Asian American Film 101
A very subjective list of 101 Asian American films that hold some kind of meaning to me. I define "Asian American" here loosely. These are films either made by, about, with or concerning Asian Americans.
There are a lot of very good Asian American films missing from the list but I tried to keep the list to the films that made some kind of impact on me (sometimes not a positive one at that).
There are a lot of very good Asian American films missing from the list but I tried to keep the list to the films that made some kind of impact on me (sometimes not a positive one at that).
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101 titles
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetStarsAllene RayWalter MillerE.H. CalvertA Pathe serial in ten chapters of two-reels each: Dan Winterslip, a wealthy man in Honolulu, has not spoken to his brother, who owns a hotel next to Winterslip's estate, in over twenty years. Minerva, sister to the estranged brothers, comes from Boston to try to reconcile the two men. John Quincy Winterslip, Dan's nephew, receives a letter instructing him to retrieve a box from an attic in San Francisco and dump the contents into the ocean. He is on board a ship bound for Hawaii in which other passengers are also after the box. Dan Winterslip is murdered. Charlie Chan, a Chinese detective, offers to help solve the killing and the mysteries surround the box. Chan is looking for the person whose wristwatch is missing the number 'three.'I don't think I've ever seen a Charlie Chan film all the way through but I thought it was important to include one. This was the first Charlie Chan mystery movie.
- DirectorSidney FranklinVictor FlemingGustav MachatýStarsPaul MuniLuise RainerWalter ConnollyAlthough married Chinese farmers Wang and O-Lan initially experience success, their lives are complicated by declining fortunes and lean times, as well as the arrival of the beautiful young Lotus.Ground zero for Asian American film.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsNancy KwanJames ShigetaBenson FongA young woman arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown from Hong Kong with the intention of marrying a rakish nightclub owner, unaware he is involved with one of his singers.Know your history.
- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsBruce LeeJohn SaxonJim KellyA Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.Read "The Fist That Shook The World" to understand how ahead of his time Bruce truly was.
- DirectorBruce LeeStarsBruce LeeChuck NorrisNora MiaoA man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.This one even moreso than Enter is brilliant in its iconography.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEvan C. KimBong Soo HanBill BixbyThe daily programming of a fictional local TV channel presented as a series of highly irreverent skits.Find the translation to Dr. Klahn's welcome speech.
- DirectorLou AdlerTommy ChongStarsCheech MarinTommy ChongStrother MartinTwo stoners unknowingly smuggle a van - made entirely of marijuana - from Mexico to L.A., with incompetent Sgt. Stedenko on their trail.Breaking all stereotypes about Asians way before there was a Harold & Kumar.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWhen an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.Oh my! George Takei on the big screen!
- DirectorJerry LondonStarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.This was a huge deal when it came out. I remember sitting around the TV with my family to watch the whole series because there were no other Asian people on TV and it was so refreshing.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsWood MoyMarc HayashiLaureen ChewTwo cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.This is the original game changer.
- DirectorElliott HongStarsJohnny YuneMargaux HemingwayRaf MauroA goofy Korean finds his life hopelessly complicated with people continually confusing him with Bruce Lee.This movie changed my life.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsMolly RingwaldAnthony Michael HallJustin HenryA girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.The character that would haunt a whole generation of Asian American men. Wasshapp'nin hot stuff?
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.I love Short Round.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaElisabeth ShueA martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.Wax on!
- DirectorJeff KanewStarsRobert CarradineAnthony EdwardsTimothy BusfieldAt Adams College, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self-respect.Hair Pie
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.I don't think there were actually any Asians in this movie, but it was the ultimate in black fetishization of Asian culture.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.Data was the mold for the over-achieving science nerd Asian kid.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeJohn LoneArianeA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.I recall this as one of the few films I knew of that had Asian Americans in it. All I remember about it is the scene that is depicted on the cover.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsMichael KeatonGedde WatanabeGeorge WendtWhen a Japanese automobile company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.I never actually saw this movie, but it felt like it still had a big impact on me in that I actively had to resist for fear of the Watanabe.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.Great homage to the Shaw Brothers with a great subversion of the white knight mythology.
