I haven't done write-ups on Rifftrax releases since late 2014, so here's a quick look at the downloads that made me laugh over the past 6 years. In order of release (unless there's a sequel) - these are for the main riff team of Mike, Bill, and Kevin
Release date: October 3, 2014
This fan-favorite was a blast, while the ridiculous (maybe self-awarely bad) RoboCop ripoff does a lot of the heavy lifting (from Shoeboogie to cashiers in boxes), the guys add a lot of laughs through their comments. And it could have been even better - I felt they missed a few - the hillbilly mechanic looks like Dr. Phil. Captain Coldiron spells his name with a "y" so it reads like Coldy Ron, surprised they didn't run with that. And I was also surprised they gave a pass to the conversation between Coldy Ron and Muscle Woman, when she tells him that they can't stop R.O.T.O.R, and then a few minutes later asks... "Do you think we can stop him?" But hey, despite my nitpicks, ROTOR is packed with quality quips.
Godzilla (1998)
Release date: October 31, 2014
It's a winner! This is something rarely if ever said about the movie, but for the Trax, I was laughing steady throughout. I wish I could have seen it with a crowd, but as it is, I had a good time with the studio version, which starts off with a cute quip while the credits roll and the title pops on screen - Godzilla... "Some would say he does not appear in this film" and later when a man in a hospital says... "Gojira", Bill adds "Which we believe translates to "Gamera", lmao. From Broderick's fidgety performance to GINO, the guys kicked this monster's tail.
Release date: March 20, 2015
The Hideous Sun Demon was another movie I'd long wanted to see riffed. And while the release doesn't receive The Room levels of love, I enjoyed it, especially down the stretch when the manhunt begins. Here you get yelling cops (inches from one another) and Susie and her mother of the year. Both were a hoot.
Julie and Jack
Release date: July 17, 2015
Before Birdemic, came J&J, a movie that strives to offer a deeply philosophical examination on the nature of love... and pretty much bungles it. James Nguyen's debut establishes many of those delightful Nguyenisms viewers have come to know and love - there's tech sales B.S. and repulsive men who romance repulsively, he even throws in a bonus - uncomfortable Tippi Hedrin hugging! J&J might be the 3rd best Nguyen Trax, but that just means its 3rd level wonderful.
Release date: May 20, 2016
Jeepers this was fun, and a nice change of pace from the usual dreck they riff on. The movie's bubbly, well shot, we get a crisp colorful print, a lovely cast (Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine, and Basil Rathbone play spies), and heavily reverbed music (provided by several name country/western stars). All of that seems to have had a positive effect on the boys, who sound in good spirits, maybe happy to have a movie that's easy on the eyes?
The South is an old familiar target, but while they're picking low-hanging fruit, it's funny fruit. Not a Top 50 effort, it's still a good time Trax, the kind that puts me in a good mood (the polar opposite of "Maniac") and that counts for something. Plus it has a scene where Lon, John, Basil, and Linda Ho stare at Jeepers, who's watching a TV, which doesn't sound hilarious, but it is.
Replica
#27 in Mighty Jacks Top 50
Replica
#27 in Mighty Jacks Top 50
Release date: February 10, 2017
Oh joy, another entry in the Nguyen-verse, and for me, it's equally as funny as Birdemic. There are a lot of callback riffs, so I'd recommend watching the first 2 Trax before this. As with others in the thematic trilogy, there are mundane car maneuvers, techy business sales, crap FX, nods to Hitchcock (its Vertigo here), and awkward, wooden acting, which unbelievably is even worse than what we saw in Birdy and J&J. A kidney operation is also a key plot point, and to top it off... cloning! And all of it's mined for epic laughs
Day of the Animals
#10 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Oblivion
Release date: September 29, 2017
Oblivion 2: Backlash
#36 in Mighty Jack's Top 50 (both films)
Attack of the Super Monsters
#15 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Lovely But Deadly
#19 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Oh joy, another entry in the Nguyen-verse, and for me, it's equally as funny as Birdemic. There are a lot of callback riffs, so I'd recommend watching the first 2 Trax before this. As with others in the thematic trilogy, there are mundane car maneuvers, techy business sales, crap FX, nods to Hitchcock (its Vertigo here), and awkward, wooden acting, which unbelievably is even worse than what we saw in Birdy and J&J. A kidney operation is also a key plot point, and to top it off... cloning! And all of it's mined for epic laughs
#10 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release date: March 24, 2017
"This is just like that scene when Air Bud attacked that guy with Lou Gehrig's Disease." - Mike, Kev, and Bill were riffing on all cylinders with this one, like hotshots! The picture, about animals acting hostile due to climate change, stars an (eventually) shirtless Leslie Nielsen as a supreme asshole who becomes progressively more asshole-ish with each passing minute. He fights a bear and attacks a kid and, yes, attempts even worse. Despite his darkness, the riffing is a ray of... well, darkness, but it's an enjoyable dark. Great cast + crazy story + ace riffing = perfection.
