Special Guest: Jerry Seinfeld as Freak Masterstroke (see, I spoiled the surprise guest, I warned ya) and Jonah plays Akton on an SOL visit
Loaded with deus ex machina, the movie does a lot of the heavy lifting, humor-wise - from its ultra-cheap FX, to Proto-McConaghy, Marjoe Gortner and his dead stare acting, to Christopher Plummer slumming it ("He's peeing back there" says Crow when Plummer turns his back to the camera, which would be an appropriate response to this flick). There is also a collection of robots, which gives Tom and Crow plenty to play with - you have a cowboy robot, a pair of slow sneezing robots made out of bike chains, and a giant robot with breasts... complete with nipples... I don't know why. (but it's funny how the SOL bots have a double standard, they can slobber over a lady made of metal, but will not abide Jonah slobbering over Stella Star.)
In addition, there's David Hasselhoff and a quick cameo by Ook (Salvatore Baccaro) from "Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks", of Cinematic Titanic fame, which sounds like a whole lot of fun, though if I'm honest, I'm not sure I could have made it through this thing, and held on to my sanity, if not for the lovely Caroline Munro and a nifty John Barry score. (interesting that the two things I enjoyed about the movie, have an association with Bond.)
Props and theater play? While Servo's flying at the start was extraneous, his slide down a snowy hillside was cute. Crow also interacts with the film, Jonah pulls out a camera, and the bots roast weenies (a callback to Black Scorpion?)
Missed riff? The Hoff blandly says "Stella, Stella..." and they don't do a "Streetcar Named Desire" joke, something along the lines of, "Worst Brando impression, ever.", or "Stanley Kowalski as you've never seen him, completely devoid of emotion."
Best Riffs: "I feel like I'm watching a community theater production of Guardians of the Galaxy." - Jonah | "Well now they're just openly ripping off Spaceballs" - Jonah after Akton whips out a lightsaber
Best Host Segments: I guess the visit from Freak? Servo's eyes were funny.
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3 out of 5
Special Guest: A giant space squid, voiced by Joel
So during the experiment exchange, the Mads are called out for stealing ideas from the crew of the SOL, funny, I have no memory of this skit, but it must have been in my subconscious because I caught onto the gag from the first. I had a laugh when Max defends the act by arguing that it's not theft, it's an Easter egg. Unfortunately, the skits, on the whole, left me cold, the BBQ bit for example was unfunny and pales by comparison to the hilarious Ricochet BBQ skit from Starfighters.
It's better in the theater, though uneven. Some big laughs are had, but it doesn't sustain those levels on a steady basis as Avalanche did. Nevertheless, those high points made it worth my while, and the pop culture references frequently tickled me pink... Doug McClure doing wax on, wax off, Pteri from Pee Wee's Playhouse flying by, the U-Boat Captain mentioned having troubles and Jonah quips, "with Tribbles", and the callback to an old (Gamera vs. Zigra?) quip, “We all die in a Yellow Submarine”.
Oh and I remember seeing this movie at the Drive-in with the family back in the day. And felt it was a good choice.
My own riff? When the man in uniform at the start finds the message, I quipped... "It's Paddle to the Sea!" (which was the title of a short film I liked as a youth)
Best Riffs: “It’s dirty Debbie Harry” - Servo | "Oh he's holding the first Far Side cartoon" - Crow | "I've heard of Craparoni" - Crow | "Hey come back and tell us how we can save 50% or more on our car insurance!" - Crow to a caveman | "What a coincidence, they all threw out their backs at the same time" - Crow
Best Host Segments: Mmm, not much, I guess the Mad's Elder Pump, and Ardy mentioning losing part of the film (a clever way to explain the editing of the movies)
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.5 out of 5
#82 in Mighty Jack's Top 100
New Cast Member: Grant Baciocco as M. Waverly
Save for Moon Men (which was actually a Maciste film), I love the Hercules experiments, love 'em on Rifftrax (The Sons of Hercules), love 'em on MST3K, so I was happy to see the Herculean tradition continue on with this new crew, and it does not disappoint. MST has done a variety of films, but Herc truly puts the cheese in cheesy movies - there's something about these flicks that stokes the creative fires - the way they tease the clothing, acting, props, and script ("I can't quite tell from here, but she seems like someone I might want to grant clemency to" - Servo) and do so with such unbridled silliness, that it can't help but put a big smile on my face and get me in a good mood. The riff-anachronisms are an added plus (he's a ceiling fan!" - Crow).
