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Post by Fred Burroughs on Jul 25, 2009 11:35:23 GMT -5
So I just watched this, it was my first CT and I hate to admit it, but I don't think I laughed out loud once. I wanted to, believe me, but it just never came.
I'm sure the live shows are better, but the vibe I got from this was that the riffers recorded all their dialogue separately because other than the skits there was almost no interaction between the riffers during the riffing. One thing I loved about MST3K was the way Joel/Mike and the bots interacted with each other.
I think the best way to describe CT is formulaic. It's almost too scripted to a fault.
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Post by mrmeadows on Jul 25, 2009 14:44:18 GMT -5
the vibe I got from this was that the riffers recorded all their dialogue separately because other than the skits there was almost no interaction between the riffers during the riffing. One thing I loved about MST3K was the way Joel/Mike and the bots interacted with each other. I think the best way to describe CT is formulaic. It's almost too scripted to a fault. That's my main problem with CT, and neither one of us are the first to level this criticism. But to me, Rifftrax has kind of the "same, but opposite" problem, if that makes sense. In RT, there's a LOT of interaction between Mike, Kevin and Bill...but to me, it also feels extremely scripted, and the camaraderie often comes off forced. This is most baffling to me, as those same three guys managed to sit in the MST3K theater together for 3 seasons and made the riffing and chemistry seem so natural. (Same with Joel, Trace and Kevin). I don't know what bugs me more: the stiff, sterile, scripted quality of CT, or the forced, over-the-top line-readings of RT. Neither venture has managed to duplicate how organic the riffing of MST3K felt. Ironically, they all now come off more like robots than Crow or Tom Servo! I was watching "Zombie Nightmare" today and was laughing from start to finish...I love how dry the riff delivery was back then, particularly by Mike. Now, RT's riffs are always so "BIG" and everyone feels like they have to laugh at each other's jokes. Then over on CT, you basically have people taking turns. I will laugh sporadically throughout a CT/RT movie, but nowhere near as often as I do during the most average of MST3K episodes. At the same time, CT & RT the closest we have to getting new episodes of MST3K, so I continue to buy them. I confess I have purchased all the CTs, but rarely go the RT route since it involves tracking down a DVD of the movie (although I did buy "The Room" recently, along with the RT). There are plenty of laughs to be had in most episodes of either venture (let's face it, all of these guys are still funny writers), but neither of them have captured the perfect riffing spirit of MST3K.
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Post by Fred Burroughs on Jul 25, 2009 20:03:41 GMT -5
I think when you're playing characters it brings a certain chemistry to the table. So when Mike and the bots were together you had that environment already there. Mike, Bill, and Kevin just being themselves though isn't going to be the same. I don't think their interactions are forced, but there's definitely scripting in parts. Those three guys are definitely friends in real life. Just check out their interactions with each other on Twitter. It's hilarious.
As for CT, other than the skits there's almost no camaraderie within the riffers. It's almost got that "I'm here to read my jokes off the script and then go home" feel to it.
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Post by tobleroneeffect on Sept 23, 2009 8:20:09 GMT -5
I still haven't had a chance to see The Wasp Woman yet, but I think I can still state that CT have riffed better over time on their DVDs. The last two releases, Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks and Blood of the Vampires, are really fun compared to Legacy of Blood. As someone whose first memories were from the '70's, I recall being scared s**tless by some of the horror movies that were current at that time, and this would have definitely given me nightmares if I'd seen it at such a tender age. (Although I'm sure my parents would have blocked me from viewing it once the issue of incest was first suggested). Even as an adult, I find it somewhat unsettling in its visuals, but Joel & co. are quick to nullify that with some decent riffing.
While I don't think they'll ever use a movie this disturbing again, it may also be safe to say that they won't be doing any '50's monster movies anytime soon. Someone who was at a CT show recently asked Joel about going back to this genre, and he responded that they wanted to stay with color movies...which loosely translates to anything from the '60's and beyond. Too bad, it seems like the b&w, horror/sci-fi types of films are almost limitless, and some are certainly PD by now.
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finnegan
Anteater
Jimmy me boy!
Posts: 9
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Post by finnegan on Dec 10, 2009 22:33:51 GMT -5
I just watched this one myself and felt it's the weakest of the first four. All the criticisms from above are somewhat true, but I still enjoy watching a "poor" effort from the Titans.
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Post by Dr. Henry Krasker on Jan 8, 2010 8:55:25 GMT -5
I am having no luck with this DVD. I bought it last summer, but it plays poorly on my Pioneer DV-444 player. It stutters and freezes up and often just quits. So I bought a new one. It won't even play poorly. I put it in my player and it says "Unable to play DVD." I've never seen that before.
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Post by mrmeadows on Jan 8, 2010 12:34:24 GMT -5
Was it a download or did CT send you the disc?
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Post by ensignsmather13 on Jan 8, 2010 18:37:19 GMT -5
Did you try contacting CT about it?
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Post by Chuck on Jan 8, 2010 21:39:05 GMT -5
Does it play on your computer?
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Post by Dr. Henry Krasker on Jan 12, 2010 1:10:52 GMT -5
To answer all three questions in order: it was a DVD bought from CT; no, I haven't contacted them yet; and it plays in one computer, but not the other. The odd thing is they're both Mac G4s. I'm waiting for my roommate to get back later this week, so I can try it on his PC laptop.
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Post by BoB3K on Jan 13, 2010 11:13:56 GMT -5
I think when you're playing characters it brings a certain chemistry to the table. That's a very good way of putting it. I don't think any successor to MST3K has a chance of fully living up to it's predecessor without 1) a full complement of writers and 2) an actual premise and characters (no matter how silly or lame) for the riffing to play off of. I agree completely about CT. OTOH, Rifftrax works for me because even though their interactions sometime show through as scripted, I can still feel the real camaraderie coming through underneath. Bottom line, when I listen to the RT guys, it sounds like they're enjoying themselves; CT, not so much.
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Post by majorjoe23 on Aug 29, 2017 12:00:33 GMT -5
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Post by crowschmo on Oct 5, 2017 11:22:39 GMT -5
^^^^ Nice review.
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