Is Kevin Murphy officially a regular RiffTrax riffer now?

[Nunyerbiz]

I have listened to Kevin Murphy on NPR multiple times. I really cannot stand to listen to him. And from the Matrix samplings, I don't want to bother listening to him on Rifftrax either. And people will say, "Well, how can you not listen to him now but you loved him back on MST3K?" Basically, his voice sounds completely different. On MST3K, he sounds like a disgruntled robot, which is what he was. Nowadays, he sounds like an elitist movie snob that I don't want to hear talking...ever.

I don't know if I would single out Kevin, but in general I do find the Rifftrax to be somewhat more elitist, snobby and mean-spirited. I think the MST characters and/or writers, in general, took things in stride and kept things somewhat light-hearted. Even when they were sobbing and crying and hating the flim, they were "in character" and tried to inject some humor into the preceedings. I think without the constraint of playing a character, Mike and friends don't really need to play nice. I'm not saying one approach or the other is superior, but I tend to laugh when they make a joke at the movies expense. I don't laugh so much when they fall into attack mode and harp on it's faults with no pretense of being anything but sarcastic.

[macleod]

I don't know if I would single out Kevin, but in general I do find the Rifftrax to be somewhat more elitist, snobby and mean-spirited. I think the MST characters and/or writers, in general, took things in stride and kept things somewhat light-hearted. Even when they were sobbing and crying and hating the flim, they were "in character" and tried to inject some humor into the preceedings. I think without the constraint of playing a character, Mike and friends don't really need to play nice. I'm not saying one approach or the other is superior, but I tend to laugh when they make a joke at the movies expense. I don't laugh so much when they fall into attack mode and harp on it's faults with no pretense of being anything but sarcastic.

See, I don't know if I agree with that. I don't think that they've been cruel to every movie riffed. Admittedly, some, like star wars, got it pretty rough. But I think most would agree that was called for. Some movies, like the Lord of the Rings, or the Matrix, really didn't get hammered in a mean-spirited way, at least I don't think so.

But even so, I like the ability they have in Rifftrax to rip into these movies. The films in MST3K were extremely low- budget, bottom of the barrel-type movies, where really nothing great is expected. Can we really say that Manos was a lost potential cinematic jewel? In contrast, most of the movies on rifftrax are high-budget mega films that ended up falling way short of the mark. At least in my view, the latter deserve a more thourough schlacking...

[Nunyerbiz]

I didn't mean to overstate my point and make it out like Mike and the gang are just being pricks all the time, just that those types of comments are more prevelant in Rifftrax than MST for whatever reason. I guess I'm not here for movies to get their "comeuppance" or whatever and it just comes across as a little petty when they decide to go that route with some of the material. I'll agree, it's been a minor factor in the big scheme of things.

[Sharktopus]

I didn't mean to overstate my point and make it out like Mike and the gang are just being pricks all the time, just that those types of comments are more prevelant in Rifftrax than MST for whatever reason. I guess I'm not here for movies to get their "comeuppance" or whatever and it just comes across as a little petty when they decide to go that route with some of the material. I'll agree, it's been a minor factor in the big scheme of things.

I think a lot of that comes from Mike picking any movie he wants to Riff. On MST, even if you ignore the show's premise of them being forced to watch a bad movie, they still only had so many movies to choose from, and I imagine they actually took the best of the bunch. It always feel weird to me to hear Mike faux-complain about how hard this is gonna be, or thank Mike or Bill for joining him for this very difficult experience. You picked the movie, Mike. Don't pretend it's hurting you. At least on MST it was slim pickin's.

[macleod]

Well, he might have picked it, but really...I think in some of these cases, the riff was a public service, it HAD to be done...as in Star Wars episode 1. I think the only Movie Mike truly likes from the list we have is LOTR, and maybe Road House (in a perverse sort of way)

[Tarantulas]

At the risk of angering the mod-gods and making thin skinned people leave the board...

Rifftrax is not MST 2.0

It's similar, but different.  As such, the guys are not playing characters any more, so things might end up sounding more gruff since they can now punish the films without having to worry about making it totally "kid friendly".

Do I like the direction that Rifftrax has gone in vs. MST?  Yes.   

Are there things I don't like? Yes. 

Does the good FAR outweigh the bad?  MOST DEFINITELY.

[Nunyerbiz]

I think a lot of that comes from Mike picking any movie he wants to Riff. On MST, even if you ignore the show's premise of them being forced to watch a bad movie, they still only had so many movies to choose from, and I imagine they actually took the best of the bunch. It always feel weird to me to hear Mike faux-complain about how hard this is gonna be, or thank Mike or Bill for joining him for this very difficult experience. You picked the movie, Mike. Don't pretend it's hurting you. At least on MST it was slim pickin's.

