Update: DVDTalk also has a glowing review.
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Update: Reviews of CT-7……at blogcritics.org. “Heartily recommended.”
47 Replies to “Update: Reviews of CT-7…”Commenting at Satellite News
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I loved blood of the vampires. The whole thing is just so terrorible bad it’s good.
I thought the riffing for the first half of Blood of the Vampires was downright pathetic. Seems like it’s just a job for them now. No verve left.
Best CT yet. Glad they are getting the reviews and attention they deserve!!! :mrgreen:
I thought the review by Castle Monster in regards to the riffing for the first half of Blood of the Vampires was downright pathetic. Seems like it’s just a job for Johnny Castleberg now. No verve (a British rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1989 at Winstanley Sixth Form College, by vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury) left.
But I thought that the live show was double ultra mega super maxi funny.
Really glad I went, fast shipping, would go again!!1 A++++
The Hiking Crew wins!
Hate to say it, but I agree with The Castle Monster. Just sounds like people reading lines.
I just got a hickey….FROM MY MOM!!!!!!!!!
I’d rate this a B/B+. Solid riffs yet occasionally things feel crowded. Perhaps a five person format is too much of a good thing.
Randy
It seemed like there were more riffs in this one, which I liked. The movie sure gave them a lot to work with. I thought it was one their best efforts yet!
I thought it was great, easily one of their best episodes yet. Has that nice MST Season 3/4 feel to it. Can’t wait to see DYNAMITE BROTHERS again too!
I don’t know. It was pretty middle of the road. It really doesn’t help that the movie is so very dreary.
Ditto to that #2 and #6. There’s just no pizazz or chemistry to these. It seems like they barely interact with each other. It does feel like they’re reading lines off a page at designated times. Which is pretty much what the Joel episodes of MST3K were like, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
I hated that the riffing was so weak. I guess I’ll try to focus on the positive from now on but the thing is, so many people were reporting that the show was hysterically funny that now I wonder how I can trust the reviews anymore. I could go over the whole thing riff by riff and what I don’t think works but suffice it to say that this one has been seriously over-hyped IMNSHO.
On a dreary Monday morning without enough coffee in my system, I hate to be negative. I watched this Saturday and truthfully, this was slightly better than the “Oozing Skull”. If “Oozing Skull” for me was Star Trek V then “Blood of the Vampires” is Star Trek: Insurrection.
Why can’t they project their enjoyment of their craft on the DVD releases like they could during their live shows? This release, stiff and uninspired.
Score card: CT Hits- 4 (II, III, IV, VI) CT Misses- 3 (I, V, VII).
I have to agree with the “middle of the road” comments, although I did enjoy the episode overall. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that just because the live show version of a CT episode gets great reviews doesn’t always mean that will translate to the DVD release. I am looking forward to the Dynamite Brothers, though, especially due to the fact that they’re taping it *after* taking it on tour-this may loosen things up a bit.
Yeah, put me in the mediocre list.
Thought it was okay…But nothing really jumped out at me.
AND this is why they need host segments. A ‘good’ host segment(s) can offset a dreadful movie or a middle of the road riff.
Yeah, the positive reviews for the CT DVDs seem a bit too positive. I mean, even the dullest MST3K episode is still more interesting than some of the dull episodes of Cinematic Titanic.
Well, I think that the Santa Claus remake and this new one have far and away been the best CTs so far. This was the perfect film for them and the first half especially had great riffing. If everyone keeps insisting on comparing CT, Rifftrax, and everything else to MST then all the new projects are doomed to come up short. Nothing will ever be better than MST. It was the first to do this and it was all the brains working together,which will never happen again. I love all these guys…Mike, Joel,Kevin, Trace.. etc…..and anything they do in the riffing business is worth checking out as far as I’m concerned. I’m still grateful that they are all back in the riffing business.
Haven’t picked up “Blood” as of yet…to be honest I just watched “Castle of Freaks” (or should say I managed to make it through about an hour or so) and wasn’t very impressed. I don’t know, I really want these to be great, but nothing has really lived up to the promise seen in “Doomsday” (the CT highlight for me), and I’m almost ready to jump ship.
Let’s focus our attention on the good and the beautiful…. I guess I’m not very discriminating, I have enjoyed all the CTs so far. I think a big difference, obviously, is the enjoyment level of a live performance as opposed to watching a DVD sitting alone on your own couch with a box of Cheezits and your cat for company. Uh-oh, TMI!! Ok, this is the last thing I will say…and it is a tiny, tiny quibble. When they remark “Count Floyd’s 3D theater!” during the cemetary scene – wasn’t it actually, “Count Floyd’s Monster Chiller Horror Theater”, and the movie was Dr.Tongue’s 3D House of Stewardesses, or whatever. I have to go now and drive the spike a little further into my brain to relieve some of the pressure and make the pain stop. buh-bye.