Rifftrax Live: Samurai Cop
#5 in Mighty Jacks Top 50
#5 in Mighty Jacks Top 50
Release date: July 5, 2017 (Studio version March 22, 2016)
I've been told that the studio and live releases offer similar riffs, but with the live version, you get Manners in School, with the memorable Chalky. This short is delightfully dark, and the ineptly made movie (with Soul Taker, Future War favorite Robert Z'dar) is a gift - how can the riffing fail with "hamper man", a shouting crime boss, awkward flirting and filthy sex talk, other-dimensional line reading, and well hell, honestly all the dialogue and acting and action is an absolute treasure... the audiences uproarious reactions are proof of that.
Release date: September 29, 2017
Oblivion 2: Backlash
#36 in Mighty Jack's Top 50 (both films)
Release date: March 9, 2018
Classic Rifftrax. The movies were hilarious on their own, the riffing adds the icing to the cake. But "great Scotty!" George Takei takes scenery-chewing to a whole new low ("Sensors detect nothing but shame Captain, endless expanses of shame" - Bill). That's just one of these sci-fi westerns' many cheesy charms. The colorful cast, and past roles for a few, make this a breeze for the boys
Invasion of the Animal People
#28 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Classic Rifftrax. The movies were hilarious on their own, the riffing adds the icing to the cake. But "great Scotty!" George Takei takes scenery-chewing to a whole new low ("Sensors detect nothing but shame Captain, endless expanses of shame" - Bill). That's just one of these sci-fi westerns' many cheesy charms. The colorful cast, and past roles for a few, make this a breeze for the boys
Invasion of the Animal People
#28 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release date: February 9, 2018
Brilliant! This is like an old-School MST3K episode. In that, you have a painfully bad B&W movie hit with loads of funny reference style-riffing, misheard lines, and bits like Bill's shock over newspaper headlines (an old gag but an effective one here). Watch it with a short to add to the MST3K vibe and you got heaven (wrapped in hell).
A Talking Cat!?!
#6 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Brilliant! This is like an old-School MST3K episode. In that, you have a painfully bad B&W movie hit with loads of funny reference style-riffing, misheard lines, and bits like Bill's shock over newspaper headlines (an old gag but an effective one here). Watch it with a short to add to the MST3K vibe and you got heaven (wrapped in hell).
#6 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release date: July 26, 2018
The movie is absolutely glorious, a riffers paradise of clumsy plot ticks, quirky characters, and a disinterested Eric Roberts as the voice of the mystical, magical, philosophical cat. It doesn't hurt that a child actor I grew up watching, Johnny Whitaker, is in the cast. The workover is just as glorious, whatever the movie gives them, and it gives a LOT, the guys take it and run, from interrobangs to cheese puffs, and of course, that darn cat - they also add character traits on top of that (a teen reading Hop on Pop) just to make the movie even sillier than it is.
The movie is absolutely glorious, a riffers paradise of clumsy plot ticks, quirky characters, and a disinterested Eric Roberts as the voice of the mystical, magical, philosophical cat. It doesn't hurt that a child actor I grew up watching, Johnny Whitaker, is in the cast. The workover is just as glorious, whatever the movie gives them, and it gives a LOT, the guys take it and run, from interrobangs to cheese puffs, and of course, that darn cat - they also add character traits on top of that (a teen reading Hop on Pop) just to make the movie even sillier than it is.
Santa's Summer House
Release date: December 14, 2018
Release date: December 14, 2018
From the director of A Talking Cat!?! and filmed in the same location - though there are a few differences - for example, butter cookies take over from cheese puffs, and instead of a cat, we get the Claus's imparting wisdom to a few disenchanted souls. It stars three martial artists (Cynthia Rothrock, Gary Daniels, and Future War's Daniel Bernhardt), none of whom get to spin-kick a single face (no matter how deserved). Aside from that novelty, the riffing is fantastic - maybe not as glorious as Cat, but still, pretty glorious.
