There are conventions and clichés througout cinema. However, there are just some that are so bad and so overused that they are instant evidence of lazy writing, amateurish direction, and a recipe for a bad actor. Therefore, I am listing 10 that I want to cease.

10. Underwear jokes

These have been common ever since the days of silent film, but they are a sign that the involved parties with a movie or TV show has no idea how to write an original joke and does not care about what he/she puts out. These jokes are often made worse when sex is a large part of the movie, and can be unfunny or downright vulgar depending on how they're implemented.

9. Describing a person as a "Loser"

These are prevalent in kids' movies and TV shows, but if a film is rated PG13 or higher, there is no reason for this word to be there. It's dated, it's stupid, and I would rather people used profanities in movies than antiquated slang like this.

8. The "Matrix" camera pan

The Matrix was a groundbreaking film in storytelling and visual effects, but most people only remember it for those sideways stop+slow motion+restart action camera pans it pioneered. Within the time after the movie came out, it appeared in Shrek. It appeared in Osmosis Jones. It appeared in Kung Pow. It appeared in Cats and Dogs. It appeared in way too many TV episodes. While opinions remain split on the two Matrix sequels, most people can agree that it moved the visual effects way forward. But, other movies continued to use the camera pan from the 1999 film to the point of ad nauseum. When it got to Gnomeo and Juliet, the appearance of that pan in the trailer made sure I would not see the film. Special effects in movies have changed since 1999, and so other filmmakers need to.

7. Overuse of the Dolly-zoom shot

When this type of camera shot first appeared in Vertigo, it changed the way people filmed movies forever. If used properly, it can accentuate the story of the movie. However, when it's used over and over (offenders include Speed Racer, Transformers, and 300), it can make a movie agonizing to sit through. 

6. Constant extreme closeups

This appears a lot in animated/live action films like Space Jam, Speed Racer, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. When the camera zooms so close when you can't see their entire face, that's equivalent to a violation of personal space for me. How would you like it if you tried to talk to someone and you were sitting so close to them you couldn't see their whole face? It would be really annoying, wouldn't it?

5. Oversimplified/sanitized depictions of high school

This appears in Prom and High School Musical. This is a high school with no bathroom graffiti, no litter, no students that drink, smoke, do drugs, or look at porn, and are always on time and doing well. This is a flatout, boldfaced lie. If you depict how a high school and its students and faculty really are, like in Dazed and Confused, Superbad, and the earlier parts of the John Hughes catalog, it helps people accept reality and learn how to deal with it better. Glee gets a lot of bad press for how bubbly it is, but I think a school with people of multiple races, interests, physical and mental status, and sexual orientation says more than having a white, straight, school with no real wit or conflict.

4. Misuse of CGI despite a high budget (usually $100 million or more)

This appears in GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the Fast and the Furious sequels, and too many failed animated films to count. I understand it is a safety concern to drive real cars and fly real planes for stunts; which is why more directors instead opt to build a cockpit, put it in a gimbal, and have it move while the actor sits in it and a guy with a controller plays it like a game of Mario Kart. The problem is, if you can't make the effect look convincing, it comes of as just a lousy procedure used to cut costs and corners. In GI Joe, that cost $175 million, and the CGI has a rather crucial lack of texture mapping. Every scene with a plane looked less like an action movie and more like a game of Ace Combat. As for most racing car movies, if you can put an actor in a motion simulator and have him drive a fake car while a CG artist fills in the rest, you can train him to drive a real stunt car like in Bullitt or The Gumball Rally.

3. Choppy editing

This happens in Prince of Persia, Inspector Gadget, and the majority of movies directed by Michael Bay. It's when the editing is spliced together so much that the scenery changes every 1/500 of a second. This is often made worse by the fact that this can now be combined with 3D, making the potential for seizures all too high. So, just take your time editing the movie, and both me and my retinas will thank you for it. (Note: I have been nearsighted and wearing eyeglasses for 14 years.)