For the record I still like The Bleeding Skull the best (though I’ve always liked Brain of Blood, anyway), though I thought FCOF was almost as good. I thought Doomsday Machine had some weak riffing at the beginning but thought the infamous dead zone of the film was actually pretty funny. The riffing on Legacy of Terror wasn’t bad, though it’s such a grimy little film that it sort of balances out. The Wasp Woman was another disappointment.
Interesting how everyone here has different favorites. I think they are doing a good job if half of the releases are funny to half of the MST3K fans. You just can’t please everyone all of the time.
Personally I thought the funniest releases have been:
Doomsday Machine – 4 stars
Oozing Skull – 4 stars
Wasp Woman – 3.5 stars
Legacy of Blood – 3 stars
Santa vs Martians – 3 stars
FCOF – 2.5 stars
Blood of the Vampires ??
I thought the Frankenstein one was the weakest so far, which was weird to me because it was sandwiched in between my two favorites, Santa Claus and Blood of the Vampire. I wasn’t crazy about anything before Santa Claus but I’ve enjoyed them nonetheless. Of the first four releases, I thought Doomsday Machine had the best riffing.
Maybe I should start hating on CT to get back at the people who were claiming that it’s so vastly superior to Rifftrax.
Oh wait, I’m not an utter prick.
More on-topic, I have to say that, although it lacks the warmth and charm of the MST3k version, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians has been my favorite so far. These other movies tend to be too dreary and not cheesy enough for my tastes. I want more stuff that’s just silly, something with giant mutant bugs or crappy “spaceships” flying around, real honest corniness – not just terrible execution of poorly thought-out concepts. There’s more material that way, IMHO. Levity (or total absurdity) in the film makes the whole experience more lighthearted.
“Hating on” LOL!
Please excuse me, I have to take it all back. I declare CT and Rifftrax to be the cat’s pajamas and the bee’s knees respectively. 23-skidoo!
I’ve found Rifftrax funnier than CT and it has surprised me to find so much rifftrax hate on these threads. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t enjoyed CT. I just don’t laugh as much, or as loud as I have during many of the rifftrax. Of course, I was always more fond of Mike MST than Joel MST so I guess that’s not so surprising. As I said, though, I’ve really enjoyed two out of the last three CTs. Perhaps they are past the rough phase.
Giving an honest review as a revenge tactic? How pathetic to be so self-absorbed to try and twist someone’s negative review about something like CT into something that involves you. PATHETIC.
I hope no one is under the impression that my earlier post was “hating on” CT. I really want them to be great, but so I’ve been underwhelmed with most of the releases. Rifftrax is fine, I don’t really have any “hate” for their product, and loved the “Shorts” DVD (best post-MST3K release since “The Film Crew), but I like having a tangible product in my hand, not just owning an audio file that I have to synch up with a movie. No hate, just not my thing. I will buy any and all future Rifftrax DVD releases though.
I liked blood of the vampires(pronounced in masterpiece theater voice) it had romance, action, a creepy vampire mom and lots of phillipenos pertending to be mexicans!
however, it’s not the strongest episode produced. I think what everyone seems to be forgetting is the movie riffed will dictate the mood and pace of the whole show. the riffs were just as good as say oozing skull or doomsday machine, it’s just BOTV is kinda slow, dark, and stagnint.
I like it better than legacy of blood dispite these faults.
so far this is how my score card reads:
(from best to least best)
oozing skull
santa claus conqours the martians
doomsday machine
wasp woman
frankinsines castle of freaks
blood of the vampires
legacy of blood
there it is in order of my enjoyment.
not saying there not all good and funny but some are just better than others due to the movie in question.
so wheres number 8 ?
I want more damn it!!
“rats on smack, now thats entertainment”
As a wise man once said, “They can’t all be gems…”. But this one *was*!! Loved it, beginning to end!!! Thanks, Titans! CTFTW! :grin:
I’m one of those folks who really doesn’t like RT (although I do buy and enjoy the shorts) and I also feel they set themselves up for critical comment when they always say they *are* MST3K in their ads — so I think it’s very fair to say “no way!”
At least CT doesn’t do that — and, to be honest, so far they are okay and worth buying but not up to MST3K standard. And I think it’s perfectly fair to say this, because doing something that IS up to that standard is not impossible.
Mike proved this with The Film Crew — no, it wasn’t the insipid host segments that made a difference. It was just they picked MST3K type movies, and they did razor sharp riffs (obviously spending time together and not over the phone) and the result was, IMNHO, every bit as good and sometimes better than MST3K.
