WebVideo In Hindsight, I should have written this from Plinkett's POV
Red Letter Media is the website of a Milwaukee-based production studio, so a review of it needs to cover the various works that they create, especially since there are many differences in style between these “product lines” and liking one doesn't mean you'll be a fan of the others. The three major figures of the studio are filmakers Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman, and Rich Evans. This is a review of the Plinkett Reviews.
The Long-form Plinkett reviews are what the site is best known for, due to endorsements by supernerds such as Damon Lindelof and Simon Pegg, this review series is based upon feature length (sixty-ninety minute long) dissections of the Star Wars prequels and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls. They are brilliant, hilarious, and in-depth reviews, and I'd recommend them to anyone interested in film-making.
The shorter reviews are almost as good, but the Next Generation-era Star Trek movie reviews show the evolution in Plinkett's character. Watch the earliest review, of Genesis, and compare it with the 2009 Star Trek for an example. There are also reviews of Avatar, Baby's Day Out, and Cop Dog, the last two notable for being prologues to the Revenge of the Sith and Crystal Skull reviews. I would recommend that you start with the 2009 Star Trek and Avatar reviews, simply because they're the best of the lot and contain some great analysis. Watch the other Trek film reviews if you're a Trekker. Baby's Day Out and Cop Dog are fun to watch in the intended order (before Revenge and Skull, respectively).
What will make or break these reviews is the character of Harry S. Plinkett (voiced here by Stoklasa, played elsewhere by Evans), a psychopathic, psychotic, misogynistic, supercentenarian serial killer with an obsession with Totino's pizza roll and a voice like a tranquilized Zoidberg. I love the character- as intended by Stoklasa, Plinkett makes things unpredictable and fun, and avoids the whiny geek or the lame 'sexy nerd girl' cliches that dominate internet criticism. Other will hate the lowbrow and INCREDIBLY dark humor and strangeness that Plinkett brings to the table, and some find the marbley voice grating or monotonous. But lets face it, most online reviewers have shrill, obnoxious voices anyway and like to scream too much (see: 80% of the people on Channel Awesome), so Plinkett doesn't come off too badly in comparison.
WebVideo Red Letter Media: Half in the Bag and Other Works
Half in the Bag is basically your bog standard movie-reviewing webseries. What makes it great is the high production values and the calm but jaded discussions between the cynical, deadpan Mike Stoklasa and the far more forgiving Jay Bauman. They are occasionally joined by guest reviewers, such as when real life “superhero” the Watchman visited during the review of Super and a stand-up comedienne with a “turn off your brain and enjoy the junk food movie” attitude showed up during the What's Your Number?/Black Ninja two-parter.
The frame story of the series is that Stoklasa and Bauman are VCR repairmen bilking Plinkett out of his money, wasting time in his house while drinking tons of beer and watching movies (old people are stupid, you see, and it's hard to find good customers in the DVD/Blue Ray era). This version of Plinkett is played by Rich Evans, a far more affable, pathetic, and whiny figure than Stoklasa's.
You can start these reviews from the beginning – there is something of a story arc- but since it's fairly insubstantial I'd recommend starting with a review of a movie that you've seen before jumping around a bit with what looks interesting to you.
The Grabowskis
A five-”season” long absurdist parody of shitty sitcoms (complete with bad line delivers and a laugh track) starring Mike Stoklasa as Cliff Grabowski and Dixie Jacobs as the wife Honey Grabowski, the Grabowskis is what would happen if Plinkett and John Waters collaborated, the tale of a unbelievably shitty family saying and doing stupid and horrid things. The episodes vary in length from a few seconds to the standard TV sitcom length. Try the first “season” compilation video to see if you like it or not. It's ultimately forgettable shit, though.
The site also hosts a collection of hit-and-miss videos and skits that are too numerous to cover individually. The most important are the three films: Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant, the Recovered, and Feeding Frenzy. You'll have to be a fan of deliberate horror-schlock to appreciate them, but Feeding Frenzy's probably the best. But nothing here is really essential. The 35-minute long, 2001 video “the Long Walk Home” is the standout. It looks terrible, but it undergoes a hilarious genre shift in the last third, and ends with a great punchline.
It's a great webzone with a truckload of good material.