Warren Peace, aka Matthew Brady

Blaxploitation Education: Black Samson Sometimes a really good ending can save a movie that's mostly mediocre

My latest Blaxploitation review covers Black Samson, which seemed to be somewhat generic at first but ended up building to a really effective climax involving community justice.

Blaxploitation Education: Black Samson open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Cursed Daughters: Poor approaches to relationships are pretty universal A literary novel shows that lies and trickery are not likely to be a successful approach to romance.

I reviewed the upcoming novel by the author of My Sister, the Serial Killer. It’s a good one, full of family drama and lessons about relationships. Keep an eye out for it.

Cursed Daughters: Poor approaches to relationships are pretty universal open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Retro-futurism may be making a comeback Maybe looking to the past is the best way for Marvel movies to move forward?

I reviewed the new Fantastic Four movie, although I ended up writing more about the comics it’s based on and the difficulties of adapting them into movies.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps: Retro-futurism may be making a comeback open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: The Black Godfather Low budget movies can stretch one's patience, but they may still contain something to enjoy.

My latest Blaxploitation review covers The Black Godfather, a fairly inept attempt at a crime movie that I still managed to enjoy, at least during the parts where I wasn’t struggling to stay awake.

Blaxploitation Education: The Black Godfather open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

If you see this, post Jack Kirby art.

From "Even Gods Must Die!", a story that appeared in a reprint of New Gods.

Kaiju No. 8: When it comes to big action, manga delivers Sometimes you just have to read a dozen volumes of a manga series in quick succession.

I went on a manga binge with the series Kaiju No. 8, which I thought was a lot of fun. If you like lots of big monsters and wanton destruction of property, you should check it out.

Kaiju No. 8: When it comes to big action, manga delivers open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Eddington: Times are tough all over, but especially for morons Ari Aster crafts an entertaining movie that's compellingly bizarre, but only up to a point.

I wrote about Eddington, which is a movie that I liked after watching, but started to find problems with the more I thought about it.

Eddington: Times are tough all over, but especially for morons open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Jive Turkey Watching forgotten low-budget crime movies doesn't always pay off, but at least I can find something to enjoy.

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers Jive Turkey, a low-budget crime movie that isn’t especially good but does have some interesting elements.

Blaxploitation Education: Jive Turkey open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

When the Moon Hits Your Eye: Some ideas may or may not need to be explored John Scalzi takes a preposterous idea and tries to take it seriously, with surprisingly memorable results.

I wrote a review of @scalzi.com's latest novel, which manages to wring some interesting ideas and memorable human moments out of a silly idea about the moon turning into cheese.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye: Some ideas may or may not need to be explored open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Superman (2025): Up, up, and away for people who are really into cinematic universes While this movie does a good job of setting the stage for another shared universe, is that something people actually want anymore?

I reviewed the new Superman movie. I liked it quite a bit, although I did spend some time lamenting the need to connect everything to a larger shared universe.

Superman (2025): Up, up, and away for people who are really into cinematic universes open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: The Education of Sonny Carson A "message" movie that left me with too many questions about what it was actually trying to say.

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers an adaptation of an autobiography about a kid who gets involved in a street gang. I had some complaints, but it’s still a striking movie.

Blaxploitation Education: The Education of Sonny Carson open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

The Dream Hotel: Big Brother is watching your data and your dreams It doesn't take too much extrapolation to get from our current reality to a dystopia.

I reviewed The Dream Hotel, a novel that posits a future where people are locked up based on algorithms that predict whether they may commit crimes. It clearly gave me plenty of food for thought.

The Dream Hotel: Big Brother is watching your data and your dreams open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Uptown Saturday Night In which it becomes impossible to avoid talking about Bill Cosby.

My Blaxploitation review for this week looks at Uptown Saturday Night, which forced me to reckon with the legacy of Bill Cosby.

Blaxploitation Education: Uptown Saturday Night open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

I ordered one too!

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E13 A season finale that at least somewhat delivers on expectations.

I forgot to share this yesterday, but I wrote about the season finale of Lazarus. I thought it was fine, but I might have to change my viewing patterns whenever a second season happens.

