Roger Corman: MST3K

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 series reboot has features a pleasant amount of Corman productions, we'd be ashamed of ourselves if we didn't give them a nod for this theme!

Starcrash (released by New World Pictures, Roger Corman's production company): We've talked about the spectacle of this film before, and we were excited to see the riffing of it, but it's sadly one of the weaker of reboot episodes. The jokes aren't bad or anything, Starcrash just doesn't need a running commentary to be enjoyable. But if this film seems like it's too weird for you to sit through in it's entirety (or your friends aren't the sort to watch a movie of this caliber with you) this might be a pretty good option for you to experience all that is Starcrash!

Avalanche (produced by Corman and released by New World Pictures): Now, if I told you we were going to watch a movie called Avalanche you'd expect the movie would feature an avalanche and most of the movie would be about the drama during/after the avalanche right? Same. But that's what sets Avalanche apart from other disaster movies! They spend SO much of the movie building up to the titular avalanche that the actual event seems like an after thought. This is a movie that lends itself excellently to the MST3K formula, on it's own it would be a pretty big letdown.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (produced by Corman and released by Concorde Pictures (another Corman production company)): A humdrum kid's story featuring a boozed up hero, a boy magician and his strange furry companion team up to save their kingdom from an evil sorcerer. It's not my cup of tea on it's own, but that usually makes for the best MST3K episodes and this one is no different! They're pretty merciless in their riffing, and it's all well deserved.

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (produced by Corman and released by Concorde Pictures): A has-been wizard and his hapless apprentice are the only ones who can stop a power hungry band of villains from taking over a trio of kingdoms. This one features Sid Haig and Robert Jayne with the asinineness ramped up appropriately from the first installment. This might be the more enjoyable of the two though because the film is extremely dated, but also takes place in medieval times, and it's a pretty amazing balance to behold.