In Waves Movie to Debut in the US

Posted on October 19, 2026 by Jeff

In Waves movie poster showing a young couple, the ocean, and a surferGraphic novels that become movies are typically superhero or action stories. The In Waves movie, adapted from the wonderful graphic novel, breaks that pattern. It also has a also has a strange origin story – it was animated and developed in France! After a positive reception at the Cannes film festival, Netflix will show it in theatres and on streaming.

Since it opened for Cannes Critic Week, In Waves has seen positive reviews. At the time of this writing, Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 94% on the Tomatometer. French Vietnamese director Phuong Mai Nugyen  made versions in French and English. Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu voice the main characters in the English language one. The English language teaser is somewhat limited, so I included the French trailer below.

If you are curious what AJ Dungo and Phuong Mai Nguyen look like and sound like, check out this interview. They also discuss some of the challenges in making this movie. I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. In Waves will show in a few select theatres on November 27 and will stream on Netflix on December 11.

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Don’t Miss Hoon Lee in East of Eden

Posted on October 16, 2026 by Jeff

East of Eden movie poster with large picture of Florence Pugh, part of article on seeing Hoon Lee in East of Eden.Hoon Lee in East of Eden, a Netflix series adapting the Steinbeck novel of the same name, does a fantastic job portraying the character of Lee. Koji’s character analysis of Lee has always been one of our most enduring posts. Until I saw this adaption, I never understood why. The series is worth watching not only because of the production and Hoon Lee’s, Florence Pugh’s, and the rest of the casts’ acting, but also because of its insights in Asian American life.

I had never read Steinbeck’s novel, so Lee’s code-switching was a pleasant surprise for me. It made remember how the series Eli Stone used a similar trick with the character Dr. Chen. You can see some of it in the clip above although I recommend watching the whole scene in Episode 3. You can also check out Koji’s character analysis which has the dialogue. Lee also details Asian American history, particularly that of Chinese railroad workers. Given the push to purge Asian American history, the East of Eden helps keep that history alive. Note that Lee was completely cut out of the East of Eden movie that starred James Dean.

In his character analysis, Koji points out that Lee grows somewhat stereotypical later in the novel. I don’t know if co-showrunner Zoe Kazan read his essay, but in this talk at Harvard, she describes how they cut some of Lee’s lines from the book that made him sound like a “fortune cookie caricature.” She also hired Alexander Chee to write the episode where Lee goes to San Francisco Chinatown.

East of Eden is streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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8Books Review: In Waves by AJ Dungo

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Jeff

Book Cover for "In Waves" by AJ Dungo
In Waves is graphic novel by AJ Dungo, published in 2019. As you might notice from the cover, the book’s content will soon be animated movie available in the US on Netflix. I will write about that in a separate post, but first I thought I would review this book.

Here’s a quick summary, from a publishing house:

In this visually arresting graphic novel, surfer and illustrator AJ Dungo remembers his late partner and the shared love of surfing that endured throughout their difficult times.

Dungo explores the beauty and complexity of his relationship with his partner as they face her prolonged battle with cancer. With a passion for surfing at the forefront of this narrative, Dungo intertwines his own story with those of the great heroes of surf in a rare work of non-fiction that is as moving as it is fascinating.

I found this book simultaneously sad, moving, yet inspirational. It makes one think about who to get the most out of life, with the example of someone who tried to make the most of her limited amount of time. In addition, In Waves doesn’t explicitly state that AJ and Kristen are Filipino American. You can see it, though, through the art and the subtle hints of Filipino American culture. Clutching a rosary, going to Catholic school, hanging with the cousins – I see my own life and that of my family embedded in those small details.

I strongly recommend this book. It has won several awards from graphic novels from groups around the world. As I mentioned, I will write a separate post on the Netflix animated version of this movie.

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Golden State Valkyries Game 2 Semi-Finals Halftime Show with Rei Ami from KPop Demon Hunters

Posted on October 12, 2026 by John

Photo and video courtesy of 8Asians.

Rei Ami from KPop Demon Hunters at Golden State Valkries Games 2 Semi-finalsThis past Wednesday, the Golden State Valkyries played against the Las Vegas Aces (the defending WNBA champions) at the Chase Center in San Francisco. For the halftime show,  Rei Ami, of KPop Demon Hunters fame, performed, which I thought was pretty cool:

“The Golden State Valkyries stayed “Golden” on Wednesday night with a win over the Las Vegas Aces. During halftime, one of the original singers behind the “Kpop Demon Hunters” hit song was also on the court.

