Sunday, December 28, 2014

Film review: The Interview



"NoteIncludes some spoilers.

"Let’s start off with the positive aspects of The Interview. The decision by some smaller theater operators to show the film demonstrated some courage and defiance, and the uneventful showings of The Interview exposed the lack of corporate intestinal fortitude in the larger chains in the face of hardly-credible threats. Sony’s decision to offer on-demand release in the face of a much-more credible threat from hackers could not have been an easy decision, even though it was the right one. Tinpot dictators and hackers should not be allowed to shut down American artists by extortion.

"With that in mind, I watched The Interview on YouTube yesterday, and the film raises a big question. It’s not why North Korea or hackers wanted to block it from publication. It’s why anyone at Sony would have green-lighted it in the first place.  Even for a bromedy, The Interview is exceedingly juvenile, obsessed with scatalogical humor, and is almost utterly lacking in wit." ...
theweek.com
While on the subject of tin-pot* dictators: Egypt Bans ‘Zionist’ Film on Biblical Exodus   “It is a Zionist film,” Egyptian culture minister, Gaber Asfour, said. “It gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies and that’s why we have decided to ban it.” The Guardian’s coverage of the issue is a fine example of cultural relativism. Would the paper have been so matter-of-fact about the story if it were Israel banning a story that celebrates Egyptians?

 *Tin-pot definition

No comments: