In the not too distant future
Talking back the movie screen, a practice once shunned by all good and decent folk, has been elevated to an artform of its own in recent years, largely thanks to the efforts of the relentlessly snarky squad of cinema snipers now calling them selves Cinematic Titanic, who will be entertaining the masses tonight at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, with two very special screenings at 6 and 9 pm.
What began in 1988 as a self described “ Cowtown puppet show” on bargain basement Twin Cities UHF station KTMA, blossomed into an empire, as lapsed prop comic turned visionary creative force Joel Hodgson’s idea about janitor and his wise cracking robot friends marooned in space, and forced to watch the cheesiest movies of all time, became a sensation. The resulting show, dubbed Mystery Science Theater 3000 quickly went national, and over a decade on air it bounced between a basic cable channels, endured cast changes, corporate interference and network shake ups, but remained a creative triumph, a critical darling and perhaps the ultimate cult show of the ‘90s. Despite being long cancelled, the show continues to gather fans through DVD releases, and through the twin projects that sprung from the ashes, the hyper prolific crew of RiffTrax, and the slightly more selective Cinematic Titanic, who take time to polish their “riffs” of bad old flicks, before taking them on tour for appreciate crowds.
The relative rarity of new material makes tonight a cause for celebration, as the Ann Arbor show marks the world premiere of
The CT gangs take on “The Doll Squad”, a moldy slab of z-grade cheesecake exploitation about a team of comely female secret agents that served as inspiration for both Charlie’s Angels and Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill. That makes tonight’s late screening, paired with the previously released “ Rattlers” at 6 pm into a can’t miss for comedy fans. Hodgson, along with his hyper witty partners: Frank Coniff, Trace Beaulieu, Mary Jo Pehl and Josh Weinstein will be on hand, tongues sharpened and at the ready, tonight at the Michigan Theater for a guaranteed good time. Hikeeba!
-Corey hall
Call (734) 764-2538 for tickets, or go to:
http://tickets.a2sf.org/single/eventDetail.aspx?p=875
Or
http://www.cinematictitanic.com/
