#42 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: March 16, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Kevin Murphy
"How can you fear someone so cute and pouty" - Kevin
I like the Terminator series, (at least until they made the 4th) and the riffing clicks like a well-oiled machine. Mike cracked me up early when he injected the Gilligan's Island theme into the dialog, and he does this drop-dead hilarious C3PO imitation. With the references to Bootsy Collins and Buckaroo Banzai, and Kevin's quip after the Terminatrix tells a cop that she, "Likes his gun" -"The Saints have answered my prayer!"- the guys easily lead me into a dreamy state of comedy bliss.
There was a nice mix here: It didn't matter if they were being mean (Kevin attacks Clair Danes nose) or taking the easy route with a non-stop collection of delightful AAAHNOLD impressions, this was good stuff all the way around.
A few other joys to behold - Mike's 911 call; Kev's general crush on the T3 and the quip about killing his wife's fiance. Mike having Arnold singing a bit of Jewel and Kelly Clarkson.. and of course, the jokes directed at the annoying heavy breathing at the end (I remember when I saw this at the theaters, I was thinking the same thing, "Stop with the overabundance of breathing, kid!)
Release Date: February 4, 2010
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"So that’s what death tastes like" -- "I thought it would taste more like Courtney Love" – Bill
A tedious entry in the Terminator franchise: I'm pretty much sick and tired of this series and only Rifftrax could have gotten me to sit through this turkey to the end. Joke wise there are a few good laughs interspersed between far too many dead spots. The best section (for both the film and the quips) was when the giant robot shows up. I got a big laugh when Bill expressed thanks for the character that calls out the type of Terminators because it'll make it easier on him when he buys the toys later.
Expected jokes about Avatar and Christian Bale's tantrum on the set are tossed out often, and I liked the pop culture references -- but when someone talks about 'Pushing the button' I was surprised there was no mention of those 2 mad scientists we all know and love. As the movie went on the laughs came infrequently and it overall settled in as a "fair to middling" offering.
Release Date: March 28th, 2014
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"I think he was just reading random sentences off of candy hearts" – Kevin, on the content of creepy phone calls
The comedy never got on a sustained roll and the picture was such an unpleasant slog that my finger was ever hovering around the stop button... then they’d nail one and I'd stick with it. There's a guy named Tor in the movie, so there's some funny there, the best not having anything to do with his namesakes (it concern short shorts, splaying, and a cold beer). They tease an ever-present fisherman in his boat. Plus they throw in some funny Beatles stuff. But a bunch of it flops and I can't say it was a whole lot of fun. I doubt I’ll revisit it. If I get the mood for a laugh I’m more likely to reach for slam-dunks like Twilight, the Happening or Missile to the Moon.
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"You have the keys to the sampo!" – Bill
Much of the riffing was simply the guys saying (in one way or the other) that the movie was stupid. While some of this was deserved (as with the slapsticky "Thor gets knocked out" scenes that happen one after the other), other times MK&B come off sounding like grouchy dickweeds (at one point Kevin addresses comic book fans outright, and does so with an irritated tone in his voice). Even when they veer off this tact, the humor was frequently limp (ala, the 'guy with metal detector' quip).
I did chuckle over the film and TV references (Star Trek, Lars von Trier, Gilligan's Island), as well as some of the movie mocking (the Odinsleep). And I appreciated the nod to a famous MST ep. But on the whole, this offering lacked the whip-smart elements that separate "hilarious quipping" from "garden variety complaining".
#18 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: October 29, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
“The whole ship has become a poop deck” - Bill
One of the most requested movies finally finds its way onto Rifftrax, MK&B did a hilarious bit of this film on one of their Sci-Fi Network specials. This version is just as memorable, though there are a few pockets where it slows (which is what I expected with a film this long) mostly this was a big win. The opening 30 minutes or so were some of the funniest in riff history and Kevin tops off the first half-hour with the classic, "I'm gonna sink this bitch" – Yay, thank you Kev for that one!
Leonardo’s youthful appearance is often mentioned, old Rose receives her fair share of attention and there is at least one MST call back. Mike playing the spoons etc was a funny bit - there are head-cakes and of course, there are sinking ship and underwater quips aplenty… ”Aquaman’s flash parties are hard to find” – Mike. Overall this was a rock-steady good time.
Release Date: September 29th, 2006
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Bill Corbett
"Is it still considered banter if it's devoid of all wit?" - Mike
I had high hopes for this one, but for The first time, I find myself disappointed with a Rifftrax. Yes, I enjoyed the way they made fun of the stupid nicknames (Captain Fun was my favorite) and the tedious -as well as confusing- air battles. I liked the nod to another boring fighter pilot film -The MSTed Starfighters- when Mike makes a comment about having ”The sex”. All of these jokes are very... cute, though not especially hilarious.
Even the Scientology jokes wear thin. I loved them in Cocktail but it's like Servo said during Godzilla vs Megalon when the giant lizard repeated that flying kick thing, “Yeah, yeah, we seen it already... it was funny the first time”. The movie's a bad joke with its trite plotting, puerile stabs at humor, and Tom's irksome grin -"He unsheathed his teeth!"- This should have been pure gold, and that the end results provide merely a chuckle-fest feels like a lost opportunity.