Movie interactions? Servo flies and Herc swats him down (HaHa). Host segments were a mixed bag - the closing bit, where they imitate the dramatic music at the very top of their lungs - bigger and louder they go, bullhorns are brought in, until Max finally just let's go with a scream... I about died laughing.
Good riffing, good movie (though what the hell was with the ending? Usually the hero beats the baddie... he doesn't have some random thing pop in and do it for him?)
Best Riffs: “It’s PETA, they found us!” | "Russ Meyer presents Ferdinand the Bull as you've never seen him!" (the entire sequence with the bull was a scream) | "You know this Esther Williams western really isn't working for me" - Servo | "Thanks, Expositia" - Crow | "You?" - "You've got a mullet and you smell like milk" - Deianira / Crow after marriage proposal | "That horse is breaking the 4th wall" - Servo | "And that was the day they invented the mummers" - Jonah
Best Host Segments: Max kills the beanbag chair (which was a reference to Joel's unseen experiment in Rocket Attack USA, Gyps ate that version) / singing the end theme
Amazing Colossal Grade: 4 out of 5
1109 - Yongary, Monster of the Deep
Capsule! Capsule! Capsule!
This Korean giant monster flick was an easy watch (they've certainly picked a lot of peaches for this season). There are colorful characters (the kid who uses science to hurt both man and beast) and goofy sequences to play with, from the honeymoon scene to the rocket launch (the comments about being up-side-down, the hermit, and the helmet packed with marshmallow fluff), to the monsters humiliating death (bleeding out the ass... oh the indignity). Oddly enough, unlike with the Beast of Hollow Mountain, it's not the monster attack that's the funniest part of the ep - there's good material there, but the set-up was actually funnier.
Save for Moon Men (which was actually a Maciste film), I love the Hercules experiments, love 'em on Rifftrax (The Sons of Hercules), love 'em on MST3K, so I was happy to see the Herculean tradition continue on with this new crew, and it does not disappoint. MST has done a variety of films, but Herc truly puts the cheese in cheesy movies - there's something about these flicks that stokes the creative fires - the way they tease the clothing, acting, props, and script ("I can't quite tell from here, but she seems like someone I might want to grant clemency to" - Servo) and do so with such unbridled silliness, that it can't help but put a big smile on my face and get me in a good mood. The riff-anachronisms are an added plus (he's a ceiling fan!" - Crow).
Movie interactions? Servo flies and Herc swats him down (HaHa). Host segments were a mixed bag - the closing bit, where they imitate the dramatic music at the very top of their lungs - bigger and louder they go, bullhorns are brought in, until Max finally just let's go with a scream... I about died laughing.
Good riffing, good movie (though what the hell was with the ending? Usually the hero beats the baddie... he doesn't have some random thing pop in and do it for him?)
Best Riffs: “It’s PETA, they found us!” | "Russ Meyer presents Ferdinand the Bull as you've never seen him!" (the entire sequence with the bull was a scream) | "You know this Esther Williams western really isn't working for me" - Servo | "Thanks, Expositia" - Crow | "You?" - "You've got a mullet and you smell like milk" - Deianira / Crow after marriage proposal | "That horse is breaking the 4th wall" - Servo | "And that was the day they invented the mummers" - Jonah
Best Host Segments: Max kills the beanbag chair (which was a reference to Joel's unseen experiment in Rocket Attack USA, Gyps ate that version) / singing the end theme
Amazing Colossal Grade: 4 out of 5
Capsule! Capsule! Capsule!
This Korean giant monster flick was an easy watch (they've certainly picked a lot of peaches for this season). There are colorful characters (the kid who uses science to hurt both man and beast) and goofy sequences to play with, from the honeymoon scene to the rocket launch (the comments about being up-side-down, the hermit, and the helmet packed with marshmallow fluff), to the monsters humiliating death (bleeding out the ass... oh the indignity). Oddly enough, unlike with the Beast of Hollow Mountain, it's not the monster attack that's the funniest part of the ep - there's good material there, but the set-up was actually funnier.
