Connect with us

CCI 2018: Nerdist And Geek & Sundry Head To San Diego Comic-Con International

Published

on

Nerdist and Geek & Sundry head to San Diego Comic-Con International with several opportunities for fans to see their favorite shows and talent in person.

Fans can go behind the scenes of Nerdist News with hosts Jessica Chobot (Bizarre States) and Dan Casey (The Dan Cave), as well as Rachel Heine (Nerdist and Geek & Sundry editor-in-chief) and Kyle Hill (Because Science, MythBusters: The Search) during the Nerdist News Live panel.

At the Geek & Sundry Live panel, fans will hear from top G&S talent, including Marisha Ray (Critical Role), Anjali Bhimani (We’re Alive: Frontier), and Amy Dallen (Sagas of Sundry), participate in a Q&A, and be the first to hear announcements about upcoming shows.

Geek & Sundry’s weekly comic book show Welcome to the Wednesday Club makes its Comic-Con debut. Join Taliesin Jaffe (Critical Role), Amy Dallen (Sagas of Sundry), and Matt Key (Key Question) for a fun review of favorite con purchases, most-deserved awards, and much more.

For fans of horror and the paranormal, the Bizarre States panel is a live version of the popular podcast and series with co-hosts Jessica Chobot and Andrew Bowser and a special guest, exploring the mysteries of the weird, the supernatural, and the occult.

The complete Nerdist and Geek & Sundry panel descriptions at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 are below:

Friday, July 20:

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Nerdist News Live – It’s Nerdist News, live! Join Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News, Bizarre States), Dan Casey (The Dan Cave, Nerdist News), Rachel Heine (Nerdist and Geek & Sundry Editor-in-Chief), Kyle Hill (Because Science, MythBusters: The Search), and other Nerdist stars as they discuss the biggest pop culture stories of the day like only Nerdist can. Go behind the scenes of Nerdist News and other Nerdist shows, and bring your questions for the cast and crew. Use only as directed. 9 out of 10 doctors recommend attending the panel right before this one just to get a seat. Side effects may include uncontrollable deep cuts, hilarious Star Wars theories, and hot takes lasting over 30 seconds. Room: 5AB

2pm – 3pm Geek & Sundry Live – Geek & Sundry has been delivering quality comedic and gaming content for six years now: that’s almost half a decade! Can you believe it!? Come join Marisha Ray (Critical Role), Anjali Bhimani (We’re Alive: Frontier), Amy Dallen (Shield of Tomorrow), Erika Ishii (Game Engine), Jeremy Walker (Sagas of Sundry: Madness), T.J. Rotell (G&S Head of Production) and moderator Sean Becker (G&S Senior Creative Director) to hear them talk about the future of the network, what new shows are coming out, what old shows are returning and ask them all your burning questions! Room 25ABC

Saturday, July 21:

6:30 pm – 7:30pm Talks Machina with Critical Role – Join Brian W. Foster (Talks Machina) as he hosts a special Critical Role community Q&A with Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, Sam Riegel, and Taliesin Jaffe. The cast will answer your questions about Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, and anything and everything Critical Role! Room: 6BCF

Sunday, July 22:

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Geek & Sundry: Welcome to the Wednesday Club – Geek & Sundry’s weekly comic book show, The Wednesday Club, is bringing their live panel to SDCC for the first time ever! Join Taliesin Jaffe (Critical Role), Amy Dallen (Sagas of Sundry) and Matt Key (Key Question) as they offer their 2018 SDCC review. They’ll talk about their favorite con purchases (and where you can get it), which Eisner Awards made them most excited and what comic book announcements made them giddy (and why). This is your comic book club on the internet, so come with your comic book questions and they’ll offer their comic book answers! Room: 7AB

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Bizarre States – Host Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News, Bizarre States), Andrew Bowser (Bizarre States), and a special guest as they take their popular podcast Bizarre States on the road! They explore the mysteries of the weird, supernatural and occult, dragging into the light current and historical paranormal activities and personal experiences. Room: 7AB

After the convention hall closes, Nerdist will host parties including Alpha Book Club Happy Hour (Thursday, 7/19 from 7pm to 8pm) and The 200th Episode of Bizarre States Party, hosted by Jessica Chobot and Andrew Bowser (Saturday, 7/21 from 8pm to midnight) at Sparks Gallery on 530 Sixth Avenue. Nerdist will also be hosting its annual Alpha member party and its invite-only industry party on Thursday and Friday night respectively. Official event details will be announced soon. Follow @Nerdist and check www.nerdist.com for details.