2. Building elaborate machines to kill a person instead of just shooting them

This is an obvious trait if kids' movies now, but it is also common in confused adventure movies for adults and old spy movies. In fact, this cliché was so common in that genre that they even made fun of it in Austin Powers. Scott: You're not even going to watch them? Dr. Evil: No, I'm going to leave them in an improbable contraption with one inept guard that they could easily escape. Scott: I have a gun in my room. You give me 5 seconds, I'll go get it, come back down here-BOOM!-blow their brains out. I'll allow in it kids' movies, but if you're targeting 18-to-49 year olds, a bullet works better in a pinch.

1. Ageism

This is a forced description of how one thinks both kids and adults should behave on and offscreen. I would love it if this was subverted in every way possible. Kids mature a lot faster now, and adults often stay kids longer. More movies should accept and reflect that.

13. Jurassic Park (1993)

12. The Lion King (1994)

11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

10. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)

9. Superman: The Movie (1978)

8. Batman (1989)

7. Pokémon: The First Movie (1999)

6. Spirited Away (2002)

5. Toy Story (1995)

4. Toy Story 2 (1999)

3. The NeverEnding Story (1985)

2. Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990)

1. Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983)

100. The Social Network (2010)

99. Platoon (1986)

98. Superman (1978)

97. Sin City (2005)

96. Castle in the Sky (1987)

95. Titanic (1997)

94. Watchmen (2009)

93. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

92. The Patriot (2000)

91. American Beauty (1999)

90. Heavy Metal (1981)

89. Wizards (1977)

88. Alice In Wonderland (1951)

87. Total Recall (1990)

86. The Beatles Yellow Submarine (1968)

85. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2008)

84. Aladdin (1992)

83. Tron Legacy (2010)

82. Into the Wild (2007)

81. How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

80. Batman (1989)

79. Gladiator (2000)

78. All Quiet on the Western Front (1931)

77. 300 (2007)

76. Tron (1982)

75. Halloween (1978)

74. The Shining (1980)

73. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1967)

72. Romeo and Juliet (1968)

71. 8 Mile (2002)

70. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

69. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds (1983)

68. Mary Poppins (1969)

67. Casablanca (1942)

66. 28 Days Later (2002)

65. Superbad (2007)

64. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

63. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

62. Jaws (1975)

61. Tropic Thunder (2008)

60. Casino Royale (2006)

59. V For Vendetta (2006)

58. Stop-Loss (2007)

57. Wayne's World (1992)

56. The Neverending Story (1985)

55. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

54. Goldfinger (1964)

53. An Inconvenient Truth (2007)

52. The Terminator (1984)

51. Home Alone (1990)

50. Blades of Glory (2006)

49. Iron Man (2008)

48. The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

47. Finding Neverland (2004)

46. Hendrix (2000)

45. Hook (1994)

44. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

43. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

42. Rebel Without A Cause (1954)

41. Pokémon The Movie 2000 (2000)

40. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1974)

39. Tootsie (1982)

38. Time Bandits (1983)

37. Fargo (1996)

36. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

35. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

33. Super Size Me (2003)

32. The Sixth Sense (1999)

31. Avatar (2009)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

29. Toy Story 2 (1999)

28. Brazil (1985)

27. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

26. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

25. Blade Runner (1982)

24. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

23. The Godfather (1972)

22. The Godfather, Part II (1974)

21. Toy Story (1995)

20. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

19. Some Like It Hot (1959)

18. Fight Club (1999)

17. ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982)

16. The Iron Giant (1999)

15. Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005)

14. The Matrix (1999)

13. Akira (1988)

12. Rain Man (1988)

11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

10. Spirited Away (2002)

9. Pulp Fiction (1994)

8. Jurassic Park (1993)

7. Citizen Kane (1941)

6. Star Wars (1977)

5. Up (2009)

4. WALL-E (2008)

3. Toy Story 3 (2010)

2. Star Trek (2009)

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

10. Temple Grandin (2009)

9. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005)

8. Transformers (2007)

7. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

6. Nacho Libre (2006)

5. Cats Don't Dance (1996)

4. Distant Drums (1953)

3. Romancing the Stone (1984)

2. The Mighty Ducks (1992)

1. The Polar Express (2004)

Ever since the advent of Web 2.0, there has been web video. Anyone with a webcam can easily post their thoughts on whatever floats their boat. There is one site, however, that took the concept of using a video to express thoughts and expanding it into something more. I am talking about That Guy With The Glasses.

