"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Updated: Now Available!

[LucasM]

I can't stand to sit through the '80s films, or the recent MST-like ones (from the '50s-'70s), some of them not even able to finish once, because I can't tolerate repeating the films. 

Really? Highlander is one of the few films they've done that I can enjoy watching on its own and riffed.

Or did you mean just the 80's VOD riffs?

Actually the VODs, and Highlander, and Jaws, and Karate Kid probably won't be tolerable long-term either... I haven't yet felt up to trying to watch it a second time yet.  I never cared for Highlander when it came out, so there's no nostalgia for me with it... Karate Kid was tolerable when it came out, but that's about it.  And it seems that an AWFUL lot of recent comments in such films have been of the "boy that was bad... can you believe how bad that was?" and "let's see how long this establishing shot takes... OK, we get it, it's established!"  I don't care for just bitching (to fill space in a riffing, or in general).  And Hell, I can hear people bitch about a bad film without paying for it and setting aside time for it.

The problem I have is that, with the newer films, there's simply more, and more supposed-to-be intense stuff that they can riff.   To me it seems that with the older films, they are just bad overall, without the sheen of respectability that more recent films have - a sheen that is so thin on most films, that it makes for that much more contrast with the comments pointing out what's underneath.  The more the contrast, the funnier comments can tend to be.

But I already realize that I seem to be in the minority with thoughts like this.  So I just make comments on occasion to make sure that there's awareness that there is a group of people out there who like things different than the status quo.

[ihavemyreasons]

I can't stand to sit through the '80s films, or the recent MST-like ones (from the '50s-'70s), some of them not even able to finish once, because I can't tolerate repeating the films. 

Really? Highlander is one of the few films they've done that I can enjoy watching on its own and riffed.

Or did you mean just the 80's VOD riffs?

Actually the VODs, and Highlander, and Jaws, and Karate Kid probably won't be tolerable long-term either... I haven't yet felt up to trying to watch it a second time yet.  I never cared for Highlander when it came out, so there's no nostalgia for me with it... Karate Kid was tolerable when it came out, but that's about it.  And it seems that an AWFUL lot of recent comments in such films have been of the "boy that was bad... can you believe how bad that was?" and "let's see how long this establishing shot takes... OK, we get it, it's established!"  I don't care for just bitching (to fill space in a riffing, or in general).  And Hell, I can hear people bitch about a bad film without paying for it and setting aside time for it.

The problem I have is that, with the newer films, there's simply more, and more supposed-to-be intense stuff that they can riff.   To me it seems that with the older films, they are just bad overall, without the sheen of respectability that more recent films have - a sheen that is so thin on most films, that it makes for that much more contrast with the comments pointing out what's underneath.  The more the contrast, the funnier comments can tend to be.

But I already realize that I seem to be in the minority with thoughts like this.  So I just make comments on occasion to make sure that there's awareness that there is a group of people out there who like things different than the status quo.

I'd argue riffing a Harry Potter or Transformers film is more riffing of films that are a part of the "status quo"  then Abraxas and Galaxy Invaders were both better more original films and targets. And the best riff in the last couple of years was Birdemic (terrible, terrible movie, not 80's
, but worse than most of the 80's movies that have been riffed).

[Watchman]

I can't stand to sit through the '80s films, or the recent MST-like ones (from the '50s-'70s), some of them not even able to finish once, because I can't tolerate repeating the films. 

Really? Highlander is one of the few films they've done that I can enjoy watching on its own and riffed.

Or did you mean just the 80's VOD riffs?

I've really liked all of the recently riffed bad 70's/80's movies, but Highlander was the one that I hadn't seen since the 80's that   had fond memories of (I think it was one of the first movies I saw when my family finally got a VCR), but after not seeing it for 20 plus years, I thought it was terrible even when riffed.

Funny, it's the opposite for me. I was never a big Highlander fan (largely due to the crappy sequels & TV shows that gave the impression of a lame "Franchise"). But when I recently viewed Highlander as a stand-alone film, especially compared to the more mainstream stuff that gets riffed, I appreciated the film's rough edges. Listening to the DVD commentary also made me appreciate the time & work that was put into such a relatively low budget independent film.

I can't say whether the film's good or bad, but it's interesting. Top Gun is an 80's bore, imo. I'll take Highlander over Bruckheimer's slick, dated shit.

[LucasM]

I can't stand to sit through the '80s films, or the recent MST-like ones (from the '50s-'70s), some of them not even able to finish once, because I can't tolerate repeating the films. 

Really? Highlander is one of the few films they've done that I can enjoy watching on its own and riffed.

Or did you mean just the 80's VOD riffs?

