3 Thoughts On: The Interview

           When I first saw the trailer for The Interview, I figured there might be some international controversy. Never did I think it would come down to a hack on Sony, a withdrawal of the movie, and then a reverse withdrawal. Was this movie a good idea? Was Sony right to pull it, then not pull it? Was this just a genius plan by Sony to get attention? Was this a Sony/ North Korean conspiracy? Only time will tell... the only real shame is that all this controversy is over a movie of The Interview's calibre (which is to say not very great). Here are my thoughts on said movie...

This movie was to The Lord of The Rings what
O Brother, where art Thou? was to The Odyssey...

There And Back Again:
How is it possible that after sitting through the ridiculousness that was The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, the best parts of this movie were the Hobbit references (and LOTR's ones). They must have made those Middle Earth references like 4 times, yet each one worked. Props for including
"An Unexpected Journey" as Skylarks book title.

Franco Got Really Franco:
James Franco's performance to this movie was what Alfrid's was in The Hobbit. It went too far, all the while contributing nothing to the movie. I get that his character was intended to be the dumb one (destined to have an epiphany), but the humor got tasteless quick. Franco's Skylark was so bad he made his scientist role in Rise of The Planet of the Apes that much more believable.

You get the idea...

Rogen Stayed Really Rogen:
I don't imagine anyone working on this movie, including Seth Rogen, was expecting to get a nomination for anything. Thats good because Rogen, while being the character I liked the most in the movie, was same old Rogen. This year's Neighbors could literally have been a prequel to his character in The Interview.

           Yes this movie painted North Korea and its sitting leader in a negative light. Yes he dies at the end, and yes the good guys succeed (with the help of SEAL team 6 no less). The debate over this movie will no doubt continue with some saying this movie is an exercise of free speech and others that Sony was right to pull it. After sitting through The Interview, I don't mind saying that Rogen and Franco helped me exercise my freedom of embarrassment.