mike nelson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you haven't been checking out the offerings over at former Mystery Science Theater 3000 Mike Nelson's RiffTrax lately, you've been missing out on some choice material that will let you recycle your movies into comedy gold. They recently put up commentary for Tron, featuring geeky songsmith Jonathan Coulton and singer-songwriter-musicians Paul and Storm. It's a nerdtastic mix brought to you from the guy who sings "Tom Cruise Crazy" among other gems.

In case you're wondering who JoCo is, you can read my interview with him over on Joystiq and see why he's poised to take over the geek, nerd, and parody song categories should Weird Al ever topple. Not that I'm hoping that'll ever happen.

The Oozing Skull is the first release from Cinematic Titanic, a project that reunites the original cast and writers of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as well as writer/performers from later in the series. Series creator Joel Hodgson is joined once again by Trace Beaulieu, Frank Connif, Mary Jo Pehl, and J. Elvis Weinstein (with a special guest appearance by Dr. Stephen Hawking). MST3K was perhaps the greatest TV show in the history of the medium, at least as far as this B-movie buff is concerned. Each week the program would show a schlocky old flick with the cast, shown in silhouette in the bottom right of the screen, constantly tossing jokes at the screen. Cinematic Titanic does very much the same thing, with all five of the writer/performers appearing on screen and riffing in a style reminiscent of MST3K. Not every joke hits its mark, but there are so damn many of them, you'd have to be inhuman not to find something to laugh at here.

One of the best bits in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is the cameo from Neil Patrick Harris. The former Doogie Howser plays himself, as a drugged-up, sex-crazed car thief. Forget the fact that lots of celebs portray themselves as sleazy or otherwise negative on shows like Entourage and Extras and it's one of those great moments in self-mockery -- up there with Roger Moore in The Cannonball Run and Gus Van Sant in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Now Harris is set to reprise his role for Harold & Kumar 2 (aka -- for now? -- Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay; formerly Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam). He's already shown up in the first trailer (now available on the movie's official site) and now he's here on this teaser poster. As you can see, courtesy of IGN, the poster features Harris riding a unicorn. And the tagline reads, "What Would NHP NPH Do?" There's also a website listed at the bottom, for WhatWouldNPHdo.com. Unfortunately, as of this writing, the URL doesn't seem to be working the URL just takes you to movie's website.*

One thing that is a bit interesting about Harris' return for the sequel is that the actor has come out as being gay since the first Harold & Kumar. So, will he still be playing himself as a guy who likes female hookers? It is very possible, and will make the joke that much more exaggerated. Of course, this poster also has a hint of gay self-parody, so there's a good chance that Harris is going to mock his own coming out. Obviously it isn't a problem for the movie that Harris is now openly gay. It isn't even something necessitating discussion, and I apologize to anyone who is offended at me bringing the issue up. Knowing Harris' playful humor, though (did you know he's even done a Rifftrax commentary with Mike Nelson? Unfortunately, it wasn't for Starship Troopers), I don't think it's a touchy subject for the guy. So, what would NHP NPH do? I guess we'll see come April, when Harold & Kumar 2 hits theaters.

*apparently I suffer from dyslexia.

One of the most hallowed events of my college career was "MST3K Wednesday," which was precisely what it sounds like. All the guys would gather in one dorm room, we'd order numerous pizzas from whichever local was offering the best special, and watch a few MST3K flicks. This tradition continued (although eventually slipped to a different day of the week) through all four years of college, and remains among my best memories for those years. Like most fans, we were all disappointed to know they were no longer producing new episodes, but we enjoyed the numerous creations from the show's long run.

Not so very long ago, Mike Nelson (of MST3K fame, if you didn't know) launched RiffTrax, a website which sold audio commentary tracks which you could download and play along with your DVDs. It wasn't MST3K, but it was an interesting effort. And now, Nelson and his MST3K cohorts Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy are stepping yet closer to their old line of works with the launch of Film Crew, a three man team which is dedicated to providing commentary tracks for DVDs everywhere (starting with inexpensive B movies, of course). Once they get going, you'll be able to purchase DVDs and listen to them with the Film Crew commentary with voices sure to put you in mind of MST3K. I can't imagine these being anything short of brilliant, myself. Swing on by and help them decide which movies to Riff on first.

Read About Nelson's RiffTrax: MST3K Continued ... Kinda

The Quick Stop Entertainment site (which is the new incarnation of View Askew's Movie Poop Shoot site) has launched a new feature that I think has plenty of potential. Quickcast Commentaries are all new audio commentaries for existing films or TV shows that are downloadable in MP3 format. (Yes, it's kinda like Mike Nelson's RiffTrax.) Just synch them up to the film or show in question and your off. Future entries will feature a full range of creators commenting on films they've either loved, despised or worked on. The first in this series is a commentary by Quick Stop editor-in-chief Ken Plume and columnist Widgett Walls for Star Wars Episode III-The Revenge of the Sith.

As I said, the idea has promise, though, unfortunately, the feature is off to a shaky start. I was not a huge fan of Revenge of the Sith, but even if I utterly despised the film I can't imagine wanting to listen to this non-stop gripe-fest. Ken and Widgett don't like this movie. I mean, they really don't like this movie, and the commentary stops just short of the two of them running over to George Lucas's house and leaving flaming dog crap on his doorstep.

The problem is that people who listen to audio commentaries are people who love film and the filmmaking process. Listening to this commentary is like being stuck in a cubicle next to that co-worker who never stops complaining. Granted, there are people who despise Episode III, so maybe this is more their cup of tea. Personally, when I see a bad movie I kick my stuffed penguin, perhaps write a negative review, and move on. I still like the idea of alternate audio commentaries, though, and I'm anxious to see where this feature goes in the future.

Like many others, I really miss Mystery Science Theater 3000. I think the show could have gone on forever. Not only are there millions of bad B-movies out there that never recieved the MST3K treatment, but I think they could have gone ahead and mocked and ridiculed "good" movies -- Oscar-winners, critical favorites, classics, box-office hits -- as well. But it had to get canceled. So that Comedy Central could run more awful stand-up specials and The Sci-Fi Channel could make their own horrible films in abundance, it seems. Well, at least I have Mike Nelson's Moviecheese to read over and over.

And, now, there's something else: Mike Nelson's RiffTrax. This website sells audio commentaries for the DVDs of movies such as Cocktail, Road House, Plan 9 From Outer Space and The Fifth Element. These can be downloaded and played on an MP3 player while you watch the movie on mute (or with sound, I guess). There aren't too many to choose from yet and they cost a few bucks, but I've heard that a few are worth it -- even without the silhouettes, the MST3K side story, and the robot characters (though Kevin Murphy (aka "Tom Servo") helped out on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.) I know there are other people out there who've been doing DIY podcast or MP3 commentaries for films for awhile now, but nobody does it like Mike Nelson (except maybe Joel Hodgson who should make like a copycat and do his own site).