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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady

@warrenpeace.bsky.social

86 followers 180 following 350 posts

Comics aficionado, movie lover, bookworm, player of video games, occasional critic. Check out my Substack at https://matthewbrady.substack.com/ He/him

matthewbrady.substack.com

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Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 4d

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

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 6d

I'll read it too!

Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady @warrenpeace.bsky.social · 7d

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 · 10d

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 · 12d

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

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

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 · 17d

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 · 20d

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 · 21d

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 · 28d

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

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

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.

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

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)

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

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

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

I wrote a review of the movie Freaky Tales, which contained so many things that seemed to be specifically for me that I wondered if the filmmakers were tapping into my brain.

Freaky Tales: This movie might not only be for me, but it sure seems like it open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Freaky Tales: This movie might not only be for me, but it sure seems like it

It's nice to come across a movie that is targeted directly at my sensibilities.

open.substack.com

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

My latest Blaxploitation review covers a movie that gave me the opportunity to talk about Black Lives Matter and the ways visual evidence affects our perceptions of racist violence.

Blaxploitation Education: Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue

Not really a Blaxploitation film, but one that comes close to saying something important.

open.substack.com