In addition to panels and parties during SDCC, fans can attend Nerdist House from Thursday, July 19th through Sunday, July 22nd. All four days of Comic-Con, Nerdist will take over the Sparks Gallery on 530 Sixth Avenue for all-day entertainment and refreshments, special social hours and fan parties, live Nerdist shows, in-depth interviews and conversations, meet & greets, exclusive merchandise, photo opportunities, a VR experience, and much more. Nerdist House will be open to the public and free of charge. Comic-Con attendees are welcome, but a badge is not required. For up-to-the-minute updates on Nerdist House, follow @Nerdist and #NerdistHouse on Twitter.

Alpha members will receive exclusive Fast Pass and Priority Access wristbands at Nerdist House events and parties. Not a member yet? Sign up at www.projectalpha.com and join the fun.

Continue Reading

TV

Top Ten Times Willow was the Worst

Published

on

With all the discourse surrounding the much anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, not
to mention Sarah Michelle Gellar’s and Alyson Hannigan’s joint interview on the Today show
discussing the show’s legacy! Many fans have revised their opinions on some of the
original show’s titular characters. One such character is Hannigan’s own, Willow Rosenberg. Once seen as the shy, lovable, nerdy sidekick, now her image is less than rosy. Manipulative? Petty? And maybe worst of all: a bad friend.

10. Easing us in with a somewhat annoying one. In Season 6, Episode 11, ‘Gone’, it is
morning in the Summers household. After throwing out most of Willow’s magical stash as
the fallen wiccan tries to go cold turkey with her magic addiction (more on that later). Buffy
is post-traumatic-resurrection trying to keep it all together after a night of hot,
passionate…fighting with a vampire. Willow appears to be living in the Summers’ home rent-free and is cooking Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) an apology omelette. She is making a
mess while cooking, as one does, but leaves her traumatised friend to clean up after her! Poor
Buffy (you’ll hear that a lot) was just lambasting herself for not noticing Willow’s self-
inflicted downfall. Buffy is literally chopping off her own hair in distress, and no one notices!
The audacity!

9. In Season 3, Episode 2, ‘Dead Man’s Party’, Buffy has returned to Sunnydale after her
secondment in LA. After a traumatic year, Buffy clearly just wants to hang out with her
friends like a regular teenager. Willow agrees to meet Buffy in town to re-bond over
shopping. Yes, Willow did say earlier in the episode that she had school work that she would
have to rearrange, which is fair enough, but at least cancel instead of leaving poor Buffy
(see?) sitting alone waiting for you!

8. Anya (Emma Caulfield), the ex-vengeance demon, was treated pretty coolly by the
Scoobies. Willow was clearly jealous of Anya’s relationship with Xander (Nicholas
Brendon), taking Xander’s attention from her. Throughout the final seasons, Willow treated
Anya like an annoyance at best and undermined her with cruel remarks at worst. In no
episode was this more obvious than Season 5, Episode 11, ‘Triangle’. Willow is brazenly
stealing spell ingredients from Anya’s and Giles’s (her friends) small business. Willow even
says herself she is not “stealing”, she is “…just taking things without paying for them. In what
twisted dictionary is that stealing?”.
Willow comes off as a bully throughout this episode, cruelly mimicking Anya and trying to
make Xander choose between his childhood best friend and his girlfriend. I want to mention
that not only is Willow gay, but has her own girlfriend at this point. So her possessiveness of
Xander comes off as particularly childish.

