Complex Blog » John Cho

Ayo! Scott: Boldly Go See Star Trek

justinm — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:23:28 +0000

Kirk and Spock team up to probe deep space.

Ayo! Scott identifies with James Tiberius Kirk. The critic and the captain both know that, whether the skin is yellow, red, black, white, brown, green or blue, it’s all black hole when the lights go out. That’s about as deep space as Ayo!’s identification with Star Trek goes. After all, he doesn’t have a glandular problem or sleep on a twin bed in his mom’s basement, and the only convention he’s interested in is girl-girl-girl-MILF-Ayo! It’s a testament to director J.J. Abrams’s even-handedness that a non-devotee like Ayo! thinks his new Star Trek is out of this world…

The franchise spawned from the 1966 TV show begins anew when Romulan terrorist Nero (Eric Bana) time travels through a black hole and alters the Star Trek universe by killing newborn Kirk’s father and plotting the destruction of Federation planets, specifically Vulcan, home of the conflicted half-Vulcan half-human prodigy Spock. When they come of age and meet at Starfleet Academy, new recruit Kirk (Chris Pine) and instructor Spock (Zachary Quinto) are baggage-ladened adversaries, not a BFF captain and first officer who’ll double team deepest, darkest space as they probe the unknown. To defeat the terrorist threat and realize their destinies, however, the odd couple must deal with their demons and rebuild a friendship that existed in an alternate reality. Ayo! knows that sounds soft and sweet as purple alien p, but it’s not.

Abrams does a great job balancing Star Trek’s heady allegories, referencing current topics like terrorism and the merits of torture without coming close to the dry dialogue-heavy intergalactic episodes that only a true Trekkie could love. During intense—but never overdone—action sequences, lasers blast all up in your face (oh my!); the women are, of course, fine (see Zoë Saldana as Uhura); the acting all around aims for the stars and touches them (a special shout-out to Complex homies John Cho and Anton Yelchin, who play Sulu and Chekov respectively). There are plenty of details that hardcore fans will pick up on, but the inviting plot and tone of Star Trek make it more than a cult movie, leaving so many franchise pick-ups in its star dust. Now if only Abrams could make an adult version where green alien chicks whip out the threes.

Check out the Star Trek trailer to see if this sci-fi gem gets your spaceship airborne.

John Cho Talks Star Trek, Stoner Fans & Celebrity Rock Bands

bfred — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:18:26 +0000

This weekend, do yourself a favor: go see the new Star Trek. Even if you aren’t a Trekkie, director J.J. Abrams has created what will no doubt be one of the most entertaining flicks of the year (trust us).

One actor we’re happy is associated with this quality blockbuster-to-be is John Cho. He was just on Complex’s cover last year, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check up on our old Harold & Kumar homie about his high-profile project. In the quick “Mantras” interview from our April/May 2009 issue, we spoke to J.C. about everything from stepping into Lieutenant Sulu’s shoes to whether or not his band Viva La Union could take Jared Leto.

CLICK HERE TO READ JOHN CHO’S “MANTRAS” (APRIL/MAY ISSUE)

Watch Scenes From Harold & Kumar 2

bfred — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:45:30 +0000

In case you haven’t noticed our new cover, we’re very excited about the upcoming release of Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. We’ve already talked to Kal Penn and John Cho, and even interviewed the directors, but damn, we just wanna see the movie already. Luckily, 5 scenes from the movie have leaked, and they’re as hilarious as we had hoped. Watch 'em after the jump.

“Airport Security”:

“Klan Meeting”:

“Redneck Dinner”:

“Cyclops”:

“Driving”:

[JoBlo]

John Cho and Kal Penn On The Cover Of Our Green Issue

sethk — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:12:26 +0000

Who other than the stars of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay would make a better cover duo for our first ever Green Issue? John Cho and Kal Penn don’t partake in their characters’ favorite vice. They’ve never even seen a Cheech and Chong flick. But that hasn’t stopped them from becoming icons for the members of ultimate frisbee teams and er…hemp enthusiasts across the nation. Pick up the issue, with custom cover lettering by Grateful Dead type O.G. Wes Wilson when it hits stands April 10th. Inside you’ll find 420 ways to live the green life, the future of sneakers, and, of course, our photo shoot with our cover girl Mila Kunis. Read a few pearls of wisdom from Cho and Penn’s interview as well as a video with the directors of Harold & Kumar after the jump.

On the popularity of the Harold and Kumar characters:
John Cho: “For years Asian-American people would come up to me and say that they enjoyed my stuff. But there was a moment when an Asian person came up to me and said, “It’s good to see you guys representing stoners.” And for me, that was a great twist, that an Asian person would come up to me and draw the comparison between us not in terms of ethnicity but in terms of recreational activity.

On fans offering up to share a little from their personal stash:
Kal Penn: “People do offer you weed, but to me that’s not as odd as them offering you things like rides to places. You’re in some town visiting a friendâ€“’Hey, do you need a place to crash?’ I’m like, I don’t know you.”

On filming the bottomless party scene for the movie:
John Cho: “The first shot that night was us knocking on the door to enter the bottomless party. And I told Kal, ‘Remember this night, because you ‘ll be asked about it for the rest of your life.’”

Check out the video interview with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the directors of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay:
[flashvideo filename=videos/harold_kumar_1.flv image=videos/screenshot/harold-kumar-video-1.jpg height=315 width=420 /]