godzilla: King of the Monsters doesn't matter at all. The only thing that matters is that Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah are going to be smashing into each other for two hours, and King Ghidorah is the coolest kaiju, straight-up. This is the Godzilla movie you played out with your toys as a kid and that I still play out as a giant man-child, albeit very gently because all my Godzilla figures are mint-in-box.

Rocketman

Rocketman (2019) - Official Trailer - Paramount Pictureswww.youtube.com

Rocketman is a musical biopic about Elton John's rise to fame. Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) looks great as the larger-than-life musician, and early reviews have praised his performance. The color palette looks bright and vibrant, mirroring Elton John's glittery persona. If you're a fan of Elton John's music (honestly, who isn't?), this looks like one of the better musician biopics in recent years.

Ma

MA - Official Trailerwww.youtube.com

Ma's premise is so stupid. Like, inconceivably stupid. It's a horror movie where the killer is a random lady (Octavia Spencer, way too talented for this) who lets teenagers drink at her house, and the teenagers accept her invitation because apparently, they have never heard of stranger danger. If the entire conflict of a movie can be solved by everyone agreeing not to go to a stranger's house, is that even a conflict? I like terrible movies, though, so I kind of want to see it.

LIMITED RELEASE:

Always Be My Maybe

Always Be My Maybe | Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Co-written by and starring both Ali Wong and Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), Always Be My Maybe is a romantic comedy about two childhood friends who should probably end up together, except one of them is hooking up with Daniel Dae Kim and then Keanu Reeves. Ali Wong is a really great comedian, so it'll probably be pretty funny, and it's always great to see Randall Park getting more work, especially as a leading man. It's on Netflix this weekend, so definitely check it out.

Domino

DOMINO Official Trailer (2019) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brian De Palma Movie HDwww.youtube.com

Poor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau just can't catch a break. First, his entire character arc was destroyed in the final season of Game of Thrones. Now, he's starring in this absolute clunker. But how can you tell Domino is a clunker without even seeing it? Great question! Normally, action movies put high-octane action scenes in the trailer. Domino decided to go the much less established route and have a man falling very, very slowly from a low roof. Someone, please get Nikolaj Coster-Waldau a new agent.

Film Lists

Your Friends Aren't Funny: Best and Worst Comedy Specials on Netflix

With Netflix green-lighting any project with shapes and colors, comedy specials range from amusing to mediocre to feeling as joyless as a DVD enthusiast.

Hannah Gadsby - Comedian

Photo by Marion Curtis (Shutterstock)

Netflix wants you to realize that you and your friends aren't funny.

With 47 new stand-up comedy specials released on New Year's Day alone, Netflix is banking on your life being so devoid of humor that you'll watch anything. As the company continues to outspend competitors like HBO and CBS, the streaming service is expected to spend $15 billion this year (up from $13 billion in 2018). While they at least do us the favor of keeping Richard Pryor: Live in Concert available to stream, they also green light any project that features shapes and colors.

Netflix's massive collection of comedy specials ranges from amusing to mediocre to feeling as joyless as a DVD enthusiast. Here are five recent specials worth your time–and five that can only be described as crimes against comedy.

1. John Mulaney - New in Town (2012) / Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (2018)

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid | Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Of Mulaney's three specials, New in Town is required watching, partly due to his unassuming irreverence and partly due to the special's themes about alienation and social anxiety befitting a debut feature. But Kid Gorgeous at Radio City shows the former SNL-writer as a mature comic who's more stylized and practiced in his offbeat, "aw shucks" delivery.

2. Ali Wong - Baby Cobra (2016) / Hard Knock Wife (2018)

Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Performing while seven months pregnant might be Wong's lucky charm. The Fresh Off the Boat-writer followed up her 2016 special, which inspired Halloween costumes riffing on her large glasses and short dress with a heavily pregnant belly, with a second feature and a second pregnancy. Hard Knock Wife delivers more of Wong's unapologetic humor, from mocking racial and gender stereotypes to comparing a new mother's v*gina to "two hanging dicks."

3. Hannah Gadsby - Nanette (2018)

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Gadsby's much-lauded comedy special taps into our recent interest in more empathetic stand-up. The Australian comedian unpacks queerness and gender biases by exploring her own trauma and identity conflicts–mixed with bawdy and incisive observational humor.

4. Iliza Schlesinger - Confirmed Kills (2016) / Elder Millennial (2018)

Iliza: Elder Millennial | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Schlesinger's style is so consistent and performative that you forget she got her start winning the lackluster stand-up competition Last Comic Standing in 2008. She's passionate about political issues, but she's also a millennial; her social commentary combines the two in manic bits promoting feminist messages while mocking "girl culture." As a result, some of her stream-of-conscious rants are brilliant, while others make you wonder, "Is that what 'problematic' means?" Both are worth it.

5. Hari Kondabolu - Warn Your Relatives (2018)

Hari Kondabolu: Warn Your Relatives | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Kondabolu is a nerd's comic. With a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, he is strikingly political, deadpan, and acerbic. If that's not to your taste, that's fine. As he self-deprecates in his set, his Indian mother doesn't get him either.

Crimes against comedy include:

1. Ken Jeong - You Complete Me, Ho (2019)

Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

He's the brilliant comedic mind that earned riotous acclaim in The Hangover in 2009 – as in, his unevolved humor is the exact same. From Asian stereotypes to dad-puns, Jeong switches from dirty jokes to praising his wife's survival of breast cancer with little to no segues.

2. Kevin James - Don't Never Give Up (2018)

Kevin James: Never Don’t Give Up | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

From 1998-2007, Kevin James was a popular choice for a generic sitcom oaf. Sadly, we've grown up since then. As shown by CBS's shortlived show Kevin Can Wait, which Vulture described as "exactly as awful as you imagined," James hasn't. Plus, he apparently really hates people with peanut allergies.

3. Nick Kroll and John Mulaney - Oh, Hello on Broadway (2017)

Oh, Hello Broadway | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

To be clear, we wanted to like this so badly. Between John Mulaney's awkward observational humor and Nick Kroll's sharp self-deprecation creating Big Mouth, there was promise in the two joining forces. If you were won over by the Kroll Show's popular Internet fodder, "Too Much Tuna," you'll probably think this special is fine.

4. Adam Sandler - 100% Fresh (2018)

ADAM SANDLER: 100% FRESH | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Between 1995 and 2007, many of us grew up under the auspices of Adam Sandler's fart jokes and falsetto nonsense. It's like he's who Kevin James wanted to be. But as we came of age, we had to confront difficult realities: the Tooth Fairy isn't real, WWE wrestling is staged, and Adam Sandler isn't funny.

5. Gabriel Iglesias - One Show Fits All (2019)

Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias: One Show Fits All | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Streaming anything by "Fluffy" is a waste of your bandwidth. But we have to admire him for being one of the richest yet universally unfunny comedians of our time.

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