New Rifftrax Live Event Scheduled
The folks at Rifftrax have scheduled another live event that will be broadcast soon into a theater near you. In case you don’t know, Rifftrax is an online endeavor of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 stars Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy, in which they provide humorous commentary tracks to all sorts of movies. (Their track for the recent Indiana Jones sequel, in particular, is not to be missed.)
Occasionally, the boys like to riff a movie live and have it broadcast to theaters across the country. In this case, their target is the cult film “Reefer Madness,” but there will also be new shorts by the guys as well. Digital goodies (such as shorts, photos, etc…) will be given to the audience. The first broadcast will be Thursday, August 19th at 7 pm, with an encore broadcast on August 24th.
For more information, you can go to www.Rifftrax.com.
For tickets, click here.
—3D
DVD review: “Cinematic Titanic Live: East Meets Watts”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cinematic Titanic Live: East Meets Watts”
B-movie-mocking venture Cinematic Titanic sails to a whole new level of hilarity with its first live DVD.
In its third year, Cinematic Titantic is the latest project from former “Mystery Science Theater 3000” cast members Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein.
The seasoned riffers pick on a well-deserved target with “East Meets Watts,” a particularly stinky piece of celluloid trash from notorious exploitation filmmaker Al Adamson. (“Directed by Al Adamson: a phrase that will live in infamy,” Pehl correctly cracks during the opening credits.)
The 1974 specimen, also released under the title “Dynamite Brothers,” is described as “kung-sploitation” since it combines two popular cheap-and-cheesy genres of the ‘70s: kung fu movies and blaxploitation films.
Barely competent Hong Kong martial artist Larry Chin (Alan Tang) travels to San Francisco in search of his long-lost brother. But he soon finds himself handcuffed to tough ex-con and “Shaft” wannabe Stud Brown (Timothy Brown) as both are targeted by a violent drug ring. Well-known Asian-American actor James Hong also stars as the sinister ringleader set on flooding the ‘hood with heroin, while then-aging screen idol Aldo Ray, who died in 1991, plays a corrupt cop. with an inexplicably attractive girlfriend.
“East Meets Watts” features atrocious acting, painful plotting and laughable stunts. The Cinematic Titanic crew deftly ridicules each aspect with witty pop culture references to Benny Hill, Dr. Seuss, Power Rangers and more.
The live performance in front of an enthusiastic but well-behaved crowd gives the riffing extra energy and spontaneity. Watching the crew’s faces as they dish out mockery and pull off a well-timed spit take offers far better entertainment than the movie’s absurd fight scenes.
— BAM
RiffTrax team planning Christmastime theatrical event featuring “Weird Al” Yankovic
The RiffTrax team is, from left, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett and Michael J. Nelson.
The RiffTrax team of Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett will bring a Christmas rendition of their bad-movie-directed quips back to theaters this holiday season – and special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic will join them.
“RiffTrax LIVE: Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza!” will be broadcast to movie theaters nationwide at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16. The performance will be recorded for an encore event Thursday, Dec. 17.
Former “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ stars Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, will zing their wisecracking commentary at a wonderfully warped collection of Christmas short films, with the help of special guest Weird Al (pictured left).
The evening will feature a collection of new and old favorite shorts, including the bizarre animated “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” classic commercials and a musical short extolling the virtues of pork, according to a news release.
Movie theater audiences will be treated to five free digital goodies: a holiday song by the RiffTones, two downloadable shorts, an autographed digital photo of the guys and a Christmas desktop wallpaper. A URL and code will be revealed onscreen for viewers to get free digital goodies after the live event.
The RiffTrax events will be shown in four Oklahoma theaters: Oklahoma City’s AMC Quail Springs 24 and Cinemark Tinseltown, Norman’s Hollywood Spotlight 14 and Tulsa’s Cinemark Tulsa 17.
Nelson, Murphy and Corbett brought their first “RiffTrax Live” event to theaters back in August with a hilarious beatdown of “Plan 9 From Outer Space.” I attended the live show with friends, and it was great fun. The addition of venerable wisecracker Weird Al is sure to make the holiday show even more mirthful.
For more information, go to www.RiffTrax.com or www.FathomEvents.com.
-BAM
Encore broadcast of “Rifftrax: Plan 9 from Outer Space” coming to theaters Oct. 8
The “Rifftrax Live!” event that was recently broadcast into theaters across the country, including several here in Oklahoma, is returning to theaters next month. If you missed it the first time, I highly recommend attending this extremely amusing evening of comedy. I know my friends and I had a great time.
If you’re not familiar with Rifftrax, it is the latest bad-movie-bashing project of three cast members from the late, great cult series “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” To see what they’re all about, go to www.rifftrax.com.
Here’s the press release for more information:
Back by popular demand, the stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ and Fathom Events present “RiffTrax: Plan 9 from Outer Space ENCORE” on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. (local time). Sign up here for an email reminder when tickets go on sale.
Who knew that the worst movie ever made would be so popular! The original evening of live riffing captured on Aug. 20 will be rebroadcast to movie theaters nationwide for one night only. Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, are even better on the big screen!
This encore event will feature the new short, “Flying Stewardess,” and non-stop hilarious riffing on a color version of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”- a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. Don’t miss your last chance for an exciting evening of riffing, zombies, aliens, cheesy performances, wisecracks, laughable special effects and more!
This event is hosted by Veronica Belmont, the Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on the PlayStation Network, with Musical Guest Jonathan Coulton—singer-songwriter and internet superstar—and a special segment by Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka of Something Awful.
Everyone Loves (More) Free Stuff…
All event attendees will receive free exclusive digital goodies including the “Flying Stewardess” downloadable short, an autographed digital photo of the guys, three songs by the RiffTones and an animated short of the failed Plans 1-8! A URL and code will be revealed on-screen at the end of the encore event.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 15 and are $10 each. Until then, I’m not sure which theaters here in Oklahoma will carry the event. I will try to post something about it when I know more.
—3D
Rifftrax to be in Oklahoma Theaters
Hey everyone. 3D here to let you know about an exciting opportunity to see Rifftrax Live here in Oklahoma theaters. Don’t know what Rifftrax is? Please read this press release:
Join the stars of “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ for the comedy event of the year!
Fathom Events presents “RiffTrax LIVE: Plan 9 from Outer Space,” an evening of live riffing on the Worst Movie Ever Made beaming into movie theaters nationwide on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Oklahoma time.
Join Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot), now of RiffTrax.com, as they are reunited in HD for the first time ever on the big screen! This event will feature the world premiere of a brand new, never-before-seen short and non-stop hilarious riffing on a COLOR version of “Plan 9 from Outer Space”- a 1959 science fiction/horror film written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.
This event will be hosted by Veronica Belmont, the Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on the PlayStation Network, with Musical Guest Jonathan Coulton and a special segment by Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka of Something Awful.
Everyone Loves Free Stuff…
All event attendees will receive FREE exclusive digital goodies including a never before seen downloadable short, an autographed digital photo of the guys and a song by the RiffTones! A URL and code will be revealed on-screen at the end of the event.
This one night event will be broadcast live out of the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, Tenn., into your local movie theater. Don’t miss an exciting evening of live riffing, zombies, aliens, cheesy performances, wisecracks, laughable special effects and more!
To find out more about RiffTrax, visit www.RiffTrax.com.
The event will be broadcast into four theaters here in Oklahoma: Spotlight 14 in Norman, Cinemark Tinseltown U.S.A., AMC Quail Springs 24 and Cinemark Tulsa 17. So, get your tickets now; I know I’ve got mine!
—3D
“MST3K” alumnus Bill Corbett talks Rifftrax DVDs
Bill Corbett, who portrayed the golden, sarcastic robot Crow T. Robot on the last few seasons of the movie-riffing cult TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” doesn’t miss the puppeteering portion of his old gig.
But he, Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy of “MST3K” fame are continuing their movie-mocking ways with Rifftrax. And Corbett spoke to Features Editor and Nerdage blogger Matt Price about the latest Rifftrax effort: DVDs.
Previously, the only Rifftrax commentaries were MP3s that fans synced up with their own or rental copies of the movies in question. And that could make for a pretty tasteless Netflix queue at times.
While the audio Rifftrax continue to be an option for fans, starting this week, the gang also is offering 10 Rifftrax DVDs, which feature them quipping such films as “Night of the Living Dead,” “House on Haunted Hill” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space.”
I have several of the audio Rifftrax and find them vastly entertaining, and I think my sister may just be the biggest Rifftrax fan of all. I’m looking forward to checking out these new DVDs.
And check out Matt’s story by clicking here.
-BAM
DVD review: “Cinematic Titanic Presents Blood of the Vampires”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cinematic Titanic Presents Blood of the Vampires”
The movie mockers of Cinematic Titanic take on a real challenge with the dreadful “Blood of the Vampires,” an alleged horror film that manages dull, cheesy and offensive but never accomplishes scary.
Former “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ riffers Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Joel Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein rapidly toss out references to Twitter, “I Love Lucy,” “Sesame Street” and more in the most successful installment in their new DVD series.
“Blood of the Vampires” offers plenty of cinematic awfulness to ridicule: The 1966 film is set in 19th century Mexico, performed by Filipino actors and badly dubbed into English. As Weinstein quips, “That’s always a good sign, when English is your movie’s third language.”
The movie centers on the wealthy Escodero family. Dying patriarch Don Enrique Escodero (Johnny Montero) orders his family’s mansion to be burned upon his passing, much to the consternation of his grown children Eduardo (Eddie Garcia) and Leonore (Amalia Fuentes).
