gammer's take: Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer...unless its a Manos style of
Christmas short about Santa and his home at the "North Pole" and magic helicopter that we never see and the model
railroad scenes are reminiscent of "Rock Climbing". Yes we have our first official RiffTrax short folks and its a
doosey. The directing, acting and ambiance will totally remind you of Manos...Manos Christmas.
This short is offered as a RiffTrax on Demand. Which means you purchase the RiffTrax and download a TIX file.
Then you install the DivX player and when you open the TIX file it downloads the Movie (with RiffTrax already mixed
in) to your DivX player. When the download is complete, you can watch it on your computer via the DivX player, or if
you have a DivX compatible DVD player, then you can burn the short to a CD/DVD and watch it on your TV.
The short is only 13 minutes long and I thought it didn't start off all that funny. But after the first few
minutes...say when they first show Santa, I thought it got better. It was nice to see the guys riff a
short again, especially one of this quality. And the icing on the cake was the end riffing. I don't want to spoil it
for you, but did you recognize the "tune" that Bill and Kevin were humming at the end?
Definitely worth checking out
Ho Ho Ho, I'm not wearing any underpants! Merry Christmas!!!
4/5
gammer's take: These little shorts are the 'cats meow'; I'm really enjoying them. Again, incase you aren't familiar with the shorts, they are available as a Video On Demand. Which means you can download them in a .divx file and play them back with the divx player (audio already mixed in) or you can download the MP3 from RiffTrax and the source video from Archive.org and mix it up yourself.
I thought Act Your Age was funnier then the creepy Visit To Santa (which was good too). I think it was the sexual innuendo jokes that got me.
For 99 cents you can't go wrong.
5/5
gammer's take: We're moving right along with these shorts and I'm glad RiffTrax is doing these on a regular basis now.
After watching the last short, I had high hopes for Lunchroom Manners. Unfortunately it was kind of flat for me. A few giggles here and there, but not the out loud laughs I was expecting to get from these easy targeted shorts. Bill sounded a bit off in his riffing...it was almost like they hadn't rehearsed it enough for perfection, or something?
Ah well, I'm sure there will be lots more were these came from, and its still worth watching.
My favorite vegetable is ketchup
3/5
gammer's take: The Terrible Truth is one of those shorts from the 50's that was trying and scare folks from using drugs. It's narrated by and appears an old school Judge who tries to show how bad using marijuana and heroin 'really' is. Only problem is, is that you want to smoke a dube just to make it through this short.
I found this RiffTrax short to be rather flat and I think it was the subject matter they were riffing on. Drug abuse is serious and there's probably not a single viewer of this who can say that drug abuse hasn't affected someone in their family or someone they know. Of course this short is out dated and poorly done, but the guys just couldn't seem to get the ball rolling for this one.
2.5/5
gammer's take: Today's short (or shorts) is actually a two-some. The first one from the Dairy Council "shows us possible reasons why Cathy might not be eating breakfast every morning, but ultimately asks that we, the audience, 'stop the projector and discuss'". The second is an "early promotional film for Sonoma County poultry industry featuring young women making an extremely large omelet". Both shorts are about three and half minutes long and are spliced together; that is played back to back.
I thought these shorts were much better then the previous two RiffTrax gave us. Pretty funny and I think the Petaluma Chicken short was slightly better.
Joanne jumped to early, into the omelette she goes!
4/5
gammer's take: Today's short is from 1969 and "Shows coffeehouses sponsored by churches and community organizations and how they function as gathering places for countercultural youth."
This RiffTrax was more of ripping the short a new "one", and I thought it worked great. When we have short flicks like this, I think it works best to go with this style because we never really have time to get into the film.
Another funny one, and the guys just keep 'em coming.
This is actually a sly film made by trade schools, trying to convince you not to go to college
4/5
gammer's take: Our most recent RiffTrax short "uses a story about children who are rescued from accidents at home to create an awareness of home safety and provides examples for accident prevention". And if Ed Wood ever made a short, this would be it. Terrible special affects, monotone acting and a 'superhero' who is worse then Puma-Man and Greatest American Hero combined.