7. Willow’s irresponsibility with magic becomes a large feature of the series. Even her most
ardent fans can’t explain what she was thinking in Season 5, Episode 17, ‘Forever’ when she
draws Dawn’s attention to a dark spell book. This book encourages 15-year-old Dawn to raise
her mother from the dead. Culminating in what is, in my opinion, one of the creepiest scenes
in Buffy: the shadow of zombie Joyce walking past Summer’s curtained window, returning
home. Presumably, Willow knew the dangers but was fine with a child dabbling in dark
magic.

6. Back to Season 3, Episode 2 ‘Dead Man’s Party’. After not being satisfied standing Buffy
up, she also wants to rant at a clearly distressed Buffy that Willow’s now got a boyfriend and is
practicing witchcraft, AND had no one to talk to about it when Buffy ran away. Bear in mind
that Buffy had to stab her boyfriend through the heart and send him to Hell after months of
his evil alter ego psychologically torturing her. But Willow needs her gal pal.
Very similar to Season 7, Episode 19 ‘Empty Places’ when Willow joined the group pile on,
blaming poor Buffy (and again) for everything that’s gone wrong. And then throwing Buffy
out of her own house (you know the one she pays for?)! In the words of one Buffy fan ‘Y’all
hate her so much, why did you resurrect her?’

5. Going to my personal favourite season, Season 6 (I’m not arguing about it), Episode 10
‘Wrecked’. Willow is caught in the throes of magic addiction. Within the Buffy universe,
magic was a metaphor for lesbian sex, but the metaphor changes in Season 6 to substance
abuse. Willow takes Dawn to what is essentially a magical drug den and leaves her waiting
there for over an hour. Then, high on magic, he proceeds to not take Dawn home, instead
offering to teleport her back home. Willow then gets behind the wheel of a car with Dawn
while high and crashes the car.
Buffy was known to tackle social issues, and its handling of substance abuse was surprisingly
Realistic, mainly due to Alyson Hannigan’s amazing acting!

4. In Season 4, Episode 6, ‘Wild at Heart,’ we get to see the true darkness that appears to live
inside Willow. After being cheated on by her long-time boyfriend Oz (Seth Green), Willow
takes it upon herself to hex both Oz and his cheating partner, Veruca. She casts ‘in the name
of Hell’ wanting to break both their hearts and find no peace or solace…harsh. To be fair to
her, she does stop herself, but Willow, I appreciate you got cheated on, but we can’t just go
about hexing people.

3. And now to one of the best episodes ever! Season 6, Episode 8 ‘Tabula Rasa’ delivers
some serious comic gold, but the premise of the episode is rather disturbing. Despite
promising Tara (Amber Benson), her long-term partner, that she would give up magic for a
week, Willow casts a spell. Tara is understandably upset that the woman she loves cast a
memory spell on her to make her forget their arguments. Willow’s answer to this is to cast yet

another memory spell to make Tara forget the first memory spell (stay with me). Willow also tries to cast a spell on Buffy (you know her friend suffering from depression) to make her forget being in Heaven. As is a staple in the Buffy universe, the spell goes awry, making the whole gang forget who they are, leading to hilarious hijinks.
Yes, it’s one of the funniest Buffy episodes, but if the spell hadn’t accidentally been broken, then they all could have been stuck like that.

2. For such a trailblazing relationship, Willow and Tara have a lot of problems when
scrutinised. Almost everything stems from Willow’s overuse of magic. The relationship
gets darker the more you examine it. As Tara said in ‘Tabula Rasa’, Willow violated her
mind. Some fans have pointed out; not only was the flower Willow used to cast the forgetting
spell (Season 6, Episode 6) is in an oddly convenient place in their bedroom. This begs the
question: how many times has Willow cast these spells? Fans have also pointed out that if
Tara had sex with Willow after any spell was cast on her, she wouldn’t be consenting.

1. As a surprise to literally no one, the number one time Willow was a bad friend on top of
being completely irresponsible, resurrecting one Miss Buffy Summers. Now, many may
argue that after the finale of Season 5, ‘The Gift’, it would be understandable that Willow
would think Buffy was trapped in some Hell dimension.

