Rifftrax 059-068

R059 The Sixth Sense

R060 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

R061 Memento

R062 Ocean's Eleven

R063 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

R064 Iron Man

R065 The Happening

R066 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

R067 X2: X-Men United

R068 The Incredible Hulk: The Final Round

There were several firsts in this round of Rifftrax. First Disney film (Pirates of the Caribbean); first film with experimental elements (Memento); first and second M. Night Shyamalan films, with representative samples from the periods before and after the point at which his burgeoning ego began to crowd out his talent (The Sixth Sense and The Happening). I’d say first straight-out comedy, but the characters of Ocean’s Eleven tend to deliver smirks in lieu of punchlines. It can still be a first, though, as that film features the first lounge singer as guest riffer (Richard Cheese).

Most of the rest fall into the standard big-budget SciFi/fantasy/superhero territory they usually mine, with predictably rewarding results. My favorite is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets—a disjointed, overlong film whose commentary had me doubled over with laughter for much of the time.

Also worthy of note: the return of the very funny Rifftrax for The Incredible Hulk: The Final Round. Its phenomenal success as a free streaming Rifftrax killed its server of origin the first time around, now it’s available solely as a commentary track to those who can track down a copy of the episode on DVD.