Youtube channel banner as at 10 April 2024

(1) DESPOT OF ANTRIM (SOUTH KOREA 2019)

“You will hear my thoughts on movies, TV shows, media companies and the cultural and political influences that go into them.”

Shortened to the Despot, just as my previous entry is shortened to the Drinker, his accent reveals him as the Irish member of my holy trinity of caustic critics hailing from the British Isles, although his Youtube bio has his location as South Korea. That – and the reference in one of his videos to Taiwan – might well originate from his former life as a teacher, to which he also has referred.

I can’t help but feel that his former life as a teacher is also revealed in the analytical style and sequence of his video content, such that you can almost see his video scripts in the same style as lesson plans. I’m a sucker for a systematic logical sequence, although the downside is that his video content tends to be by far the longest of my holy trinity. And I’m a sucker for a black sense of humor with an Irish accent – both of which you get in spades in his videos, or “taking the p*ss” as he puts it.

I’m obviously not the only one – as at April 2024, he released videos for the milestone of 10 and 1,000 subscribers respectively only a year previously but his channel subsequently ballooned to 86,800 subscribers.

His epic takedowns of film or TV are things of beauty to behold, often released with subtitles “Anatomy of a Disaster” or “So Much Worse than You Think” – my absolute favorite was his annihilation of Rings of Power, but other highlights include his videos savaging Bros and the Netflix Cleopatra documentary.

Oh and I looked it up – Antrim is actually a town (and district) in Ireland. So there you go.

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD-TIER – OR SHOULD THAT BE DESPOT-TIER?)

Youtube channel banner as at 9 March 2024

(2) THE CRITICAL DRINKER (UNITED KINGDOM 2006)

“I drink and I say things. I’m here to deliver reviews, breakdowns and analysis on modern entertainment media. Expect a healthy dose of sarcasm, biting criticism and low-functioning alcoholism.”

The second of my holy trinity of Youtube popular culture commentators hailing from the British Isles as its Scottish member – and Youtube alter ego of writer Will Jordan. He perhaps prompts the most controversy of the trinity, given that he has a profile of an entirely different higher order of magnitude than the other two – closing in on 2 million followers – and people online seem to love him or hate him with little middle ground.

I fall somewhere in between, although obviously falling more towards the former, given I’ve placed him second in my Top 10 Youtube rankings. The fact that there is such a divide – and that it is so intense – between his fans and his critics may well illustrate his recurring theme about political messaging in entertainment media (or as he puts it in his videos, the MESSAGE!), as his fans and his critics are usually on opposite sides of that message.

I often don’t agree with his criticism or for that matter his recommendations but I usually find them entertaining, which is my primary criterion for these rankings. The usual example off the top of my head is his criticism of Midsommar – I agree that film is flawed but for different reasons than the Drinker and which do not detract from my appreciation of the film as a whole, particularly for its visual and stylistic elements.

Similarly, the points where I disagree with the Drinker do not detract from my appreciation of the Drinker’s video content as a whole, including the persona he adopts for it – “a Scottish drunkard with a crude attitude, a penchant for black comedy, speaks in biting sarcasm and snark, and frequently uses running gags and catchphrases” as well as a “snide demeanor…juxtaposed by his intelligent critique of the art of filmmaking and storytelling.”

Although he can be as caustic as the other two members of my holy trinity of caustic critics from the British Isles, he is perhaps the most positive of them – with videos appreciating or recommending films or TV series, including some that might surprise those on the other side of his caustic catchphrases “updated for modern audiences” and “reflecting the world we live in today”, as well as videos proposing ways to fix the issues he criticizes.

Also I have a soft spot for Tatiana, the Critical Drinker’s fictional muse and with whom he is said (by himself) “to live out many of his most perverted desires”.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

Youtube channel banner – 8 April 2024

(3) REAPER (UNITED KINGDOM 2022)

“Christ – who wrote this?!”

And now we come – perhaps aptly enough given the featured tagline for this entry – to my holy trinity of Youtube popular culture criticism, all hailing from the British Isles interestingly enough, one from each of its holy trinity of England, Scotland and Ireland.

(Sorry, Wales – you miss out. You’ll just have to make do with Mauler, the only Welsh Youtuber I know – and whom I like well enough, except I tend to skip out on the notorious length of his content).