Rei Ami brought high energy to Ballhalla during Wednesday night’s halftime show. She is one of the three singers behind the voices of Huntrix in “KPop Demon Hunters.” In the movie, she sings and raps as Zoey.

During halftime on Wednesday, she sang “Golden” and her new song “2 Loud.””

The Valkyries wound up defeating the Aces and eventually sweeping the series, 3-0, to make it to the WNBA finals in their second season. Pretty amazing for an expansion team! Last year, the Valkyries were the first WNBA expansion team ever to make it to the playoffs!

The WNBA finals, where the Valkyries face the Atlanta Dream, starts on Saturday, October 17.

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8mm Film Review: Forgotten Island (No Spoilers)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Jeff

Forgotten Island Movie Poster showing two hands clasping, with bracelets showing Filipino mythological monstersI watched Forgotten Island last weekend and as a Filipino American, I enjoyed it immensely. Will non-Filipinos enjoy it as much? If this movie will have any kind of legs, it must appeal to a broad audience. Here is my review that tries to look at it from both viewpoints.

One initial warning: if you are sensitive to bright flashing lights, be careful about seeing this movie! It has a similar look and feel to the Spider-verse animated movies. I personally liked that look and feel.

From a Filipino standpoint, the cultural references absolutely delighted me. From food and folklore, spotting those Easter Eggs provided a lot of joy. I won’t spoil it too much, but like many people have said, I felt “seen.”

Of course, being “seen” and cultural references to a particular group aren’t enough to keep it and future Filipino themed movies in US theatres. In my opinion, the core story of friendship and memory is universal enough to people of all cultures. Is the movie perfect?  No. I felt a few items were left hanging at the end. I also thought that there were some Deux ex Machina moments, which I personally think are poor plot devices.

H.E.R. really impressed me. I didn’t know what character she voiced until the end, and she definitely didn’t sound like a musician trying to be an actor. I later found out that she acted in a Nickelodeon movie before she became famous as a singer and musician.

Forgotten Island has been doing rather poorly at the box office (definitely worth a separate post). If you want to see it, I suggest you see it soon.

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RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me Debuts

Posted on October 5, 2026 by John

BTS superstar RMLast week, BTS superstar RM, or also known as Kim Nam-joon (김남준),  showed up to showcase his own personal art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

“BTS star RM touched down in the Bay Area to celebrate the opening of his new exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The typically confident performer showed a more personal side, shaking off nerves to speak at a private media preview event.”

His exhibition called RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me will be open from October 3, 2026 though February 7, 2027. “For almost a decade, RM, of pop royalty BTS, has been collecting the art that moves him. Now, nearly 150 works from his personal collection come together with works from SFMOMA’s collection, revealing unexpected connections across artists, ideas, and cultures — and offering one of the most expansive presentations of Korean modern art in the US. “The venture has no obvious parallel,” wrote The New York Times.”

A few people were able to ask some questions. The first was what RM wanted people to come away with out of his exhibition. He responded that he hoped that they got to know him – “This is the introduction of me … and how fun and joyful it is to see an exhibition. The second and last question “San Francisco, why San Francisco?” RM: “I think that’s not a question because San Francisco is one of the coolest cities in the world. That’s why. Thank you.”

I was happy to hear that because San Francisco is a cool city. It gets sh*t on a lot, especially on Fox News, but as someone who moved to the San Francisco Bay Area back in 1999, it’s definitely a great place to live compared to other places I’ve lived. The area is expensive as hell and has a lot of other problems, but there’s a lot to love too!

I hope to check out the exhibition in the near future and provide a write-up!

 

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Chinese Immigrants in California Wine Country

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Jeff

Autumn in Napa valley, showing Vineyards with grape vines turning brown, part of Chinese Immigrants in California Wine Country postOn a weekend trip to Napa a few years ago, I noticed a plaque near downtown commemorating China Point Lookout. Chinese Immigrants in California Wine Country built a Chinatown there. As this video from TAAF’s The United States of Asian+America points out, the Chinese who helped build California’s Wine Country were often burned out and their history and contributions largely erased, part of The Driving Out.

We have written about the contributions of Asian Americans to California wine country before. This video gives a different perspective and focuses on Chinese laborers. The interviewer, Lois Cho, is a co-founder of Cho Wines in Oregon. The United States of Asian+America is an ongoing series from TAAF, The Asian American Foundation.

