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Post by Mighty Jack on Dec 17, 2008 2:07:52 GMT -5
Star Wars by Blame Society M'eh - I liked Chad Vader' bits in the Rifftrax he did but this was fair at best. A few laughs here and there, but compared to regular Rifftrax, eh it doesn't even match a so/so effort like the Bourne Identity.
It's got some adult material, a lame running whore house gag, some penis jokes.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Dec 23, 2008 4:50:01 GMT -5
I keep trying and I gave another one a shot. Since I was buying a 99 cent short I added in another iriff as well.
Dragnet: A Gun For Christmas I’m a Dragnet fan (anyone remember my “talk like Sgt. Joe Friday” thread of 2007?) and iriffs offer 2 Dragnet eps by 2 different iriffers. I watched samples from both and this one stuck out the most so I went with it.
I think a problem with a lot of these projects is in the delivery. There’s a bit O’ zip missing in the delivery in the iriffs I've heard. There were times when the guy raises his voice and once he sounded like Jim Gaffigan (“I like apples!”) so he's trying to add some layers in ther delivery, but it didn’t always click. Maybe if he brought in a riff partner to play off of, it might have improved the trax.
There is good material. A simple “Wolverine?” made me laugh, as did the Friday voiced quip “My eyes are up here lady”. The work gets stronger as it goes and it finishes up on a high note.
The subject matter is very very dark. That’s okay, I like dark and my favorite Rifftrax shorts are the dark ones (Like poor Ruth and her beans) but if anyone had trouble with the dying baby in the syphilis short, this will definitely not be the right iriff for you.
Overall okay – I liked it better than Star Wars or Squeak, better than Quiptracks, that everyone gushes over at the Rifftrax forum –blech- (and please, PLEASE Mike, Bill and Kevin, do Lady in the Water – Your M Night stuff has been so good) – It's not as good as the "Relaxed Wife" though.
It’s 25 minutes long and comes with both audio and visual (no netflixing required, yay)
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Post by doctorz on Dec 31, 2008 12:41:23 GMT -5
Santa Claus / Punch and Judy - This was surreal. For those of us who have grown up with the "Coca Cola" Santa its hard to imagine what Christmas was like before the 1950's. Way back when Christmas in America was a lot less cast in stone and Santa was not quite the stereotypical character that he is today. That is what makes these shorts about Christmas from the 1930's and 1940's so bizarre to watch. Here we have Santa doing some usual stuff and he even looks a lot like the Santa we all know, but then.. Punch and Judy! For those of you who do not know who Punch and Judy are, it is a very famous British puppet show focused around a hunchbacked little man in a motley fool's suit holding a stick as big as he is. His wife, his baby, sausages, a clown named Joey, a crocodile, a policeman, a doctor, a judge, the hangman and the Devil are all eventually killed by Punch in the show. It's been around since the 17th century and probably even earlier. Nowadays it's not so well known in the states but evidently Punch and Judy was well enough known in 1948 to include in this short. The show itself in this short has been highly modified with almost none of the traditional characters present. Punch also gets the worst of it instead of dishing it out. However for all of that it is a Punch and Judy show and I found it entertaining to watch. What this has to do with Christmas is anybodies guess. At one web site I read the whole thing academically analyzed to death with Santa portrayed as God handing out presents and Punch portrayed as a eunuch. Try getting your mind around that one! The riffing is superb and I wished I'd gotten this short before the holidays. It is a terrific addition to the Rifftrax Creepy Christmas pantheon! Get it!
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Post by docsteve on Dec 31, 2008 15:52:01 GMT -5
Star Wars by Blame Society M'eh - I liked Chad Vader' bits in the Rifftrax he did but this was fair at best. A few laughs here and there, but compared to regular Rifftrax, eh it doesn't even match a so/so effort like the Bourne Identity. It's got some adult material, a lame running whore house gag, some penis jokes. You'll love it in comparison to the new Rifftrax version.
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Post by callipygias on Dec 31, 2008 16:57:31 GMT -5
Between posts in this thread, the Star Wars thread, and at the Rifftrax Forum I'm beginning to think you don't like the Rifftrax version of Star Wars IV too well, doc.
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roninfox
Nanite
Ronin Fox Trax: It's a lot like that thing you like a lot
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Post by roninfox on Dec 31, 2008 18:48:03 GMT -5
You might just be on to something there.
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Post by docsteve on Jan 1, 2009 20:20:21 GMT -5
Between posts in this thread, the Star Wars thread, and at the Rifftrax Forum I'm beginning to think you don't like the Rifftrax version of Star Wars IV too well, doc. I'm beginning to think that many Rifftrax fans feel threatened by any and all criticism. * When a release is rated, they are always about 8-9 stars on the Rifftrax forum. That's pretty much useless for a prospective buyer. When I think a particular release is not funny, I broadcast it long and loud, because the internet gives the impression that all Rifftrax releases are equally funny and nearly perfect. That is a damn sight far from the truth. Rifftrax have become too much of an assembly-line product. When someone like Blame Society, who have dedicated years of work to Star Wars parodies, does a riff, it is more or less a culmination of a lifetime of riffing the movie. I think you could tell, because there was virtually no dead air. In contrast, Star Wars was just one of four Rifftrax releases in December. I'm not saying they spent a week or less on it, but obviously not as long as Matt and Aaron. To be fair, Mike and the Gang have already done three of these movies, so it must be harder each time not to repeat jokes, etc. To be blunt, I don't understand how anyone who saw the Blame Society version first wouldn't like it better. It's not just a matter of subjective taste. The BS version has more riff lines, and it was "first." That is, it isn't as funny hearing Mike and the Gang making a riff on Leia's disappearing accent when Blame Society made the same joke a month earlier. I think I have made my point, so I will stop beating this dead bantha.** *P.S. I don't include callipygias and roninfox in this category. I have seen both of you post legitimate criticism before. **P.P.S. I refuse to honor this promise if people "pile on" me after this. Self-defense is an inalienable right.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jan 2, 2009 9:24:24 GMT -5
To be blunt, I don't understand how anyone who saw the Blame Society version first wouldn't like it better. It's not just a matter of subjective taste. The BS version has more riff lines, and it was "first." That is, it isn't as funny hearing Mike and the Gang making a riff on Leia's disappearing accent when Blame Society made the same joke a month earlier. I believe it is indeed just a matter of subjective taste. So what if they have more riff lines? it's QUALITY not quantity. The MST3K version of SCCTM for example, came first and has a lot more riffs, but the CT version is funnier, while there are fewer riff lines, what they offer is considerably stronger (IMHO) Also delivery is a big deal, a repeated joke can be funnier because the BS folks are just too flat and lack the character heard in MK&B voices. Saying that, Mike, Kev and Bill's version sucked big time. It's not the dead zones for me, it was all the childish low brow riffs and that they rehash bits that are wearing thing for me. They both were pretty unsatisfying, not many laughs from either.
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Post by docsteve on Jan 2, 2009 16:12:17 GMT -5
To be blunt, I don't understand how anyone who saw the Blame Society version first wouldn't like it better. It's not just a matter of subjective taste. The BS version has more riff lines, and it was "first." That is, it isn't as funny hearing Mike and the Gang making a riff on Leia's disappearing accent when Blame Society made the same joke a month earlier. I believe it is indeed just a matter of subjective taste. So what if they have more riff lines? it's QUALITY not quantity. The MST3K version of SCCTM for example, came first and has a lot more riffs, but the CT version is funnier, while there are fewer riff lines, what they offer is considerably stronger (IMHO) Also delivery is a big deal, a repeated joke can be funnier because the BS folks are just too flat and lack the character heard in MK&B voices. Saying that, Mike, Kev and Bill's version sucked big time. It's not the dead zones for me, it was all the childish low brow riffs and that they rehash bits that are wearing thing for me. They both were pretty unsatisfying, not many laughs from either. I really don't disagree with you per se. However, I look at it this way. If I prefer Brand X (i.e. I think the jokes are better) and Brand X also has more jokes, then it is obviously better. If Brand X and Rifftrax are virtually identical in quality, and Brand X has more jokes, I am likely to still prefer Brand X. All other factors being more or less equal (incl. price), then more is better. There is no doubt that Mike and the Gang are more "polished." I don't necessarily think this is a good thing. I don't want to put words into your mouth, but you have also alluded to the fact that some of the recent Rifftrax are a little lackluster and too similar. P.S. Apparently, I can't keep a promise to keep my mouth shut.
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roninfox
Nanite
Ronin Fox Trax: It's a lot like that thing you like a lot
Posts: 40
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Post by roninfox on Jan 2, 2009 17:13:26 GMT -5
Well, maybe I can get us back on track.
I watched Hor-Riff-ic's Children of the Corn riff yesterday, and once again I enjoyed their work. I had a lot of fun with both this and their Friday the 13th riff.
The downsides to their riffs so far are 1) Sound quality, I hope they can eventually upgrade their microphones. 2) Occasional lack of energy. Some of the riffs are funny, but are delivered in a kinda flat way. The introduction was also a bit flat, though adding the interaction with their guest, Satan, did pick things up immediately.