All three are classic caustic critics but Reaper is perhaps the most entertainingly embittered of them, often in the most, ah, incorrect ways. He does profess to like a few things, or at least occasionally comment on positive aspects or potential, but mostly he is tearing whatever film or TV series he is reviewing a new one – and hard!

He’s the English member of my holy trinity of caustic critics by the way.

If nothing else, he put me on to The Inbetweeners, the British TV comedy series with its delinquent high school cast of characters – and particularly the toweringly sarcastic teacher Mr. Gilbert (played by Greg Davies, funnily enough an ex-teacher turned actor and comedian).

That’s a quote from Mr Gilbert in the featured tagline – from a brief clip that Reaper plays as a recurring gag for, you guessed it, flaws that he perceives in the writing for film or TV scripts.

Unfortunately, the mere quote does not convey the sheer tone of annoyed exasperation in its line delivery, prompting me to quote it regularly in my office – rivalled only by the quote by Matt Berry from “What We Do in the Shadows” (I think) which Reaper often uses as conclusion for his video reviews, “it’s a piece of sh*t!”.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

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Youtube channel banner as at 31 March 2024

(4) HONEST TRAILERS – SCREEN JUNKIES (USA 2008)

“Enjoy our warped take on film & TV with a steady stream of pop-culture parody, original series, thoughtful commentary, and whatever we can think of next…Trailers that tell you the TRUTH about your favorite movies and TV shows: Honest Trailers. These are the hilarious trailers the producers don’t want you to see”

Similar to the fictional pitch meetings in my previous entry, the framing device for the video content here consists of fictional trailers – if they were honest about the plot holes and other issues in their films, although often still positive about the film itself (in the style of what TV Tropes – with which they seem to overlap at times – dubs affectionate parody).

Highlights include the starring credit puns – and of course the narration by Epic Voice Guy, whose voice is so epic fans write in asking him to narrate things at the end of each video.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

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Youtube channel banner as at 31 March 2024

(5) PITCH MEETINGS (CANADA 2022 – formerly part of Screen Rant USA 2008)

“Actually it’s going to be super easy, barely an inconvenience.”

Instead of the channel blurb, I couldn’t resist quoting its signature catchphrase – indeed so signature that the videos even originally went by the title Super Easy, Barely an Inconvenience – Screen Rant Pitch Meetings.

That catchphrase is routinely invoked by one of the duo of characters that appear in each video, the screenwriter played by Canadian comedian Ryan George, when pitching his film or TV series script in the titular fictional pitch meetings for popular films or series to the second of the duo, the film producer also played by Ryan George.

Invoked that is, by the screenwriter to dismiss the apparently irreconcilable narrative conflict or obstacle into which he has written his characters when the producer queries that very point – and seemingly accepted without any further argument by the producer.

Indeed, much of the exchange between them is the producer querying issues – being surprisingly “adept at spotting the problematic aspects of whatever he’s being pitched” – but fortunately for the screenwriter, is also easily distracted or deflected, usually by love of money as “a profit-obsessed doormat”.

One of my favorite aspects is how the screenwriter and producer seem to alternate playing the straight man to the other’s absurd thought processes or enthusiasm, only to be distracted or deflected by ulterior motives – usually profit for the producer and pride for the screenwriter, often to the detriment of the final product.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

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Youtube channel banner as at 2 April 2024

(6) MEDIA ZEALOT (NEW ZEALAND 2014)

“Media Zealot casts judgement on all things entertainment related. Prepare thyself for lashings of over-analysis, questionable criticisms, and uncomfortably long tangents, all held together by a relentless barrage of semi-satirical cynicism. Your sacrament is a grain of salt.”

The second of my antipodean popular culture critics in my top ten – although dare I say it, from the Lesser Antipodes that is New Zealand as opposed to the Greater Antipodes that is Australia. (Cue the esoteric bad geography joke on the Lesser and Greater Antilles. Yes – they’re a thing. Look it up!)

Anyway, the particular focus of Media Zealot is on cinematic fantasy and science fiction – with his two long-running playlists of videos, Villains Too Stupid to Win, and SF Civilizations Too Stupid to Really Exist, which are each pretty much exactly what they say on the tin.

