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March 29, 2024, 09:53:08 AM

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The shitness of AVGN

Started by Twed, May 09, 2019, 03:59:06 PM

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Twed

...was not shitness after all, but a bad appraisal by me, an idiot.

He's good, isn't he? I will never like the main superficial element of his stuff. I hate forced, compound swearing because it sounds like 14 year old boys. Swearing should be done as if you don't care, as if it hurts your soul to speak and all you can utter is a curse, or it should come from a place of genuine anger, frustration or malice ("Monty, you terrible cunt!"/"Shut the fuck up you prancing shit"). I will never like "THIS IS JUST A BUNCH OF ASSBALLS THAT GOT A DEGREE IN ASSOLOGY AND BECOME A PROFESSOR IN ASS SCIENCE", the word ASS emphasised each time in a way that makes it sound like you're taking advantage of your parents not being in earshot.

But the rest of it is all so good. He's what Kevin Smith would be if Kevin Smith wasn't a creepy, useless manchild. He clearly loves cinema, and is able to pay homage to it all in a way that feels accomplished and charmingly homemade. Despite his means he hasn't lost that style. It's like he was given a cable show in the 90s and never stopped doing it.

The latest episode about Pepsiman floored me in the second half. Full of jokes that were dumb in a clever way.

St_Eddie

I like AVGN/Cinemassacre but I was absolutely fuming when James and Mike played Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine for the N64.  I was proper shouting at the screen.  I won't say why and instead see how long it takes those who've not seen that video before to twig as to why it makes for such infuriating viewing.  For people who love games as much as they do, they can be really thick in regards to their favoured hobby sometimes.

Overall though, I do enjoy their output.  However, I do agree with you when it comes to the whole swearing thing, Twed.  That's easily the worst aspect of the AVGN videos.

VelourSpirit

I really really love that he's just like I remember him in 2006, but in HD. Sometimes he's so funny in an odd way, I can't really describe it , like if it was anyone else it'd really not be funny at all, and I don't even know if he finds it funny in the same way himself https://youtu.be/Sr_rd6DpxM0?t=901

canadagoose

I was about to rage in here and go NO HE'S GOOD ACTUALLY, but thankfully I didn't have to. Have enjoyed his stuff for ages now. His newer stuff sometimes seems a bit less puerile than his older stuff (which is a shame), but I still enjoy his takes on all those weird old '80s and '90s games. And as much as I get scared by dislike horror movies, I like how he does horror-themed sections on his videos.

Replies From View

The Angry Video Game Nerd character is dreadful.  Horribly written compound swearing, exaggerated annoyance, plus a theme tune that screams "switch this off now".

I have enjoyed some of the Board James videos though, and James and Mike Mondays.  Whenever he's not playing that wretched character, basically.

Bazooka

Cinemassacre is probably my favourite online thing other than FakeTaxi of course. I love James, his kids are lucky to have such a nerd dad. I will agree I don't love the AVGN character every time but James Rolfe is so likeable and the subject matter just elevates it, I dunno I like the character.

But Cinemassacre as a whole is brilliant, James's love of cinema especially the Hammer horror and Godzilla series is endearing to watch.

The film was absolutely shit, great idea, but sometimes its just not meant to be, the AVGN game is very good despite never being able to complete it because its NOT EASY.

Yeah keep on trucking James and Mike.

bgmnts

Yeah thumbs up to Cinemassacre as a whole. He obviously loves cinema and it is very refreshing.

Sometimes the swearing is funny - like firing a gun by shouting fuck into a nintendo headset - but a lot of the time, yeah its for 14 year olds.

He is one of those comfort watches though, hundreds of videos I greq up and have seen before and can put on to help me go to sleep to, or eat dinner.

I don't know much about cinema obviously but in my shit ppinion I think he is a talented film maker.

Johnny Textface

Yeah he's good. His recent analysis of which films are most faithful to the famous gothic novel by Bram Stoker is pretty painstaking and well worth a watch.

Quote from: Replies From View on May 09, 2019, 10:26:50 PM
The Angry Video Game Nerd character is dreadful.  Horribly written compound swearing, exaggerated annoyance, plus a theme tune that screams "switch this off now".

You're off your tits.

madhair60

He's the best. He's the only who understood that getting angry at videogames is absurd.

He's a charming, earnest idiot. A big palooka.

madhair60

Quote from: Replies From View on May 09, 2019, 10:26:50 PM
theme tune that screams "switch this off now".

"He's gonna take you back to the past/ to play the shitty games that suck ass" is an opening that Bernie Taupin would kill for

Replies From View

To play the rubbish games that aren't good
He'd rather eeeeaaaat the rotten arsehoooole
Of a roadkill skunk
And down it with beer



It just scans so well.

Hey, Punk!