I think where both CT and RT fail is their choice of material — I will continue to harp on RT on this as long as they continue to say they ARE MST3K (which they are not). As for CT — while MST3K did a horror movie every now and then it was not the norm, which so far seems to be the case with CT. I have enjoyed the non-horror CT riffs far more and as one poster here said, we need a goofier type of film for these riffers to really shine (and there are lot of goofy films out there). Less blood and guts, and more bad filmmaing will make CT a winner (unlike RT, which just doesn’t get it).
I agree with #31 Mike, while CT and RT are obvious continuations of the MST3K mold, its CT that has the better balance of riffing content. While their choices of movies to riff on have been all-too-within the horror genre, I think they do a great job with the commentary. And I’d be willing to bet that it would only get better if they got their hands on some of those goofy, black-and-white sci-fi movies from the 1950’s and ’60’s.
As for Rifftrax, it wouldn’t be fair of me to throw verbal stones at them; all of my exposure to their work comes from the short previews on this site, and some of their shorts and movies posted on Youtube. While I enjoyed some of the shorts, the riffing on the newer movies just never appealed to me (unlike CT, whose previews always grab my interest). By trying to be more current in their material to mock, they seem to be trying alittle TOO hard. That’s not to say I now hate Mike, Kevin, and Bill; I finally got around to purchasing the Film Crew’s “Hollywood After Dark” and actually liked it (apart from the opening and the “power lunch” sketch), and I’ll probably be getting the other three FC installments soon.
In the end, it all comes down to preferences, and I think the majority of MSTies will choose one form over the other.
#31 – Good comments, and I think you make some good points, but I do disagree that they should stick with goofier films. They are always welcome as far as I’m concerned, but I’m also excited to see both groups working with material that for various reasons would not have worked on the show. It sort of opens the door for them to riff on all sorts of stuff. Maybe someone could take a stab at Casablanca? Citizen Kane? Hamlet? (Well, maybe not Hamlet…). It seems like the projects are both kinda meh. Without trying to be too picky, it’s almost as if they are trying to rush through each project (both RT and CT release new films pretty fast!). Great on one hand to have new material to watch, but maybe the riffage would be better if they took a little more time? I’m trying not to be a hypercritical douche about this, just my thoughts.
#31 are you STILL harping on about that comment they made on their Jaws poster? Rifftrax never claimed to be MST3K.
#31 and #32, When you say that Film Crew is better than Rifftrax it is fairly obvious to me that you have not seen any full length rifftrax. I have seen all the Film Crew and 80% of the Rifftrax. Film Crew seems like an unfinished project compared to Rifftrax. The riffing in the four Film Crews is much sparser and not nearly as polished as the majority of rifftrax.Film Crew seemed as though they were getting back into the swing of things. Now, with Rifftrax, they are back in form. I understand that many prefer Film Crew for the DVD and the old movies and that’s fine.WHen you just look at the riffing and only the riffing, however, I think Rifftrax wins.
I just want to say that I think CT, RT, The Film Crew, and MST3K suck. It never got better than the Green Slime pilot, folks. Let’s admit it. :roll:
Well, sure …The Green Slime…..who can beat that? Nothing is ever better than the original!
I figured the whole ‘Green Slime is the best!!’ thing went without saying.
Okay. I was too hard on the riffing for Blood of the Vampires. It’s not pathetic. A lot of it doesn’t inspire me personally to laugh but I guess there’s no accounting to taste.
I’d like to see the Rifftrax guys thrown into the rotation at some point. Anyway, that would be a possible wish if I found a genie lamp or something. Come to think of it, I would just wish for MST3K back. I guess that’s my whole point, actually- I miss Mike/Joel and the ‘bots.
I have seen ALL the RT shorts, and now (with the release of the re-riffed “old” movies, like “House on Haunted Hill”) three or four RT movies. And, no, I don’t think they come close to The Film Crew efforts (same on screen talent, but perhaps different writers contributing — I know at least Conor is one writer who is different).
Conor says they spend a lot of hours on the material, so my theory about not enough time doesn’t hold, but I still don’t know if these are hours spent in the same room (as they were when they did both MST3K and The Film Crew) or over the phone/net (the latter would make sense as they don’t all live in the same town anymore). There is a huge difference in doing a creative collaboration in person and via phone/net. Or perhaps Conor is just a lousy writer — I don’t know and I don’t care. My only point was for those folks who say you can’t compete (or compare) with MST3K it isn’t true.
And it’s not just the “Jaws” poster — RT has continued (after that) to say they ARE MST3K, at least in all the ads here on this site. As long as they do that, I feel I have the right to say “no you’re not” and will continue to do so until someone kicks me off this site.
Look, everyone — I really really like that Mike and Joel and company are all doing this stuff. It’s great that we all have choices, and we exercise our preferences with our dollars, just like voting for someone we agree with. I’ll keep buying the RT shorts and the CT stuff for at least the immediate future. I do not intend to come down hard on anyone (and I’ll even stop talking about RT completely if they ever get that @#$#$%@! MST3K comparison out of their ads here).