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Youtube channel banner as at 31 March 2024

(7) IT’S A GUNDAM (USA 2015)

“The voice of a disenfranchised generation. Culture critic, trash comedian, failed musician. I’m the triple threat.”

Perhaps the most caustic of the caustic critics in my top ten and the most wide-ranging in his criticism, which might be broadly characterized as extending throughout online or social media controversy, popular culture criticism and social commentary.

He has a particular focus on the, ah, questionable aspects to be found among the perpetually – and, ahem, progressively – online, especially on Twitter or X as something of his happy hunting grounds for subject material for his video content. However, I can’t help but laugh as he nails the absurd outrage and indignation you see hyped online. Whatever you may think of his content, he does have comedic style.

No doubt he thrives on the outrage – particular highlights for me in his content are where he uses clips as running gags to mock the incoming outrage at someone daring to say such things, such as Sansa Stark saying “he’s a monster” (or more recently a clip of unknown origin to me – “Stop him!”). Also his running gag of calling to his poor overworked video editor – Stu? Stew? – “EDIT THAT OUT!”

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Youtube channel banner as at 28 March 2024

(8) JUST SOME GUY (USA 2017)

“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

Yes – that’s from Bilbo’s birthday speech in the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring. And yes – somehow it seems as apt for his style of snark as it did for Bilbo’s speech.

And yes – he’s another caustic critic in my top ten, albeit even-handed in his caustic criticism between left and right in the so-called culture war. As the Bilbo in his bio suggests, he has a particular focus on The Lord of the Rings franchise – his epic takedown of The Rings of Power TV series was a thing of beauty to behold.

However, his prolific video content goes well beyond The Lord of the Rings – comics are another particular focus but he ranges throughout popular culture and social commentary. He also has one of my favorite opening sequences in my top ten Youtubers. 

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Youtube channel banner as at 27 March 2024

(9) ROBOT HEAD (AUSTRALIA 2018)

“I’m a guy that’s been lucky enough to create a Youtube channel that people seem to actually like. My YouTube videos are highly edited and draw on many years of watching movies to point out how some films are very good while others are very, very bad. (I’m looking at you, Last Jedi). Cheers!”

He’s Australian, with that Aussie accent proudly on display in his videos – and he’s an Archer fan, borrowing Archer’s cartoon likeness (from Archer’s ‘space’ season) for his video avatar at one point. What’s not to love?

He’s also on Twitter X, where he has the occasional epic battle in replies.

The first but hardly the last caustic critic in my top ten – with a particular focus on the Star Wars franchise, particularly for his more caustic criticism.

Also the first of two antipodean popular culture critics in my top ten – yes, I have a New Zealander entry to add to this Australian one.

RATING: 4 STARS****

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

Youtube channel banner as at 26 March 2024

(10) SUPERCUT DELIGHTS (USA 2019)

“I primarily make video essays and the occasional meme video on popular shows and movies. I used to make supercuts / minute-straight videos until transitioning into what the channel is today.”

As per the bio and channel name, this Youtuber started off with ‘supercuts’ or short ‘clip’ videos – splicing together clips from television or film, usually to a running gag or theme, with the most common being “devoid of logic” as demonstrated from recurring video titles e.g. “Season 8 of Game of Thrones Being Devoid of Logic”.

And as that sample video title indicates, the original focus of the channel was Game of Thrones – and while that (and House of the Dragon) remains a substantial focus, the channel has long since branched off into other TV series or film.

While my favorite type of popular culture criticism remains that of sarcasm and snark – what TV Tropes dubs the Caustic Critic, something we’ll see much more of in this top ten – Supercuts Delights is perhaps the most measured reviewer in my top ten as well as the one with least of an ax to grind, often alternating positive appreciation with negative criticism, even on the same subject or in matching videos. For example, he did a video on the Top 10 Characters Ruined by the Last Seasons of Game of Thrones – as well as a video on the top ten characters that weren’t. Similarly, for an example that does not use Game of Thrones, he did a video of the top ten best changes made by the recent Netflix live-action series of Avatar: The Last Airbender – and a video of the worst.

There’s not much more to say – I’m always a fan of top ten or similar lists, but contrary to the impression you might have from the video titles I noted above, he does more straightforward reviews as well. He also tends to be admirably compact, keeping his video content relatively short and without any bloat in duration.

RATING: 4 STARS****

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