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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 8h

Also, I wrote about the fifth episode of The Lowdown, which featured a great guest appearance from Peter Dinklage.

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E5 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E5

Peter Dinklage is a welcome presence whenever he wants to guest start in a show I'm watching.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 8h

I wrote a review of R.F. Kuang’s new book Katabasis, which I found to be an excellent fantasy about a journey through the afterlife that provides many opportunities for complex character exploration and development.

Katabasis: Maybe hell isn't other people open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Katabasis: Maybe hell isn't other people

R.F. Kuang continues her streak of excellent books that use fantasy to delve into emotional conflicts.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 5d

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers Lord Shango, which is billed as a horror movie but is more of a drama with supernatural elements involving the religious practices of people with roots in Africa.

Blaxploitation Education: Lord Shango open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Lord Shango

A surprisingly nuanced take on the conflict between Western religious values and traditional African spirituality.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 8d

I'll read it too!

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 8d

I wrote about the fourth episode of The Lowdown, which featured some fascinating character interactions, as well as some shocking violence. I’m still loving this show.

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E4 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E4

Things can become complex when reporting the truth conflicts with personal relationships.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 11d

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers Sheba, Baby, a Pam Grier vehicle that is an unfortunate decrease in quality from the highs of Coffy and Foxy Brown.

Blaxploitation Education: Sheba, Baby open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Sheba, Baby

A Pam Grier action movie has me missing the Jack Hill touch.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 14d

I wrote about the graphic novel Hello Sunshine by @keezyyoung.bsky.social, which I thought was a really good combination of a horror/mystery story with an examination of life with a mental illness.

Hello Sunshine: Rarely is mental illness in horror this literal open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Hello Sunshine: Rarely is mental illness in horror this literal

It's always exciting to experience young, talented artists telling vibrant, personal work.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 15d

I wrote about the third episode of The Lowdown and mused about the trope of the writer who is a total mess but is so brilliant that he wins people over anyway.

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E3 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E3

Lee Raybon manages to charm despite being a total fuckup.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 18d

The latest thing I watched for my Blaxploitation series doesn’t really fit into the genre, but it’s an enjoyably dumb werewolf movie featuring Calvin Lockheart giving a hammy performance.

Blaxploitation(?) Education: The Beast Must Die open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation(?) Education: The Beast Must Die

It's definitely a stretch to call a werewolf movie set in the English countryside Blaxploitation...

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 21d

I wrote a review of the first volume of the comics series Assorted Crisis events, which I found to be an enthralling and occasionally moving look at how the end of the world can serve as a metaphor for all manner of personal crises.

open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Assorted Crisis Events: The end of the world as we know it, and I don't feel fine

A comic that delves into the personal impact of a cosmic apocalypse.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 22d

I looked at the second episode of The Lowdown, which continues to be an enjoyable noir featuring a somewhat idiotic protagonist.

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E2 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E2

Sometimes, noir protagonists can drive you crazy with their obnoxiousness and stupidity.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 29d

I found a new show to cover in weekly episodic reviews, and it’s a good one. Here’s my look at the pilot episode of The Lowdown:

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E1 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: The Lowdown S1E1

I think I've found my new favorite TV show.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Oct 3

I wrote about One Battle After Another. I was only barely able to discuss most of what it was doing, I thought it had a fascinating take on the conflict between idealism and responsibility.

One Battle After Another: That's modern life for you open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

One Battle After Another: That's modern life for you

PTA provides a thrill ride and a half, along with some chances to muse on idealism and parenthood.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Oct 3

My publishing schedule has been messed up lately, but I was able to do a new Blaxploitation review, covering the enjoyably cheesy, low-budget martial arts movie TNT Jackson.

Blaxploitation Education: TNT Jackson open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: TNT Jackson

Perhaps the closest Blaxploitation has gotten to a traditional martial arts movie yet, even if the version we got is edited to the point of near-incomprehensibility.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Oct 1

I didn’t get a chance to share this yesterday, but I wrote about a short story collection by Debbie Urbanski that was pretty interesting, if kind of exhausting.

Portalmania: The impulse to get away from this world is understandable open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Portalmania: The impulse to get away from this world is understandable

A short story collection by Debbie Urbanski that may have been too personal for me to really connect with.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 21

I'm planning on reading more of Dungeon Crawler Carl, since I enjoyed the first book. Thanks for the other recommendations; I'll have to check them out.

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 20

I wrote a review of Dungeon Crawler Carl, the most popular example of the burgeoning LitRPG genre. I found it to be enjoyable, even if there’s not a lot of substance to it.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: For those who prefer to read RPGs instead of playing them open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Dungeon Crawler Carl: For those who prefer to read RPGs instead of playing them

While I'm not fully sold on the LitRPG genre, it's good to see that it can be fun.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 19

I’m late sharing my Blaxploitation review for this week, but it was a good one, looking at Sweet Jesus, Preacherman:

Blaxploitation Education: Sweet Jesus, Preacherman open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Sweet Jesus, Preacherman

An inner city church actually does seem like it would be a good cover for a criminal enterprise.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 13

I didn’t share this yesterday, but I published a review of the hilarious and thought-provoking Tim Robinson/Paul Rudd comedy Friendship. I liked it a lot.

Friendship: Masculinity in crisis can still be funny open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Friendship: Masculinity in crisis can still be funny

As weird as Tim Robinson is, he gets at the truth behind what makes men fall apart.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 12

I’m doing a bad job of promoting the stuff I write lately. Here’s my latest Blaxploitation review, covering a low-budget knockoff of The Exorcist.

Blaxploitation Education: Abby open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Abby

I'm surprised they didn't call this one The Blaxorcist.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 9

I reviewed the novel The Third Rule of Time Travel, which I found to be a disappointing failure to do the things I like in time travel stories.

The Third Rule of Time Travel: Yes, it's the obvious one open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

The Third Rule of Time Travel: Yes, it's the obvious one

I love time travel stories, but apparently not all of them.

open.substack.com

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Sep 1

I reviewed the novel The Compound, which involves a surreal reality TV show that serves as a symbol for everything that’s wrong with modern society.

The Compound: Reality TV will destroy us all open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

The Compound: Reality TV will destroy us all

It doesn't take too much tweaking to make reality shows a metaphor for the emptiness of modern life.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady

Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · Sep 1

Ian Fleming was a sexist, racist asshole, and the films are all violent colonial fantasies. It's unlikely that anything can change that, and the whole franchise really should have been retired a long time ago. 1

MI6 - Home of James Bond @mi6hq.bsky.social · Aug 31

What is your most controversial James Bond opinion?

(These may be discussed in a future podcast)

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Aug 27

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers Solomon King, an Ed Wood-style bit of inept auteurism that I found to be pretty enjoyable in its ridiculousness.

Blaxploitation Education: Solomon King open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Solomon King

Some movies are so inept that they almost come back around to being sublime. Almost.

open.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · Aug 25

I wrote a review of the book Chain Gang All-Stars, which was a harrowing experience due to the way it conflated fictional violence with the real-life horrors of the American prison system.

Chain Gang All-Stars: The "Battle Royale" genre has rarely been so upsetting open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Chain Gang All-Stars: The "Battle Royale" genre has rarely been so upsetting

This is one of the more believable examples of "make people fight to the death," taking a uniquely American and racist approach.

open.substack.com

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