- DirectorChristine ChoyRenee Tajima-PenaStarsLily ChinRonald EbensStarleneThe film recounts the murder of a Chinese-American automotive engineer in a racially motivated hate crime, and how the murderer escaped justice in the court system.Powerful documentary by Christine Choy and Rene Tajima.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.After the effects of Long Duk Dong wore off on my psyche, this film had to come around and screw with me with one little sound bite.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.A sweeping epic period piece with an all Asian cast speaking English!
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.Spike Lee's best movie and yet still a problematic portrait of Koreans.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.I remember liking this movie. I am not sure if it was actually any good.
- DirectorWayne WangSpencer NakasakoStarsWan Kin ChengJohn ChanKwan-Min ChengA man is hired by a group of people he believes to be gangsters to escort a briefcase from America to Hong Kong. When he arrives, however, his contact is nowhere to be found.This is my personal favorite of Wayne Wang's movies. It was one of the reasons NC-17 became part of the ratings code.
- DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsWesley SnipesIce-TAllen PayneA crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.I remember feeling empowered that they included Russell Wong as one of the cops. Then the token Asian science/computer cop became its own stereotype.
- DirectorMira NairStarsDenzel WashingtonSarita ChoudhuryRoshan SethAn ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a Black man.Mira Nair's feature with a young Denzel Washington.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsTom SelleckKen TakakuraAya TakanashiJack Elliot, once a great baseball player, is forced to play in Japan where his brash, egotistical ways cause friction with his new teammates and friends.This movie happened right around when Sony bought Columbia Pictures and there was all this chatter about how that would affect the story. I don't think I saw it, so I don't know if the story was affected by the studio overlords.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJane MarchTony Ka Fai LeungJeanne MoreauIn 1929 French Indochina, a French teenage girl embarks on a reckless and forbidden romance with a wealthy, older Chinese man, each knowing that knowledge of their affair will bring drastic consequences to each other.The first film where an Asian male was the romantic interest that I was aware of. Problematic in the fact that he is the romantic interest to an underage girl, but groundbreaking nonetheless.
- DirectorTony ChanStarsJeffrey LauColeen O'BrienChit-Man ChanThe story of one man desperately trying to obtain a green card by marrying an American woman.One of the few Asian American films on the landscape when I first got out of school.
- DirectorRob CohenStarsJason Scott LeeLauren HollyRobert WagnerA fictionalized account of the life of the martial arts superstar.An important film but I prefer the source material.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsTyrin TurnerLarenz TateJune Kyoto LuA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.Great film with a very hard to swallow scene of seeing an Asian woman killed point blank.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsWinston ChaoMay ChinAh-Lei GuaTo satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.An Ang Lee classic.
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsSuzy AmisBo HopkinsIan McKellenAfter being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.Sorely underrated western with an Asian male love interest.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsTamlyn TomitaRosalind ChaoKieu ChinhThe life histories of four East Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.Every Asian American woman I know remembers Russell eating watermelon.
- DirectorGeorge HuangStarsKevin SpaceyFrank WhaleyMichelle ForbesA young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.Brilliant film by Chinese American director George Huang.
- DirectorJon MoritsuguStarsAmy DavisDesi del ValleBonnie SteigerWest Side Story meets Rumble in the Bronx meets A Clockwork Orange. Bizarre tale of London, a lonely teen yearning for affection and a leather jacket who lives in a dysfunctional family home where the mother keeps popping and sexually playing with her other child, X-Ray, a member of a gang of Mods who are constantly at war with a gang of Asian Bikers. Amidst this turmoil, London and her soul mate M16 search for meaning in a phantasmagoria without it.Jon Moritsugu's feature film.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Controversial portrayal of serial-killing high school friend weirdo Mike Yanagita by In Living Color alum Steve Park.