#15 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release date: December 27, 2019
"The monsters say they won't kill us if we'll be their slaves..." - "A deal Amazon makes with every new employee" - Jem/Mike.
"The monsters say they won't kill us if we'll be their slaves..." - "A deal Amazon makes with every new employee" - Jem/Mike.
A mix of live-action with animation, where the trash-talking dinosaurs aren't the freakiest thing about it, that goes to the bits where a guy merges with his sister, wow! The basic plot elements are repeated in 4 segments, but if you handled Prince of Space and Neptune Men, this will be a piece of cake - Super Monsters is an essential - hilarious movie, hilarious riffing, from deep cuts to cute commentary, it's an all-around win.
Ninja Warlord
Release date: March 20, 2020
"I want my look to be 'Tom Wolfe goes to the opera'" - Mike
Within a week's span, Rifftrax released two martial arts gems, this was the first - and it's like a Hong Kong version of The Quiet Man, in that it features a fighter who retires and returns home after a tragedy in the ring. Unlike The Quiet Man, Warlord veers off into a tale of unjust fish taxes! Good Trax, but it gets even better with the next offering.
Within a week's span, Rifftrax released two martial arts gems, this was the first - and it's like a Hong Kong version of The Quiet Man, in that it features a fighter who retires and returns home after a tragedy in the ring. Unlike The Quiet Man, Warlord veers off into a tale of unjust fish taxes! Good Trax, but it gets even better with the next offering.
#19 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release date: March 27, 2020
"Arthur!?" -- "I don't think these are the Joker stairs!" - Woman/Kevin
"Arthur!?" -- "I don't think these are the Joker stairs!" - Woman/Kevin
Kung fu chick, who hardly does any kung fu, teams up with a boom mic to fight dastardly drug kingpins. Lovely, lovely Rifftrax, very funny quipping, and a movie that's chock full o' dumb ("Back home I used to rub the throat of an old possum like this so it would take its medicine" - an actual line of dialogue from the movie). Kevin sings "Under the Sea" for a big laugh, with further big laughs to be had to the bitter, lovely end.
BTW - I like the original movie poster, so I'm using that rather than the Rifftrax version. Click to see a larger image.
Gymkata
Others I remember as enjoyable (though I don't have the same affection for these as I do the releases highlighted above): Hawk the Slayer, Arachnia, Radical Jack, The Psychotronic Man, Death Promise, Pressure Point, Star Games, Kill and Kill Again, The Wonderful Land of Oz, Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident, Omega Cop, Zombie: I Eat Your Skin
Release date: October 16, 2020
"This is way easier than kicking guys, guns rule!" - Kevin as our hero
2020 was a good year in the marriage of martial arts and humor, and how cool was it to finally have Gymkata (referenced in many an MST experiment) join the Rifftrax lineup. The flick was helmed by the director of "Enter the Dragon", and starred gymnast Kurt Thomas as the best character named Cabot, since "Outlaws" Cabot. He's joined in this adventure by actors Tetchie Agbayani and Buck Kartalian (the Mel Brook's looking guy from Octoman and CTs Legacy of Blood).
The quips were strong at the start, and while we don't hear a "Hi-Keebah" call-back, we do get that other iconic battle cry (see the title) and even a "PACKERS!" is thrown in for good measure. They have fun with the amusing parts of the movie (gymnastic equipment suddenly and conveniently finding it's way on screen) and the catch phrase "Yakmala!" While the final third, with all that running and fighting, doesn't give them a lot to work with, the guys still manage a good laugh here and there. This was a 'just the jokes' release, and it lived up to expectations.
The quips were strong at the start, and while we don't hear a "Hi-Keebah" call-back, we do get that other iconic battle cry (see the title) and even a "PACKERS!" is thrown in for good measure. They have fun with the amusing parts of the movie (gymnastic equipment suddenly and conveniently finding it's way on screen) and the catch phrase "Yakmala!" While the final third, with all that running and fighting, doesn't give them a lot to work with, the guys still manage a good laugh here and there. This was a 'just the jokes' release, and it lived up to expectations.
Others I remember as enjoyable (though I don't have the same affection for these as I do the releases highlighted above): Hawk the Slayer, Arachnia, Radical Jack, The Psychotronic Man, Death Promise, Pressure Point, Star Games, Kill and Kill Again, The Wonderful Land of Oz, Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident, Omega Cop, Zombie: I Eat Your Skin