The short alone is highly laughable, but the added RiffTrax makes this the best short yet. Hilarious! You've gotta see it. Not to mention this is our longest short to date; 16 minutes long, so more bang for your 99 cents!
5/5
gammer's take: Are You Popular is from 1947 and is an example "of post-World War II social guidance films, with examples of "good" and "bad" girls, proper and improper dating etiquette, courtesy to parents, and an analysis of what makes some people popular and others not."
This RiffTrax short starts off kind of slow, then around the 4 min mark, it really picks up and we're smooth sailing from then on in. Kevin's John Madden impression was a "hoot" and I now realize to be popular one must not "park in cars with boys".
4/5
gammer's take: In this creepy short, "we see a magic talking mirror that reflects bratty kids as clowns". I'm sure if I watched this when I was a kid, it would have freaked me out! I mean, what better way to grab kids’ attention with creepy, scary clowns!
Unfortunately, I didn't laugh at this short at all. I thought maybe it was the mood I was in. What’s that you say? I should give this one a second chance? Well, I waited a few days and tried it again, and I still didn't find it funny. Oh well, we were on a pretty good roll there for a while.
2.5/5
gammer's take: This short is about "a group of children, all wearing ape masks, who rides their bicycles to the park for a picnic. Along the way, all but one is eliminated for violating basic bike safety rules". You might recognize the 'quavering voice' of the narrator, Edward Everett Horton.
The RiffTrax was well done. I thought Kevin's 'poo flinging' was a bit much, but not too bad, but Bills comment about 'her mouth being stuck in the shape of an "Oh"', had me laughing the most.
A creepy short and a solid RiffTrax.
4.5/5
gammer's take: After a 2 month hiatus, the shorts are back...and back with a bang. Ok before I go any further...info on our short today (from 1979):
"Anita Bryant (famous Florida orange juice and anti-gay spokeswoman) narrates this film that tries to simplify its drug abuse message with an analogy of kids putting together a contraption out of Lego blocks. Although the metaphors often don't make sense, the visual impact of the film is stunning and could easily be quite popular with individuals consuming illicit drugs. Also, like most anti-drug films, this could be a tempting introduction to drugs for some youths yearning to escape their "boring" lives or to rebel against their parents."
That pretty much sums it up folks; perfect riffing fodder. Also...this RiffTrax is a blast! I haven't laughed out loud at riffing like this in a long time. But then again, Drugs are like that.
5/5
gammer's take: Today's short from 1971: "While attempting to show us the common hazards which cause workers to lose their balance, this film has more slapstick than most Three Stooges shorts - the films hero falls down more than thirty times. Its not clear whether the film was meant to be funny as workers probably were laughing at this poor schnook more than learning from his mistakes."
As you can see this short is pretty funny by itself. But, you can only make fun of someone falling so many times before its hard to come up with something new and cleaver to say. The guys seem to do a good job of it and overall this one was pretty good.
4/5
gammer's take: Today's short is entitled "Patriotism" (1972). "Shortly after his successful World War II comedy "Hogan's Heroes" went off the air, but sometime before he got his head bashed in with a tripod in an Arizona motel room, Bob Crane found time to talk patriotism with the kids."
Even though I thought that this short never really got off the ground, it was still all right. Several mildly humorous moments and well worth watching.
Making ugly things even uglier, that’s what Patriotism is all about
3.5/5
gammer's take: Today's short introduces us to Skipper (1952) - "a bigoted dog who doesnt like the 'funny looking' diverse neighborhood kids that his owner is playing with. Skipper also has problems with the neighborhood dogs, but learns his lesson when he accidentally gets covered in poster paint. Even though this film is awkward and the message is forced, it is one of the first made for young children that addresses the problems of racial intolerance".
