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Shang Chi Didn’t Hit The Way I Thought It Would And Now I’m Incredibly Confused! Why Didn’t I Like It?

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shang chi disney plus movie review

So I finally watched Shang Chi on Disney Plus last night, and I’m not sure what it is with Asian led films from Disney, but these ain’t been hitting the way they supposed to since the animation version of Mulan! And I don’t know WTF IS GOING ON! It’s starting to piss me TF off!

Similar to Raya and the Last Dragon, I felt an emotional disconnect with Shang Chi. The story itself feels weak AF, although thankfully not predictable.

But it still wasn’t as entertaining as I thought it would be. It felt pretty basic. And I don’t get why! So let’s see if I can unpack these feelings while I write this Shang Chi review?

Shang Chi is now streaming on Disney Plus, so here’s my full review.

I’m not sure what it is about Shang Chi, but the overall amazement factor Marvel films usually have was nil to none.

Thank goodness for Morris though!

And all the other cool concepts for magical creatures. I love me some magical creatures!

They still weren’t enough to completely wow me though. 

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Maybe the film itself was just too long? An hour in (to the almost two and a half hours long film) and I still felt like we had gotten no where!

Why did this story move so incredibly slow? Where was all the action?

There were a few moments, filled with awesome fight choreography that I think were cool. But once those incredibly hard to believe fights were over, everything went back to a boring normal day. And maybe that’s my problem?

Normally sci-fi stories, especially Disney films, transport me into a whole new world! But Shang Chi felt incredibly fake?!

And it wasn’t the fighting, or the magic, or the set of ten rings felt like they were stolen out of a Sonic video game! Those we clearly know are fake!

It’s everything in between those moments that bothered me.

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Like the bus driver who had to take his headphones out of his ears so he could drive the bus better?

SINCE WHEN ARE BUS DRIVERS ALLOWED TO WEAR HEADPHONES?

And you’re telling me that whole fight went down in the bus without not one person trying to escape the drama?

So everyone just sat there and watched a man grow a sword from his arm and waited to see what would happen next like they were watching a damn movie and couldn’t die at any moment?

Ironically, none of them did die, so maybe they knew something I didn’t!

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Then there’s the moment where everyone but one man survives a car falling off a cliff, and he only survives because he somehow magically flips out of the car while it’s falling?

Even shit like … two friends staying up all night to do karaoke, instead of being “responsible” and resting for work the next day bothered me. How the hell did they magically wake up the next morning perfectly fine for work? They got like what four hours of sleep?

They weren’t tired at ALL the next day?

You’re trying to convince us that these two friends are a disappointment to their family, and make poor decisions as adults, but then they don’t even suffer any actual consequences the next day when they make a “bad” decision?

How sway!

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Maybe they’re like 20 and still have “pull an all nighter” energy? Who TF knows!

Please don’t just write Asian led films just for the sake of it DISNEY!

Don’t keep making the same Soul mistake! Y’all know what I’m talking bout!

Please make your POC led films just as badass as your others! Cause I’m looking at y’all sideways now. 

And I’m still not sure how I feel about the dad being the villain in a POC story just yet. But I’ll unpack those thoughts on another day because whew lawd!

I do like that red represented the protagonist in this, since I know red is an important color in Asian culture. So having blue for the villain instead of red was a nice touch. 

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Oh and I did notice the string music in the scoring! Which I also thought was a nice touch. 

But yeah, this has to be the worst out of all the Marvel releases recently and since this was Asian led I’m completely disappointed! I was really excited to watch Shang Chi and now I’m sitting here like what the f*ck!

Someone please explain to me what you liked about Shang Chi so I can see if it’s just me. Maybe the moon got me in my feelings and I’m tripping y’all!

