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Episode 46 – Wonder Twins by Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Mike Gillis

“Wonder Twin powers — Activate!”

This month, we’re balancing teen angst and superheroics with returning guest Paul Hix of Waiting for Doom – the Doom Patrol Podcast to gush over over the hilarious satirical DC Comics maxi-series: Wonder Twins!

Exiled to Earth from the utopian planet Exxor, super-powered teens Zan and Jayna must now juggle high school with their after-school internship with the heroic Justice League! But they must also grapple with strange new Earth concepts like crippling debt, shocking inequality and mass incarceration; and they begin wondering if beating up costumed criminals and throwing them in jail is really making the world a better place…

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Fun Size Episode 43 – Get in a Booth and Pretend to Be Poop

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Mike Gillis

In an episode calling back to us from the near past, we get a little nervous, excited and curious about the then-upcoming Star Trek: Picard. We dig a bit into Trek‘s enduring franchise, both its evolutions and how after almost two decades, is finally moving its timeline forward.

We try to figure out how Wonder Woman and Star Trek Beyond could have gone from very good to great, with the same third act change. We wonder which members of the “Next Generation” crew have the best managerial skills. And finally, we look at how modern audiences — and studios — don’t want to admit that they love inspirational movie heroes.

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Fun Size Episode 20 – You Don’t Deserve My Hat, Shia LaBeouf!

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Mike Gillis

We sit down to continue our chat with Joe Preti and Bryon DiGianfilippo, and are joined by View from the Gutters‘ Tobiah Panshin to talk about Keanu Reeves’ Constantine movie and debate what makes a good adaptation.

We also dig into the admirable and visually stunning mess that was Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. How can a movie have such high peaks and such tragic, debilitating valleys?

Plus, we talk about how ham-fisted ways that movie executives force blatant business decisions onto the screen. And is there really that much demand for multiple “shared cinematic universes” in the wake of Marvel’s success?

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Fun Size Episode 19 – This Human Centipede of Cinematic Nonsense

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Mike Gillis

We’re back in the studio for a continued conversations with our friend Kit Laika, to dig into why Dwayne Johnson may be the most likeable human being in the world.

And then we tempt fate by taking a critical look at the first DC superhero movie to get universal critical acclaim in nearly a decade!

Kit has an unpopular opinion about the new Wonder Woman film. What are the reasonable expectations we can have for a blockbuster superhero film? We talk about how we can unfairly pile our hopes and dreams onto a piece of entertainment, and how it can often be difficult to be honest about something that we really, really want to love.

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Fun Size Episode 17 – Unforgiven Meets Little Miss Sunshine

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Mike Gillis

We continue our chat with Joe Preti, and give our spoiler-iffic review of Hugh Jackman’s final turn as the mutant superhero Wolverine in Logan.

Have we hit peak superhero at the box office? Can a comic book adaptation transcend being just being a fun, popcorn crowd-pleaser, and become an emotionally potent piece of art? Is it time for the studios to stop bombarding us with constant references, callbacks and post-credit scenes, and just make a compelling story with powerfully written characters and strong performances?

Spoiler: The answer to all of these questions is yes.

Plus, we get derailed talking about Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. And try really, really, really hard to say something nice about it. Oh, boy.

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Episode 21.5 – The Robots Disagree with You, Edgar Wright!

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Mike Gillis

In the aftermath of our Twin Peaks panel, we’re joined again by Roz Townsend and Pól Rua for a continued discussion about how awesome actor Miguel Ferrer is. We also dive into how Twin Peaks‘ Pacific Northwest setting is very familiar to our Seattle-area panelists, and how the show influenced a decade of television.

We get into automated fansourcing of our entertainment, why Godwin’s Law demands you support the arts, and the British science fiction series, Blake’s 7.

Also, Mike argues with a folksy robot.

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