- DirectorDavid MaquilingStarsMarc PalmieriPasquale GaetaNicol ZanzarellaWhile riding the bus one day, night watchman Jack Crawford gets distracted by a beautiful girl and has his gun stolen. To get it back, he enlists the help of local wise guy, Eddie, and their search reveals the bizarre characters lurking in the strange underworld of a sleepy New Jersey suburb.David Maquiling's feature film that got buried as collateral damage in a distribution nightmare.
- DirectorRea TajiriStarsSuzy NakamuraJames SieReiko MathieuA young Japanese-American girl is affected on all fronts. She suffers from the volition of her ancestry, the discipline of her mother and the world she feels betrays her. She is a pyromaniac and has mental issues. What to do? Escape and hit the road with your boyfriend except there is no destination and even were there one she abandons it in favour of a detour through history.Unassuming beautiful feature by my friend Rea Tajiri.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsJohn TravoltaNicolas CageJoan AllenTo foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.Not John Woo's first US production, but the one that tried most to emulate his HK movies and translate the ideas of brotherhood across the lines of the law.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsWesley SnipesNastassja KinskiKyle MacLachlanMax/W.Snipes has a one night stand with Karen/N.Kinski in NYC. He returns to his wife, 2 kids and career in LA but is affected. A year later, Max and Karen meet again by chance, but this time they're with their spouses.Ming Na and a pre-Vampire pre-tax problems Wesley Snipes.
- DirectorMichael AkiEric NakamuraStarsMichael AkiJoshua BrandNicholas KonstantI never actually got to see this, but I was a huge Giant Robot fan.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsChow Yun-FatMira SorvinoMichael RookerA troubled hitman seeks aid from a forger to help him get papers to China. However, the drug lord has hired replacements to finish the job, and kill the hitman.Chow Yun Fat's first attempt at a US production.
- DirectorWonsuk ChinStarsRizwan ManjiMira SorvinoBill SageKeith is a Japanese twenty-something who is followed by Death in various disguises. When he finally faces her, Death tells him that he has only 12 hours to live and he needs to make the most of it.An amazing cast in a very quirky film by my friend Wonsuk Chin.
- DirectorEric KoyanagiStarsDarion BascoDustin NguyenGarrett WangThree Asian men live in L.A. Isaac is a romantic coffee shop worker, who waits for the woman of his dreams, and loses his balance after meeting a femme fatale called Thaise. Slim is a Rastafarian smoking pot all the time, who is trying to elude a local mobster. Troy is an actor, who has to choose between his career and his girlfriend.My man, Eric Koyanagi's first film. Features a hot cast of then and future stars within Asian American Hollywood.
- DirectorQuentin LeeJustin LinStarsRadmar Agana JaoJeanne ChinnClint JungA married woman, who's been getting seductive phone calls from a lesbian, and a man, who believes he might be a werewolf, are about to find out who they deep down really are.From the first wave of new Asian American cinema.
- DirectorChris Chan LeeStarsMichael ChungBurt BulosJohn ChoEight friends in Los Angeles spend their last evening together as they face graduation from high school and the onset of their adult lives. One of them gets in unexpected trouble when he loses a large sum of his dad's money. The friends rally together to attempt to raise the money back in one evening in a wild and desperate scavenger hunt.The first Korean American feature film (by and about Korean Americans).
- DirectorTony BancroftBarry CookStarsMing-Na WenEddie MurphyBD WongTo save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.Disney's first Asian lead character. Not quite a princess, but a step forward.
- DirectorTony BuiStarsNgoc Hiep NguyenNgoc MinhPhat Trieu HoangAlthough the hearts and goals and desires are different for everyone in a culturally-shifting Ho Chi Minh City, the stories of four separate individuals paint a vivid picture of the past, present, and future of a city eking into a new era.Sundance favorite. Tony Bui's first feature.