The site is entering its third year, so I will give my thoughts on it. I will tell you about reviewers that I've seen at least two videos of, and give a rating to them. So, here we go.

Doug Walker, aka The Nostalgia Critic and Chester Bum

Doug is probably the most well-known reviewer on the site. The Nostalgia Critic and Bum Reviews are hands down the most popular videos that come out of the site. The Nostalgia Critic reviews movies and TV shows of the 1980s and 1990s that have had bad reputations for one reason or another. Chester Bum reviews modern films, with Doug giving what he really thinks after the review is finished.

I will handle The Nostalgia Critic first. I personally do not mind his swearing, as I have lived with very profane people in my family. Even though I liked some of the titles he reviewed, like the Pokemon movie and Space Jam, that did not stop me from enjoying and laughing at his reviews. NC also got me into films that I had previously never heard of and started my habit of watching bad movies on purpose. Two of his most famous reviews would definitely be his review of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Even though he has admitted to liking the series, he bashed it anyway; as per his usual caustic style. Hilarity ensues as he cannot fathom the infinitely silly universe he sees. The other would be his review of The Room. He broke his long-standing "nothing after 2000" rule to review what is considered to be the king of bad movies. Not long after, Wiseau Films demanded the removal of the review, despite it being fair use under government terms; even when Doug advised viewers to go see the full movie at the end of his review.

Now, for Chester Bum. This persona is a hyperactive transient who uses his change to go see movies. He offers interesting takes on modern cinema. The most interesting parts of these reviews are Doug's real thoughts on the movie after the review. This culminated when he took at least two paragraphs to trash the film District 9, which generated major controversy among TGWTG users. Still, it's nice to see him do something like this, and be honest about it.

NC: 5/5

Bum: 4/5

Matthew Buck, aka Film Brain

This is a contributor who resides in the UK, and reviews films that Nostalgia Critic does not review in his format. Matthew is incredibly deadpan and blunt in his delivery of lines and jokes. He has made light of all the bad movies of the 2000s and a few from the 1980s and 1990s. He even turned me on to a film called "The Riddle", which was a giveaway in a UK newspaper, and for good reason. Buck also finally convinced me to take the plunge into the dirty depths of Video Brinquedo. Next, The Asylum!

Overall, Matthew is good at what he does, but I do wish he would lighten up a bit more in his reviews. Still, he is one of the reviewers I go to most on the site.

Film Brain: 4/5

Lewis Lovhaug, aka Linkara

Linkara is a little different from other TGWTG members. He spearheaded a blog called "Atop the Fourth Wall", which reviews comic books which have poor writing, lousy art, questionable logic, and various other fallacies. He moved the blog to TGWTG, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite reviewers on the site. He tends to use less profanity than Doug or Matthew, which tends to help the humor in his reviews flourish. He is incredibly blunt in treating a comic with disrespect and putting it in its place.

Linkara also hosts a column called "History of Power Rangers". It's just that-he tells us the history of the American version of the Japanese Super Sentai show, broken into easy-to-swallow, season-to-season pieces.

Linkara is definitely one of the strongest reviewers on the site, and I hope to see more of him.

Linkara: 5/5

On the whole, I love That Guy With The Glasses. Their reviews can be very easy to get into since the reviewers understand things from the perspective of both a critic and a fan; and they're always good for a laugh when I'm down.

Next up: A look at The Angry Video Game Nerd