mgroves

Posts Tagged ‘movies’

I love MST3K, but I always wondered what it would be like if a real movie was featured. You know, like Top Gun or X-Men or something.

That dream is now a reality!

Rifftrax are sound tracks that you can purchase and play alongside your DVD. Sound ridiculous? Well, it is, except that featured on these Rifftraxs are none other than Mike Nelson (TV’s Mike Nelson), and occasionally Kevin Murphy (TV’s Tom Servo) and Bill Corbett (TV’s Crow T. Robot) from MST3K fame!

I must admit, it’s kinda weird paying for a long sound clip of what is essentially one or two guys saying things that make no sense on their own. Also, it’s kinda awkward if it’s just one guy (Mike) doing the riffing. I mean, it’s kinda like I’m paying Mike $3 to come tell jokes to me one-on-one in my living room while sitting on my couch. It just feels weird. I, for one, hope that more of these tracks will feature 2 or more riffers from now on.

If you don’t feel like shelling out $3 for a man talking to himself, you can check out some sample tracks (synced to the corresponding video). It feels just like MST3K without the silhouettes–even the exact same character voices. Of course, Mike’s favorite movie, Road House is featured, along with Star Trek V, The Fifth Element, xXx, and Top Gun. Most deservingly, Britney Spears’s Crossroads is featured, although I imagine it’s especially creepy to listen to a man talk to himself about Britney Spears’s awful acting.

I don’t have a problem with the WTC movie, per se. From what I’ve heard, it’s a story of courage and valor, and is pretty much apolitical. And I heartily agree with Joe Ferg that’s it’s hard to watch this type of movie (WTC, Saving Private Ryan, etc), and then realize how petty my complaints are. How can I watch hundreds of people die tragic deaths and then complain about theaters?

I got in touch with an old friend of mine yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve really seen him since he left for the military right after graduating high school. He showed me a lot of pictures from Iraq (he spent a year there). All were breathtaking, some were graphic images of death and carnage and destruction. How could I leave his house with those images and then get upset that McDonald’s put onions on my sandwich?

But anyway. WTC. Here’s where my problem rests:

• World Trade Center, The PS2 game
• The MySpace page
• World Trade Center: The Lunchbox
• World Trade Center playset with real Jumping to Your Death(c) Action

It’s good to reflect on the September 11th attacks. “Never forget”, as the saying goes. But how far away are we from a paperweight that makes the Titanic crash into an iceberg when you shake it up? Sure, lots of people died, but OMG remember that one scene with Leo?

I will probably see WTC, but let’s remember that like WW2 and the Titanic, while they may make for entertaining movies, that they were real events where real people suffered and died. Real people like these men in tower 2: