RiffTrax: Shorts-a-Poppin' - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Review

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(More customer reviews)Nearly two hours of fine, family entertainment await with this Rifftrax release, "Shorts-A-Poppin".
Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame rip their way through nine insane shorts beginning with the sad death, embarressment, and finally rebirth of a local safety nut in the overlong epic "The Case of Tommy Tucker". Admittedly, this short is one of my favorites as the riffing is excellent over a story that desperately tries to convince you that a 12 year old is the most important person in the county.
Years before America wondered just how he bagged such a hot wife in "Bewitched", Dick York learns in "Shy Guy" that to overcome shyness, one must conform. Three annoying youths represent a town's most dangerous criminal element in "What About Youth Delinquency?"...well, what about it?
"You and Your Family" promotes discussion over whether lying to you Dad isn't such a bad idea. "Cork-Crashes and Curiosities" is a real winner, a confusing short about some kind of grand prix style race in Ireland with a not-so-coherent narrator (it's Ireland, what should I expect?). "Molly Grows Up" continues the "youth in confusion" theme and "The Bill of Rights in Action" proves that idiots standing on a corner screaming about Hitler get way too much attention.
The highlight of the DVD for me is the wonderfully insane "The Tale of Moose Baby" which follows the first year of a baby Moose. Bill Corbett's riff over a small bird is one for the ages...tweet. And we end with the guy who played Mayberry's favorite town drunk "Otis" in a somewhat less drunk version in "Following Instruction Game" in which attention deficit disorder in children can be cured by paying attention...assuming you have no pencil or paper to write down what Mommy tells you to do.
The only extra is an interesting one as we have "alternate riffing" of the first five minutes of "The Case of Tommy Tucker". Too bad the "Menu music" is of the generic kind rather than a song from the Rifftrax crew that were in previous releases.
For Rifftrax fans, this one is a must for your collection. Get it today!


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The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are at it again with Shorts-a-Poppin' -- treating nine hilarious educational shorts to their signature brand of rapid fire and outrageously funny commentary! Join Mike, Bill and Kevin as they guide you through such cinematic masterpieces as The Case of Tommy Tucker, an instuctional safety short that takes the brave and unprecedented step of sending its young hero to "Safety Hell" where he must argue his way out! Join Bewitched star Dick York as he learns to sack up and not be such a Shy Guy. And marvel at the bizarre Rifftrax world exclusive The Tale of Moose Baby, featuring the most endearingly revolting animal baby you're ever likey to meet. Shorts-a-Poppin' is two hours of laugh-out-loud comedy with the masters of movie mockery!

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RiffTrax: Swing Parade - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)did you ever want to get in the heads of the 3 stooges?
well, mike, bill and kevin try:
curly's a shaved ape, moe is dangerously bi-polar and larry is in the middle. but he's also fine.
plot alert: no one gets killed in this film, but i think a mule does go blind.
if you like great musicals with excellent choreography, than this is not your film.and if you want to see the 3 stooges at their best, again this is not your movie.
however, if you enjoyed 'mst3000'(imo, the best tv in the history of tv)
than give this, and all the rest of these rifftrax a look see.
hey, they're funnier than 99% of what's on the 'boob toob.'


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During the Swing Parade craze of the 1940s, it was hard to turn your head without encountering a Swing Parade. With the popularity of Swing Parades soaring, a full length motion picture was inevitable. Unfortunately, the film we got was clearly rushed out to capitalize on the Swing Parade fad. How can we tell? There doesn't appear to be a single damn Swing Parade in the whole movie!Instead, we get the Three Stooges, who wouldn't know a Swing Parade if it bit them on the...Perhaps we're overreacting here. After all, a movie with mannish landlords, songs about blind mules, and Larry must be pretty ripe for mockery. And if it's called Swing Parade but does not feature any actual Swing Parades, then all the better! Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of RiffTrax.com and Mystery Science Theater 3000 make no false claims: They provide no Swing Parades, only hilarious commentary.

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The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Of the three Film Crew DVDs available at the time of this writing, this one seems to be the most consistent throughout, though let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed all three of The Film Crew DVDs and like to watch them repeatedly like a good episode of MST3K. The movie itself, Wild Women of Wongo, is less dark and disturbing than Hollywood After Dark (easy to do!) and less dull than Killers From Space (also really easy to do!), so while this is not saying much, it is a "better" movie all on its own than the other two from a light amusement standpoint. That said, however, no one is buying these DVDs for the movies alone, but for the hilarious Film Crew commentary that's been added and Kevin, Mike and Bill deliver some pretty good laughs on this one. Besides delivering great commentary during one of the goofiest movies ever made, the host segments are also very entertaining. I particularly liked the "lunch break" segment in the middle of the film wherein Kevin Murphy presents his map of how to get to Wongo and the final host segment in which the Crew says goodbye in the style of the final scene of the film is a blast. The extra feature, which recalls the "Dance...DANCE!" scene from the film also proves that these fellows still have a knack for physical comedy. Wild Women of Wongo is a forgettable little film that fails miserably at its deliberate attempts at humor, but The Film Crew turn it into an entertaining comedy treat in spite of that. Keep them coming, guys!

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Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, three of the brilliantly insane minds behind the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew.Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary tracks, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, continuing with Wild Women of Wongo.The beautiful women of the lush, tropical island of Wongo think that the only men who exist are the ape like creatures that live on the other side of the island. Then they set eyes on a handsome prince from a neighboring island, where all of the men are equally gorgeous! Meanwhile, the beastly men of Wongo, on their way to select their mates, are unhappy about their new competition.

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Rifftrax: Shorts-tacular Shorts-stravaganza - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Review

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(More customer reviews)What do you get when you combine 10 old shorts with wisecracks from MST3K vets Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett? Two Hours of sidesplitting entertainment, that's what. As with "Wide World of Shorts", Rifftrax has dropped the "Volume" theme of the first two DVD releases.
The shorts run the gamit from self image and cat habits to fears of swimming and middle-aged strippers. Highlights start with "If Mirrors Could Speak", where three kids wearing disturbing clown make-up discover that bad behavior, selfishness, and depression can be cured by looking into a mirror with a pompus attitude. Three other elementary school shorts, "Primary Safety in the School Building" promotes properly tied shoes and walking on the right side of the hallways can save lives, if not your dignity. "Playing Together" says proper play is good, improper is really bad and "Kitty Clean Up" where a young girl takes her pet cat to school and the cat somehow doesn't go nuts, a true miracle.
"How Much Affection" focuses on the concerns of middle-aged high school students and how far they are willing to go. And speaking of how far;

Two shorts deal with the joys of catching syphilis. "Damaged Goods" and "Know for Sure" which features a bad Italian stereotype and two well known actors, Tim Holt ("Magnificent Ambersons", "Treasure of the Sierra Madre") and Ward Bond ("The Searchers", "Wagon Train").
Of course the most bizarre and pointless short is also the most ripe for the Rifftrax crew, "Your Chance to Live: Technological Failures" which somehow suggests that technology is good even if lots of folks have died from it.
On the downside, some of the shorts have the "YouTube Strobe Effect" notably "Playing Together". It's troubling, but not too distracting.
The riffs are funny and almost always on target. At times they crack each other up. Bill Corbett in particular shines by going back to his old "Crow" days and just ripping away at the stupidity of the films themselves. I heartily recommend this collection to all Mystie/Rifftrax fans out there. Enjoy!

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Instructional shorts are no longer just the things that you're forced to watch in silence by hungover substitute teachers! Now they're the foundation for hilarity when Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax.com team up to heckle them with their signature running commentary! Spanning some of the blandest & fear-ridden decades in American history, this latest collection of 10 shorts clocks in with over 110 minutes of laughs! The twin horrors of Plaid and Clowns meet in If Mirrors Could Speak! No concept is too basic to be lectured on for minutes in Cooking Terms and What They Mean. What audience could Playing Together have possibly been intended for? And what on earth was Your Chance to Live: Technological Failures about? Relive your finest note-passing days with Mike, Kevin and Bill. It's like serving detention with your funniest friends!

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RiffTrax Shorts Volume 2 - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rifftrax is a spin-off or sequel to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" where three of the writers/performers from that show sell both mp3 files of movie mocking commentaries (which you sync up manually with the big studio's DVD release) and straight-to-DVD features where the commentary has already been synchronised up with a movie (usually a low-budget, public domain film) . I have found the feature length Rifftraxs to be hit-or-miss; some of them are great, but others leave me a little cold.
However, this is the second release they have made of commentaries over old industrial training shorts. These short films are a hold-over from the old MST3k days, and the shorts they tackled oftentimes resulted in producing some of their funniest material. Where would MST3k history be without Mr. B. Natural, Coily the Spring Sprite or a Date With Your Family?
And like Rifftrax's first volume of short films, the riffers do a great job of selecting nutty, bizarre material and interspersing quips, puns and observations into the already full sea of non sequiturs and nonsense.
Due to a variety of circumstances, I had actually previously viewed some of these short features in their original unmolested form before Rifftrax had added their commentary. So not only was I looking forward to watching their take on these, I also knew exactly how goofy, confusing and strange some of their starting material was.
This single DVD collection puts together nine short films which had previously been for sale via the Rifftrax website.
1) ONE GOT FAT. A bicycle safety film in which the protagonists are small children wearing disturbing, distorted ape masks. Charmingly, all but one of the kids are horribly killed or maimed by ignoring simple safety precautions while bicycling to a picnic. The precocious child then eats the lunches of his fallen peers in lieu of mourning.
2) LUNCHROOM MANNERS. School children watch a rude and clumsy puppet (Mr. Bungle). This short and lightweight demonstration causes all the children to radically alter their entire behavior for the rest of their lives.
3) EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT. An instructional film intended for elementary school teachers. If not for the merciless mocking, this would be an incredibly depressing experience. Adults are taught that individual children may have horrifically dark, bleak and disturbing home lives.
4) WHY DOESN'T CATHY EAT BREAKFAST? A film which asks a question and then refuses to answer it. An absolutely pointless film as far as I could tell. This short is paired with PETALUMA CHICKEN which is equally confusing, featuring a chef attempting to make the world's largest omelette with help from an oversized spoon and women who do aerobics in a giant bowl. Two utterly incomprehensible movies.
5) ACT YOUR AGE. A high schooler caught defacing a desk decides to chart his way towards maturity with the help of statistics and focused polling of his family and peers.
6) HARM HIDES AT HOME. A normal suburban crossing guard is tracked by a U.F.O and given strange alien powers. She becomes Safety Woman, whose abilities are limited to providing her neighborhood children with lessons about fire safety coupled with instant teleportation. Given the description, you'd think the producers were trying to use humor to provide kids with a valuable lesson. But for some reason, the film takes its alien-enhanced heroine very seriously.
7) COFFEE HOUSE RENDEZVOUS. I'm not exactly clear on who this film is aimed at, but its message is that coffee houses of the '60s are a great place for young people to hang out. Features frequent close-ups of coffee and also a lot of sounds coming out of some kind of musical instruments.
8) ARE YOU POPULAR? I've watched this short two times now, and I still don't see how it answers the title question. Instead, it solemnly informs teenage boys that if they wish to date teenage girls, they must schedule their encounter some time before the evening in question. I wouldn't have thought it would take ten minutes to make that basic point.
9) GOOD HEALTH PRACTICES. The distillation of every food health film you've ever seen. Disturbingly, this must contain the most references to urination and defecation than any other film of its era.Usually, the more outrageous or ridiculous the short, the more fun was to be had from MST3k/Rifftrax. The films here are certainly absurd and Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett get in a lot of excellent jokes. They aren't merely rehashing the jokes from their MST3k days, but it certainly has a very familiar flavor.
(One thing to note is that unlike some of the other straight-to-DVD Rifftrax, here there is no option to view the material without the riffing commentary. Given that most of these films are available freely on-line that probably won't be a problem for anyone dying to hear every available line of dialog in its original unscathed condition.)

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Remember the instructional films your teachers used to show you whenever they wanted to sneak out for a smoke, or just nap in the back of the classroom? They're back! Only this time, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax.com are there to exact revenge with their signature brand of hilarious running commentary!Yes, from the authoritarian 40's right up to the groovy, do-whatever-you-want 70's, they were there, lecturing, hectoring and always, always insisting that you practice proper hygiene. Includes nine complete shorts, from the bizarre monkey themed safety film One Got Fat, the caffeinated Beat generation frenzy of Coffee House Rendezvous, and the brutal self assessment that comes with Are You Popular? Wheel in the A/V cart, close the shades, turn off the lights and laugh along with master riffers Mike, Kevin and Bill. It's like spending the evening with your funniest friends!

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RiffTrax: Little Shop of Horrors - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The old MST3K crew of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett take on one of Roger Corman's cheesiest movies (is that possible?), by riffing this one about a man-eating plant. Some of the guys' best comments are directed to the hapless store clerk, Seymour; Audrey the always-hungry plant; and a very young Jack Nicholson. Some riffs hit the mark but the guys miss a few choice moments, especially between Seymour and Audrey. This is the original black and white movie and NOT the musical, so be prepared for it to be really cheaply made. Also, you will never see the guys in any way. You will only hear the riffs while the movie runs.
For one of the best, check out Rifftrax, "House on Haunted Hill." RiffTrax: House on Haunted Hill - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000!

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A classic tale of boy-meets-girl/plant-eats-people, starring Jack Nicholson in one of his first film roles. A hapless flower store clerk grows an exotic plant with an insatiable appetite -- for blood and flesh! As the ruthless plant grows larger and larger with each feeding, so do Seymour's affections for pretty shop girl, Audrey. The madness culminates with Seymour and his bloodthirsty plant in a feeding frenzy of epic proportions. This camp favorite gets a makeover with the hilarious, rapid-fire commentary by Mike Nelson and the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

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Rifftrax: Night of the Living Dead - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I somehow stumbled across this at my local Best Buy on May 11, 2009. To the best of my knowledge, it wasn't supposed to be released outside of rifftrax.com for another month. Naturally, I grabbed it quickly.
The comedy of Mike, Kevin, and Bill is solid as expected. Some of the jokes are the word-for-word exact same as in the earlier version from Legend Films, featuring only Mike Nelson's comedy track. In this version, however, the delivery of those lines is shared by Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. Luckily, there is some new material mixed in that offsets the repeats. If you've never seen the previous version, you won't even notice.
I only had two real technical issues with this DVD. Firstly, the menu screen ran once and then stopped instead of looping back to the start. This meant that I had to start the entire DVD all over again. Secondly, the video was choppy in parts. The audio ran without issue, but some parts of the film seemed to be skipping video frames. I am not certain if this was an issue with all copies of this DVD or if it's specific to my player.
All in all, it's enjoyable and funny, a good buy for any fan of Rifftrax, Mystery Science Theater 3000, or Cinematic Titanic.

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The classic zombie thriller that started it all - made new with a hilarious, rapid-fire commentary by Mike Nelson and the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Yes, the dead are walking, and hunger for human flesh. A group of panicked survivors hole up in a deserted farmhouse while an army of zombies encircles them - can they last the night?! Terror turns to laughter as Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett live through The Night of the Living Dead!

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RiffTrax: Carnival of Souls - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Carnival of Souls" is one of my favorite low-budget "cult classics"...so much so, I even own the Criterion edition. So I couldn't pass up the chance to get Mike, Kevin, and Bill's take on it.
The movie itself actually looks pretty good in this transfer and can be watched without the commentary. Add the commentary, of course, for the laughs. Things start out slow and I'm not terribly impressed, but the jokes get better as they go along, particularly Kevin's running "Password" gag in the department store scene.
If you're a fan of Carnival of Souls as well as a fan of MST3K, this one's a must have.

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Horror! Romance! Spine-tingling suspense! Carnival of Souls will make you long to be watching a movie that contains any of these things! In fact, you'd probably settle for a movie that contains a discernible plot. Instead you get lead actress Candace Hilligoss, notable for having one eyebrow that is consistently raised higher than the other. Along her journey to Utah (most of which is shown in real time) she meets colorful characters such as "The greasy guy in the boarding house" and "The priest who disapproves of her organ playing." - Carnival of Souls is grim, unsettling and contains 150% of your daily recommended dose of organ music. Therefore, it is like putty in the hands of master riffers Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of RiffTrax.com and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Watch as they shape this filmic atrocity into a hilarious lump of comedy, which, from the right angle, kind of resembles an ashtray. Happy Father's Day!

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The Film Crew: Killers From Space (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)As was the case with the first Film Crew disc, "Hollywood After Dark," the second release also seems slightly out of practice in terms of the riffing. While there may be fewer 'clunkers' in the jokes, as some reviewers have commented, there are also fewer direct hits. However, this second release is a slight step up. The 'host segments' are significantly funnier, and the riffing itself is improved, eliciting a number of full throated laughs from this particular viewer. Not to mention, of course, that the film is an abysmal piece of '50s sci-fi trash starring Peter Graves, and featuring some typically terrible editing and camerawork. The story goes nowhere...and it goes there slowly. In short, the film would've been a classic episode of Mystery Science Theater, and it is used admirably here as well. If only there were a silhouette, this would be virtually indistinguishable from MST3K.
And yes, for those who are wondering, the riffing is still at a slightly more 'mature' level than MST's standard 'saturday morning cartoon' rating. Nothing overbearing, but a few sex based jokes and a few weak swear words. Most viewers will barely register the elevation in 'adult content.'

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Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett,three of the brilliantly insane minds behind the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K)finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew.Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary tracks, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, taking on the sci-fi b-movieclassicKillers From Space.When a scientist (Peter Graves) uncovers an unbelievable alien plot to conquer Earth using giant insects and reptiles, he finds himself alone in a battle to save the world. But is Earth s technology enough to defend the planet from the evil Astronians from Astrol Delta?

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RiffTrax: Plan 9 From Outer Space - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you like MST3K, then you'll love this. Having rediscovered these over the past year, I've filled my library with these and other MST3K alumni material (new and old). The kids like 'em, too.
This is the first Rifftrax I've watched. I think they're dead on with the commentary. Looking forward to getting more.

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If you set out to create the worst movie you could imagine, what would be your second step (we're presuming you've already hired Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the lead.) Maybe to cast a 300 pound Swedish wrestler as LA Police Chief? Make some flying saucers out of tinfoil and string? Perhaps see if a guy named Dudley Manlove could fill a supporting role? And you'd certainly want legendary director Ed Wood, Jr. involved, as writer, producer, director, or if possible, all three!Well, Plan 9 From Outer Space has all of that and more! (Except for Cuba Gooding, Jr. Aside from not being born when it was made, he had already committed to "Daddy Day Camp.") Plan 9 is a movie that exceeds all expectations, a difficult task for a flick frequently dubbed "The worst movie of all time." Few films are more deserving of a hilarious mocking commentary, and fortunately, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of RiffTrax.com and Mystery Science Theater 3000 rose to the occasion.

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RiffTrax Shorts Volume 1 - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Unlike "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and the Film Crew DVDs, for Rifftrax there is no fictional premise. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have not been shot into space; they are not minimum wage workers at a DVD authoring factory. Instead they're just doing what they did for years on MST3k, sitting around watching movies and making fun of them.
This single DVD collection puts together eight short films which had previously been for sale via the Rifftrax website plus one bonus short.1) Down and Out -- A typical factory worker safety training film. The multiple slapstick accidents are mostly fodder for encouraging workers to use their common sense. And if common sense was a commodity that could be easily transferred upon people using television, this film probably would have been very successful.
2) Patriotism -- This early 1970s film, narrated by Bob Crane, teaches children about how to be patriotic in their everyday lives. Fortunately, it turns out that virtually everything you would ever dream of doing is a form of patriotism.
3) Buying Food -- This short film is exactly what it sounds like from its title: rather trite, silly explanations about how one should and shouldn't purchase foodstuffs.
4) Right or Wrong? -- One part choose-your-own-adventure story and one part introductory ethics course.
5) Drugs are Like That -- This REEFER MADNESS type film is aimed at teenagers and children. As you may expect, it's a rather heavy-handed screed pinning all human suffering and unhappiness at the foot of drug abuse.
6) Skipper Learns a Lesson -- In this short about teaching children to embrace diversity, Skipper the dog is an incredible misanthrope who hates all those around him.
7) The Trouble With Women -- This 1947 instructional film isn't quite as awful as its title would suggest. It's not a pure rant against the female gender; instead, it's a guide for male bosses about how to handle the influx of women into the workplace in a post-WWII America.
8) It Must Be the Neighbors -- Every problem in a neighborhood can be blamed on someone else. Usually the guy who has a load of filth and junk in his yard.
9) Shake Hands With Danger -- Another safety instructional film where those unfortunately workers who ignore common precautionary measures end up dead or mutilated in various gory ways. This Rifftrax features an animated Mike Nelson, and Bill Corbett in the form of a cartoon inflatable parrot with Kevin Murphy as an anthropomorphic box of popcorn (I'm not making that up). The jokes are funny, but I didn't quite see the purpose of the animation. I suspect this was an experimental attempt to recreate something like the old shadowrama effect, but for me it was just more of a distraction which subtracted the size of the viewable image without really adding anything.The jokes and riffs are quite funny. The big question I suspect most fans are interested in is whether these Rifftrax releases match up to what we remember from "Mystery Science Theater 3000". One thing I've missed (which I think is also applicable to The Film Crew and -- to a lesser extent -- Joel Hodgson's Cinematic Titanic DVDs) is the sheer breadth of material which the writers drew on for inspiration on the old show. With fewer writers, it seems that the jokes are taken from a smaller pool of references.
So, I'd place this release at about the level of an average episode of MST3k. While this may sound like hollow praise, I'd put an average episode of MST3k well above the comedy output we see from most sitcoms. I'd recommend this to any fan of MST3k or even to anyone who never caught the show when it was running. It's great to hear Mike, Kevin and Bill once again making fun of incomprehensible and dated old short films.

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Remember the instructional films your teachers used to show you whenever they wanted to sneak out for a smoke, or just nap in the back of the classroom? They're back! Only this time, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax.com are there to exact revenge with their signature brand of hilarious running commentary! We offer you 9 shorts about safety, hygiene, and the difficulties of relating to women.

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Rifftrax: Planet of Dinosaurs - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Review

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(More customer reviews)How Mystery Science Theater 3000 missed skewering this movie is a mystery to me. The Rifftrax trio of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett do an outstanding job of tearing this movie apart, much the same way that the stop-motion dinosaurs tear their victims apart. One pointless shot of the sun in the sky elicited this memorable comment. "Hi. This is God. Watch me mess with these chuckleheads!" The only way anyone can sit through this movie of space shipwrecked survivors wandering around aimlessly, periodically stopping for rest periods, and occasionally getting killed, is by enjoying the riffs of the Rifftrax trio.

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When a spaceship full of hairy people crashes on an unknown planet, it's not enough that the surviving members look a lot like the Starland Vocal Band (it is a help, of course, but not sufficient for their survival). They must forge off on a non-stop mission of wandering around doing nothing in particular, not saying anything particularly noteworthy, and not looking particularly attractive or interesting. However, they do provide a tasty and nutritious snack for some pretty sweet looking stop-motion dinosaurs! Their routine deaths become a challenge to their intrepid captain, who prefers to rule by whining, equivocation and frequent "rest periods." This leaves him vulnerable to a coup by the crew's most hirsute member, Jim, who presses the enormous advantage provided him by what looks like a beard made out of 2-dollar-a-yard fun fur. Fortunately, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax.com, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett and Mike Nelson are here to sharpen some sticks, put on their least smelly animal furs and prepare to poke at the Planet of Dinosaurs.

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RiffTrax: Plays with Their Shorts- from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Review

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(More customer reviews)Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett riff their way over nine historic and hysteric shorts in the appropriately named collection "Rifftrax Plays with Their Shorts". While the subjects are wide ranging, a "patriotic" theme rears it's head in three of the shorts.
We begin with a collection of stock footage of American cities and landmarks tied together with confusion narration in the really lame and confusing "What it Means to Be an American". A mousey teen must listen to her creepy Mom in "Going Steady?", while her so-called boyfriend is hitting up on other mousey teens.
"Understanding Your Ideals" can get confused with "Highway Mania" as they both deal with cars...in a way. "A Circus Wakes Up" is exactly that, unfortunately. A big highlight is "Teenagers on Trial" as pre-teen angst challenges Al Capone as America's biggest criminal threat. Although some of the footage is priceless as a teen girl downs a highball and has an expected reaction...mind if we ask a few questions?
A condecending narrator overwelms America's female contribution to the war effort in "Women in Blue". Farm animals are humiliated in "Wing, Claw, & Fang" and we end with the Zsa Zsa Gabor of the 1930's Constance Barrett, who doles out make-up tips in "Constance Barrett's Daily Beauty Rituals".
Like "Shorts-A-Poppin", the Rifftrax crew is at the top of their game with some great riffing in all the shorts. The sole extra is an "alternate riff" of the first five minutes of "What it Means to Be an American". Funny stuff for sure and well worth it for your collection.


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The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are back with a crowd pleasing favorite -- their shorts! Join Mike, Kevin and Bill as they exact their revenge on the safety and educational films you were forced to watch while your substitute teacher slept in the back of the classroom. The guys serve up their signature brand of rapid fire, laugh-out-loud commentary over such classics as Constance Bennett's Daily Beauty Rituals. (Who is Constance Bennette, and why should we trust her? Who the hell knows! Or cares!) Marvel at the bizarre, behind the scenes goings-on as A Circus Wakes Up. Sit up straight and keep your mouth shut as they teach you exactly What it Means to Be an American. Get ready for two hours of non-stop laughter as Rifftrax Plays with Their Shorts!

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - Volume 10.2 (Giant Gila Monster / Swamp Diamonds / Teenage Strangler / Giant Spider Invasion) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Unfortunately, the original version of this volume 10 collection was put out of print by rights issues over the Godzilla movie included in it. However, another giant mutated reptile has stepped in to take Godzilla's place, so with help from The Giant Gila Monster, here comes MST3K Collection Volume 10.2! Here is a bit of information about each episode:
402- GIANT GILA MONSTER
Ray Kellogg, who also directed, "The Killer Shrews" and co-directed "The Green Berets", directed this 1959 black-and-white monster-on-the-loose film. It stars Don Sullivan as a young heroic singing automobile mechanic named Chase Winstead who must battle the giant lizard of the title as well as the prejudice of a cantankerous codger who thinks he's up to "no good". Meanwhile, he helps a lot of people throughout the story no matter what adversity comes his way, including his immigrant girlfriend and his physically disabled sister. Think of this as "Killer Shrews" with more likeable characters and slightly less drinking or "The Creeping Terror" without the carpet monster but still plenty of creeping.
This movie is yet another in a long line of cheap monster films produced in the 1950s that feature a supposedly oversized version of an otherwise normal creature as the monster. The special effects in the film are quite poor and it is painfully obvious throughout the film that the monster is a normal Gila monster crawling extremely slowly over miniature sets. The dialogue is naïve and ridiculous and the pace of the film is as slow as the starring creature. The direction also involves a lot of actors putting a leg up on something, whatever happens to be around in the middle of the shot, a fact that supplies the MST3K writers with endless jokes throughout this film, including an entire host segment. This film also contains a monotonous little ditty sung by Don Sullivan featuring the lyrics, "I sing whenever I sing whenever I sing" as he happily pounds away at repairing an automobile body. Jokes about this appear not only in this episode, but also pop up in other episodes of MST3K for years to come.
The whole episode is hilarious from start to finish. I don't want to spoil any jokes for newer MST3K fans that may never have seen this episode, so I won't quote any specific jokes here. Let me just say that the Renaissance festival punching bags invention during the pre-movie "invention exchange" host segment will have you rolling on the floor and that this episode as a whole is a strong classic no "MSTie" should miss. Movie sign!
503- SWAMP DIAMONDS (plus short: WHAT TO DO ON A DATE)
This is a 1955 Roger Corman "classic" starring Beverly Garland and Mike "Touch" Connors before his fame with Mannix. Beverly Garland leads a gang of escaped female convicts to a cache of diamonds and they kidnap the innocent Mr. Connors and his girlfriend along the way. A policewoman goes undercover inside the gang hoping to recover the stolen diamonds. Beverly Garland turns in the usual good performance and looks great doing it in spite of the mediocre film quality.
Host segments in this episode focus on the dating short as Servo tries to get up the nerve to ask Gypsy for a date. There's also a hilarious bit based on the "This Side of Paradise" episode of the original Star Trek series.
514- TEEN-AGE STRANGLER (plus short: IS THIS LOVE?)
This is the second episode of MST3K to be hosted by Mike Nelson after the departure of show creator Joel Hodgson. The main feature is a small independent film made in 1968 West Virginia about a serial killer in a small town and it looks every bit the amateur film. Highlights in this episode include Mike Nelson transforming into Mikey from the movie and the hilarious "The Janitor Song." The short is also a winner with some of the oldest looking "young people" you're likely to see on film; this is really funny stuff!
810- THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
This movie is a 1975 monster flick from Bill Rebane, the same man who brought you Monster A-Go Go! This film is ever so slightly more competently made than Monster A-Go Go and actually features a couple of well-known actors: Barbara Hale of Perry Mason fame and Alan Hale, Jr. who was The Skipper on Gilligan's Island and also the sheriff in the film The Crawling Hand which was featured in MST3K episode # 106. The movie is really goofy fun, with large spiders everywhere, sleazy and gross yokel-type characters less appealing than the spiders, and a small car dressed up as the biggest and cheesiest looking spider of them all. The scene where Barbara Hale's character does an odd tumble down a hill is worth seeing all by itself and there's plenty of other good material here as well for the MST3K writers. This is certainly one of the more fun episodes done after the show moved to the Sci-Fi Channel. The amusing host segments are based loosely on the classic SF film Invasion of the Body Snatchers rather than on the film featured in the episode.
This DVD set also contains the following extra features:
-MST3K Video Jukebox with 15 songs from the series
-Outtakes consisting of about 15 minutes of the best moments from "Poopie 2"
This set is still great and the substitution of The Gila Monster movie in place of the originally included Godzilla movie is a fair one as both are terrific episodes every MST3K fan should see and most MSTies would love to own. Join Us! Movie Sign!