Take a chill pill, ex-genius. If they were trying to masquerade as MST3K, they’re doing a pretty lousy job, considering there’s no video provided, the movies are contemporary, there’s no host segments, there are no robots, and no mad scientists. Hell, Incognito Cinema Warriors XP comes A LOT closer to an MST3K masquearade.
They are using MST3K as a marketing tool, a punchy explanation of the product, which is fair because, after all, it comes from the same minds involved in MST3K. Cinematic Titanic releases have “FROM THE CREATOR AND ORIGINAL CAST OF MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000” on the cover.
You don’t have to go all “jihadist who just saw the picture of Allah in a magazine” on these people. I guess if you were an absolute retard you could get confused by the way RT profanes the sacred name of MST3K, buy an audio track, and go HAY WHER ARE THE ROBOTS????????????
….and let’s be serious, is there anyone on this site who is going to look at these Rifftrax ads and actually think that it is MST3k? If there are any Satellite News regulars who are not aware that MST stopped making new episodes a decade ago, then pigs have wings.
I don’t understand all the negetivity. Neither Rifftrax or CT is MST, but there’s not much else around as funny as either, though I prefer CT. Blood of the Vampires was second only to The Doomsday Machine.
“So this is the big stone room you want me to burn down?”
“That does it! I’m going to shave my mustash even thinner”
That guys mustash made me think of the whole, “my mustash will eat your beard” gag in What’s Up Tiger Lilly?
Hilarious.
Thrifty – “You don’t have to go all “jihadist who just saw the picture of Allah in a magazine” on these people.”
This may be one of the funniest things I’ve read in ages….thanks for the genuine belly-laugh!!
to #35 lamontcranston: I was very specific in my post that I had not seen a full Rifftrax movie riffed, and therefore it wouldn’t be right of me to pan them. I wasn’t negative towards RT, simply that the samples I’d seen of their movies did little to inspire me to buy and download their commentary to burn on a dvd-r. I never said they weren’t funny; I know that many people on this site enjoy their stuff and go that extra step to acquire their work, and that’s fine. I also pointed out that I did like the first FC episode I’d seen and would probably purchase others in the future.
In the end, though, I just like CT’s style the best.
That’s cool….and I happen to like the RT style the best, but as I said, I was always more of a Mike guy. I also don’t care if the movie is old or new, as long as it is riffable. And #42, I am in full agreement with you. I totally understand all the reasons for some MST fans not caring for Rifftrax. What I don’t understand is the negativity and outright hatred that some are showing for it. No, it’s not MST, but what in the world is out there that comes even half as close? It’s still the MST folks riffing on movies. And it’s still funnier than most other things you can find. What is there to hate?
Film Crew – It had potential, too bad Jim Mallon screwed them over by having Rhino drop the series. I’m sure he’s making well over $10 a week with his animated MST3K’s.
CT – Sorry, won’t buy it. I found a torrent, downloaded it and barely made it through the episode. There’s too many people on screen and no direction. Worse yet, it feels like nobody in the cast cares about their product. I’ve seen the interviews and every single one has the feel of “oh well, we couldn’t get anything else going, let’s go back to this.”
RT – I also downloaded a torrent but have paid for every release since. They kept up with the riffing after the CT guys quit. They have energy in their product and every episode sounds like they are enjoying what they’re doing. CT has all the feel of a group of baseball players having to go back to the minor leagues after playing 15 years for the Yankees.
As for the question of RT using “by the people who brought you MST3K” I suggest looking at any promo videos for CT where they mention it about 100 times themselves. It’s called marketing. And Joel doesn’t own the MST3K name otherwise he’d be back doing this under that label.
Unfortunately, most of you seem to purposefully ignore my point — or perhaps you are willfully doing it. RT can go on using “MST3K does Jaws” or whatever (and it’s not “by the folks who brought you MST3K — it’s “we ARE MST3K”) and that’s fine with me — as long as they (and, by extension, you jerks) then accept that they are thus comparing themselves to MST3K.
And on that basis they lose. Oh, I suppose they could say “Hey, we are as good as Season 1 of MST3K was” and I wouldn’t argue. But to think they are as good as any of the latter seasons — nope, just won’t buy it. I’m glad others like them, and I hope Mike and co. does them and does well because I like them personally (although I don’t really know them personally — I kind of feel I do :>) but they truly stink at trying to be MST3K.
It’s kind of like watching Michael Jordan during his years with Washington. It’s very sad when the people you love don’t have it anymore, but we all lose it, be it physical or mental prowess. Mike and Co. have just lost their funny bones and I doubt whether a trip to the chiropractor would help.