The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3 (The Atomic Brain / The Sidehackers / The Unearthly / Shorts, Vol. 2)
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Movie Reviews of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 3 (The Atomic Brain / The Sidehackers / The Unearthly / Shorts, Vol. 2)
Movie Review: More shorts than a Daisy Duke convention!
Summary: 4 Stars
There's no "better" MST host for me - Joel and Mike were just great in different ways. I do believe, however, there was a dramatic dropoff after the switch to the Sci-Fi Channel. Mrs. Forrester and the Brain Guys were cringingly bad (though Bobo was funny) and Sci-Fi Channels' blanket "only sci-fi films" rule made sure that many golden opportunities were missed. Among them the educational shorts, which were the true highlights of the series for many MSTies. The good news is that this set is filled with shorts. Even the poorer eps feature good shorts segments:
1) Sidehackers: Bad 70s era film centers around "sidehacking", an odd two-man motorcycle race that (thankfully) never caught on. Sidehacking footage only pads the film - the true plot involves Ross Hagen avenging the death of his ladyfriend. For whatever reason, we never see a death scene or body - the ladyfriend just disappears, and Crow INFORMS us that the woman was killed. It's a sad film that gets MSTied, but it's a sadder film when the bots must explain vital plot points.
2) The Unearthly: A largely forgettable film (starring John Carradine) wherein a scientist's failed anti-aging experiments cause the patient to turn into a California Raisin. Luckily this includes two great shorts: "Posture Pals" and "Appreciating Our Parents"
3) The Atomic Brain: Yet ANOTHER scientist tries anti-aging experiments, this time by transplanting an older woman's brian into a newly-deceased twentysomething hottie. When the scientist realizes that only live bodies will work, wackiness ensues! Includes the fine short "Juvenile Delinquency".
4) Shorts Part 2: The first part of this is in MST3K Vol 2, and if you have the Shorts VHS, this will be nothing new. Still, it offers the DVD advantage - no fast-forwarding to your favorite short. It's nice to even have the Shorts released, but it'd be better to have all of these in the same DVD set.
All-in-all a great DVD pack with some choice segments - great for Shorts lovers. It's not the absolute dream set for any MSTie, but Rhino's clearly going to release the comedy gems sparingly. The marketing department can be a harsh mistress.
Movie Review: A Terrific Set
Summary: 5 Stars
Like all of the other MST3K boxed sets released by Rhino, this is an absolute must-have for any fans of the show."The Unearthly," starring John Carradine and Tor Johnson, is a ridiculous, slow-moving horror film, notable mostly because Tor reprises his "Lobo" role from Ed Wood's "Bride of the Monster." The MST3K version has an amusing "The Many Faces of Tor Johnson" intermission segment.
"Sidehackers" stars Ross Hagen from "The Hellcats," and is a relatively early MST3K episode. It's an utterly revolting biker movie that inspires some great wisecracks.
"Atomic Brain" is another revolting movie, about an old lady looking at lovely ladies to find a good enough body to put her brain in. The best riffing is usually about the old lady's poor posture.
The DVDs are all in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The movie segments look fairly poor - as they always have - but the intermission scenes look bright and sharp. Some extra footage has been included as a special feature, but this is mostly just alternate takes of the intermission scenes.
Movie Review: A real MST treat!
Summary: 5 Stars
Make some popcorn and get ready to laugh! John Carradine mailed in his horrible performance in "The Unearthly". Thor the wrestler (you might remember him from Plan 9 From Outer Space)outdid his role by actually having four lines in the whole movie!"Sidehackers" is a real hoot! It's such a stinker it should come with a clothes pin for your nose. The bots are in rare form! I loved the "Shorts" the best. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard! Thanks for the fun guys!
Movie Review: Can't stop laughing...
Summary: 5 Stars
MST3K is the best show on the TV today...Thank you Sci Fi...I have been watching this show whenever I get the chance and now that you can buy them on DVD is just great...Vol 3 is one of the better MST3K releases on DVD...The three movies are absolutely horrid but the hosts make you laugh so hard that you don't care anymore.."The Atomic Brain" is so mixed up with weird images and inept plot twists you can't help but shake your head and wonder how this ever got released..."The Unearthly" turns into a "Tor" celebration of sorts and Mr. Carradine just shines in this one..."Sidehackers" is pretty much a bomb after the opening credits... and the boys have a good time adding their comments to all three movies to our delight...I think the best of the disc set is the "Shorts"..."What To Do On a Date" and "A Day at the Fair" are pure hokey Americana in the 50's but Mike and the bots go the extra mile in making me laugh while watching these,they are a scream..."Last Clear Chance" is about car safety and trains, a cop bothers this farm family with advice to the new driver and it is very funny with Mike,Crow and Tom Servo ad libs...A very good collection I thought,buy it today and laugh for a month...
Movie Review: Rhino Misses Mark on Volume 3
Summary: 1 Stars
Last year I made a discovery... MST3K. Well, not really, I'd been watching the episodes for years. I only became VERY interested last year because I discovered Rhino had started issuing the MST episodes on DVD and including the original unedited films on the flip-side of the disks. The first four episodes Rhino put on DVD, I Accuse My Parents, Red Zone Cuba, Mitchell and Manos had lacked this feature and I had not been interested in getting those. As a collector of odd-ball films I own a ton (many of them are Rhino tapes), but when Rhino started putting out double-sided DVD disks I became a died-in-wool MST collector too because for me the MSTied versions are like really, really good commentary tracks added to the disks. They are the kind of commentary tracks that all good DVD commentary tracks should aspire to be!
But now I discovered beginning with MST3K - Collection Volume 2, Rhino has reverted to the old practice of only one-sided disks!! Shame!! Tragedy!! On top of that, they've left the retail price in the same ballpark as the first collection which contained both versions of each film!
Oh yeah, I've read posts from others, "Rhino doesn't need to put the un-MSTied versions on the disks, those films are not worth viewing anyway! TRUE MST fans only want the MST episodes, blah, blah, blah?" Well, here is one person who is really saddened that Rhino has lowered the value of their disks (and not lowered the price!) Shame!
Who was the marketing genius at Rhino who dreamed this one up? I think there are other folks like me who enjoyed having the original films on the disks. I thought Rhino staff were people who (like me) who had a genuine love for off-beat cinema! Maybe Rhino has marketing-types running the show at company headquarters now instead of people who have a love for the product.
Here's the short version: Rhino won me over by putting out MST WITH the uncut films. Yes I'm still a big MST fan, but when allocating scarce dollars I will think twice about what gets purchased first. You know what? I don't own any of the single-sided disks. Rhino can sit on 'em! I'll buy them when they show up in the $5 cut-out bins.
Pisstified in S.F.,
Bob Burns