Snark, Critic and Pop!

Here at SCP HQ, we’re super stoked about the forthcoming Rifftrax Live featuring the worst movie ever made, Manos: The Hands of Fate. For those unaware, even the most resolute cinematic masochist needs proper preparation and nerves of steel to endure Manos, the Master, Torgo, and the rest of the gang. This film eats into your brain and will steal your soul!

To prepare, you really need to read this article, originally posted by Entertainment Weekly in 2005. A sample follows, but follow the link and read the whole thing, it’s a long read but worth it!

The Worst Movie Ever Made
The long, strange journey of ”Manos: The Hands of Fate”
By Dalton Ross (continue reading…)

Here at SnarkCriticPop, we watch and talk a LOT of movies. Upon occasion watching a movie feels like an obligation for the sake of a good blog (see: Streets of Fire), and I can kind of see why some movie critics hate movies.  I don’t hate movies, but I would like to talk about a fine, seldom used alternative to movie watching, a little something I like to call: READING.

I did some quick research on Wikipedia, and I discovered some interesting facts regarding reading: Did you know that reading was invented by Thomas Edison as a method of exploiting his invention called papyrus, which we now refer to as paper?  Blind people had actually been reading lips for several years prior to Edison, but since they could not find the patent office until it was too late, Edison owns the trademark on reading which is why blind people and astute readers like me have to pay a fee to Edison’s estate any time we read something. (Okay Wikipedia’s not quite THAT bad, but any resource where Howie Mandel can be a contributor on John Adams I don’t trust . . .)

One book I’ve recently been reading is A Year At The Movies by Kevin Murphy.  Murphy, for those who don’t know, is one of the writers and stars of my favorite TV show of all time, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), playing the robot Tom Servo and Professor Bobo the Gorilla.  (continue reading…)

Out on DVD August 2nd, MST3K Vol. 21, featuring 5 Gamera movies! Gamera, for those who don’t know, was a different Japanese studio’s ripoff of Godzilla. With a giant, flying turtle. See to believe, see-to-believers!

Sure, there may be a big budget Captain America movie opening on Friday. Sure, it actually looks like it might be pretty good. But is that any reason to forsake the REAL Captain America, Reb Brown? He didn’t need molded plastic to improve his physique!

Yes, back in the 70s, there was a made-for-TV Captain America featuring former football player turned former actor Reb Brown. To say the Captain America of 1979 sucked is being generous.  (Think Charlie’s Angels without the babes or the sharp acting and writing. *shudder*)  But it is the wonderful kind of suck that we here at SnarkCriticPop enjoy sooooo very much. It lives on in cheesy glory, and those glory days will ride again this weekend on the SyFy Channel, starting Thursday night! Fire up the DVRs, my friends! (continue reading…)

On DVD this week and in my living room from Amazon.com today is Volume 19 of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The collection comes with a nifty figurine of the character Gypsy as well as four episodes never before released on DVD.

The biggest coup of the collection is the season four destruction of the Ed Wood “classic,” Bride of the Monster. This is Wood’s precursor to the legendary Plan 9 From Outer Space, featuring much of the same cast including pro wrestler Tor Johnson and fallen horror icon Bela Lugosi. This is one of the greatest “Joel episodes” in the MST3K canon. ‘Twas probably quite expensive to get the rights to release this on DVD, and I’m quite excited to check this out one more time: (continue reading…)

It’s installment # 3 of my Top 20 Favorite Film Countdown, back as promised inspite of angry protests outside SnarkCriticPop’s HQ. No one is angry about the list, they just mistook the building as relating to the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada. We’re in Charlotte, NC, so it’s a pretty common mistake. Go see 20-16 here, and 15-11 here.  Here we go:

10. Star Trek (2009)
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana
Director: J.J. Abrams

I grew up a Trekkie, watching the original series, the Next Generation TV show, the first batch of movies, but late 90s the franchise became pretty pathetic  (see: Star Trek: Voyager & Enterprise).  The 2009 reboot, Star Trek, reignited my fondness for the characters and the universe.  It’s a superb movie that stretches the fine line between reverence for what came before coupled with the desire to do something new and exciting.  The device to take familiar characters Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. and introduce them in a fresh way was well done.  And the film clicks on every level; the cast is pitch perfect both in terms of homage to their predecessors and for the new ensemble.  Star Trek  is fast-paced, exciting, funny, and you don’t know what’s coming next.  (continue reading…)