I wholeheartedly agree with the "faux-complain" stuff. Much like the classic MST riff "Don't remind people of a good movie during your terrible movie", I would suggest that Rifftrax shouldn't remind us of how difficult and painful all of this is one minute while trying to make us laugh the next. There is nothing particularly appealing in the idea that Mike and crew hate their jobs, but love selling us their work.

I know that isn't the case, and that those types of comments are in jest. I'm just saying that the questionable comedic value in such comments doesn't outweigh the potential of undermining your own product. I want Rifftrax to redeem the unredeemable. I don't want to be told that all of this was a big painful waste of time. (Again, I'm not trying to paint all of the releases with the same brush.... just speaking in general of the things that annoy me when they crop up)

[BEERxTaco]

I think you guys are reading way too much into these innocent comedic remarks. It's funny to me when they feel like they have to prepare themselves for this stinker (regardless of whether it's truly a stinker or not). They wouldn't be riffing it if it were a true gem of a film, right? As far as I can see, it's part of the whole Rifftrax experience that the movie is lacking in some fashion, why else would they add the comentary? And I'm sure it is painful in some degree to them, since they have to view it over and over and over and over... 

It's just a joke...

[Tarantulas]

Let's not forgot the fact that both MST and Rifftrax (and the Legend DVDs) have exposed us all the movies that we would have never watched otherwise.

In a way, they are doing a service to the film community by widening the films audience.

Had it not been for MST, I'm sure the fact that "The Island" rips off "Parts: The Clonus Horror" would not be known by so many people.

Speaking of which, I picked up "Clonus" on DVD the other day, the director's commentary track is well worth listening to.

For example, did you know the blonde clone that gets killed early on in the picture is the clone of the shadowy eye patch wearing guy who seems to be behind Peter Graves' characters run for the Whitehouse?

Also, the "baaaaalink" blinking of the clones was supposed to support the subtext that they were genetically dumbed down.  And that the tags that the main clone stars wore indicated that they were the "control group" that was left at normal intelligence?

They sure expected you to read a lot into the movie.. and the edits that BBI made really don't harm the movie that much.

Also, turns out they didn't make a dime off the picture

[Nunyerbiz]

I've never seen it outside of MST, but I thought "Clonus" was a pretty decent movie by MST standards. The story was actually interesting in a 1970's made-for-TV movie kind of way. As far as "reading things into the movie", I thought they made it obvious that some of the clones were "dumbed down", altho I never did make the connection with the "baaaalink". The identity of the dumb blond clone was revealed when they showed a shot of the eye patch guy and then immediately cut to dumb blond now frozen clone with a missing eye. (I admit that he was kind of hard to recognize in his "frozen" state and I can't guarentee I made the connection during my first Clonus viewing)

Anyways, getting back on-topic... oh wait... I wasn't talking about Kevin being a regular riffer.... nevermind.

[macleod]

I agree, Rifftrax is not MST 2.0, nor should it be.

I'm a die-hard MSTie myself, but this medium allows us to see different materials from the comedic writers we love. What's the point in criticizing these because they don't feel like MST? I'm just ecstatic to hear Mike, Kevin, and Bill, in any form; especially after so many years of relative silence. I just don't get why some people feel the need to gripe at anything. If MST were all of a sudden thrust back on the air, I guarantee you that tons of purists would snipe about how the new wasn't anywhere near the original...that gets old after awhile.

Anyhow, personally, I like the multi-riffer set up; it allows them to work off each other and (at least in my opinion) makes the experience a bit more engaging. Yeah, Mike and Kevin have different approaches, but that's what is nice about it. For example, when Kevin was giving facts about Norway during the Pod Race...I about hit the floor laughing..

[Nunyerbiz]

I really wasn't trying to criticize Rifftrax because they are doing things a different way at times then MST. I was just trying to point out a minor aspect of some trax that annoy me (the attitude that can come across as snotty and mean-spirited without really trying to be funny). MST was used only because there is nothing else that I can compare it to.

I personally don't see a good reason not to voice my concerns, opinions, praise, criticism, etc. I love Rifftrax, I think they have a great product and there has not been one purchase yet that I was disappointed with. That said, I hang around here to discuss and not just to blow sunshine up various asses.

[macleod]

Ok, ok, point taken.

From that standpoint, maybe the rifftrax are a bit more abraisive. I guess I like that style a lot more, because I think some movies deserve a heap of frustration. At the same time, it wouldn't surprise me if some of these riffs tread on some toes. I remember I had to convince my family that the LOTR riff would not be sacreligious...

[BEERxTaco]

blow sunshine up various asses.

Wasn't that a Top Gun riff reference? 

[Bob]

Speaking of which, I picked up "Clonus" on DVD the other day, the director's commentary track is well worth listening to.

Also, turns out they didn't make a dime off the picture

Frankly, I was unaware that this movie existed without the MST3K commentary!    Glad that they were able to print it out on DVD and the studio thought enough of it to include a commentary track.

And if the lawsuit pans out, they WILL make MANY dimes from the picture!