‘Mystery Science’ alums know bad movies better than anyone

When it comes to enduring bad movies, the comedians of “Cinematic Titanic” have more experience than most. Featuring five founding members of cult TV hit “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” “Titanic” continues the tradition of making fun of the foibles of B-movie bombs like “Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks” and “The Oozing Skull.” The crew will take their show on the road for a 19-city tour this fall starting Sept. 15-17 in Minneapolis; details can be found at cinematictitanic.com.

We talked to Titanic’s Frank Conniff, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Trace Beaulieu about what makes a movie truly wretched.

Originally published Aug. 26, 2011 on MSNBC.com. Read the complete article.

Cut! Cut! Movies so bad, you had to leave

This summer has seen its share of fizzles and outright flops, with films like “Green Lantern,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” and “Conan the Barbarian” failing to strike a chord with audiences. But it takes a special kind of movie to make you so bored, irritated or offended that you just can’t stand watching it anymore.

As the owner of the Heights Theater in Minneapolis, Tom Letness has seen his share of walkouts. “They don’t like it, they’re bored, they’re offended. Those are the big three.” Letness thinks that most bad experiences could be avoided if moviegoers did a little due diligence beforehand. “I’d say the bulk of the people know what they’re getting into, but there’s a number of people that just don’t,” he says. “It surprises me sometimes that people come into a film cold, and know nothing about it. I remember I showed [2008 Holocaust drama] ‘The Reader,’ and there was a guy who walked out mainly because he was offended by the male frontal nudity. He said, ‘That’s unacceptable.’ I was just like, ‘Well, whatever, I guess you’ve never looked in a mirror then.’”

We asked a variety of movie goers to tell us about the films so bad that they just couldn’t stay till the end.

Originally published Aug. 25, 2011 on MSNBC.com. Read the complete article.

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