Shaye is an Entertainment Writer from Brooklyn, NY and a big fan of anything and everything superpowers related (especially if kids/teens are involved), cooking + baking shows (like MasterChef Junior and Cupcake Wars), teen dramas, sitcoms, comedies, and legal dramas. When she's not binging the latest series on Netflix or writing, you can find her spilling her thoughts on the Brown Side of Disney Chat or creating YouTube videos with her daughter for their new family site, Popcorn and Tater Tots.

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Live Recap: 43 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 2 On Disney Plus

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ms marvel episode 2 recap

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 2 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.

Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.

And I absolutely love it! So here are …

43 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 2

No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 2 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!

ms marvel episode 2 recap

  1. Ugh! Back to the Marvel theme song! Usually I miss it, but I hate the flip flop, inconsistency of which song gets played in the opening credits. Either make all the episodes open with a culture song, or the theme song, pick one.
  2. Is that a Diddy song??
  3. Awwww there’s a LGBT couple. Cute.
  4. This girl looks so familiar, like someone’s kid! OMG she looks like Jessica Marie!
  5. That title sequence is kinda cute.
  6. Kinda shocked this series breaks the “Marvel mold” where they wait until episode 4 to kick things up a notch! So if this already happened in episode 1 and 2, that means something big is coming right???
  7. Nice! I like that they put this ‘prayer routine at the mosque’ scene in! 
  8. Now WHY would you wear Versace shoes to a place you gotta take em off sis!? WHY!?
  9. Of course she likes the new kid … who has a car?
  10. Not her saying she likes the color of the car … and it’s black! Reminds me of that time a boy tried to compliment me in High School and said he liked my jacket! It was sooo freaking weird because it wasn’t a CUTE jacket! So it was nothing to “like” and I instantly knew why he said it.
  11. Must be nice to have a Paki dude around to relate to, huh! 
  12. Also, making it cool to date your race, and not the white boy? A plus!
  13. Oh my lord! What is she doing!? 
  14. I love this song!
  15. Yessss … they do cheeky music that works! I love it. 
  16. Omg are her powers tied to her emotions?? Like in “Turning Red“?? 
  17. Wait are all women superhero powers tied to emotions???
  18. Are those hoop earrings???
  19. Gabe is SO weird. But my kids probably say the same about me, huh.
  20. Now he don’t wanna go to Cal tech cause the boy like Kamala? Lord.
  21. Not a “The Devil Wears Prada” reference!
  22. It is hoop earrings!! How many people are gonna get the significance of her friend giving her those though?? Don’t worry, I’ll write it up!
  23. Him reminding her he knows the language so she can “date him too” is cute. 
  24. Oh shit! She said he’s our cousin! Because of course it’s easier to pretend they’re related than admit she’s on a date with a boy!
  25. He worked for Hot Topic??? That was weird! But also shows how sexist our older generations are. How was he allowed to work at Hot Topic and have a phase, and she can’t go to a convention and dress up for one day?
  26. His fiancé is black? Or? What’s going on here now!?
  27. He switched on that accent mad quick! 
  28. I love that Eid Mubarak was showcased!
  29. The illumin-aunties like illuminati! (Which we just saw in Doctor Strange 2!) Clever!
  30. Wowwww look how easy he got her! 
  31. Not them about to do a sweep of all their places! I already don’t like that!! Police raiding?! Please make it stop. This is triggering AF!!
  32. Why was he taking photos outside a window? HUH! HUH! Whose foolish child is this?!!
  33. Who TF is Night Light?
  34. Omg he puts ice cream on his pizza?? He gotta go!
  35. She keeps getting flashes of her Great Grandmother??
  36. Omg NOW they think she hurt him! Ugh!
  37. This is an emotional rollercoaster! I like this. 
  38. Oh what the f*ck!!!
  39. Of course his ass was right there to help! Not weird at all.
  40. Omgggg they are f*cking related!!! YOOOOOO!!
  41. The end of episode 2 is crazy!! 
  42. Ok ok so something is definitely gonna happen soon and now I can’t wait to see the next episode!!
  43. No end credit scene for episode 2. Bummer!