Whatever his faults, he beats Doug Walker by a fucking mile. Doug might be a nice feller, but his shrieking hysterical persona is fucking shite.

Swoz_MK

Does he still say Diarrhoea every second word?


SavageHedgehog

His videos are hit and miss and, as is generally the case with humorous online reviews, got a lot longer while mostly not getting any funnier, but I think they're generally worth a look and I've found out about all kids of fascinatingly odd video game ephemera through him.

I do sometimes (but not always) find Mike a bit creepy and off-putting in his sycophancy though, and those "rental reviews" he started with his mostly not particularly interesting or insightful friends are kind of useless.

boki

Quote from: SavageHedgehog on May 10, 2019, 02:04:18 PMI've found out about all kids
IBYHYDOB, IBYFH

I'm a big fan of Rolfe's swearing.  Haven't bothered with any of his movie content as I'm not a big film buff, worth it anyway?

biggytitbo

I really like him when hes been himself, very genial. The angry character can still be funny but its so tired at this point he's just repeating himself 3 or 4 times over.

Bazooka

James isn't really doing AVGN anymore, he's that grounded and earnest that he knew it was time to stop milking it, and move the channel in a different direction.

Replies From View

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on May 10, 2019, 12:10:24 PM
Whatever his faults, he beats Doug Walker by a fucking mile. Doug might be a nice feller, but his shrieking hysterical persona is fucking shite.

Yes this is true.  There's something smug and insincere about Doug in his "just being myself" persona.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

"Bullfuck" could well be the most inept bit of swearing ever attempted and he insisted on making a catchphrase of it.

Also, why is he always chugging beer? That's not nerdy behaviour.

Twed

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on May 10, 2019, 04:54:38 PM
"Bullfuck" could well be the most inept bit of swearing ever attempted and he insisted on making a catchphrase of it.

Also, why is he always chugging beer? That's not nerdy behaviour.
I think he's the Michael Douglas in Downfall kind of nerd.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I don't remember him in that. Did he play Himmler? He was the nerdiest looking one.

madhair60

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on May 10, 2019, 04:54:38 PM
"Bullfuck" could well be the most inept bit of swearing ever attempted and he insisted on making a catchphrase of it.

I laughed just reading it back though.

Cowabunga? Cowa fuckin' piece of dog shit!

Still funny. I'm sorry that I am like this

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

He did one over Christmas with Macaulay Culkin what was quite funny.

Rolf Lundgren

I miss the Bootsy videos, especially the James and Mike Monday ones. There were various rumours but they never revealed what went on there and his replacement, that bloke who never washed his hair whose name I can't remember, was nowhere near as good.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on May 10, 2019, 12:10:24 PM
Whatever his faults, he beats Doug Walker by a fucking mile.
Talk about faint praise.

St_Eddie

#26
Doug Walker really is gubbins.  Those fucking terrible, deeply unfunny, ego-serving skits, which manage to make three minutes seem like an eternity.  Also, those appalling endings to his videos where a slow and emotional piano piece starts playing, whilst Doug summarises about a movie he likes or an editorial piece on movies in general but delivers his lines in a way which says 'I am being deeply profound right now'.  Those closing speeches all follow a similar template...

"Yeah, okay, so maybe this movie isn't the best.  It has some cheesy moments and at times, it can even make some leaps of logic... but you know what?  Maybe that's okay.  Maybe sometimes it can be a good thing to just be a fun movie.  It might not be to everyone's taste and again, that's okay but for others, a little cheese can brighten up an otherwise gloomy day and after all, isn't that the magic of cinema?  I've been the Nostalgia Critic.  I remember it, so you don't have to."

So many of his videos end in that same way.  Every time accompanied by that fucking piano piece and Doug's 'I'm being so very, very profound' tone of voice.  It's not profound.  It's utter bollocks.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on May 10, 2019, 06:47:05 PM
He did one over Christmas with Macaulay Culkin what was quite funny.

Personally, I found it to be cringe worthy.

Phil_A

Quote from: Hey, Punk! on May 10, 2019, 12:10:24 PM
Whatever his faults, he beats Doug Walker by a fucking mile. Doug might be a nice feller

I'm not even sure he is, is he? Certainly that dossier of Channel Awesome's misdeeds that was doing the rounds last year did not paint him in a flattering light. The best you could say was he's just incompetent and hopelessly naive, at worst so self-absorbed and ego-driven that he was incapable of realising what an utter shitshow he was largely responsible for. He's probably not as much of an arsehole as his terrible brother, I guess.

bgmnts

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on May 10, 2019, 06:47:05 PM
He did one over Christmas with Macaulay Culkin what was quite funny.

Caulkin has been whoring himself around like a right tart.

He did an intro for OSW Review and was in an episode of RLM's Half in the Bag. Trying to be another Wil Wheaton-esque minor nerd celeb?