Rifftrax Wonders Where Westworld Went Wrong...Went Wrong....Went Wrong...

After mocking two episodes of Game of Thrones, the Rifftrax gang wondered which cable show they can attack next. It will take on the first episode of Stranger Things later this summer (after MST3K mocked the first two minutes last year).

Since season two of Westworld is coming next weekend, let's take a look on how Rifftrax looked at the first episode. The gang spend a lot of time on how the show compared to the movie, and slipped in a riff about Yul Brynner. Most of the riffs were mainly about how really rich guys went to Westworld to pretend to be outlaws and desperados and have sex with robots (which is the opposite of its VOD Dark Future), and how the people who built it think they're just making a Disneyland on steroids. Or as Kevin Murphy described the place, "Westworld, where insanely rich people want the same vacation as an eight-year-old boy from the '50's."...with sexy and violent results.

The opener has people enjoying the fake Western life complete with booze, guns and women, the staff dealing with glitches affecting the "hosts", and a girl named Dolores suddenly realizing her life isn't what she thought it was. Safe to say, when season two starts, the tables and worms will turn.

However, this blog is more about the riffs than the show, so, let's get to it:

The opening credits inspired some good riffs:

When can I hump a robot?
Ah, ha, Westworld
What's Westworld?

Tim Burton's Annie Oakley

Then the action begins...

Dolores is sitting nude on a stool, as Bernard talks to her
"Do you know where you are?"
Auditioning for a Weinstein film?

The staff enters a room where dozens of hosts are stored, and they're nude
Looks like the Rhythm Nation hit the skids

A chunky guy, later identified as an employee for Tires Plus, is excited he's looking for a dangerous gunman. His wife is not.
Why did I bring Ricky Gervais to the Wild West?

A poster is spotted with a guy named Larry Clause wanted for murder
Santa's evil half-brother. 

Dolores is upset her friend Teddy (also a host) has been shot.
"Teddy, No!"
You've got to uphold the Ruxpin name.

There's also riffs on Matt Lauer, Blade Runner, Deadwood, Philadelphia, Thomas the Tank Engine and John Ford.

We can't exactly prove it, but there's a chance Rifftrax mocked Westworld after Mike Nelson discovered he didn't like Ready Player One after he read it. Thus, he decided to riff on another technological oasis, a more disturbing one. RP1, though, will be next.

You can get the riff on HBO's Westworld opener at the Rifftrax website.

Game of Riffs: You Heckle or You Die (and a look at the updated Rifftrax app)

Seeing the first episode of Game of Thrones with Rifftrax's, uh, opinons serves two purposes. First, you'd be stunned on how much the show and its characters have changed over the years, Second, it's more proof that no one is safe from Rifftrax. They're planning riffs on the first episodes of The Walking Dead and Daredevil later this year

The mp3 riff was released this week for Kickstarter backers and the general public, and was reviewed by several websites who were apparently surprised Rifftrax would go this far. Personally, I have never seen the first episode, "Winter is Coming", but it looked like a completely different show compared to what it is now. For one thing, it had to stick to the book more or less. Still, it's surprising to see people who are now dead or have worse hair (especially House Stark). It's also strange to see a meek Daenerys Targaryen preparing to be Khal Drogo's bride so her pervy brother Viserys can get an army to seize the Iron Throne, Based on the episode alone, no one would guess she'd wind up being Mother of Dragons and Downright Sexy Fireproof Conqueror.

So, let's get to the riffs:

One of the Night's Watch sees a dead Wilding girl
Critics show Pixar how much they didn't like Brave

"I saw the White Walkers"
You mean the old ladies who hang around the pharmacy section at Target?

They find the body of a large direwolf who just gave birth to pups
Looks like Little Red Riding Hood finally had enough

King Robert Baratheon arrives at Winterfell but where's the entrance music?
Where's Ye All Ready For This and Who Let the Direwolves Out?

"A Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair"
Oh, like a NASCAR race.

Drogo is about to make Daenerys a woman the only way he knows how
Cinemax is so sleazy
This is HBO
What artistic bravery.

There are also riffs on Game of Thrones in general, Ricky Gervais, another new slogan for Golden Corral, the Beach Boys, the Metrodome, Michael Cera and something Jason Momoa will be doing soon.

To make this review different from others, I'll throw in a quick review of the updated Rifftrax app. Right now, the Android version has been changed to allow people to synch up with their libraries, and buy new mp3 riffs from their phones, However, it also means losing the six Star Wars mp3 riffs people were enjoying for free.The iOS version has not been approved yet, so people can still enjoy those riffs for free through their iPhones and iPads.
However, the one big drawback that the riffs don't start until the dialogue does is still there. That means anyone who sees any of the Star Wars movies will lose several riffs, and hearing the mp3 through the website is the only way to get the complete experience.

Come to think of it, to get the complete experience of having Game of Thrones get the Rifftrax experience, let's add Kevin and Bill singing the "love there" from the show (also known as strange lyrics to the opening theme)



The riff for Game of Thrones can be found at the Rifftrax website. It also has riffs on the first two episodes of Grey's Anatomy with Mike and Bridget Nelson, and Lost and Heroes with Mike.

Meanwhile, tickets for the MST3K Reunion at hundreds of theaters nationwide on June 28th are still available, Just check out the Fathom Events website.

HBO's Godfather Epic: Is It a Better Way to See Godfather 1 and 2?

Last January, HBO showed a restored version of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, but not as two different movies.
It turned both movies into a seven-hour epic, showing the history of the Corleone crime family from 1901 to 1959. This meant parts of Godfather II with Robert De Niro were moved to the front, followed by the remainder of the two movies,. There's also lots of deleted scenes that added depth to the story, and proof that anyone who crosses a Corleone does so at his peril.

I finally got a chance to see the mega-movie last week, and it was amazing. I usually saw both Godfather movies on AMC, and seeing them back to back usually takes ten hours including commericals. Seeing HBO's uncut and commercial-free version was much better. It still took more more than two days because I had to pause to check if the Sharks were heading to the Stanley Cup or the Warriors will blow a chance to defend their NBA title just like 1976.

Seeing The Godfather Epic in one seven-hour chunk, which is a perfect size for veteran Netflix bingers, is quite an experience, especially with the extra scenes. The story flows very well, although the segues from one crisis to another in the final hour are a bit abrupt. That's because the secret to Godfather II's success is how the stories of Young Vito and Michael Corleone mirror each other, the past creating the future. Taking Vito's scenes out of that movie changes it a lot.

What HBO did is not new, though...

NBC also re-edited both movies into a mini-series that lasted for four nights. However, it's not the complete version because foul language and violent scenes had to be left out. With HBO, it has the whole story, blood, profanity and all.

The deleted scenes also add some insight about what happens when you make a Corleone mad. For example, remember when Michael's first wife was killed by a car bomb in Italy? It looked like the guy who did it got away, but he didn't. For Vito, he not only got Don Ciccio, the man who had his parents killed, he killed the guy who told Vito's home town to turn him over to Ciccio when he was nine, Now that is a grudge,

If given a choice, I'd prefer to see Godfather and Godfather II in their original forms, because I am used to that after seeing them several times. However, I still refuse to see Godfather III unless there is new CGI technology that replaces Sofia Coppola with Winona Ryder...or even Shailene Woodley.