the agony booth

Return to Oz (1985)

R.G. Quimby — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“Can’t say I really blame Aunt Em for wanting to strap Dorothy up to the electroshock machine. WTF kind of stuff is she telling people? Can’t Dorothy just tell them about the cute stuff, like the Lollipop Guild or whatever? I think if she had focused more on the non-creepy aspects of Oz, Aunt Em would be praising her for her creativity and imagination, not sending her off to Dr. Shocker, erm, Worley.”

Video: Britannia Rules?: The Avengers

Richard Murphy — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

In the web series Britannia Rules?, reviewer Richard Murphy looks at some of the more questionable moments in British film, TV, and pop culture. By special request of the Agony Booth, Richard is kicking off a new series-within-the-series titled “The Special Relationship”, wherein he looks at American movie remakes that don’t quite live up to their British source material.

“The Special Relationship” starts here, with a comparison of the ‘60s British series The Avengers, and the Razzie-winning 1998 American remake starring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, and Sean Connery!

Avatar: The Last Airbender - "The Great Divide" (Orig Aired May 20, 2005)

Ryan Lohner — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“This episode talks down to the audience at every opportunity, throws in all kinds of gratuitous gags, and only exists to shove a moral down our throats. Even by the time it aired, the show’s audience had learned to expect more than that, and I shudder to think that there were probably more than a few people who had been telling their friends about this great show called Avatar: The Last Airbender that was so much better than any other American cartoon, only to have this be the next episode that aired.”

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Albert — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

This could very well be considered the greatest film ever made, provided that every print of every movie not about giant killer bunny rabbits suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet.

UPDATED with new screecaps and new commentary!

Degrassi Junior High - "Eggbert" (Orig Aired Jan 04, 1988)

Albert — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“And I know what you parents out there must be thinking: taking care of an egg is a total cakewalk compared to an actual baby, right? How could watching an egg possibly teach you what it’s like to be a parent? But you have to keep in mind that Spike is a Degrassi kid. And taking care of inanimate objects is way beyond most Degrassi kids. I hear when Spike was a little girl, her pet rock died.”

The Specialist (1994)

Ed Harris — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“For some reason, this film was marketed as a more ‘serious’ movie, even though I’m pretty certain anybody who’s a fan of either Sylvester Stallone or Sharon Stone doesn’t go to the movies for serious dramatics. Stallone’s fans go to see him kill a lot of things and be macho, and Stone’s fans go in the vain hope she’ll do another leg spreading scene like in Basic Instinct. To be fair, she does get naked in this film. On the downside, so does Sly.”

Boat Trip (2002)

Martini Shark — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“I wish I could express to you how unsettling this is. To see a former James Bond replicate fellatio with a breakfast link as a come-on has got to be one of the worst things ever committed to film. Seriously, all the sanguinary excesses in the entire Saw movie series are nothing compared to watching the wrinkled Roger Moore licking a saveloy in order to seduce Horatio Sanz.”

Full House - "The House Meets the Mouse (Part II)" (Orig Aired May 18, 1993)

Sarah O. — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“How do I know this will be an amazing episode? Because dude, they don’t even need to explain what happened in Part I! No ‘Previously On’, no nothing. Why? Because they assume—and rightly so—that Part I’s awesomeness has by now simply integrated itself into your DNA and become a part of your basic humanity. That Part I was so intense, you already intuitively know what it was about, even if you can’t consciously remember much of anything (I think Michelle was kidnapped by ninjas?). That’s how awesome this episode will be.”

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Battle" (Orig Aired Nov 14, 1987)

Kevin Podsiadlik — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“But you can see why this incident would be so unmemorable to the captain. Nearly getting blasted to bits, abandoning ship, adrift in space for weeks, and ultimately immortalized in the textbooks for a feat of heroism would almost totally pass from anyone’s memory after nine years.”

Spider-Man - "The Spot" (Orig Aired Oct 26, 1996)

Ryan Lohner — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT

In a nutshell:

“Season three contains what just about every fan agrees are the two worst episodes of the series: ‘The Rocket Racer’ and ‘The Spot’. In fact, there was a debate for a while over which was the worse episode. My vote always went to ‘The Spot’, because ‘Rocket Racer’ may have been centered on a dull character and even duller villains, but at least that character wasn’t intensely annoying, and there were no gaping plot holes that I could see instantly, even as a kid.”