Let Me Know How It Is

Spotlight: Miller's Crossing

Few names in American cinema carry the cache of Joel and Ethan Coen: the Coen Brothers. Over their careers, they have produced critically acclaimed film after critically acclaimed film. Upon viewing their films, their genius is quite apparent, even when you look at their earliest works. Miller's Crossing, their third feature, is a masterfully made film. It shows cases phenomenal performances, a script chalk full of twists and turns, and a story that pays homage to one of the most beloved genres from Hollywood's golden age, film noir. Celebrating 30 years since its release, today the panel spotlights one of their personal favorites, Miller's Crossing.

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DC FanDome Day 2 Reactions

Day two of DC FanDome is here! The interactive fan experience that showcases all the exciting projects in comics, TV, and animation that are coming soon from DC Entertainment. Day one brought some exciting news and a few big surprises, so the panel is excited to see what is in store for day two! Come on and join the party as the panel gives their reactions to everything from DC FanDome day two! 

The Value of Shock?

For as long as there have been stories, storytellers have tried to surprise audiences with what will happen in their tales. Shock Value is a weapon in the storyteller's tool kit to keep audiences guessing and to ensure the is story unpredictable. Being surprised by a twist or development they couldn't anticipate can be some of the most gratifying moments an audience member can experience. The flip side however, is sometimes the motivation to shock viewers can backfire -- it can go too far and alienate the audience.  There's a balance storytellers have to strike, but they're always coming from a desire to create a memorable moment for the audience.  Join the panel, as they give their thoughts on shock value.

EXTRA - Thoughts on the Upcoming Animated Batman: Death in the Family

On October 13th will see the release of Batman: Death in the Family, the new interactive film produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. Brandon Vietti (Young Justice) has written and directed the "choose your own adventure" style film that is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo. A perfect companion piece to one of the panel's personal favorite animated movies, Batman: Under the Red Hood. The panel reviews the trailer and discusses their thoughts on Batman: Death in the Family.

Foreboding Futures and Dystopian Dimensions

Popular media is full of stories that give audiences a glimpse into what the future might possibly hold in store for their beloved characters. And other times they show what the characters' lives might have been like, in alternate dimensions, if things had been different in their current worlds. One of the reasons these speculative stories are everywhere is because of the freedom they grant creators. There is a lot to be said for the new avenues such stories can open creatively. We get to see the characters after having been through many different scenarios where they come out either built up or broken down by the choices they make. It's often a way of altering the status quo without creating lasting change for the world. Also, these stories are immensely popular; which might explain their prevalence in pop culture.  Today, the panel explores their favorite speculative future tales and alternate reality stories in all of pop culture.

DC FanDome Reactions

Virtual conventions are all the rage right now. In that spirit, DC Comics has launched DC FanDome, an interactive fan experience that will showcase all the exciting projects in-development and soon to come over at DC Entertainment. The panel sits back and combs the web for all the exciting news that is coming from Day one of DC FanDome! Come on and join the party as we discuss all things DC!

EXTRA - Our 5 X-Men

#My5XMen was trending recently on social media, and it presented an interesting exercise: build your dream team X-Men roster with only five members. How do you decide? Do you pick your five favorites? Do you match up characters that don't interact often? Maybe you build off of personalities and history for what creates the best team drama. There are so many ways to approach it. In our first Let Me Know How It Is Shorty, the panel lists their 5 X-Men teams.

Watch Challenge: Cowboy Bebop / Rick and Morty

It's time for another Watch Challenge: where one member of our panel challenges another member to watch a selection of episodes from a show that the challenger thinks the other person would become a fan of if only they would give it a chance. This time around, Frank issued the challenge and chose five episodes of Rick and Morty for Zack to watch. And in return, Frank would agreed to watch five episodes of Zack's choosing of Cowboy Bebop. The episodes were viewed and the entire panel will review them and see who, or if anyone, has come around and become a fan of the other's show.

Spotlight: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

“Based on the Graphic Novel” are common words to see in the credits of movies these days. Comic books have become an invaluable source of inspiration for many Hollywood movies, but comics extend beyond the commonly associated superheroes. Every once in a while an indie comic makes the jump to the big screen where our hero is one that doesn’t wear a cape. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a perfect example of a memorable film that came from an indie comic. It’s a heartfelt exploration of love and relationships in your 20s while also being a fast, funny, and over-the-top loveletter to video games. To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, the panel spotlights Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  

Representation and Super Heroes

The demographics for super hero comic book readers are as wide and varied as the many super powers audiences will find in the adventures inside. Exclusivity has been a part of comics since the beginning. For too long there have been little attempts for the heroes inside comics to resemble the readership outside of comics. Until recently that is. Over the years there has been great emphasis on diversifying the types of characters you'll see in comics to include more races, nationalities, and religions so that the characters inside better reflect the real world we all see. Representation in super hero comics tries to make the experience of reading as inclusive as possible by showing characters that reflect the diversity of the world outside. The panel explores this important topic while showcasing some of the characters and stories they believe best exemplify this more inclusive shift in the medium.