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TAAF presents Asian American Trailblazers

Posted on September 27, 2026 by Jeff

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), in conjunction with Wong Fu productions, has been presenting Asian American Trailblazers in their series, The United States of Asian+America. This project is an extension of their Asian+American PSA campaign. The campaign features Asian Americans who have tremendously influence American and society in the world. The focus is on trying to combat the pernicious stereotype of the perpetual foreigner.

The series has been going a while since it was first announced. Asian Americans featured so far include YouTube founder Steve Chen, USB co-inventor Ajay Bhatt, and Hip Hop pioneer Sophia Chang.  I had no idea of the influence that Sophia Chang had on hip-hop music, particular with her work with the Wu Tang clan. I have not yet watched all of their videos, and I am looking forward to watching more.

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Forgotten Island Debuts September 25

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Jeff

Forgotten Island Movie Poster showing two hands clasping, with bracelets showing Filipino mythological monstersMarketing has been building up for the Forgotten Island release today, September 25.  I  particularly liked this featurette about the making of the movie. I was pleasantly surprised that some of the animation was actually done in the Philippines.

In case you can’t get enough about this movie, here are some recent interviews and videos of interest:

As I have said before, I really hope this is good. So far, Rotten Tomatoes shows positive responses at 96% as I was writing this. You can see the trailer here.

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Shot on iPhone 18 Pro: “new trick” by ROSÉ

Posted on September 20, 2026 by John

ROSÉ holding up a lollipop saying shot on iPhone 18 Pro for music video "new trick” by Like clockwork, Apple has released a new iPhone this fall – the iPhone 18. And with that comes a new ad campaign, starring ROSÉ, of Blackpink (and individual) fame. ROSÉ isn’t Asian American, but she is Asian and Apple’s commercial is being shown in America:

“A look at ROSÉ’S new music video for “new trick” shot entirely on iPhone 18 Pro. The new variable aperture lens on the 48MP main camera captured improved low-light footage and impressive depth of field to bring the music video to life.”

The commercial is essentially a music video shot entirely on the iPhone 18 Pro. It’s a win-win for ROSÉ and Apple. I know that ‘Left Handed Girl’ was shot entirely on an iPhone (iPhone 13 in fact) So was this entire series of Chinese New Year videos. I mean cameras on phones these days are so good that the need to have a separate video camera is not really necessarily quality wise for most use cases. Amazing to see how mainstream K-pop has become in the United States. BTS isn’t submitting their consideration for the Grammy’s new category in 2027: “Best Asian pop music performance.” The Internet has globalized music.

Here’s the entire music video if you’re interested:

I wonder where the music video was shot. I’m assuming in the United States, but I could be wrong. I wonder what it was like to be one of the background actors in the music video as well as other technical details of the shoot (length of the shoot, budget, etc.) and how much Apple paid ROSÉ.

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South Asian American Breast Cancer: Disparities in Diagnoses and Treatment

Posted on September 17, 2026 by Jeff

We frequently mention data disaggregation is critical to understand Asian American population. This summary of a study on South Asian American Breast Cancer confirms this fact. Compared to white women, doctors diagnosed South Asian Americans at a younger age with more aggressive forms of the disease. On average, they received treatment later than white women, Strangely enough, despite that, South Asians were more likely to have a better odds of surviving breast cancer. South Asians women have a higher percentage of private medical insurance, although it’s hard to establish that is a contributing factor.

The study looked at data from the National Cancer Database which includes more than 2 million women. I really appreciate the large database, as some published medical studies have dangerously small sample sizes. You can read the full paper here.

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Best of the Best: A Netflix Bollywood Dance Movie

Posted on September 14, 2026 by Jeff

Best of the Best movie poster showing two Indian American women dancingAsian American dance competitions are nothing new. The successes of groups like Kaba Modern and Poreotics on older shows like America’s Best Dance Crew in the late 2000’s demonstrates this. But Bollywood-fusion dance teams?  That’s new to me and why this trailer to the new movie Best of the Best fascinates me. A quick synopsis from the press release:

Two childhood best friends, Maya and Anjali, join UCLA’s competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team, only to discover that the road to winning the U.S. Championship is far more raucous and cutthroat than they ever imagined.

I really appreciate the Asian Americanness of the movie – the lead characters are definitely American without an accent. We could use more media visibility of Indian Americans who in most ways are just plain American, especially in a time of growing anti-Indian sentiment.  The movie features Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. I recognize her from the Mindy Kahling series Never have I Ever. Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam write the movie, which is directed by Lena Khan.

Note that there is an earlier movie from 1989 called Best of the Best.  It also includes Asians and Asian Americans but is enjoyable in a completely different way.  The Best of the Best premieres on Netflix on September 18.

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