Actually the VODs, and Highlander, and Jaws, and Karate Kid probably won't be tolerable long-term either... I haven't yet felt up to trying to watch it a second time yet.  I never cared for Highlander when it came out, so there's no nostalgia for me with it... Karate Kid was tolerable when it came out, but that's about it.  And it seems that an AWFUL lot of recent comments in such films have been of the "boy that was bad... can you believe how bad that was?" and "let's see how long this establishing shot takes... OK, we get it, it's established!"  I don't care for just bitching (to fill space in a riffing, or in general).  And Hell, I can hear people bitch about a bad film without paying for it and setting aside time for it.

The problem I have is that, with the newer films, there's simply more, and more supposed-to-be intense stuff that they can riff.   To me it seems that with the older films, they are just bad overall, without the sheen of respectability that more recent films have - a sheen that is so thin on most films, that it makes for that much more contrast with the comments pointing out what's underneath.  The more the contrast, the funnier comments can tend to be.

But I already realize that I seem to be in the minority with thoughts like this.  So I just make comments on occasion to make sure that there's awareness that there is a group of people out there who like things different than the status quo.

I'd argue riffing a Harry Potter or Transformers film is more riffing of films that are a part of the "status quo"  then Abraxas and Galaxy Invaders were both better more original films and targets. And the best riff in the last couple of years was Birdemic (terrible, terrible movie, not 80's, but worse than most of the 80's movies that have been riffed).

What I meant by the 'status quo' was that the types of comments (especially simple complaining, but also call-backs to overly-repeated comments, and those of the type that were in MST3K) are more frequent when they are riffing the older films.  When working with blockbusters, I find the comments the guys make funnier.  A far larger percent of the RiffTrax overall are funnier than any of the MST3K shows, regardless how good some of those got.

But, back to 'status quo', if you'll note, the last ten films they've riffed have been:
109 Birdemic Shock and Terror
110 Highlander
111 Karate Kid 3
112 Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan
113 Crater Lake Monster
114 The Devil's Hand
115 X-Men- The Last Stand
116 The Galaxy Invader
117 Abraxas
118 THOR
Only two of those ten have been from the last 10 years (well, possibly Birdemic was also, but as you pointed out it 'felt' like an 80s film, and even riffed I couldn't get past the first five minutes).  I have bought four of those, two of which (Highlander and Karate Kid 3) I may never watch again.  (I saw the other six via friends.)  And most people (at least in the comments for the ones I looked at) are praising the riffings highly when - for most - I barely recall smiling.  That, in contrast to more recent films where I'm often laughing out loud at their comments.  So again: I'm having a dissenting opinion from the group praising the 'status quo'.

[Oh, a correction, having remembered the original Karate Kid was riffed, I made the mistake of saying "it wasn't too bad when it came out".  Karate Kid [1] was what I was thinking of, and it was riffed VERY well by Ice On Mars.  I had never seen KK3 until the RiffTrax riffing of it.]

I'm going to stop now, because I've had a rough week, and - even with re-arranging multiple sentences to try to get these posts coherent, I can't even read what I've written anymore.  Hopefully it makes sense.

[Watchman]

You both have points, but you're overlooking one thing: There is no status quo on the Rifftrax Forum! Everyone has slightly different tastes. Remember the Rate Nine Game, LucasM? The only Rifftrax that all participants gave high ratings to were The Matrix films. The Matrix riffs are the closest I've come to seeing a "status quo". I'm pretty alone when it comes to Dr Moreau, haha.

[ihavemyreasons]

Your comments made sense. I don't agree, but you made sense. I'll admit that I'd like to see a closer to 50/50 mix of new vs old movies, but my personal desire for that is that I think there are a lot of recent terrible movies that I'd like to see riffed and they haven't been, not because I have complaints about the recently rifffed movies (but realistically, I think many of the recent choices for riffs have been due to the movies being in the public domain and being able to charge $9.99 for those vs. $3.99 for an audio only track).

[LucasM]

You both have points, but you're overlooking one thing: There is no status quo on the Rifftrax Forum! Everyone has slightly different tastes. Remember the Rate Nine Game, LucasM? The only Rifftrax that all participants gave high ratings to were The Matrix films. The Matrix riffs are the closest I've come to seeing a "status quo". I'm pretty alone when it comes to Dr Moreau, haha.

I love the Moreau riffing!  You are not alone!    [Mike: "I get all my Fairuzas in Balk."  One of my favorite lines in any RT riffing (see my current sig line below).]

And that is true about the 'Rate 9' game: everyone has different tastes.  But the only comments that seem to end up in the 'Rate This Riff' threads for the riffings of '80s films or MST-type B&W films are massively, if not entirely, positive.  The thing is, people like me (who don't care for them) often don't want to spend even more of our time commenting on them in the 'Rate Them' threads.  [I made a regrettable decision to comment on films I didn't like with 'The Room'.  I spent way too much energy on a riffing I'd only ever watch once, and couldn't stand then.  And so I made a decision to not do so again (which, thanks to the head injuries, I didn't manage to actually hold to until after doing much the same with both 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Drag Me to Hell').]  So I suppose a more accurate comment from me would have been the apparent 'status quo' appears to be people overwhelmingly enjoying, and clamoring for more, 'pre-2000' films.