Other favorite moments? "Movie sign" within the movie - Crow's excitement about the use of ammonia something-or-other ("I knew it!", and then he bungles the science words) - and the scene where a woman cries, Crow, as her friend, says "I told you not to watch Dancer in the Dark", and Servo adds (as crying woman), "But Bjork is so cherubic."
Oh, and Servo's flying is overused, but there's some cute in that too.
Best Riffs: "Guess who's dressed like your grandma" - Servo as honeymoon wife | "Commander Audrey Hepburn watches the launch." - Servo | "We're here, we brought the snow queen!" - Crow | "Just put the baby in the bag, let's go!" - Servo | "Hey keep it down, can't you tell I'm trying to sleep in this toilet!?" - Crow | "Toilet's broken" - Crow as Icho, looking filthy (funny toilet humor in this one) | "For a Korean movie there sure are a lot of Dutch angles" - Servo
Best Host Segments: The experiments, tiny desk, and Hitler coffee, the rest were m'eh.
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.5 out of 5
Oh, and Servo's flying is overused, but there's some cute in that too.
Best Riffs: "Guess who's dressed like your grandma" - Servo as honeymoon wife | "Commander Audrey Hepburn watches the launch." - Servo | "We're here, we brought the snow queen!" - Crow | "Just put the baby in the bag, let's go!" - Servo | "Hey keep it down, can't you tell I'm trying to sleep in this toilet!?" - Crow | "Toilet's broken" - Crow as Icho, looking filthy (funny toilet humor in this one) | "For a Korean movie there sure are a lot of Dutch angles" - Servo
Best Host Segments: The experiments, tiny desk, and Hitler coffee, the rest were m'eh.
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.5 out of 5
1110 - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom
Rifftrax covered this one, but it was pulled before I could buy and see it. Onward - many folks rank this up there with Avalanche as the season's best. And it's good, though not as consistent as the former, as it cools off in its second half. Still, the 'dirty water' sequence was a gas, so it's not like it went into the toilet (yeah, that's a call-back to Yongary. lol)
The hammy jackass antagonist from Deathstalker plays a hammy jackass in a crab hat here, there's Bo Svenson as Kor the Drunk, er, Conqueror, and the movie's MVP, Gulfax (if Chewbacca had sex with a Hostess Sno-Ball, the resulting offspring would be Gulfax). The kid's quest puts him on the path of an insect woman, a gnome, a cyclops, and a mermaid, so there's lots to quip on. Funny Riff references include the Muppets Miss Piggy, Games of Thrones, and Gordon Ramsey.
Lastly, I'm finding the host segments are not carrying their own weight, this was another group that underwhelmed.
Best Riffs: "How do you lose a whole kingdom?" - "Check in the car. Did you guys leave it in the car?" - Jonah & Crow | "Child Bridezilla!" - Jonah | "On the plus, this water kind of tastes like pork, so that's a nice surprise!" - Crow
Best Host Segments: None
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (it dropped a shade with this viewing)
The hammy jackass antagonist from Deathstalker plays a hammy jackass in a crab hat here, there's Bo Svenson as Kor the Drunk, er, Conqueror, and the movie's MVP, Gulfax (if Chewbacca had sex with a Hostess Sno-Ball, the resulting offspring would be Gulfax). The kid's quest puts him on the path of an insect woman, a gnome, a cyclops, and a mermaid, so there's lots to quip on. Funny Riff references include the Muppets Miss Piggy, Games of Thrones, and Gordon Ramsey.
Lastly, I'm finding the host segments are not carrying their own weight, this was another group that underwhelmed.
Best Riffs: "How do you lose a whole kingdom?" - "Check in the car. Did you guys leave it in the car?" - Jonah & Crow | "Child Bridezilla!" - Jonah | "On the plus, this water kind of tastes like pork, so that's a nice surprise!" - Crow
Best Host Segments: None
Amazing Colossal Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (it dropped a shade with this viewing)
