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The Agony Booth: Difference between revisions
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[http://www.agonybooth.com/ The Agony Booth] (named after [[Agony Beam|a torture device]] on ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'') is a website that for most of its history has posted recaps of [[So Bad
Unlike many movie sites, Agony Booth isn't run by fanboys; most of the mods are older professionals (their ranks include a computer programmer, a teacher, a lawyer, a soldier, etc.), some of whom are (or have been) professional authors. The house style is therefore based around thoughtful criticisms of technical and storytelling faults as well as less tangible qualities. They are willing [[Deadpan Snarker|to mock anything]], but will almost never do so without backing it up. As such, the Booth tends to have a "nothing is sacred" policy. (While it's become more apparent with the shift towards videos, it's actually always been the case, as bad films with sizable cult followings were ripe targets from the start.) The writers also have a tendency to use [[
In recent years, in fact, the site's core mission -- while still fundamentally cynical -- has veered further and further into affectionate nostalgia, with a burgeoning TV-recap section that besides the Worst of Trek includes ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]'', ''[[Degrassi Junior High]]'', ''[[Jem and The Holograms]]'' and ''[[Knight Rider]]''. These now make up the bulk of the site's postings, while films or TV shows that aren't being recapped regularly appear more occasionally then they once did.
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* [[Accentuate the Negative]]: Sometimes they recognize a few things are well-done, but that's not why they're recapping the movies.
** Averted with Cecil Trachenburg; the movies he does are ones he thinks [[Needs More Love|Need More Love]] or are [[So Bad
* [[All
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: Among others, they've declared that [http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Repo__The_Genetic_Opera_2008.aspx Rotti Largo] of ''[[Repo the Genetic Opera]]'' is a pedophile and [http://www.agonybooth.com/movies/Its_a_Wonderful_Life_1946.aspx Mary Bailey] is the real villain of ''~It's A Wonderful Life~''.
* [[Angst Dissonance]]: In-universe, Mr. Mendo opens a serious question in his ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' review with a sarcastic acknowledgement that this movie doesn't speak to him in the way it does a lot of college students since he had to join the army.
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* [[Batman Gambit]]: Referenced and inverted on [http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Saturday_Morning_Glory/Super_Friends_Lord_of_Middle_Earth.aspx Saturday Morning Glory]:
{{quote| '''Ryan''': "Then Malhavok shows up, so Batman tosses out a lame taunt to get him to break the dragon's chain. Somehow, I doubt this is going down as one of the great Batman Gambits." (Accompanied by a screen shot of that very page!)}}
* [[B
* [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]]: Mr. Mendo's can be seen from behind his shades, which aren't exactly small...
* [[Brick Joke]]: Just who ARE the Overlords of the UFO, anyway?
** Ditto Mr. Mendo's kickboxing obsessed teddy bear.
* [[Broken Aesop]]: As Mr. Mendo [http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Mr_Mendos_Hack_Attack/Forrest_Gump.aspx points out], [[Forrest Gump]] teaches us that one man can make a difference, as long as he never thinks or makes a decision for himself.
** Or, [http://www.agonybooth.com/video_shows/Mr_Mendos_Hack_Attack/Scott_Pilgrim_vs_the_World.aspx on] [[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)|Scott Pilgrim]]: "Do you really buy that this movie is about Scott gaining self-respect, or do you wonder when we were supposed to notice that he had no self-respect, before or after hooking up with three hot chicks and fighting and obliterating six people?"
* [[Buffy
* [[Catch Phrase]]: "[[Wikipedia (Wiki)|Wikipedia]] is your friend."
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: The forums tend to attract some rather... strange people.
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* [[Determinator]]: Mr. Mendo managed to write and film the first two episodes of his show despite being ''in the middle of a war zone!''
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: Given the level of detail in the recaps, the occasional error tends to stand out.
* [[Did I Just Say That Out Loud?]]: Often a recapper will say something extremely perverse, then follow it with a note to themselves to edit it out before posting.
** "Don't forget now!"
* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: Comparing the early recap-plus-snark (with rare, off-center images) of fairly obscure terrible movies, to the later work, with both Agonizer analysis and recaps which go from box office bombs to [[Love It or Hate It|divisive]] [[Contested Sequel|work]] (with frequent, large images) is jarring. And then there's the video reviews...
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* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Mr. Mendo may eat puppies, but [http://www.agonybooth.com/video_shows/Mr_Mendos_Hack_Attack/Ilsa_She_Wolf_SS_Salo_120_Days_Sodom.aspx even he] feels bad about [[Heroic BSOD|forcing Fear Fan]] to watch ''[[Ilsa She Wolf of the SS]]'' and ''[[Salo Or The 120 Days Of Sodom]]'' [[Moral Event Horizon|about twenty times each]].
** Conversely, they determine that, while Salo may be the more disturbing film, it still claims the moral high ground over Ilsa, since at least Salo isn't intended to be titilating.
* [[
* [[Fanfic Fuel]]: Noted a few times [[In Universe]].
{{quote| '''Ryan''': "Fanfiction writers, you have your new assignment. Don't let me down."}}
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** "[[Southland Tales|Megazepplin]]".
* [[Got Me Doing It]]
* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]]: The ''[[Mamma Mia]]'' review.
{{quote| '''Jordon Davis''': (Repeatedly) "...I'm not gay." }}
* [[Hero With an F In Good|Heroine With An F In Good]]: From [http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Myra_Breckinridge_1970.aspx Myra Breckinridge]:
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{{quote| ...no, no, it's just too stupid. You'll never believe me if I just blurt it out like this. }}
* [[Notable References to TV Tropes]]: More than a few links to us on some of the recaps, including links to [[Fetish Fuel]], and [[Chekhov's Gun]].
* [[No Yay]]: [[Invoked]]. Recapper Jessica describes the relationship between [[Bruce Willis (Creator)]] and his sidekick in ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'' as "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name For A Damned Good Reason".
* [[Oh Crap There Are Fanfics of Us]]: Inverted. Mendo not only ''encourages'' people to write fanfic about him, but [http://www.agonybooth.com/video417_Mendopiece_Fanfic_Theatre_Scott_Pilgrim.aspx will read it on the show!]
* [[Overly Long Gag]]: From the recap of ''[[Mamma Mia]]'': "(Amanda Seyfried's) blazingly hot in a very not-[[Natalie Portman]] kind of way, if you get my meaning. I'm saying Amanda's more of a nordic beauty. She doesn't celebrate Shemini Atzeret too gaudily. She can't get wholesale prices on diamonds. [http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Mamma_Mia__2008.aspx?Page=2 Jewish. She's not Jewish.]"
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