These are really minor nitpicky things though, they're making do with the equipment at hand, and they're already showing improvement on delivery. From the start I've enjoyed the point of view they present (Gary Slasher is indeed a slasher, and his wife Erin is an unusually articulate zombie) and they have a lot to work with. Several lines from the riff are sticking with me a day later, ready to occasionally pop into mind and make me laugh all over again. That's one way I judge most good riffs.
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Post by docsteve on Jan 2, 2009 20:23:24 GMT -5
The first iRiff I purchased was the BS version of Star Wars. I liked it very much, and I suspect that iRiffs are more to my taste these days. I would appreciate your suggestions. To provide a little guidance as to what I consider important...
1) When my friends and I riff a movie, we are only worried about timing, as in some of us improv better than others. Smooth delivery really isn't that important to me, I guess. It's nice, but flubbing lines and goofing around is funny too.
2) Source material. The current blockbusters are in fact, bad movies. Techincally, they're usually quite competent. This is problematic, because nothing cracks me up quite like a boom mike joke. I tend to like older, horrible, no-budget, "groovy" movies.
3) I hate to admit it, but gore bothers me.
4) Genre. Daikaiju and series films are always good source material.
To give you an idea, some of the iRiffs that look interesting to me are ronin's Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Destroy All Planets by Riffer Phoenix.
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roninfox
Nanite
Ronin Fox Trax: It's a lot like that thing you like a lot
Posts: 40
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Post by roninfox on Jan 2, 2009 20:56:20 GMT -5
Well, obviously I'm going to suggest mine, but those aside let me see.
Since gore is a problem, Hor-Riff-ic's riffs probably aren't for you, which is a shame because they're both hilarious. Of the two, I think Children of the Corn is less gorey, but there's still some blood flowing.
I also enjoyed the Marital Riffs short "Cooking Terms" and One Wall Cinema's Dragnet episode "The Big 17"
Insert Coin's riff of Gamera Guardian of the Universe seemed to have its moments, unfortunately the copy of the DVD I picked up was badly scratched and I never finished it.
I'd stay away from Emergency Riffcast's riff of Super Mario Bros. There's more dead air in it than any riff I've ever heard.
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Post by doctorz on Jan 4, 2009 17:27:27 GMT -5
The Last Unicorn - Ronin Fox
Some movies you see you can never extract from the circumstances and context in which you saw them. For me The Last Unicorn is a painful memory. At the time I was dating a girl that believed she was a Unicorn. She was a whore, so I guess thinking yourself as a symbol of purity cancels the facts of your life out, ne'st pas? Well we saw this movie together and I can't see it anymore without feeling the betrayal. In fact I can't see a unicorn without thinking WHORE! OK, It's my unhealed psychic wound so why parade it if front of you guys. Because THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
I thought Ronin Fox did a fine job with this Riff. Lots of research and good original material made for a fine effort. their delivery was good and well timed. Aside from my personal feelings about this film It is well to note that the production values are heads above most Rankin/Bass productions. This is because the animation was farmed out to a Japanese studio that eventually became Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki's animation studio. Well worth getting. One thing you need to know. The older DVD's of this film will not work with the Rifftrax. We are talking about the one that is from a poor print and was made to fit your TV screen. You will need the newest release that is in wide-screen letterbox format.
Well worth getting.
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roninfox
Nanite
Ronin Fox Trax: It's a lot like that thing you like a lot
Posts: 40
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Post by roninfox on Jan 5, 2009 21:34:50 GMT -5
The Last Unicorn - Ronin Fox I thought Ronin Fox did a fine job with this Riff. Lots of research and good original material made for a fine effort. their delivery was good and well timed. Aside from my personal feelings about this film It is well to note that the production values are heads above most Rankin/Bass productions. This is because the animation was farmed out to a Japanese studio that eventually became Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki's animation studio. Well worth getting. One thing you need to know. The older DVD's of this film will not work with the Rifftrax. We are talking about the one that is from a poor print and was made to fit your TV screen. You will need the newest release that is in wide-screen letterbox format. Well worth getting. Thank you for your kind words, and by the way if any of you happen to have one of those old pan and scan copies and don't want to spring for the newer version, just contact me. I can make a copy for you to test and keep so I'll know for sure it works before adding it to the sale product.
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Post by doctorz on Jan 6, 2009 15:48:33 GMT -5
Not to worry. I tried using the copy my blockbuster video had which was the old pan and scan version. It turns out my wife had a newer copy that she never told me about and she let me borrow it for this riff. This film inspires a fierce and protective loyalty from women so be careful what you say about it around certain people.
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