Release Date: January 9th, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
Most costume crime fighters have a weakness; Superman has kryptonite, for Green Lantern it was the color yellow (fear). After enduring Thor and now Captain America, it appears super-flicks have become the ‘traxers Achilles heel. They reach on jokes (comparing Caps mask to a mixing bowl) and offer retreads (With TVs Outsourced gone, they have turned to pick on Whitney) – and for lack of fresh material, continue riffing on Thor. When that fails, they take anemic jabs at the character's names. And guys -"Hogan's Homos"- Seriously? Come on, your made of better stuff than that. Was there anything I did like: Kevin mentioning "Shaft" during the Cap song and dance sequence.
#44 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: March 3, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"A sunset on a balcony? Satan himself must have taken her!" - Bill
Carnival was my favorite commentary from Mike's Legend days. Though it was different, as he augmented the jokes with abundant amounts of trivia. Replacing that trivia means that this update is loaded with fresh material. And how were those brave new quips?
I found myself laughing pretty steady. The movie offers up a lot of quirky characters and situations that are ripe for the picking. Thankfully that means that the annoying oily guy is raked over the coals. Mike also does this funny mumbled voice whenever the lead actress stares off into space.
Unfortunately, while they do add many hilarious bits, they also lose some of my favorites as well. The line about the woman having a minor heart attack was missed and Mike's line about shots from an industrial short being slipped in there, was replaced by an unfunny rant about the organ music. A later unfunny rant concerning a hostage situation was another blot on an otherwise outstanding episode (these long rants feel like padding and I could do without them).
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"So you guys know each other?" – Bill as Laszlo watches his wife talking with Rick
I was laughing steady at the credits (Highly visible man, Bergman's knife fight and the Beatles!) but once the film began in earnest I found I wasn't able to concentrate on a word Mike, Kevin and Bill were saying. Casablanca is a special film for me, I was a young boy of 8 when I caught it on TV and was completely entranced. At that very moment, I became a cinephile. I don't mind the guys riffing on this one, but even though I've seen the movie numerous times, it still demands and receives all my attention. It was tough to focus on the jokes.
My ears gave their all and found many a laugh. The trio takes the movie to task on a few occasions (Laszlo's disinterest in his wife’s unfaithful past) but for the most part, they read and react to what's on screen, twist and tease the memorable... as when they comment that the classic "Here's looking at you kid" was the eras equivalent to "Git 'er done" or when Mike states that he used to leave notes, similar to Ilsa's goodbye letter to Rick, in his kid's lunchboxes. The scene when Ilsa implores Rick to give her the letters of transit was pretty good; I liked the Shai LaBeouf quips best of all.
This was a toughie to get through, the movie too great, the dialog too dense and I doubt I'll revisit this trax often. Still, there is some funny material (sharp reference, mentioning "The Sorrow and the Pity", Bill's quip about the Bat-signal, and Kevin's line about Ashton Kutcher's mom) and it's worth at least one listen, maybe two? Oh, and a missed riff? Not mentioning how much Farrari (when he dons hat and stands in profile) looks like a Snapping Turtle Turk from the Yellow Submarine.
Casino Royale
Release Date: April 30, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy
Release Date: April 30, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy
“It’s spelled M, but pronounced MMMMMM” – Mike
I enjoyed the movie, and liked the pacing, so Mike and Kevin complaining about this aspect didn’t register with me - no, I got my kicks when they would rewrite the screenplay in their own image. As when Mike imagines Scarlett Johansson zooming in dressed as the Flying Nun to save the day. Or when Nelson has the baddie checking his laptop, upset at Britney’s recent hijinks.
The scene when Bond attempts to prevent a terrorist from blowing up a plane is a highlight; I especially enjoyed the radio communications in this sequence (and in this instance, their jabs at the lack of logic ring true). At the Casino scenes, I laughed at the simple, “High chair for the guy with the bad mustache”, riff and Kevin’s, “Sorry, can’t hear you, I’m muting the nagging with booze”, line. Plus Mike got me giggling with the observation about Ericsson Phones.
The movie is long and tests the duos comedic skills. Some of their attempts to pad it out, with gags about how expensive everything is in a Bond film, are not bad in and of themselves but neither are they very funny. (the one running gag I did enjoy was Mike having Bond wrongly say, “Hit Me”, during the card game). On the positive, the references got me chuckling. Mike notices Donny Iris, Donny Iris? How many people even remember Donny? Fiona Apple videos earn a clever nod, and the delightful callbacks to past Bond films, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die and how Roger Moore was a major puss compared the Daniel Craig. Oh, and wasn’t it great when Kevin pulled out an old MST standby with Trip Shakespeare?
In summary: Though the Trax flounders when attacking the film, when they move away from that, it proves to be quite funny.
Release Date: May 16th, 2014
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"No, not “He-witch”, they prefer the term “Manwitch" (Manwich)” – Kevin
Christopher Lee stars in a flick about witchery and fog... which seems to tickle the guys to no end. Their lively reactions –as when a gal reveals her uber-sexy bedroom attire- exemplify the upbeat tone that made this so fun. Noting the appearance of tiny Hawkeye, the ghost kid in "Three Men and a Baby" and a couple of cat's unsuccessful attempts to jump through a front door, are just 3 examples of the cute and clever to be heard on this Trax.
