NJ🇵🇭

Filipino-American nerd who photographs his toys and reviews various works from Asian, Hispanic, and/or Latin American entertainers. He/Him

[dindjarindiaries]

The fourth is Barry Lowin!

Aw, I thought he was cool?:( At least that’s what people used to say about him.

Yeah, I thought the same :( but then someone told me a story of how they were at a con and he saw their Pedro merch and just bashed him unprompted :/ it was disappointing to say the least

[dsneybuf91]

Sad news for people who thought the reason Barry Lowin never wrote about Pedro Pascal was because he was too courteous to "throw shade".

[dsneybuf91]

After remembering that The Mandalorian Chapters 5 and 6 seemed unimportant until the likes of Peli, Fennec, and Mayfeld reappeared later, it feels like a shame that The Mandalorian and Grogu is already dismissed as filler, apparently killing discussions on the potential ramifications of

the Hutt Twins dying and Rotta working for the New Republic.

[noah-wyles]

all i want for 2026 is that gigantic rancid AI bubble to finally burst in such a catastrophic way that the consequences will be so good and i'll never have to see another AI generated image ever again

[fluoritegalaxy]

Like to charge, reblog to cast.

[sniffanimal]

[dsneybuf91]

Official word of The Mandalorian and Grogu placing Season 1-2's supporting characters in unimportant or nonexistent roles convinced me to exchange my IMAX ticket with one for a cheaper screening. Even if Lucasfilm wanted people to enjoy the movie whether or not they've completed The Mandalorian, why would characters from other shows figure more prominently than people known, if not loved, by pre-existing Mando fans?

[my-dailydreams]

[dsneybuf91]

Can You Skip The Mandalorian Season 3?

On May the 4th, I attended a 25 minute IMAX preview of this decade’s first Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu.  To test if the feature directed by Jon Favreau, and written by Favreau and Dave Filoni, has any appeal beyond Star Wars completists, I prepared by replaying The Mandalorian Seasons 1-2 and the show’s crossover with The Book of Boba Fett.  This ensured that even though I’ve seen all of Din Djarin (Chilean-American Pedro Pascal)’s canon adventures, I would remember the most viral chapters more clearly than those from a season omitted from my Mandalorian UHD collection, unseen by most of the people with whom I’ve personally discussed Mando, and unmentioned in the Star Wars Databank’s pages for Din, Grogu, or the show-stealing Bo-Katan Kryze.

Judging from this preview, the story of The Mandalorian and Grogu feels simple enough for viewers unaware of the specifics of the Clan’s history.  Similar to the time skips in between Episodes I-VII of the Skywalker Saga, it also picks up some time after Mando Season 3, as opposed to right where it left off.  However, those who stopped the show either before or during its lowest-regarded season might still want to know some of its details, while those who finished it might notice the movie undermine its controversial thesis.

The rest of the article: https://www.manic-expression.com/2026/05/06/can-you-skip-the-mandalorian-s3/

[kropotkindersurprise]

May 1, 2026 - Anti-imperialist workers in Manila, the Philippines, set fire to an effigy of Trump, Netanyahu, and Marcos during a May Day demonstration. [video]

[dsneybuf91]

The Wrecking Crew (2026) Review

An action comedy movie starring and produced by half-Native Hawaiian Jason Momoa and half-Filipino American Dave Bautista, The Wrecking Crew resulted from the burly AAPI performers apparently feeling the need to will another opportunity for the spotlight.  After the second - and best-reviewed - season of the dystopian TV series See depicted Momoa and Bautista as antagonistic brothers, they pitched a buddy cop comedy set in Hawaii.  See writer Jonathan Tropper - whom I recognize as the showrunner of Warrior - would provide a screenplay expanding upon the duo's acting-related strengths; casting would-be thespian Bautista as a disciplined Navy SEAL, and typically-comedic Momoa as an uncouth policeman.  Filming in Hawaii and New Zealand would allow additional AAPI entertainers to join the supporting cast and crew.  The description, casting, and advertisements for The Wrecking Crew suggested a guilty pleasure, but the final result seems more polished and substantial than I originally expected.

The Wrecking Crew

Release date: January 28, 2026

Director: Ángel Manuel Soto

Writer: Jonathan Tropper

The way I see it, there was a time I should've been there for you, and I wasn't. I'm here for you now.

-James Hale

"Estranged half-brothers Jonny (Momoa) and James (Bautista) Hale reunite after their father (Brian L. Keaulana)'s mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart." (Prime synopsis)

As fulfilled, Momoa's pet project entertains in essential areas of a buddy cop comedy.  Action scenes engage when they utilize a brutal variety of weaponry, movesets, and filming techniques, and when the typically-secluded environments add to the tension or emotional quality.  The mystery ultimately comes together through some contrivances, but complies with the movie's established logic.  The humor likely won't appeal to all viewers, relying heavily on crass dialogue and cultural references.  To me, it proves more palpable with Momoa's charisma and Bautista's deadpan demeanor.