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MST3K COLLECTION VOL 10.2 - DVD Movie

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RiffTrax: Plan 9 From Outer Space LIVE Nashville 2009 - from the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Review

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(More customer reviews)I wasn't sure what to expect from this first RiffTrax Live event. By the time it was over, I'd laughed the hardest I'd probably laughed in a year or two!
Other than the two "riffed" films, there were some other short comedy bits of variable quality. There were some fake commercials, one of which I made our audience and I laugh, but the other not so much. This was my first, and likely last, experience with Jonathan Coulton. I know he is extremely popular in some circles, and if you are a fan I'm sure you'll like to see him here. Personally, I'm thankful that I can skip past him on the DVD.
On to the main films, both Plan 9 and the stewardess short were comedy gold. It was like an especially good old Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode. The shots where they showed the guys off to the side while they ripped on the movie were a great idea. It was a lot of fun to see their expressions and when they even cracked each other up.
Mike, Kevin, and Bill definitely brought their A game for this one. If you enjoy RiffTrax or are an old MSTK fan like I am, I wholeheartedly recommend this.

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The comedy event of the year comes to DVD! The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 meet the worst movie of all time to bring you RiffTrax Live! Join Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett live and onstage at the historic Belcourt Theater in Nashville as they riff along hilariously to Ed Wood's classic B-movie blunder Plan 9 from Outer Space. Hosted by internet superstar Veronica Belmont, and featuring two uproarious short films by Somethingawful.com's Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka, as well as a crowd-pleasing musical set by geek troubadour Jonathan Coulton, RiffTrax Live! Nashville '09 offers non-stop music and laughs. Also includes "Flying Stewardess," a 40's travel short that gets subjected to the guys' signature brand of rapid-fire riffing. Join Mike, Kevin, Bill and the gang for a truly magical night of comedy and cult classics: RiffTrax Live!

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Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XVIII (Lost Continent / Crash of the Moons / The Beast of Yucca Flats / Jack Frost) Review

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(More customer reviews)This set features two episodes hosted by Joel Hodgson and two hosted by Mike Nelson. Three are from the Comedy Central era of the show and one is from the Sci-Fi Channel era.

- Episode 208- LOST CONTINENT ("Rock climbing, Joel.")
This 1951 black-and-white Robert Lippert production is directed by Sam Newfield and stars Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke, Sid Melton, Acquanetta, Whit Bissel and Hugh Beaumont. The main cast comprises a scientific team charged with recovering an off course test rocket. The cast of fairly well-known actors does little to stem the pain of the film's padding accomplished through endless rock climbing sequences, but those elements did elevate this episode to a kind of cult status both within the show and among the MST3K fan base early on. References to rock climbing and other elements of this film abound throughout later episodes of MST3K for years to come. Every fan of the show should see this episode for that reason alone, but don't let me forget to mention that it's absolutely hilarious. Stop motion dinosaurs and lizards posing as monsters make occasional appearances in the film. And did I mention rock climbing?

- Episode 417- CRASH OF THE MOONS with short, "General Hospital"-Segment 3
Rocky Jones (Richard Crane) and his crew comprising Winky (Scotty Beckett of Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts), Bobby, Vena and Professor Newton are back for another adventure from this short-lived 1954 TV show. So is the evil dictator, Cleolanta (Patsy Parsons), who in this episode is scheming to destroy another inhabited "moon" before it collides with her own planet. The wayward moon is ruled by the affable Bavarro, played by John Banner, later of Hogan's Heroes fame. As with the previous Manhunt In Space, this episode of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger features a rather silly, low-budget, but earnestly presented view of mankind's space-faring future. The Rocky Jones episode itself is entertaining fun and this episode is really funny. Regarding the General Hospital short, once again MST3K turns dreary and dull footage into comedy well worth watching.

- Episode 621- THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS with shorts: "Money Talks!" & "Progress Island, U.S.A."
This 1961 turkey from Coleman Francis stars none other than Tor Johnson of Plan 9 From Outer Space fame. Tor also appeared in other movies used on MST3K, including Bride Of The Monster and The Unearthly. This movie often makes lists of worst movies ever made and rightly so, the story and dialogue are at times nonsensical and mind-boggling even for a low-budget science fiction movie. A Russian scientist played by Tor defects to the US and is turned into an atomic mutant by a nuclear blast. As is often the case in Coleman Francis films you can find Tony Cardoza among the cast delivering his usual level of performance. This episode also features two shorts that will please any MST3K fan. Another must-see movie and episode.