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E13 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

I wrote a review of the second volume in the Murderbot Diaries series. These books are excellent, and I’m looking forward to reading more of them.

The Murderbot Diaries, Volume 2: Emotions can be hard to deal with open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Warren Peace Classic: MW, by Osamu Tezuka When consideirng stories about psychos, this is a memorable one.

I reposted an old review of mine looking at MW, by Osamu Tezuka. It’s a pretty wild story about a psychotic killer, with lots of transgressive content. Good stuff.

Warren Peace Classic: MW, by Osamu Tezuka open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Predator: Killer of Killers: That may be something of a misnomer If this is the new direction for the Predator movies, sign me up.

For my movie review this week, I wrote about the new animated Predator movie, which I thought was tons of fun. I’ll be happy if we get more along the lines of this movie and Prey.

Predator: Killer of Killers: That may be something of a misnomer open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Amazing Grace Older comedians take advantage of the Blaxploitation trend to try to make a difference.

My Blaxploitation review for this week covers Amazing Grace, a vehicle for the legendary Chitlin Circuit comedian Moms Mabley. Learning about her and her influence on Black comedy has been a real treat.

Blaxploitation Education: Amazing Grace open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Victorian Psycho: Eat the rich (and everyone else while you're at it) Spending some time in the mind of a madwoman doesn't have to be entirely unpleasant.

I reviewed Victorian Psycho, a horror novel that I found to be more funny than scary but still very enjoyable.

Victorian Psycho: Eat the rich (and everyone else while you're at it) open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E12 With one episode to go, the table has hopefully been set for a big finale.

I wrote about the second to last episode of Lazarus, and I complained about the highly uneven pacing of the season. One more episode to go, and at this point, I really don’t know if it’s going to be awesome or disappointing.

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E12 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

What the hell is a Souf?

Warren Peace Classic: The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert It's important to remember the real-life human tragedy that comes with war.

I reposted a review I wrote back in 2009, covering The Photographer, a very good book about a man’s experiences in a war zone in Afghanistan.

Warren Peace Classic: The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Three the Hard Way Having three top Blaxploitation stars team up is a great idea, but they deserved a better plot than this.

My latest Blaxploitation review covers Three the Hard Way, a team-up movie that has lots of fun action but a plot that is pretty dumb.

Blaxploitation Education: Three the Hard Way open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Anji Kills a King: Keep that story moving If you get bored with exposition and backstory, have I got a book for you.

I reviewed the new fantasy novel Anji Kills a King. It’s a solid, fast-moving adventure story, with lots of violence and some interesting examination of what it really means to fight against oppression.

Anji Kills a King: Keep that story moving open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E11 An action-heavy episode kicks off what is likely to be an extended finale.

I wrote about the latest episode of Lazarus, which is speeding toward what will hopefully be a satisfying conclusion to the season.

Gettin' My Eps In: Lazarus S1E11 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Warren Peace Classic: Dororo, Volume 2 Osamu Tezuka's supernatural samurai series continues to delight.

Since I wrote about the second volume of Search and Destroy this week, I also reposted my review of the second volume of that series’ inspiration, Dororo. Gotta love Osamu Tezuka!

Warren Peace Classic: Dororo, Volume 2 open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

In the Final Destination series, Death's plan seems kind of suspect Putting too much thought into a movie series that invites nothing of the sort.

I took a deep dive into the Final Destination series, trying to figure out if its mythology makes any sense and whether that even really matters.

In the Final Destination series, Death's plan seems kind of suspect open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Blaxploitation Education: Truck Turner Isaac Hayes, of all people, stars in an especially entertaining example of Blaxploitation action.

This week’s Blaxploitation review was a fun one, featuring Isaac Hayes as a bounty hunter, a great supporting cast, and lots of crazy action. It's highly entertaining and shouldn’t be missed by fans of the genre.

Blaxploitation Education: Truck Turner open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...

Search and Destroy, Volume 2: Thirst for power ruins lives The second installment of Atsushi Kaneko's adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Dororo evokes emotions, including anger at inequality.

I published a review of the second volume of Search and Destroy, the cool action manga that’s a cyberpunk adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo.

Search and Destroy, Volume 2: Thirst for power ruins lives open.substack.com/pub/matthewb...