Release Date: October 22nd, 2010
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"I actually wanted Mr. Drummond to adopt you, but it didn’t work out" – Bill as Io to Perseus
This remake tells the tale of whiny Gods and a band of men who go on a quest in hopes of preventing the release of something called a Kraken. While the Trax didn't reach the Godlike levels of my all-time favorites (Missile to the Moon, The Happening), it had this mere mortal chortling on more than a few occasions. The cheesy film helps with the fun: The gang expertly locks on the story - teasing the conflicting accents, the colorful characters -like the Djinn– "Come on he’s made of charcoal, just push him into the fire and grill steaks on him" – Bill- and other particulars. I enjoyed the spot-on references (Fleet Foxes, the Jaws theme, and Arthur Brown) and Mike's song was a classic. While there is blue material, for the most part, MK&B sticks with the cutting and clever comedy I prefer from my Rifftrax releases.
Release Date: April 22, 2008
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Oh wow, it looks so real because it's filmed so poorly" - Mike
The merry quipsters at the top of their game. The unadulterated joy the guys seemed to be having at this "found footage" monster movie's expense made for a whale of a good time. There were lots of quick punch line-like responses to the dialog and action. The dim witted “Hud” is a constant source of riffcentric hilarity, actually, the entire cast earns a laugh: From Bill wondering, “How do these people dress themselves?” (Which gets Kevin laughing) to Mike’s observation on a female character's manner of speech: ”She and Matthew Perry could have a nervous yammering-off” and his disappointment in the lack of “Delightful Hobo’s”
There was a cute callback to Escape 2000 and was Bill's order to “Dance” a reference to the Film Crew’s “Wild Women of Wongo”? I liked the musical quotes; especially when Kevin goes off on the Kiss ballad “Beth” and pop culture is smartly folded into the movie's reality (Dr. Phil, the Dick Van Dyke Show, Ghostbusters). Aside from the early reliance on “wang” jokes, this was a fun one from the gang. Entertaining enough flick - mirthful riffing, it's all good.
Release Date: August 29, 2006
Riffer: Mike Nelson
"Are those his actual clothes or did he just join Spandau Ballet?"
Though Mike has gone on to record better Trax (this is no "The Happening") at the point of its release I was pretty fond of this one. The Scientology, Katie Holmes, couch jumpin' quips were at the time, still fresh and funny - Never the less, in context with what Mr. Nelson was doing at this time, this was a solid Trax. If the Legend commentaries are Mike's KTMA, these early pieces are his Season 1s.
Anyway, aside from crushing Cruise (in which I rejoiced in glee), he also taps into his own experiences from working at TGI Fridays and makes several funny callbacks to "Road House". Mike's work is more topical here than what he did with MST3K -He references Sumner Redstone and takes a deliciously wicked jab at Mel Gibson- which might date the effort in later years. Then again, the classic SCTV was very topical and its humor hasn't become stale. As for DisembAudio, he/it is less obtrusive than he was in "The Fifth Element", but also gets in one good zinger.
Despite having to sit through this wretched movie (Bryan Brown's character really bugged me) the laughter I received was a soothing balm. "Cheers!"
#34 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: February 19th, 2013
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Now how can I steal that sound?" – Bill as Ice
I always thought Vanilla Ice was a clown, and this movie confirms it. From his clown pants to his clown hair and his clownish catchphrase "Yep yep". His music, his momentary fame, and his movie –in which he stalks a High School girl and foils a kidnapping- was (one of) the nadirs of the nineties... shame on us. Anyhoo - My favorite riff-works are the ones that skillfully zero into a movie and the characters and culture that inform it. MK&B do this with Cool and offer up a surplus of smart, snarky jabs: Vanilla deservedly takes the brunt of the action, but they also go after co-star Michael Gross... and any and all things "90s" in general. Great stuff.
Crater Lake Monster
Release Date: May 25th, 2011
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
Woman: "Look at all the stars." – Kevin:
"What the hell are they doing out in the middle of the day?"
Crater Lake
was a film I’d seen years ago, and after that viewing, I felt the silly thing
was MST3K worthy (and the stop motion dino FX were done by the same guy who did
the aliens in "Laserblast"). I was looking forward to the Rifftrax
gang taking on this farce. I couldn't wait to hear what they’d have to say
about the movies starry, starry… days, the blood that somehow jumped into a
boat, or the slack-jawed yokels that populated the flick. Were expectations
met? For the most part, yes. While I wouldn’t rank it top 10 material, it kept
me chuckling pretty steady and I had a good time. Comments about cows and Gray
Garden headscarves and Forrest Gump were cute.
#40 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: September 15, 2006
Riffer: Mike Nelson
Britney Spears road picture Crossroads is ripe for the picking, it’s the perfect riffable flick and Mike had me rolling with laughter. Part of the fun came from blasting Britney herself. There certainly is a lot of material to plumb and Mike doesn’t skimp on any of it. From observations on her paper-thin vocals -”Singing, or articulated moaning?”- to her abilities as an actress -“Is she trying to be coy or is she just borderline retarded?”-
Another great part of this Rifftrax are the hilarious references. Kent McCord, William Hung, and former Packer and prisoner, Mark Chmura, are some of the funnier ones - but when Mike made a brilliant point about Buster Poindexter I about died. That is one of the most hysterical, clever quips he's made in his career as a bad movie commentator. I loved this Trax, and found it packed with full-out, sidesplitting quips. Mike's best solo work.
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Curse of Bigfoot
Release Date: April 17th, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"A film so bad its own characters decided to shut it off" - Kevin
Despite the title, the real star of this one is a guy named Norman. There's a lot of Norman aggression in this movie -- which is actually more a lecture. The story centers around a classroom, where we are told Bigfoot stories by non-actors who act poorly. While there are some old riffs that have worn out their welcome (like making fun of the storyteller, telling a mundane story) - overall I thought it was a fun one. Riffs, where Mike mentions a favorite movie (Citizen Kane) and does an impression of one of my favorite actors (Jack Nicholson), helped ease the hurt of the tedious movie.