Dad’s motives become clear when they learn their late mother (Mary Walter) isn’t really dead but is a vampire their father keeps chained in the basement. (Why Dad doesn’t just stake Mom through the heart isn’t explained.) Unfortunately, Mom manages to turn Eduardo into a wimpy vampire, who then transforms his girlfriend, several servant girls and, in a rather incestuous manner, his sister.
The horrid plot is quip-worthy enough, but the gang gets the most hilarity out of the film’s racist overtones. All the servant characters wear messy blackface, prompting Hodgson to joke, “I’ve gotta be careful not to sweat off my ethnicity.”
- Brandy McDonnell
DVD review: “MST3K Volume XIV”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
MST3K fans will find plenty to adore in this four-DVD set packed with hilarious jokes, nonsensical sketches and fun special moments.
The cult TV show centered on a hapless man and his wisecracking robot sidekicks (portrayed by puppets) who are trapped on a spaceship and forced to watch horrid B-movies, which they gleefully deride.
The four episodes span MST3K’s 10 seasons on national cable. Two episodes feature series creator and original host Joel Hodgson and date to the show’s Comedy Central run. The other two star Mike Nelson as the host and come from the Sci-Fi Channel years.
“Mad Monster” is just the third episode the MST3K crew filmed after the show made the leap from a small Minneapolis cable access station to Comedy Central. It features original performer J. Elvis “Josh” Weinstein, who played mad scientist Dr. Laurence Erhardt and initially voiced smart-alecky robot Tom Servo. Weinstein left the show after its first season on Comedy Central, so it’s entertaining to hear him ridicule this abysmal werewolf flick.
Season 4 episode “Manhunt in Space” boasts the more familiar lineup of Hodgson, Kevin Murphy as Tom Servo, Trace Beaulieu as the voice/puppeteer of sarcastic robot Crow, and Beaulieu and Frank Conniff as baddies Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV’s Frank. It includes uproarious skits about beanbag pants and musical robots that help elevate the movie, a painfully cheap and dull 1956 space “adventure” about a Buck Rogers wannabe.
The 1990 “horror” film “Soultaker” which is scary for all the wrong reasons, was mocked in the 10th and final season. The movie stars Joe Estevez, Martin Sheen’s brother, but for diehard MST3K fans, the real stars of the episode are Hodgson and Frank “TV’s Frank” Conniff, former cast members who make a cameo.
Also from the 10th season, the 1985 spaghetti Western “Final Justice” – which follows a renegade Texas lawman tracking an Italian gangster on the island of Malta - features Joe Don Baker, a favorite MST3K target.
Bonus features: New interviews with Estevez and “Final Justice” writer-director Greydon Clark, “Mad Monster” trailer, MST3K on an episode of ESPN Classic’s “Cheap Seats Without Ron Parker” and four mini-posters.
- BAM
DVD Review: “Cinematic Titanic Presents Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Movie mocking has a new silhouette these days with “Cinematic Titanic,” the latest project from Joel Hodgson, creator of the cult hit TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” and former MST3K cast members Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl and J. Elvis Weinstein.
The group is still mocking old B movies, though they appear in a different silhouette than the trademark MST3K view of the host and the robot puppets in the bottom right corner of the screen.
For its first Christmas DVD, the “Cinematic Titanic” crew makes the bold move of riffing on “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” which Hodgson and the MST3K gang gleefully ridiculed back in the show’s third season.
The horrible 1964 sci-fi film follows a group of Martians, all dressed in hideous skin-tight green outfits and outlandish headgear, who set out to kidnap Santa. The film is so bad its claim to fame is that it stars Pia Zadora as a Martian child.
The movie certainly oozes enough awfulness to warrant a second round of ridicule, and Hodgson and the gang get in plenty of funny zingers. But “Cinematic Titanic” doesn’t offer the hilarious skits that made MST3K so fun.
-BAM
MST3K Quote of the Day
In honor of the cult TV show’s 20th anniversary, we’ve been celebrating “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ Week here at the blog since Monday. Here’s your giggle-inducing, bad movie-related quote of the day, the final of our MST3K festivities:
Dr. Forrester: Ah, Joel. A hearty hello to you and yours. Let me say this about today’s invention exchange; let them eat chocolate.
TV’s Frank [dressed as an executioner] : That’s right Joel. Our invention this week is based on one’s natural inclination to bite the heads off of chocolate bunnies.
Dr. Forrester: That’s right Frank.
[steps aside to reveal guillotine]
Dr. Forrester: That’s why we’ve invented the chocolate bunny guillotine. Eliminate the guess work in biting the heads off bunnies. Ready Mr. Executioner?
TV’s Frank: Yes my liege.
Dr. Forrester: [producing a scroll] You have stolen painted eggs in a time of famine. Off with their head Frank.
[Frank cuts the string]
Dr. Forrester: And no chocolate mess. Well poopsies?
Tom Servo: [crying] What about the pardon from Fanny Farmer?
Crow T. Robot: His only crime was being born delicious!
- From “Manos: The Hands of Fate”
-BAM
