Topic: Rifftrax

[wandering]

Have you ever found yourself watching a stinker like Episode I or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and thinking "Man, I wish I was watching this with commentary by the Mystery Science Theater crew. Too bad that's not possible." Well, guess what? It is! Kind of.

Mike Nelson has a service called Rifftrax, through which you can get commentaries to a bunch of big-name (and small-name) films. Pay them a modest fee, and you'll get a (drm free!) audio file that contains a commentary that can be synced up to a DVD. The commentaries always feature Mike, and often feature one or two of his co-stars from MST3k.

The commentaries are hilarious and well worth the asking price. (Just don't expect Mystery Science Theater. It's nearly as good - at least, in my opinion - but it's different. Rifftrax has it's own unique flavor.)

We've watched three so far: Fellowship of the Ring (brilliant! I laughed non-stop the whole three hours) (oh, if you're wondering why they did a commentary for Lord of the Rings, well, they make fun of good movies too.) Star Wars: Episode III (not as good as FoTR, I guess because Episode III is such an easy target, but still great), and Plan 9 From Outer Space (the only one I don't recommend. It's the cheapest commentary on the site for a reason: Mike made it for a dvd release before he started Rifftrax, and, while there are some good lines, it's not up to Rifftrax standards.) Next on the list is Star Trek V.

Buy a commentary. Watch it with friends. I guarantee good times.  

[GoldenPhoenix]

You bashed Harry Potter and the Sorcerers stone, so in turn I'm not reading your post.

[Kairon]

Sounds awesome.

[vudu]

Which version of FoTR--theatrical or extended?

[Bill Aurion]

You know about "The Film Crew," right?  Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett are awesome...

[wandering]

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You know about "The Film Crew," right?

I do. I haven't gotten any because they're $16 a pop, and that's a tad pricey.

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Originally posted by: vudu
Which version of FoTR--theatrical or extended?

Theatrical.

[Smash_Brother]

I've always loved MST3K.

We've watched Star Trek 5 and Predator with this so far, but the fact that they have the Harry Potter movies means I might need to try those next...

[NWR_pap64]

My main issue with Rifftrax is that it lacks the presence of the old MST3K characters. I've always loved how the characters were always there with you and their presence during the movie was felt. I thought it provided for some great humor, like in "Hobgoblins' in which they went as far as to escape the theater by putting wooden dummies in front of the screen. Rifftrax doesn't have that. Its like Mike Nelson is there but you can't see him. Also, most of the tracks are done by one person which can be funny but its not as good as when there are multiple people making fun of the movie.

Those are just personal pet peeves, though. I've only watched one track (the Predator one with S_B) so maybe there are better ones available.

[capamerica]

I've watched a couple of these, they are great.
I wish I knew where my friends MST3K cut out is so I could put it on the bottom of the TV when I watch these. =P

[Bill Aurion]

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Originally posted by: pap64
Also, most of the tracks are done by one person which can be funny but its not as good as when there are multiple people making fun of the movie.

As I said, try "The Film Crew"...Same lovable bunch, though no on-screen antics, sadly...