- 24,553
- Frankfort, KY
- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
What it is: The guys from Mystery Science Theater 3000 decided that having their show canceled was not reason enough to stop making fun of movies. So, they decided to create MP3 files of them riffing on movies. The bonus to this is that since they aren't actually showing the movies, they don't have to license them. That means they can riff on anything they want. You provide the movie yourself. So, now they do this for big Hollywood films.
So, you basically download the file, pop in your movie and play the MP3 on a secondary set of speakers, syncing it up with instructions on the file. It occasionally speaks a line from the movie to help you stay in sync. It also includes a Read Me file with time stamps for each movie chapter.
You can also download their free syncing software for your PC to sync the DVD and Riff Trax together for you.
And now you have Mike J Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo), and Bill Corbett (Crow) riffing on your favorite movies. Occasionally special guest stars pop in, like Weird Al Yankovic and Neil Patrick Harris.
I had a friend suggest it to me when he found out that I liked MST3K. I bought four to start with:
- Transformers
- Spiderman 3
- Cloverfield
- X-Men
What it costs: The cost ranges from $0.99 for Shorts (Drug use videos, etc.) to $1.99-$3.99 for movies (depending on movie length and popularity) and as much as $9.99 for VOD with the movie (usually old MST3K style movies).
How long have you owned/used it: I watched all four of the movies I listed above.
Pros:
- It makes a bad movie funny. I thought that Transformers was not done very well as a movie, but add the Riff Trax and I was laughing almost non-stop.
- Also, the file sizes are relatively small for a 2 hour file (less than 100MB for a 2+ hour movie), but the audio quality is exceptional. Between comments it is very, very quiet. The dialogue is crystal clear and there is no background noise, except what is intentional.
- Works extremely well using my remote control Boss SoundDock for iPod alongside my PS3.
- As they are not playing their MST3K characters they are more free to talk back and forth in a more natural way.
Cons:
- It isn't MST3K. I know I gave their freedom as a pro, but without a full compliment of writing staff some of the jokes fall flat, and more obscure references are missed. An example would be Cloverfield; half the movie was jokes making fun of young hipsters that say, "Dude" a lot. There was a lot of room for a wider variety of jokes, but they were caught on making after-party comments.
- It is not compatible with any kind of extended version. They have the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I have the extended versions on DVD. Problem is: Geeks, like myself, enjoyed MST3K and geeks, like myself, buy extended versions of movies. This could just be a geek complaint though. I know some people have multiple versions of movies, so...
- The MP3 seems to get slightly ahead of the movie. In a two hour movie I think the end result is off by about a second and a half. It isn't a big deal, especially since a quick pause-unpause action on the remote will fix it, and they give you multiple opportunities to notice and fix it throughout the movie. The VOD or RiffTrax Player are options but the VOD choices are very limited in selection and their player requires sitting in front of a PC. That isn't great for everyone.
- Same kind of con: It isn't convenient for anyone without a second speaker system to output their MP3 player on near their TV/DVD Player. Again the RiffTrax Player is an option, but only if you don't mind sitting in front of your PC.
Overall Rating: 9/10
Conclusion: This is not exactly convenient or easy to use for everyone. That said, if you want to relive your MST3K experience with big Hollywood films this is the way to do it.
If you don't mind watching a movie on your computer monitor or you have a setup that will allow you to play two audio sources at the same time it is very good.
The guys are still funny, even if the talent pool has been thinned out a bit. I'd give it a 9.5/10 if they had an automated way to get this on your TV synced up. I don't blame them for that as this is probably the best way to do it without having to actually license the films.
I'd give them the final half a point if they had the full writing staff from the show so that they wouldn't occasionally drag at moments or beat a joke to death.