Anywho, that’s it for this week!

Favorite quotes from the show coming soon. But until then …

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Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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Live Recap: 47 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 1 On Disney Plus

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ms marvel episode 1 recap

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch Ms. Marvel episode 1 a few days early, and I am super excited to share my initial thoughts via this live recap.

Marvel Studios’ “Ms. Marvel” is a new, original series that introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teenager growing up in Jersey City. An avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, Kamala is a Super Hero megafan with an oversized imagination—particularly when it comes to Captain Marvel.

And I absolutely love it! So here are …

47 Thoughts I Had While Watching Ms. Marvel Episode 1

No Spoilers – If you haven’t seen Ms. Marvel episode 1 yet, you’re in luck, because this recap will NOT spoil things. I omitted a few thoughts that included spoilers so you can read this without worry. You’re welcome!

ms marvel episode 1 recap

  1. Is this really starting off with THIS song? Totally a preteen teen show!
  2. I love the stop motion! 
  3. Awww … she was making videos! It’s so cute.
  4. The transition from American to Pakistani! Smooth! I love it.
  5. Awwww she’s learning to drive!
  6. Yesss to the music! 
  7. Not her saying a quick prayer, and him saying “bless you” like she sneezed. 
  8. Awwww … it’s Jersey City. 
  9. Yesssss (again) to the music! 
  10. Riah (my daughter) is gonna like this.
  11. Another culture playlist (like “Moon Knight“) and I love it!
  12. They used to be friends???
  13. I like Mr. Wilson! I mean Gabe.
  14. Not lyrics from Mulan! He’s killing me!
  15. The Marvel bros are gonna be bored with this one? Oh well! Sucks for them!
  16. Families are gonna like this!
  17. Dr. Strange and Star Wars are both mentioned in this.
  18. What episode does she get her powers??
  19. Where in the world … is Kamala from?
  20. Not a Zuzu instead of an Alexa! Cute.
  21. I remember being scared to ask my parents to go somewhere. I feel you girl.
  22. Not her tryna use Bruno and his “no family” having self to her advantage.
  23. OF COURSE the tight suit of Captain Marvel is a problem! Ugh! 
  24. Story of my life! The girl doesn’t get to do anything and the boy gets to do everything!
  25. So he’s gonna be her sidekick who does gadgets? That’s usually the role they chuck a POC kid in! I’m happy they didn’t this time. 
  26. Awww look how good she looks in her suit!
  27. They keep calling it a party! It’s not a party, it’s a darn convention!! 
  28. Not the f*cking hulk costume! It’s soooo bad!
  29. As a parent, her being humiliated hurts. But I get it!
  30. I worry about my kid wearing tight clothes too, but gosh. My childhood keeps me from overreacting to what she wears because I know too well how it felt! 
  31. Omg he better not have a crush on her! No love interest! Please!! 
  32. The scoring is great!
  33. Has to wear a sweater at gym? Yup. Totally get that “can’t show skin” even if it means not dying of heat in gym class foolery! It’s so frustrating!! 
  34. Family making you feel bad for liking what you like is so trash! 
  35. So she’s from Pakistan?! Cool!! 
  36. Omg is she getting her powers this episode!???
  37. This b*tch just jumped out her f*cking window and almost died! I can not! 
  38. Omgggg her bike!!!! That’s so f*cked up! He ain’t even HELP! WTF man!!
  39. Whew! She made it! She’s about to be in MAD trouble later, but she made it!
  40. I want some of this Avenger Con swag. I’m just saying!  
  41. Oh nooo!! Her senses are heightened!? 
  42. Of course the Antman is oversized! Cute easter egg!
  43. The ending of episode 1 is wild!!
  44. Why didn’t she just use her powers!??? 
  45. Yesss to the end credits music!
  46. Ahhhh there’s an end credit scene! I miss those.
  47. We needed this series 10 years ago when kids were making fun of Paki kids! 

Anywho, that’s it for this week!

Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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Watching “Ms. Marvel” Episode 1 Is Like Watching My Entire Childhood Play Out On TV And I Love It

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ms marvel episode 1 review

Thanks to Disney Plus, I got to watch “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 a few days before it released on their streaming service, to review, and I absolutely loved it. Not only am I IN LOVE with this new Marvel teen superhero series, and can’t wait to watch it with my preteen once it finally drops on June 8th. It also reminds me so much of my own childhood!

So here’s my full “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 review …

Don’t worry, this is a spoiler free review, so if you haven’t seen “Ms. Marvel” episode 1 yet, keep readingI won’t spoil the fun.

ms marvel series poster

Okay so, “Ms. Marvel” is Marvel’s latest comic influenced Disney Plus original series …

About a Muslim American geeky teen girl from Jersey City who doesn’t feel like she fits in at home, or at school.

And of course I’m not a Muslim teen girl with superpowers.

But as I watched episode 1 of “Ms. Marvel” I saw so many scenarios that felt oh so familiar from my own high school days. Which instantly made me feel connected to Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani).

From being scared to ask my parents to go hang out with my friends, to not being able to wear certain clothes because they were “too tight or too short”, to wondering why my older brother could do whatever he wanted, while I couldn’t do a damn thing.

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The entire first episode is incredibly relatable for a girl who’s of Caribbean decent, and was born and raised in NYC, with incredibly old school, strict parents.

(Not to mention, my mom too gave me the silent treatment whenever I did something she didn’t like. And my parents still make me feel like shit for liking what I like — specifically anything artsy, like movies, music, etc.)

So when I got introduced to Kamala Khan, for the very first time, in episode 1, I immediately “felt at home”. Of course, I’d much rather not bond with a teenage girl over our traumatic childhoods. But it is nice to see such a relatable superhero on a big screen. Opposed to a wealthy ass white adult male. Because even though I do love me some Iron Man … I can’t relate to anything other than his snark.

But it’s not just how relatable “Ms. Marvel” is for me!

I’m a big fan of teen dramas, and series that star kids with superpowers! (Think “Raising Dion“, “Cloak and Dagger“, “Naomi“, and “Runaways” to name a few.) So I was always going to love “Ms. Marvel”. This is just what I love!

Yet, they still find ways to suck me in even more!

Like with amazing scoring, and with their dope ass cultured, unbasic, soundtrack mixing familiar American pop songs (like Blinding Lights by The Weekend) with more unfamiliar pieces like Rozi by Eva. B — a Pakistani hip hop female rapper and singer! Which you can listen to as the end credits for episode 1 roll in.

Then there’s the cool stop motion clips at the beginning. Along with the cutesy animation overlays (similar to what we saw in “Heartstopper” on Netflix — another teen, rom-com-ish series, that I absolutely love).

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It’s all freaking incredible!

Now, Marvel bros may have a hard time keeping up with this one, but families are gonna love this!

Based on what we see in “Ms. Marvel” episode 1, this series is leaning more towards the family friendly side of Marvel. So if your kids are anything like my 10 year old, and haven’t been interested in any of the latest Marvel series because they seem like “too much”, then you’re in luck! My daughter hasn’t watched any of the Marvel series since “WandaVision“! So I’m excited to watch this one with her.

However … the end credits for episode 1yes, there’s an end credit scene … seems to hint that this series still has all that ‘Marvel action’ we’ve grown to love.

So I’m super excited to see how this series plays out! Especially since a few things are already revealed in episode 1, that I didn’t think would come until later? But unlike previous Marvel series, that didn’t really kick off until episode 4, “Ms. Marvel” jumps right in … so I’m expecting them to turn up the heat after a few episodes.

Either way, this is gonna be a special series! I can just feel it. So if you’ve been second guessing this one, stop! You need to watch this! Especially since, Ms. Marvel will join Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel 2.

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Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8th! New episodes are available to watch every Wednesday on Disney Plus.

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