2021
Dangerous Men
Copper Mountain
2021 in review: In addition to those I highlighted above, I enjoyed The Minion, Mirror, Mirror, and Frozen Scream.
Release date: November 12, 2021
Viewers should know going in how unpleasant this movie is - it's scuzzy, rapey, violent... it's also ineptly and hilariously edited, scripted, and acted. Lead characters come and go, scenes start and end abruptly, there's a butt knife, even the music is stupidly funny - and the one to blame for it all goes by the unlikely name of John Rad (make note of that, because he's barely credited). The riffing is devilishly snarky and delightfully facetious, they give it just what it deserves.
Release date: November 19, 2021
While the guys have fun teasing Jim Carrey, it's the music, and a running gag on one band in particular that earns the biggest laughs. To call Mountain a movie is a stretch, it's more an hour-long commercial -slash- variety show, with music and a comedy act.
Dancin' - It's On!
Release date: December 23, 2021
"it's like if Dawsons Creek had head trauma" - Bill
MK&B saved their best of the year, for last. This clunky dance musical from the director of Space Mutiny, features one of the martial artists from Santa's Summer House, Gary Daniels; so that's a beautiful combination right there. However, Daniels is an acting ace compared to the mannequin who plays Danny - phew, he was a hoot all on his own, even without the riffing, which is very steady.
"it's like if Dawsons Creek had head trauma" - Bill
MK&B saved their best of the year, for last. This clunky dance musical from the director of Space Mutiny, features one of the martial artists from Santa's Summer House, Gary Daniels; so that's a beautiful combination right there. However, Daniels is an acting ace compared to the mannequin who plays Danny - phew, he was a hoot all on his own, even without the riffing, which is very steady.
I've always enjoyed the musical moments in MST eps, and it's been a highlight with Rifftrax (High School Musical, Crossroads, and Bridget and Mary Jo's Teen-Ager series), there's just something delightfully silly about people breaking out in dance from out of the blue - and the characters (grumpy bald guy), forced melodrama, bad dishwashing (just a few plates at a time) and the "try being a lesbian" song make it all the more delightful.
"You did it" - "You entertained some morons" - Pops/Mike
Oh, and I love the Peanuts inspired poster by artist Adam Koford
Oh, and I love the Peanuts inspired poster by artist Adam Koford
Gumbi, Invaders from Mars, Plankton, Atomic Eden, and Savage were fine, but I wasn't overly thrilled with Hobgoblins Live, Fungicide, Father Frost, Money Plane, or Max Havoc.
Baby Ghost, Double Dragon and Maximum Revenge were busts. Universal Solider 2 I've been unable to finish.
2022
Fugitive Rage
A Dangerous Man
Release date: January 14, 2022
"'The Little Bitch in Prison' was the name of my failed children's book" - Mike
Rifftrax starts off the new year with an idiotic movie that'll have you thinking, "The hell? What was the point of any of this?" That it doesn't make a lick of sense is to MK&B benefit. Clumsy dialogue, lapses in logic, and an actress whose go-to reaction is the eye roll - add it all up and it equals laughs aplenty.
MSTies will get a kick out of seeing Katherine Victor (Batwoman) and Ross Hagan... though Ross is a complete dirtbag, and not all that fun. And yes, the movie can be angering (I dislike seeing women punched in the face, time and time again) - the Trax drifts in spots, there are points where the quips aren't as sharp - though thankfully it rights itself for the big finish. So, while not quite a comedy masterpiece, it's still a keeper.
Also recommended: Pair it up with another recent release, Beginning Responsibility: Taking Care of Things - a very funny short about a very irresponsible kid.
Release date: April 29, 2022
"And see if that body can start for the Mariners tonight" - Mike
Steven Seagal is a walking riff, with his slurred 'tough guy' delivery of the stupidest dialogue you'll ever hear, coupled to some slappy, edit-enhanced martial arts ("You know a movie fight probably shouldn't need 700 individual shots" - Kevin), and you can't miss with this, even on Mike, Bill and Kevin's worse day, they couldn't miss with this. Words can't do justice to how douchy and dumb the flick is, and what a self-aggrandizing, objectifying pig Seagal comes off as, I mean, the lone memory of his ex is a nude scene... he doesn't think about how smart or funny or talented she was, just that she was great to leer at.
The riffing is killer, the trio grabs hold of every rotten thing and unleashes verbal hell upon it, just as it deserves. And while Seagal is the largest and easiest target, they also tease Seattle, teal flashbacks, and the cigar dipshit.
Good: The Retrievers (violent, tonally off its nut - riff-wise, while not steady enough to be considered a 'banger', there's a lot of energy here and several big laughs - "If you shined a black light in this room, it would explode instantly" - Kevin - and, as a girl blows on her birthday cake, "I wish that mercenary soldiers wouldn't ruin my big day... oh come on!" - Mike. Plus, Bill unveils a killer new slogan for Golden Coral)
Rapid Assault (another from Fred Olen Ray -Fugitive Rage- features an Italian scooter helmet and an underwater lair that calls to mind the ship interiors in Space Mutiny) -I also liked, Jurassic Shark, and The Return of Swamp Thing (live)
Fair: Cannibal World, Robot Monster, Split Second, Universal Solider 3, Mikey, Winterbeast, Amityville: The Evil Escapes (a 2022 release of a 2021 live show), and Cats (though Bill's, "Aaah, bring back the Hays Code!" was one of the finest riffs of the season)
Busts: Day of the Assassins, Project Eliminator, The Monster's Christmas
2023
Good: Bog, Destination Inner Space, Nightwish, RoboCop: The TV Show, Samson and Delilah, and Apex Predators (biggest laugh... "Mrs. Kitner made a few changes after Alex got eaten" - Kevin -then- "Okay, that's a big syringe" - Bill)
Fair: Rad (live), Ironheart, Gangster World, In the Line of Duty 2: The Super Cops, The X from Outer Space (though the laser chicken stuff was a hoot), Demon Island
Busts: None
While I didn't find a classic in 2023, there were several highs, that offered laughs and cheesiness aplenty.
2024
I've purchased a few, The Brain from Planet Arous, The Little Mermaid (got a kick out of Bill's, "Rembrandt's masterpiece, the fancy baby"), The Demons of Ludlow (with funny quips like, "Welcome back to America's favorite show 'Carol Kane takes a Nap'" - Kevin - and the Peter Dinklage line's a classic) - as well as the shorts collection Grimtrax, and continuing to buy each chapter of the Captain Marvel serial as they are released (I've enjoyed them quite a bit)