The Hawaiian setting feels more integral than a gimmick, when it adds diasporic themes to Jonny's otherwise-rudimentary development towards a more altruistic and structured lifestyle.  While James appears to have spent his entire life in Hawaii, Jonny's personal hardships required him to switch home states at least twice.  His return to the Aloha State allows him not only to settle his suspicions that Walter (Keaulana) died from murder rather than an accident, and to help repair his relationship with James, but also strengthen his connection to Walter's culture.  Accordingly, several of the licensed songs mention coming home.  The diaspora themes become especially apparent during Jonny's gradually less-hostile interactions with the local Syndicate, and when the brothers and their cousin Nani (Samoan Frankie Adams) connect the circumstances of Walter's killing with schemes to erect a European casino over an indigenous community.  Admittedly, the community’s inhabitants remain overshadowed by Hawaiians with more personal or professional relationships to the Hale family, including Walter's helpful colleague Pika (Filipino-Hawaiian Jacob Batalon).  Nonetheless, all of these interactions help support a self-actualized arc for Jonny.

Supposedly because Momoa conceived this movie years before he met Tropper and Bautista, James' character development feels more limited.  Because the respected and hardworking Navy SEAL and patriarch seems to live a more organized adulthood than Jonny to begin with, his growth while solving the mystery simply focuses mainly on becoming a more considerate half-brother.  Even if James' arc revolves entirely around Jonny, their partnership feels more equal than one brother treating the other like a sidekick.

I don't know any Pacific Islanders well enough to vouch for or dispute the authenticity of the non-Hawaiian actors, but I doubt that it mattered to Momoa.  For both See and this movie, he himself gave the role of his brother to Washington, DC-born Bautista; who strengthened both the physique and the heart of basically a cameo in Blade Runner 2049.  During this feature, the performers demonstrate realistic chemistry when the brothers piece together the clues, process such lingering turmoils as Jonny's inability to figure out his mother's killing, or even fight each other.  This chemistry demonstrates their bond more convincingly than the stilted dialogue describing their lives before Walter's demise.   Meanwhile, the actors from New Zealand deliver serviceable performances in roles with less screentime or importance. (Even as part-Māori Temuera Morrison, plausibly cast in reference to Aquaman, fails to hide his natural accent as Governor Mahoe.) With The Wrecking Crew, Momoa and Bautista have produced a guilty pleasure dispatching more pleasure than guilt.

Plug

This press conference with Momoa, Bautista, and Puerto Rican-American director Ángel Manuel Soto shared some compelling insight into the movie's conception and cultural or familial themes:

[skrunksthatwunk]

see 0 note flop posts aren't that bad when they're personal but 0 note fandom posts feel literally so bad. like if you don't wanna play toys with me anymore just say that. i'll pack up my super cool awesome things and go and i'll sit on the other side of the playground by myself and i won't even look at you. fuck

[nessa007]

@staff

[alwaysuncanny]

Gotta make room for new mistakes!

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For a look at how my male Nomad V typically dresses (basically by pairing the Filipino flag's shades of white, yellow, blue, and red with some other shades), I decided to share two of his recreations of the original Cyberpunk 2077 cover.

This one serves as my current Discord avatar; also shared here because the angle looks relatively closer to the original cover, and because it looks more textured than a zoom of the above picture would:

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While I appreciate Cyberpunk 2077 for (among other things) giving each version of V female and male options for romance partners, the game doesn't let them have a 3-way, but at least I could use Photo Mode to have all of V[incent]'s love interests visit him at once.

(V wearing colors from the bisexual flag started out as a coincidence; I decided a while back that he needed a new tank top to show off his tattoos when not wearing his coat, and I thought the stripes and dragon on this one look neat.)

[dsneybuf91]

Remembering that Star Wars Episodes II-V each begin with a big time skip makes me feel a little more comfortable with the thought of watching The Mandalorian and Grogu without The Mandalorian Season 3. However, I still plan to include a rewatch of Din's Book of Boba Fett appearances in my preparations; whether or not it seemed fair to make Grogu choose between Jedi Training or a Mandalorian upbringing, the Clan's reunion feels too important to skip.

[dsneybuf91]

[dsneybuf91]

Wonder Man marks both the first Disney+ Marvel show I've seen since Moon Knight, and the most enjoyable one since WandaVision, but no one in my Tumblr feed seems interested.