- DirectorPhilip Kan GotandaStarsSab ShimonoJulia NicksonTamlyn TomitaTwo San Francisco detectives discover a corpse in an abandoned car. From the dead man's wallet and a tape recorder, they determine the man was a money launderer. The story is then told in flashback, narrated by the dead man. Seems he was being pursued after robbing a partner who had been robbing him. Hiding out in a warehouse, he tries to re-establish contact with his children. In the warehouse, he then is contacted by a woman who frequents it because her husband died there and becomes obsessed with its new inhabitant as the reincarnate of her husband. Of course, following all of these goings-on, he ultimately must face down his pursuers.Philip Kan Gotanda's first feature.
- DirectorFrancisco AliwalasStarsFrancisco AliwalasWayland QuinteroPotri Ranka ManisDisoriented is a unique and touching comedy about an immigrant family lost inside the American Dream. Twenty-something West Cordova is trapped in a waking nightmare. His overbearing mother is bent on molding him into a MD. His crazy, "wannabe-a-supermodel," Japanese girlfriend craves blonde hair and round eyes. And his long lost, jock brother just returned home having traded his high tops for high heels. If young "Doctor" Cordova can pass pre-med, mend his fractured family and revive his romance, he may just discover the cure for his own unraveling identity.My buddy Francisco Aliwalas's first feature film.
- DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsMichelle RodriguezDouglas SantiagoJamie TirelliDiana, without her father knowing it, trains as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers.The film that put Michelle Rodriguez on the map.
- DirectorGene CajayonStarsDante BascoEddie GarciaJayson SchaalA young man struggles with his desire to study art when his family thinks he's headed for premedical studies. Conflicts between Filipino traditions and expectations vs. personal dreams in the contemporary world erupt at his sister's debut.Gene Cajayon's first feature which proved successful in making a self-distribution model.
- DirectorTom DeyStarsJackie ChanOwen WilsonLucy LiuA Chinese man travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped Princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the unlikely duo takes on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss.Except for the fact that Jackie doesn't get to kiss Lucy Liu at the end of this movie, I prefer this series to the demeaning Rush Hour movies. This one was smart and funny.
- DirectorJoan ChenStarsRichard GereWinona RyderAnthony LaPagliaRomantic drama about an aging playboy who falls for a sweet, but terminally ill, young woman.Joan Chen's first US directorial effort.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.Ang Lee's triumphant return to Asian themes after a string of great non-Asian movies.
- DirectorMcGStarsCameron DiazDrew BarrymoreLucy LiuThree women, detectives with a mysterious boss, retrieve stolen voice-ID software, using martial arts, tech skills, and sex appeal.Lucy Liu an equal partner in kicking ass.
- DirectorBertha Bay-Sa PanStarsBai LingKieu ChinhKristy WuGenie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.Bertha Pan's first feature film.
- DirectorJustin LinStarsParry ShenJason TobinSung KangA group of over-achieving East Asian American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extracurricular criminal activities.The game changer... or so we hoped.
- DirectorEric BylerStarsJacqueline KimEugenia YuanMichael AkiMichael, a young mechanic, is forced to choose between a daring tryst with an alluring stranger and the habitual comfort of his bittersweet obsession: his beautiful young tenant.Eric Byler's first feature done for $20K and a dream.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsPierce BrosnanHalle BerryRosamund PikeJames Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul, who is funding the development of an international space weapon.Michelle Yeo's crossover film.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsParminder NagraKeira KnightleyJonathan Rhys MeyersTwo ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.The indie film hit.
- DirectorGreg PakStarsTamlyn TomitaJames SaitoVin KnightFour tales: a robot baby as a pre-adoption test, a mother and her dying son's toy robot collection, a lonely robot office worker, and a sculptor contemplating robot-enabled immortality.My man, Greg Pak's first feature. A collection of four short sci-fi stories done on a micro-budget. Also a successful run at self-distribution.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.Tarrantino's homage to Japanese film.
- DirectorJoseph KahnStarsMartin HendersonIce CubeMonet MazurA biker returns from Thailand to set things straight with his girlfriend. One gang leader wants him for delivery of 2 motorbikes filled with crystal meth and another gang leader wants him for murdering his brother.An unfortunate first time out for maverick music video director Joseph Kahn.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.Sandra Oh's motorcycle wielding ass-kicking performance (literally).
