The Interview

In a week when cheaters can still play in the Super Bowl and major cities braced for winter superstorms that never came, what better time to review The Interview?

Originally intended to be just another bad stoner flick from James Franco and Seth Rogan, The Interview gained frightening national and international infamy by reputedly being the target of a cyber attack on Sony supposedly by North Korea. While the facts of who did what may be in question, it seems that making a film about what a monster the leader of North Korea is and how a couple of idiots attempt to assassinate him could actually lead to an act of war. Sounds silly, doesn't it? But apparently it happened.

I didn't plan on seeing this movie, but now that it is quickly available on Netflix, I thought, what the heck I might take a peek. And it's not a matter of wanting to see it as much as it's a matter of wanting to see what all the fuss is about. In The Interview, James Franco is an idiot talk show host and Seth Rogan his long suffering producer who longs to do serious journalism. In an attempt to remedy the latter, they land an exclusive interview with Kim Jong-un. The CIA intervenes and hopes to get them to stealthily assassinate the dictator.

The opening scene with Eminem is hilarious. There are sweet moments like Franco bonding with Kim Jong-un and Seth Rogan mooning over his North Korean counterpart but for the most part this is another Franco/Rogan dick and fart joke stoner movie, nothing new and nothing should be expected to be new. And when it takes a serious turn in the middle of its childish humor, I didn't know how to feel. Really, this film has a moral lesson and political agenda now? Way out of left field.

This is still a terrible movie, but it's better than it has any right to be. And I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. I certainly didn't hate it like I did This Is The End. I really didn't think I could hate James Franco more than I already did, and then I saw The Interview. The man is now on my do-not-watch list. Yeah, he's that bad. He makes Adam Sandler look like Cary Grant. Seth Rogan isn't bad, and Lizzy Caplan does her best with what she has to work with.

These movies seem to be quite popular and I don't like them much. A friend threw an idea my way that has been weighing on me, so I thought I'd throw it out to you. She compared the Franco/Rogan films to some of the sillier comedies of the 1960s, and suggested that they were just this generation's version of that type of humor. She mentioned two names in particular, and I'll pass them along - are these the type of movies that Jerry Lewis or Don Knotts be making if they were in their prime today? Thoughts?

Otherwise, I would say to wait to see The Interview for free, if at all. This flick is only a curiosity because of the controversy around it, not because of anything special in it.

On The Interview

I wasn't going to pipe in on this one. I figured it was old news by the time I had the time to get to my blog, and no one would care any more, but this story has seemed to linger. That, and many friends, both online and in real life, have wanted me to say something, so here you go. Yeah, I'm talking about The Interview.

The Interview is not a film I would have paid to see. I might have caught it when it got to my pay cable channels, but not otherwise. As I've said here before, I'm not a big fan of stoner movies, and James Franco and Seth Rogan, the stars of the film, left a really bad taste in my mouth the last time they got together - so this one was definitely not on my watch list.

What bothers me the most about the situation is that now everyone wants to see this movie, and not for the right reasons. If it ever gets released, it will make a mint. The other major thing that gets in my crawl is that Sony backed down, they pulled the film, and in short - the terrorists won. I hate that.

What if this was an important film (yes, there are important films) rather than some silly stoner comedy, would Sony have knuckled under as well? Is our entertainment now at the mercy of foreign powers or terror groups? Rant over. It's Christmas, I'm going to try to be happy now.

This Is The End

This Is The End ~ This film does one thing that I like. Usually when one sees a movie with name stars, unless the movie completely immerses the viewer or the acting is prime, one will always think of the star as the star rather than the character. For instance most folks don't know who John McClane is, but they know Bruce Willis was all that in the Die Hard films.

This Is The End uses that logic in its own favor by having its stars - Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, etc. - play themselves. Well, it's themselves as pot smoking partying losers, which may or may not be the truth, but at least you know who is who. As someone who stopped 'partying' quite some time ago, it made me think of most of these actors in a lesser light, fiction or not. Now get off my lawn.

Anyway, the pothead slob comedy brigade are at a party at James Franco's house when apparently The Rapture happens, followed by an apparent Hell on Earth. It vacillates between end of days satire and Exorcist parody and succeeds in neither. The movie tries really hard to be funny, but unlike old Cheech and Chong, which is funny whether you're high or not, I imagine only stoners would find this flick hilarious.

The only time I even smiled was when Emma Watson from the Harry Potter films, and later the Backstreet Boys, showed up for a couple minutes. Although I did jump when the demon bull jumped in through the window - so points for horror but very little for comedy. For a movie called This Is The End, it really never seemed to end, it just went on and on and on. This was relentlessly bad, I hated it a lot.

The Green Hornet

I have been waiting for this movie for a long time. And by long time, we're literally talking almost two decades, as that's how long this property has been floating around Hollywood. At different times George Clooney, Jet Li and Kevin Smith have all been involved in its production in one capacity or another. I'm just happy it finally got made. And despite my trepidation at this Seth Rogan action comedy version, I still couldn't wait to see it, and the four days I had to wait since its release until I saw it were far harder to wait than the twenty years before it. Thankfully, the wait was worth it, this was a terrific surprise and a great flick.

For those not in the know, you might want to check out my article "Re-Introducing the Green Hornet" over at the All Things Fun! Blogs. If nothing else, it should hip you to the love I have for the character and the mythology. Yeah, this flick was pretty important to me.