Ok, let’s stay with that logic. Willow is aware that resurrection spells are extremely volatile,
presumably why the Scoobies have been planning it for weeks. Xander voices it perfectly, in
Season 6, Episode 1 ‘Bargaining Pt 1’, Buffy may try to “eat our brains”. Willow even
comments (Season 6, Episode 3) on how messed up Angel was when he came back from Hell.
Willow could have caused an emotional and physical catastrophe for them all by bringing
back a ‘wrong’ Buffy who still possesses super-strength and super-speed. Spike (James
Marsters) declares in the same episode that he shut down any idea Willow had about bringing
Buffy, back in case it went so badly, they would have to “get rid of what came back”. It’s bad
when the soulless vampire is more mature than you, isn’t it?

Willow Rosenberg is indeed a very complex character played expertly by Alyson Hannigan. Willow has her flaws, but it is those flaws that make her such a compelling character. I, for one, am very interested to see what they do with the character in the reboot.

Continue Reading

Movie

Review: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

Published

on

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is a stylish and brutal addition to the ever-expanding John Wick universe. Set between the explosive events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the film seamlessly slots into the timeline without feeling like a stopgap. Instead, it builds something fresh, introducing a new protagonist on a vengeful journey of her own.

Ana de Armas delivers a fierce and emotionally layered performance as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-trained assassin seeking justice for her family. While her motivations mirror Wick’s, the film avoids repetition by diving deeper into the Ruska Roma and High Table lore. It’s a testament to the world-building that this spin-off doesn’t just feel justified—it feels essential.

As expected, the fight choreography is at its peak—gritty, inventive, and ruthlessly beautiful. Every action set-piece hits with a kinetic energy that’s both thrilling and brutal. This franchise continues to prove that when it comes to stunt work and direction, it’s in a league of its own. Can the John Wick series really disappoint? So far, no.

The story is tight, the pacing brisk, and each supporting performance, especially the cameos from familiar faces, adds weight and continuity to the narrative. Ballerina proves that this universe is more than just one man’s war; it’s a whole underworld waiting to be explored.

With compelling characters, rich mythology, and jaw-dropping action, Ballerina is a strong 9/10—one of the best spin-offs in recent memory.

Continue Reading

Movie

The Top 5 Movies of James Gunn — A Symphony of Heart, Humor, and Heroism

Published

on

Few directors in the modern cinematic landscape have reshaped genre filmmaking quite like James Gunn. Known for blending irreverent humor with profound emotional depth, Gunn has left an indelible mark on both indie horror and superhero franchises. As he transitions into leading DC Studios, it’s the perfect time to revisit his five finest works—each a statement of his unique voice in an often formulaic industry.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Rating: 9.5/10

A rare sequel that deepens its characters rather than merely expanding its universe, Vol. 2 is Gunn at his most personal. The film wrestles with the pain of abandonment, the search for belonging, and the complexity of father-son dynamics—cloaked in vibrant visuals and a killer soundtrack. Yondu’s “He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy” line alone secures its legacy.

2. The Suicide Squad (2021)

Rating: 9/10

Chaotic, gory, and gleefully anarchic, The Suicide Squad is a wild remix of the superhero genre. Gunn injects pathos into misfits like Ratcatcher 2 and Polka-Dot Man, proving his unmatched talent for humanizing the bizarre. It’s a subversive spectacle that doubles as an anti-war allegory—with a giant alien starfish to boot.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Rating: 8.8/10

The film that redefined Marvel’s creative boundaries, Guardians took a gang of obscure comic-book characters and turned them into pop culture icons. With its perfect balance of humor, heart, and ‘70s mixtape vibes, it’s the origin story of Gunn’s mainstream rise and one of the MCU’s most beloved entries.

4. Slither (2006)

Rating: 8/10

Before superheroes and intergalactic misfits, Gunn gave us Slither—a grotesque and hilarious horror-comedy with serious B-movie charm. This film showcases his roots: practical effects, quotable dialogue, and an affection for the genre’s oddballs. It’s disgusting, delightful, and distinctly Gunn.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Rating: 8/10

An emotionally charged finale to the Guardians trilogy, *Vol

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2012 - 2025 That's My Entertainment All Rights Reserved May not be used without permission