- Episode 813- JACK FROST
This 1964 color film was originally titled "Morozko" by the Soviet film makers, but was retitled "Jack Frost" for US release. As with the other Russo-Finnish movies used on MST3K, this film is both beautiful and goofy at the same time and that makes for a strong episode and a fan favorite. The lush color, decent production values and incredibly bizarre fantasy nature of the film rendered even more bizarre by the editing and dubbing for English make a wonderful blend of quality and weirdness that provided great comedic fuel for MST3K. Many classic Slavic fairy tale elements combine in this story of two children who have strange adventures as they encounter a sorcerous Mushroom Pixie, the evil witch Baba Yaga, and other mythical weirdness. Jack Frost himself eventually appears somewhat late in the film.

The actual DVD quality of previous Shout! Factory releases has been generally terrific with good picture and sound and few anomalies. Extra features just announced by Shout! Factory include special introductions by Frank Conniff and Kevin Murphy, original Mystery Science Theater Hour wraps, a look back at The Beast of Yucca Flats featurettes, original trailers & promos and more.

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The Mads of Deep 13 and the loyal yet helpless crew of the Satellite of Love, including Joel, Mike, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot and Gypsy, cordially invite you to join them as they pay tribute to some of the finest-quality cheesefests this side of Gouda! This 18th laugh-filled edition of Mystery Science Theater 3000 promises to keep you as entertained as ever with four episodes never before available on DVD! Films Include: Lost Continent, Crash Of The Moons, The Beast Of Yucca Flats & Jack FrostBonus Features: * Special Introductions by Frank Conniff and Kevin Murphy* Original Mystery Science Theater Hour Wraps* A Look Back at The Beast Of Yucca Flats* Original Trailers & Promos* 4 Exclusive MST3K Mini-Posters by Artist Steve Vance

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This set is apparently the DVD-only version of the 20th Anniversary set from Shout Factory. That means that it does not include the tin case, plastic Crow figurine or episode lobby cards. It does contain four great episodes of everyone's favorite cow-town puppet show.
This set features one episode with Joel Hodgson as host and three with Mike Nelson hosting. Two episodes are from the Comedy Central years while two are from the Sci-Fi Channel shows.
211- First Spaceship on Venus
Originally called Der Schweigende Stern and made in 1960, this international cast film about the first astronauts to land on Venus is a hoot. Filled with wonderful ideas about international cooperation, yet strangely dated in its science even for when it was made, this movie's vision of the future is fun, action-filled and nearly breaks the goofy meter! The jokes are endless, non-stop and really top-notch from the MST3K crew. "What's a herring weigh? Oh, about a pound." "Everything's better in the crawler copter." Just the endless jokes about the robot in the film, Omega, will keep you laughing throughout. The host segments are just awesomely funny. When the planet has it's "brown explosion" near the end you'll be rolling with laughter and the jokes fly really fast at that point. This is a sometimes overlooked, underrated classic that is too funny to describe. I love it and never get tired of watching it no matter how many times I see it.
706- Laserblast
This 1978 feature comprises the final episode from Comedy Central and is an odd little feature that received 2.5 stars from Leonard Maltin, a fact that is the source of endless wonderful wisecracks as the credits roll. Hilarious throughout in spite of the fact that everyone working on the show knew it might be their last one ever. The host segment wrap-up with great 2001: A Space Odyssey references is terrific.
904- Werewolf
This 1996 feature with Richard Lynch is even more ridiculous than most stories based on lycanthropy. The goofy meter breaks in the first reel of this film and never gets repaired. An archaeologist gets cut by the skeleton of a werewolf and so, predictably, becomes one. The acting, bad foreign accents, and other low-budget silliness in this film are hammered mercilessly by MST3K. The host segment where Mike and the 'Bots are a girl group singing a teen tragedy song, a sort of like "Leader of the Pack" type number, is absolutely killer funny.
1004- Future War
This 1997 video feature is so bad it is beyond words. The huge headed Robert Zdar appears in his second film done on MST3K (the other was Soultaker) and his acting is just as stiff as in the other movie. The film features terrible looking rubber dinosaurs, mediocre martial arts-style action sequences, a hackneyed formulaic plot and acting so bland that calling it wooden would be a compliment! Fortunately, it has enough movement and scene changes to at least fuel a barrage of great jokes from MST3K. It's fun, but only thanks to the MST3K treatment. By itself, this film would be unwatchable.
The extra features on the DVD discs include the 3-part history of MST3K and a video of the reunion panel from Comic-Con 2008. These are very informative and entertaining, even for long-time fans. Great stuff all around.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 celebrates its 20th anniversary with a specially packaged DVD set housed in a limited-edition tin box featuring4 custom lobby cards and a figurine of Crow T. Robot! Features four of the show's most-requested episodes--First Spaceship on Venus (1960), Laserblast (1978), Werewolf (1996), and Future War (1997).
The Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 became a pop culture landmark in the '90s by poking fun at horrible movies of every genre and time period, and letting us listen in. They made the unwatchable essential viewing.

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