Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Movie Review - The Interview (2014): Way to follow through on your threats "not north korea"

So before I post the review I want to clarify two things:

1. I wrote this review in early January but was unable to post it at the time due to lack of internet. Also in this review it might say I haven't seen any 2015 films which is no longer true, I just haven't had time to do reviews for them because

2. I got a new computer, and I'm still in the middle of transferring files. In fact I'm currently on my old computer at the moment because I have to re install microsoft word on the new one. Now I do have a review of Selma coming up and another movie I found on Netflix but I don't know when those will be up (hopefully before friday cause there's some new stuff coming out I want to see.)

So yeah, in the mean time though, here is my review for the interview.



Well, I was hoping the first review of the New Year would be of a 2015 film, but unfortunately no amount of slight interest in the world will be enough for me to see the first offering of the year The Woman in Black 2, a needless sequel to a forgotten film that no one wanted. So instead, while on my vacation I actually managed to catch one of the most highly talked about films of last year, even if it was discussed for the most unusual of reasons, which was the fact that it pissed off the head of a nation, got cancelled, but was then brought back slightly by the rally cry of everyone from the common man to President Obama himself. That’s right folks, I saw The Interview in a real theatre (shout out to the Rainbow Cinemas in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (for any of my readers who didn’t know where it was)) and I’m also still alive at the time of writing this. Now, how was the film that started one of the most heated political arguments of last year? Well.......

Plot Summary – Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his director Adam (Seth Rogen) are the minds behind Skylark Tonight, an entertainment news show that lands an interview with Kim Jong Un after finding out that he’s a fan. That’s when the CIA intervenes and asks the two men to kill the leader of North Korea

Pros - It’s at heart a (admittedly dumb down) presentation of the current conflict against North Korea and it does have a very clear message it’s trying to get across in quite a few moments of political commentary. It also has a few good gags and both Franco and Rogen are clearly enjoying themselves in the roles.

Cons – Most of the jokes fall flat as even some of the running gags start to wear themselves out really thin, especially one bizarre instance where Katy Perry keeps getting mentioned where I can’t tell if they’re trying to make fun of her or the people who listen to her.

Final Score – 6/10

I feel I’m being a bit generous, but truthfully it wasn’t bad enough to be a 5. It’s a solid effort and while I do understand why North Korea would hate it, truthfully I just think they need to pick better movies to get mad over.

Now the next new movie I want to see is Taken 3, and while I don’t want to do full reviews of them, I just want to post two quick scores for The Imitation Game and Big Eyes.

The Imitation Game – Solid Performances and a good story, but does feel a bit preachy at the end. 8/10

Big Eyes – A well told story even if it doesn’t have too many surprises in it. 8/10

And there we go, and all I can say is, please 2015, just be better than the last one.

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