Release Date: November 21st, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"We hope you enjoy 'Chuck Connors sits in an attic near a girl'" - Mike
Chuck Connors (whose vocal work anticipates Willem DaFoe in Green Goblin mode) stars as a weirdo with a penchant for wax figures and mannequins. Which spells doom for a group of friends who stumble upon his ‘tourist trap’. The riffwork here didn't wow me. There are too many old quips and running gags that have lost their luster due to overuse - even a few that date back to the MST3K era (Kevin singing "AAAAAAA" when we see someone or something with its mouth agape). The crude material... well I'm sounding like a broken record complaining about that, which is an indication that they also are had in abundance. I did get the chuckles over the expressed surprise at finding out who the man is behind the mask - and Kevin noting a guy's fighting skills being equal to that of a sock monkey. But the only sustainable moments of hilarity came near the end when Connors tries to kiss his captive. Had this 'trax been released years ago, I might have been kinder in my review. But I've heard this material so often in the past, and it's just not that funny anymore.
Release Date: November 20, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Ahh it turned into a Kia!" – Mike
Busy Michael Bay toy movie (Hasbro earns a credit) receives a rollicking riffing. The guys have fun zeroing in on clichés and the references associated with these quips are clever and germane. I especially dug the spot on Llyod Dobler –from the film “Say Anything”- quip as it perfectly reflects the flick's liberal use of old script standbys. But the Traxers themselves fall back on some familiar stylings, as with the “nervous guy stalking girl” jokes that worked so well in Spiderman (and are funny here as well).
During the junkyard scene, the trio hammer away with one quip after another - a funny line about the guard dog’s diet of kibble and meth leads to predicable but hilarious lines. The bit about Shia wearing his Michael Vick jersey, Ellen Degeneres (cried over a dog on TV), and when a robo-vehicle races by, Tracy Chapman (who wrote “Fast Cars”). Bam! Bam! Bam! They spit them out and create a seamless comedic tapestry.
In addition, I enjoyed all the toy robot jokes - robots from across the media board are mentioned - and due to the subject matter, Diembaudio gets a bit more involved (and it’s some of his best work too). And when the Autobots arrive in force the guys let loose with some hellacious hilarity! Of course Bay's confusing end battle where it’s tough to tell who is who takes its deserved lumps. All told, Transformers makes for a smooth ride. Very steady, very fun.
Release Date: October 22, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Captain - metal cat is back, should I get the squirt bottle?" - Mike
I thought the first Transformers film was a pile, but this sequel… I’d call it garbage but that gives garbage a bad name. The childish stabs at humor, the inane plot, and dialog. It’s ham-fisted, noisy, unclear (which bot is which?) –sigh- Michael Bay is Ed Wood with a budget. The riffing tactic is a no-brainer: observe and report. As the first reels unfurled I wondered why the heck humans were the first wave sent in to combat the bad bots… seconds later MK&B weighed in with a riff that mirrored that thought.
“Hey look you guys… some stuff” - In addition to the clever observational quips that take on everything from the voice work to Bay’s intelligence and major suckhood - I enjoyed a lot of the pop culture references, especially the underwater sequence when Bill wonders…”Was Ringo Starr being serious, he’d really like to live here?”
Despite all that I enjoyed, Transformers 2 doesn’t surpass the first. The basic riff theme (The directorial incompetence, impossible to follow battles, and slams on the actors) gets repetitive and stops being funny after a while. It didn’t help that the overlong film kicked my butt and sapped my will to live.
Release Date: November 29th, 2011
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"But she has the brain the size of a crunch berry, so it's not like you really matter" - Bill on the leading ladies affection for Shia
I didn't think Michael Bay could sink any lower than he did with the 2nd film in this franchise, but he manages to do just that with this 3rd installment. The characters are waaaaay over the top and Shia, is frequently reduced to screaming fits. Thankfully the final act in Chicago looks impressive (hey I'll latch on to any positive at this point). As for the comedy: There are a few tired old gags, but there was smart stuff as well (Kevin's line about doo-wop groups from the 50s, Michael Bay's eulogy). The trouble I had was that the film is waaaaay too long. Rifftrax has made comedy gold from long films (Titanic) but this one doesn’t have the same volume of knock-out quips, and the movie is such an excruciating chore that I was pretty worn out - even in watching it over 2 nights. A mid-range offering then.
Release Date: December 27th, 2013
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Our random assemblage of disjointed scenes marches on." - Kevin
Kevin's quip sums up this flick in a nutshell – the camera follows several treasure hunters who meander about the Amazon and do nothing particularly interesting. Our Riff-team is game, though. They make note of the many saggy bare bottoms and exposed breasts. They take jabs at the gator/crocs and the setting (a "fictitious place" according to the introduction). They tease an actress and her wavering Southern accent. They even toss a couple of references (The Land of the Lost) - all to little avail; a few chortles are had, but ultimately this boring swamp of a movie sucks all the joy out of the room. Grade? Give it a C.
Release Date: February 2, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Rich Kyanka
“Wow, country hospitality tastes like crap!” - Rich
Troll 2 is pure MST3K style film badness - and I must say, that I really enjoyed watching this return to this kind of rich cheesiness. The poor production values, wooden acting, amateur hour script, and SFX... it truly warmed my cockles.
And speaking of Rich, Mike is joined this time out by "Something Awful's" Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka. While Rich's delivery isn't up to gold standards, once I got used to him, I found him a decent riffmate for Mr. Nelson. He vocalized many of the best jokes: From those concerning "Dragons and Storks", Clay Aiken, and a "Nut eating" father. He even endears himself to us MSTies by referencing "Teenage Crime Wave".
Of course, Mike is sharp as always. His Twilight Zone fueled bon mot -"Have you ever served man, honey?"- was inspired, as was his observation about a kid wearing a serious "Deniro face". Of course, the low-brow humor was just as funny. As when Mike has the dad all excited about, "An RV full of naked boys!" (He also makes a reference to "Something Awful" - but feels bad about it afterward. lol)
Troll is a grade Z treasure. It's a troll movie without Trolls. Filled to the brim with lots of backward jokes (literally), lots of pissing on hospitality, and lots of laughs.