I liked the way this RiffTrax started off...Very funny. But it falls flat a qaurter of the way through...around when the kids leave to play and Skipper starts to judge the other dogs. It never really picked back up after that.
Well, my nuts aren't going to lick themselves
3/5
gammer's take: Buying Food (1950):
"Made for home economics class, this is a primer on sensible food shopping. We learn to read canned food labels and get a glimpse at the mysterious grading system for various foods (and may understand why food grades are no longer advertised unless they are Grade A). Many of the films messages are still poignant today, especially since supermarkets are designed to encourage impulse buying".
I never knew purchasing food was so hard to do?!?! Seriously though, I thought this was a fantastic RiffTrax short. The impulse buying bit was brilliant!
Always wear your suit and tie on 'Bean Eating Night'.
4.5/5
gammer's take: Right or Wrong? (Making Moral Decisions) (1951). Today’s short is about "Assessing the behavior of a juvenile delinquent who refuses to rat on his companions".
I thought this RiffTrax short was ok. The first time I watched it, I didn't laugh at all. But upon second viewing I found it to be a little more amusing. Certainly it was not quite as strong as some of our previous shorts, but not too bad.
Allright, I'll talk with him some more. And then I'll get in touch with you...and then maybe we'll go dancing
3/5
gammer's take: They could only get away with a short like this in the 40's, well actually this one was from 1947 to be exact: "With such a provocative title, this film illustrates some of the perceived problems a supervisor might face working with women, but ultimately demonstrates where the real problem lies."
I love the line when the supervisor says: "If you treat her right she 'might' make you a darn good employee". What, so if I change her oil every 5000KM's and wash and wax her reglarly, everthing will be ok? I didn't know women were possessions like that?
Anyway this rifftrax short was half decent and I got some good chuckles out of it.
4/5>
gammer's take: 1966: "Bill Duncan gets a Health Department citation for having a rusted-out garbage can. He talks to his buddy at the Health Department and learns that his neighborhood is filled with rats, disease carrying mosquitoes and neighbors who are eager to blame these problems on each other."
I felt this RiffTrax short was only average; middle of the line for humor.
<3.5/5>
gammer's take: Wow...this has to have been our most depressing short to date. Talk about wanting to cut your wrists while suffering from severe depression from viewing this short.
1954: "This film was made for teachers as a reminder that learning disabilities and less-than-ideal home environments can affect students' performance and behavior. While this film was supposed to foster compassion for these children, some scenarios are so troubling and overdramatic that they could invoke a teacher's pity, thus allowing troubled students to pass onto the next grade without learning anything."
The guys did a good job of keeping the subject matter "light" and I found myself laughing out loud at quite a few riffs.
4/5
gammer's take: 1949: "This film uses a childs curiosity about animals to convey its messages. Young Helen learns that she cleans herself just like her cat Kitty does. Unfortunately, Helen doesnt pick up on the fact the Kitty doesnt like to be groped by a room full of grimy school children. Films featuring animals and young children are usually as torturous to watch, as they were to make."
This short was average in my opinion. We've certainly seen better ones to date.
3/5
gammer's take: 1955: "Life of a teenage outsider; what makes him that way and how his anger flares into violence."
This short was a bit on the depressing side and not much to write home about.
2.5/5
gammer's take: I have no production date for this one, but needless to say, this 'oldie' was a fun romp. And was a nice pick me up compared to some of our previous gloomy shorts.
3.5/5
gammer's take: Note: I am putting this in with the shorts for now. Depending on where RiffTrax goes with these, I will probably move it into its own section...or something.
This is a free streaming RiffTrax of the old Incredible Hulk TV show. An entire episode is provided by Hulu and the streaming commentary by Mike, Kevin and Bill is synched up and streamed by overcast.com.
For now, this free RiffTrax is only available in the USA and since I'm in Canada, I am unable to watch and review it. Once it becomes available in Canada, I will post my review.
gammer's take: coming soon...
gammer's take: coming soon...
gammer's take: coming soon...