Hello, and welcome to Friday Features, your source for the weekend’s top film releases. We take a look at each new release and give it a rating based on its Asian-American presence, or lack thereof. Most of the time, these are big feature films, but sometimes a smaller gem rolls our way. And, as always, if we’ve missed anything, let us know in the comments. So grab your popcorn, and prepare for this week’s Friday Features (links go to trailers).
Studio: No. of AA: 0
Rating: F
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson leads a cast of teen celebrities as they explore a mythical island. The 3-D glasses are optional, but the lack of Asian Americans is not.
Studio: No. of AA: 0
Rating: F
Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum join forces for the Valentine’s Day tear-jerker of the season. The only thing we’re crying about is the lack of Asian-American faces.
Studio: No. of AA: 0
Rating: F
The first prequel film to the cult-classic Star Wars, Episode One features lightsaber duels and possibly an Asian-American in the background somewhere. To its defense, this was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Studio: No. of AA: 1
Rating: D
Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Cynthia Nixon, Ice Cube, Steve Buscemi, and the list goes on, all appear in this story of a dirty cop sent over the edge. Asian-American Chuti Tiu, who was Miss Illinois 1994, plays Harrelson’s lawyer.
Studio: No. of AA: 0
Rating: F
When a rogue agent (Denzel Washington) turns up at a U.S. embassy out of the blue, it’s up to Ryan Reynolds to protect him when his fellow CIA agents seem to turn against them both. I guess a South African setting didn’t lend itself to many Asian-American appearances.
Overall rating this week: D-
New Line Cinema
Spyglass
Entertainment
Lucasfilm
Amalgam
Features
Universal
Studios
For scores, we look at a film’s IMDB profile and search for Asian-American cast members. We also check with the film’s website, if a cast list is available, and view the trailers.