I also get that the guys may like to change it up once in a while.  And, if that keeps them from burning out, I am all for it!  I'd much rather have times where I simply wouldn't buy a riffing than to have them fry themselves out (like their bacon today) and not be able to produce funny riffings again.  But, to me, the old stuff is a 'been there, done that' thing [with rare exceptions: I really liked 'Voodoo Man', and even 'Swing Parade' was funny enough to rewatch multiple times (despite my despising the Three Stooges... for MK&B to make one of their films funny to me is truly an accomplishment!)].  But it's a 'been there, done that' thing as there are just over 175 of that type of older film in the MST3K collection.  There are not, as yet, that many newer films in the RiffTrax ouvre.

Your comments made sense. I don't agree, but you made sense. I'll admit that I'd like to see a closer to 50/50 mix of new vs old movies, but my personal desire for that is that I think there are a lot of recent terrible movies that I'd like to see riffed and they haven't been, not because I have complaints about the recently rifffed movies (but realistically, I think many of the recent choices for riffs have been due to the movies being in the public domain and being able to charge $9.99 for those vs. $3.99 for an audio only track).

You forget that the 'non-riffing' guys there have to do work to get those public domain films into a viewable format.  I recall some descriptions of the hell that they went through for the Planet of Dinosaurs VOD and ISO, because each scene seemed to have a different 'set point' for some video characteristic (I don't know enough to know what it was, but it threw the audio's timing off).  So it's not like they take an off-the-shelf ready-to-go film and copy it with their comments: it isn't $9.99 pure profit.

And, with your 50/50 comment, I'll refer you to my above comment about over 175 MSTs already taking well over 50% of the riffed movies that 2/3 of this group was involved in (with nearly 50 of those having this exact mix, plus additional talented humorists).  Looking back over the 'official' RiffTrax (i.e. 'no RT Presents'), you'll see that there are roughly forty of them that are pre-2000.  That is almost exactly a third of what they've done.  So there's actually a roughly 215:80 lead of 'older films' to 'new films'.  New films have a long way to go to be even.

Again: these are just my opinions, and it seems, they are in the minority here.  At least of the outspoken people on the boards, that is.  Many others may simply vote with their cash and probably never visit the boards.  I would guess those people show a distinct similarity in preference pattern to what I am voicing, actually.  (i.e. that 'post-2000' film riffings sell much better than others)

I gotta go watch something... as Monty Python's 'Gumby' character would often say, "MY BRAIN HURTS!!"

[Bob]

Until the post in the DVD Cover Art section is un-spamified, below is a link for cover makers for hires posters and logos for this latest opus.

.....http://pslowner.smugmug.com/DVD-Cover-Art/DVD-Cover-Art/2505615_9smXJM#1530763144_KwgB2FP

[Bob]

http://pslowner.smugmug.com/DVD-Cover-Art/DVD-Cover-Art/2505615_9smXJM#1530763144_KwgB2FP

[Bob]

.......http://pslowner.smugmug.com/DVD-Cover-Art/DVD-Cover-Art/2505615_9smXJM#1530763144_KwgB2FP

[Bob]

Okay, it appears that anytime I try and post a like to my website for DVD cover resources, it is being marked as spam for whatever reason.

Anyway, there are posters and logos for this movie there in my smugmug account that you can find in the Fan Art Resources, Posters for DVD covers thread.

[RVR II]

Obviously the forum doesn't like your smug mug

[Gizmo the Great]

I still think the SHORTS are the best riffed items.

However, to me the top riifs will have to be

1) Star Wars Holiday Special
2) The Room
3) Birdemic

Just my humble opinion

[LucasM]

I still think the SHORTS are the best riffed items.

However, to me the top riifs will have to be

1) Star Wars Holiday Special
2) The Room
3) Birdemic

Just my humble opinion

  Seems we have the exact opposite taste in RiffTrax.   

Those three feature RiffTrax are ones I will never watch again, and barely made it through the first time.  And, compared to the best of the feature film riffings, I think the shorts are quite weak.  I actually accepted my opinion wouldn't change (i.e. the type of riffs on shorts wouldn't coincide with what I like enough to re-watch them by choice) and stopped buying them with #150 'Feelings: I'm Feeling Alone'.

[bta]

I still think the SHORTS are the best riffed items.

However, to me the top riifs will have to be

1) Star Wars Holiday Special
2) The Room
3) Birdemic

Just my humble opinion

  Seems we have the exact opposite taste in RiffTrax.   

Those three feature RiffTrax are ones I will never watch again, and barely made it through the first time.  And, compared to the best of the feature film riffings, I think the shorts are quite weak.  I actually accepted my opinion wouldn't change (i.e. the type of riffs on shorts wouldn't coincide with what I like enough to re-watch them by choice) and stopped buying them with #150 'Feelings: I'm Feeling Alone'.

Agreed.