Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Interview (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies


Tropic Cinema to Screen
“The Interview” on Christmas Day

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Everybody watching the 6 o’clock news knows about the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures by North Korea, a protest over a silly Seth Rogan - James Franco movie in which they fictionally set out to assassinate Kim Jong-un, the bombastic roly-poly boy ruler of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Playing dirty, North Korean hackers released emails in which Sony’s studio heads insulted just about everyone within a stone’s throw of Hollywood – Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and many others. Even President Obama got dissed.

The hackers also “stole” a couple of movies, releasing them on the Internet.

Then came a threat of violence if Sony released “The Interview.” Major theater chains started canceling bookings – so Sony buckled and pulled the picture.

President Obama chided the studio for giving in, vowing to respond in kind to Pyongyang’s cyber-attack. Next thing you know, key North Korean websites found themselves shut down for 9 1/2 hours by mysterious “outages.” The US State Department had no comment.

Gathering its resolve, Sony is now releasing “The Interview” in select theaters on Christmas Day.

Key West’s Tropic Cinema is one of those theaters, shifting around its lineup of films to accommodate this late entry.

Does that mean Key West will become a target for North Korea hackers? Should we worry that our computers will get melted down in retaliation?

Probably not.

Turns out, Kim Jong-un’s late father was a big movie buff. Who knows, maybe after the petulant boy-ruler sees himself as a “star” in this sure-to-be-big-box-office comedy, he’ll take it as a compliment. Maybe contemplate a backup career if this dictator thing doesn’t work out.

If not, we can hold Kim Jong-un’s buddy Dennis Rodman as a hostage till the Supreme Leader promises to simply buy a ticket to see Sony’s next film rather than hacking if off the Internet.

srhoades@aol.com

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