My fears about this being an action comedy were somewhat relieved when I read an interview with co-writer and title star Seth Rogan. Despite his obvious slob comedy background, the guy has a pure and hardcore love for the Hornet, and while it does descend to the usual Rogan jokey depths, the quality and integrity of the mythos is upheld in my opinion.

The plot, slightly altered from the original has Britt Reid an irresponsible rich boy partier whose father is slain for writing an anti-crime editorial. Britt is forced to straighten out as he inherits his father's multi-million dollar newspaper. Accompanied by his father's mechanic, Kato, played by Taiwan pop sensation Jay Chou, he decides that he wants to do something with his life - that being a covert superhero believed to be a villain.

Now Rogan and director Michael Gondry are no fools, they have seen the 1960s "Green Hornet" TV series and they know that the Black Beauty, the badass car, is the real star here. There is much care put into the concept mixing contemporary and retro that make the Black Beauty just as cool now as it was in 1966. I don't know about you, but I always liked the Black Beauty better than the Batmobile, and still do.

The Green Hornet and Kato have a very unique relationship in the world of superheroes, they are partners rather than hero and sidekick, and this is explored well here, as it would be in the beginning of such a partnership dynamic. Even when it deteriorates into foolish and comedic combat, it rings true.

Seth Rogan toned up for the role and looks good, and when things get serious, he is right on top of it. I love the tie and the vest, both nods to the TV series. Jay Chou, much like Bruce Lee before him, steals the show. He's the reason to see this, and he'll be big after this. Christoph Waltz, Oscar winning Nazi from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, is an intriguing take on the super-villain. Meek, middle-aged, sand oft spoken but still a dangerous sociopath, he is subtlety incarnate here. Another prize performance. Cameron Diaz and Edward James Olmos are lost here in my opinion. Hopefully there will be a sequel to make better use of their talents.

It's not a perfect movie, and I do have some fanboy nitpicks that did bother me. I wish we had seen the Hornet Sting, and I wish we had heard more of the theme song "Flight of the Bumblebee." I mean we heard more of it in Kill Bill in homage to the Green Hornet than we did in the actual Green Hornet film. And of course the whole final chase/fight at the climax of the flick could have been avoided had the Black Beauty had wireless. I mean, really, it's got rocket launchers, machine guns, even a record turntable, but no wireless?

My big problem was of course the identity of the main villain. It hurt me deep. Really, having him be the big bad is the same as having Commissioner Gordon revealed as the main villain in the Batman films. It just doesn't work. Again, I should say it does work. I don't like it but it works.

All in all, this was a great flick, and has done better than I think folks thought it would have. The Green Hornet is the best flick I've seen so far this year, and heartily recommended. See it.

Conan Conan Conan

We've had about a dozen episodes of the Conan O'Brien's new TBS talk show - titled "Conan," so he would be harder to replace this time. I figured it was about time I chimed in with my feelings on this new and much anticipated endeavor.

I thought his final weeks on NBC was some of the best television he's ever done, and when I reviewed those last shows, I expressed concern as to whether he could do the same on a regular basis, and on a different network when he did return to TV. It needs to be said, and Coco fans can frown and throw cabbage at me if they wish, but the average Conan talk show was nothing spectacular. I liked the guy, and I didn't tune into his "Tonight Show" all that often.

I tuned in last week for the first show, and was even more concerned. My initial thoughts were about how long he might last even on TBS. The first episode seemed very self-indulgent. Allowing several minutes of applause when he first came out, I can forgive after his absence, but stealing the spotlight from Jack White who was the musical guest was almost unexcusable. And it didn't help that his first big guest, Seth Rogan, sincerely apologized more than a few times that Conan couldn't get a bigger or better first guest.

On the good side, these first few shows demonstrated a desire to throwback to talk shows of old, where it was more about getting to know the guests and having a dialogue with them rather than just promoting their latest project. That, I like.

I still have doubts, but I have hope, and I hope Conan catches on and continues to maintain an audience that can support him.

The Green Hornet 2011

There has been much worry and discussion about Seth Rogan's take on The Green Hornet. The trailer is above. It looks so much better than I or many thought it would be. The film opens January 2011.

Seth Rogan's Green Hornet - First Look

Splash News Online gives us our first pics from the set of Green Hornet. Seth Rogan plays the title role and Jay Chou plays Kato. As this is something that is dear to my heart, I'll reserve comment until I see this. I do not have high hopes...

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Zack and Miri Make a Porno ~ All the hype about taking the “porno” out of the title and the advertising and even the movie listings aside, this is actually a rather sweet film from Kevin Smith – or at least as sweet as Kevin Smith gets. It seems that as much as making the critically panned but well-intentioned Jersey Girl and visiting familiar turf in Clerks 2 with a eye towards fun rather than gloom, has mellowed Smith – it also seems that the presence of Seth Rogen has invigorated him. Formerly Smith stayed within his own bounds and used the same entourage of folks in his films, but Rogen (and Elizabeth Banks as well) has brought the new blood and the new vision needed to make this Smith effort that much more entertaining. Craig Robinson and Superman Returns' Brandon Routh, as well as Smith alumni Jeff Anderson are priceless. A great film (for fans of Smith), and hopefully the start of a new partnership.