- DirectorAlice WuStarsJoan ChenMichelle KrusiecLynn ChenA gay Chinese-American and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.Alice Wu's awesome romantic comedy.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsBrady CorbetJoseph Gordon-LevittElisabeth ShueTwo pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.The first serious film I saw by Gregg Araki. Beautiful melding of his out there aesthetic and sentimental storytelling.
- DirectorMichael KangStarsJeffrey ChyauSung KangJade WuThirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest befriends Sam Kim, a self-destructive yet charismatic Korean man who has checked in. Sam teaches the fatherless boy all the rites of manhood.I have to include my own films here of course.
- DirectorGrace LeeStarsGrace Lee BoggsGrace LeeGrace LeeIs your name Grace Lee? Do you think you are the only Grace Lee? Did you know there are quite a few of you? Oh yes, it's true. There are many of you and they're all over. They are mostly typically dutiful East Asian daughters with the associated and expected talents. Except, that's not always true. Then again, there are even more Grace Lees around. Why?The documentary that put Grace Lee (all of them) on the map.
- DirectorGeorgia LeeStarsTzi MaJacqueline KimElaine KaoThe Wongs struggle to cope with life, love, and family dysfunction in the suburbs of New York.Georgia Lee's first feature film.
- DirectorMora StephensStarsBasilAdrian BlueJennifer BrownAt the 2004 Republican Nation Convention, love blooms between a Republican delegate and a Democrat protesting the event.Mora Stephens' first narrative feature shot totally guerilla and combining doc elements seamlessly.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.Introduction of the love interest Cho Chang played by Katie Leung.
- DirectorTanuj ChopraStarsMisu KhanNina EdmondsHassan El-GendiIn the aftermath of 9/11 and his brother's murder, a South Asian teen living in Queens struggles to keep his anger in check.My man Tanuj Copra's first feature.
- DirectorHam TranStarsKieu ChinhLong NguyenDiem LienThirteen years after the end of the Vietnam War, a family who was tragically affected by the war are forced to emigrate to America.A huge hit in the Vietnamese American community. Shines a light on the biggest problem with the Asian American community in its inability to come together and support a great film regardless of the specific cultural setting.
- DirectorJustin LinStarsLucas BlackZachery Ty BryanShad MossA teenager becomes a major competitor in the world of drift racing after moving in with his father in Tokyo to avoid a jail sentence in America.Justin Lin's launch into full-fledged bankable blockbuster film director. Single-handedly reviving a tired franchise.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Scorcese's remake of the incredible Andy Lau film.
- DirectorGrace LeeStarsAustin BasisJane Edith WilsonAl VicentePic documents the daily lives of a small community of the living deceased who make their home in Los Angeles.Grace Lee's first turn at narrative film. Very well done. This along with Gina Kim's Never Forever and my film West 32nd were the three films in that time period that were being scrutinized for their Korean / US co-production models. None made the impact that I think any of us hoped for.
- DirectorStephane GaugerStarsCat LyThe Lu LeHan Thi PhamIn modern-day Saigon, three lonely strangers form a unique family as a ten-year old orphan plays matchmaker to a zookeeper and a beautiful flight attendant.Great little film made as part of this new wave of Vietnamese American films.
- DirectorJoy DietrichStarsKim Jiang DubaniewiczJane KimPatrick HeusingerEstranged from her family due to a childhood indiscretion with her white brother, a young Korean adoptee seeks to regain a sense of home by exploring ties with the East Asian Americans she meets in her new apartment building, until her brother shows up at the door, stirring long lost feelings that she has tried to bury.My friend Joy Dietrich's first feature.
- DirectorMichael KangStarsJohn ChoJun KimJeong Jun-hoWhen John Kim, an ambitious young lawyer, takes on a pro bono case to exonerate a fourteen-year-old boy from a first degree murder charge, he finds a world he never knew existed in the underbelly of Manhattan - the Korean underworld.I have to include my own films here of course.
