You may have noticed that there was no post yesterday. I had planned to do a post but for the life of me a could not think of a subject. I just had a bit of a mental block. I hate when that happens. Anyway you're not here to listen to me make excuses. No you're here for Web Wednesday. Recently I watched a crossover review on TGWTG.com. It featured Obscurus Lupa, who I spoke about some time ago, and Film Brain. In a bit of self deprecating humor the two went back and fourth about which of them was the most annoying personality on that site. Now, I never really found Obscurus Lupa annoying. Except for when she appears with Phelous, who I will talk about eventually, aside from those few encounters I have always found her work to be enjoyable. Film Brain is another matter. I never found him annoying. Not ever. I am not saying that he is perfect, he does have a few verbal and physical tics. Some of his earlier work can be a little rough, but over the years he has grown and adapted into a solid performer. I'll go in greater detail, as usual, after the jump.
The video above is "The Best Way To Quit Your Job EVER!" by That Guy With the Glasses himself Doug Walker. That is where Film Brain, or as he is known in the real world Mathew Buck, got started. After seeing that video Mathew was inspired to make a parody version. His version, which included a clip from "Old School" involving Will Ferrel streaking, even got the attention of Doug who left a humorous comment on the video.
After being hired by ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com Mathew began to produce "5 Second Movies". These were originally made by Doug Walker. Doug had stopped making these shorts by the time Mathew arrived. This allowed Mathew to produce his work without having to worry about being overshadowed by the biggest name on the site.
Mathew's flagship series, and for quite a while his only series, is Bad Movie Beatdown. It follows the normal 'snarky reviewer lambasts bad move' formula. The main difference is that Mathew doesn't have a real set criteria for what he reviews. This has allowed him to cover many films from different genres and time periods. The subjects of his show have ranged from comedies like "Christmas With The Cranks", to action films like "The Fast and the Furious", to romantic comedies like "Good Luck Chuck", and oddest of all the musical "The Jazz Singer". That is a very eclectic list. I really like that he has left his subject mater so open. It's nice that at any time his reviews can feature films from any genre and decade.
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| Art by Andrew Dickman. |
On November 9th, 2010, Mathew released the first episode of his new series Projector. This series is a very straight forward, almost conversational, review show. The films featured are mostly in preview screenings and/or movies that opened in the UK before the US. As with "Bad Movie Beatdown" there are no strict guidelines as to what is open for review. If the movie is in the theaters and catches Mathew's attention it is fair game. This isn't my favorite of Mathew's shows but it does have a certain appeal. Seeing Mathew not in 'character' is a pleasant change.
Speaking of Mathew's "character" that is something that has to be explained. In Bad Movie Beatdown he plays the usual almost snobby, sarcastic reviewer. That changes when Mathew is in a crossover or cameo. When crossing over with another reviewer Mathew down plays his normal character and turns into a naive, annoying, childlike persona. The perfect example of this is in the TGWTG.com anniversary crossover movie Kickassia. During the film Mathew plays a constantly abused lackey. Actually in most of the crossovers he is the victim of not only jokes but usually physical violence. This was a decision on Mathew's part. He felt that due to the amount of snarky personalities in Kickassia, one more would just be redundant. As such he created a persona that he has said is more inline with his real personality.
I mentioned earlier that Mathew is considered, by some, to be the most annoying person on the site. I don't agree with that but I can understand it. He does have a number of recurring jokes and habits that are noticeable such as his catchphrase "Symbolism", sign off "I'm Mathew Buck, Beating down bad movies everywhere!", and his habit of tilting his head when making a point. You can be sure that every episode of Bad Move Beatdown will feature at least two of those. If that is enough to keep you from watching his work than that's fine, but every reviewer has his or her own recurring gags. To be perfectly honest I think all of the ill will comes down to Mathew's negative review of the movie Equilibrium. A movie that I love. I saw the review and while I agreed with most the points in the review I disagreed with Mathew opinion and left it at that. A few people were unable to do that.
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