#msthursday

[thomservo]

Today's msthursday is : Operation Double 007

I'm going to offer what might be an unpopular opinion: I don't think MST3K should have done this movie (also called "Operation Kid Brother.") This movie was a parody of the spy movie genre, not a serious straight spy movie. It wasn't a particularly good parody--it failed mainly because it didn't go over-the-top enough--but the ridiculousness it did have was intentional. 

A similar debate broke out when Rifftrax covered Sharknado. Can or should you riff on a movie that is purposefully ridiculous? Pointing out that the script is full of cliches or the effects are laughably cheesy means the movie makers succeeded, not failed. The only thing you can say is that their jokes weren't good enough. (And OP007's weren't). Riffs become criticisms of their comedic failures. But if you critique their comedy chops isn't that just heckling?

[thomservo]

This week's msthursday is City Limits

James Earl Jones and Kim Cattrall are in this. How bad can it be?

The answer is: a lot. A lot bad.

City Limits is a boiler-plate low-budget post-apocalyptic nightmare, where gangs of foppish dandies rule the city with an iron fist and gangs of less-foppish but still ridiculously-clad gangs want to wrest control back to form semi-democratic city-states. This is also the movie where Joel tries, with marginal success, to cover nudity with an umbrella.

[thomservo]

Reaching for a Mike episode this week, because I've been going a little Joel-heavy lately. Today's MSThursday is The Sinister Urge.

This is an Ed Wood directed movie about murderous pornographers. For my money, Wood's The Violent Years is more salacious. There isn't as much skin as you might think in a movie about "porn." I put porn in quotes because the worse you see is women in two-piece bathing suits, and the implication that there is so much more porny things back in the storehouse doesn't really come off. But if you are a fan of Wood's depictions of his slightly sleazy sensibilities, this is a good episode to see.

The movie is preceded by the personal hygiene short "Keeping Clean and Neat." Personally, I was so happy when they dropped the serials (Commando Cody and the like) for self-improvement films. The riffing was great on this short, with Crow especially acerbic.

[thomservo]

This week's MSThursday is Fire Maidens of Outer Space.

Fire Maidens is a poor man's Star Trek episode padded out to feature length (they even compare the two, set-design wise). In a word, Space Babes. They have short skirts and a strong need to breed.

When Joel/Mike and the bots take on black and white movies I feel like they have to go the extra mile with the riffing to make up for the glacial pace and gray-on-gray color palette. With a name like Fire Maidens you'd expect more action and less dancing to "Strangers in Paradise" but that was not to be. Fire Maidens is not the worst b&w movie they've done and the riffing is pretty on point, as are the host segments. The silently menacing Timmy is enough to tip it into enjoyable territory for me.

[thomservo]

Back By Popular Demand (ok no one noticed, but still...)

I've been taking a break from MSThursday due to a lot of personal stuff being thrown my way, and blog reorganization but guess what's coming back tomorrow? MSTHURSDAY. 

[thomservo]

This week's MSThursday (continuing the Summer of Monsters) is "Bride of the Monster" There are a few monsters in the movie, so the title is a little confusing. The main monster (who does not get a bride) is an octopus...thing.

"Bride of the Monster" is actually a pretty watchable movie, compared to some of the other movies that not even the riffing can make enjoyable. This movie features the creative juices of the b-movie triad: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson and Ed Wood. It is so over the top it comes back around to being fun.

The movie is preceded by the short "Hired!" Start at 16:45 to skip the short, but it is not a bad short and without it, the musical number Joel and the bots do won't make as much sense.

[hannibalsbattlebot]

MSTHursday: The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy

This has been on my wishlist for a while. It might have the second most ridiculous title of a MST3K movie, beaten only by "The Killer Shrews." This movie is painful, though, and it doesn't help that since this is a season 1 episode the riffs aren't as machine-gun fast. I looked for a "best of" highlight video, but I couldn't find one on youtube. 

If you dare, I recommend going to the 25 minute mark to skip the Commando Cody short, which is also painful.

[x]

[hannibalsbattlebot]

This week's MSThursday is "Mitchell," chosen for its top-notch depiction of police work, 70's plaid suits, and one of the greasiest (and not in a good way) sex scenes ever burned onto film.