- DirectorJieho LeeStarsBrendan FraserSarah Michelle GellarAndy GarciaA drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life.Star-studded cast film by director Jieho Lee which was unfortunately not given a chance by critics or audiences.
- DirectorCharlie NguyenStarsJohnny Tri NguyenVeronica NgoDustin NguyenFrance employs local secret agents in Vietnam 1922 to eliminate resistance. The rebel leader's pretty daughter gets captured. Later an agent seems to have fallen in love with her and helps her escape. He flees, too. Lots of martial arts.Charlie Nguyen's game changer, creating a new model for Vietnamese American filmmakers to do Vietnamese / US co-productions.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsSeth RogenKatherine HeiglPaul RuddFor fun-loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one-night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant with his child.The first film that put Ken Jeong on the map. As well as the scene stealer performance of Charlyne Yi.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsRobert HoffmanBriana EviganCassie VenturaRomantic sparks occur between two dance students from different backgrounds at the Maryland School of the Arts.Jon M Chu did to dance movies what Justin Lin did to car movies.
- DirectorJon HurwitzHayden SchlossbergStarsJohn ChoKal PennNeil Patrick HarrisAfter being mistaken for terrorists and thrown into Guantánamo Bay, stoners Harold and Kumar escape and return to the U.S., where they proceed to flee across the country with federal agents in hot pursuit.This movie was more subversive and nuanced in its attack on race identity politics than the first. And it was funnier.
- DirectorJessica YuStarsJimmy TsaiAndrew VoKhary PaytonA kid dreams of playing professional basketball in order to escape his dead-end job, living in the suburbs, his bossy older brother and running his Mom's ping pong classes.Jessica Yu's first outing as feature film director after a successful career in TV and documentaries. A personal sidenote, this was the film we saw the night before my daughter was born.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodBee VangChristopher CarleyAfter a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.Easily one of the best Asian American film not made by an Asian American. Clint Eastwood subverts the tired trope of the white man savior on its head in a masterful way.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsPaulina GaitanMarco Antonio AguirreLeonardo AlonsoA young Honduran girl and a Mexican gangster are united in a journey across the U.S. border.Sundance favorite.
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.A great Asian American lead character of Russell voiced by Asian American Jordan Nagai.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsZach GalifianakisBradley CooperJustin BarthaThree buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.Ken Jeong's literal balls out performance.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsDennis QuaidChanning TatumMarlon WayansAn elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.Lee Byun Hun's crossover film.
- DirectorJames McTeigueStarsRainRick YuneNaomie HarrisA young ninja turns his back on the orphanage that raised him, leading to a confrontation with a fellow ninja from the clan.Rain (비)'s crossover film.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsNoah RingerNicola Peltz BeckhamJackson RathboneAang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, must master all four elements and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom.M. Night's complete turn away from his community.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsMichael CeraMary Elizabeth WinsteadKieran CulkinIn a magically realistic version of Toronto, a young man must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes one by one in order to win her heart.Graphic novel by hapa Brian Kim O'Malley. Also a major Asian Canadian character Knives Chau played by Ellen Wong.
- DirectorJennifer Yuh NelsonStarsJack BlackAngelina JolieJackie ChanPo and his friends fight to stop a peacock villain from conquering China with a deadly new weapon, but first the Dragon Warrior must come to terms with his past.Korean American director at the helm.
- DirectorDennis LeeStarsRyan ReynoldsWillem DafoeEmily WatsonThe Taylor family is devastated by an accident that takes place on the day their matriarch is due to graduate from college -- decades after leaving to raise her children.Star-studded cast and executive produced by Julia Roberts film by Dennis Lee which unfortunately had been shelved long past its expriration date.
- DirectorMichael KangStarsHenry DittmanIlleana DouglasSung KangAfter Lily rejects her boyfriend's marriage proposal, she returns home to Hawaii where she must help out with her mother's weddingplanning business.I have to include my own films here of course.