Looking for a cheap night out? It doesn't get much better than a $3 ticket for the Loft Cinema's showing of The Hideous Sun Demon at 8 p.m. tonight:

Good old radiation helps transform a straitlaced scientist into a hideous reptile freak whenever he’s exposed to the sun in this classically cruddy hunk of ‘50s monster junk.

By the time this review gets to you, the once blacklisted “The Interview” will have been available on the likes of YouTube, iTunes and Xbox while playing in a limited number of theaters. Did you ever really doubt you would get a chance to see it? Commerce always wins!

Co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s film, like “Team America: World Police” ten years ago, plays like one of those impossibly strange-and undeniably funny-Warner Brothers propaganda cartoons that were in circulation during WWII. The ones where the likes of Bugs Bunny would square off against Hitler. The major exception would be that the newer satirists say "motherfucker" a lot.

This is touchy stuff, but Rogen and his costar James Franco are up to the task of pissing all over North Korea, American media and the CIA. They don’t go after these institutions with contemplative, important, intellectual arguments.

They attack with stink-dick and shit jokes.

As I would expect from a political satire starring Rogen and and Franco, “The Interview” obsesses over things like whether or not Kim Jong-un actually has a butthole. Mind you, the film does address real world hot topics like nukes and people starving here and there but, mainly, it is really concerned about the whole “Kim Jong-un doesn’t have to pee or poo” thing.

Franco plays Dave Skylark, the flamboyant host of an American tabloid interview show, notorious for such stories as Eminem admitting he’s gay and Rob Lowe revealing his baldness. When Skylark discovers that Kim Jong-un’s favorite TV shows are “Big Bang Theory” and his program, he conspires with his producer (Rogen) to procure an interview with the world leader that will establish their legitimacy as real news guys. Their plans to just interview the guy get mildly complicated when the CIA gets wind and insists upon the two killing the notoriously reclusive basketball fan.

Like this year’s “Godzilla” before it, “The Interview’s” monster doesn’t show up until about an hour into its running time. Kim Jong-un, hilariously played by Randall Park, is a bashful Sklylark fan who loves Katy Perry and margaritas. In what is surely a riff on the infamous Dennis Rodman-Kim Jong-un bromance, Skylark and Kim take an instant liking to each other. They play basketball, blow up parts of the countryside with tanks and party all night long.

Of course, Jong-un has that bad side we all know about, so Park’s portrayal goes all Jekyll and Hyde when the Supreme Leader starts threatening to nuke the world if it doesn’t recognize his superior strength. It’s in these moments that the Park performance becomes a tad more blustery.

Rogen is pretty much Rogen here, that is to say he’s one of filmdom’s most underrated comic actors, with impeccable timing and a steady stream of those corrective, snarky retorts. Franco goes all out childish in this one with an intentionally high-pitched, appropriately sophomoric performance. His running account of a tiger attack on Rogen’s character is one of the film’s great highlights. Lizzy Caplan offers up some good supporting work as a CIA director who “honeypots” the two into the assassination scheme.

The final interview between Skylark and Jong-un is a comedic stew of tears, bullets, puppies, finger biting and sharting. Park gives us a Katy Perry induced nervous breakdown for the ages, and he should get some sort of award for Best Acted Slow Motion Death Scene, because what he does in his final moments is beyond epic.

Does the movie live up to all of the hype? I think it does, but I am prone to laughter when it comes to good jokes about buttholes and stink-dicks. It’s a totally silly, juvenile movie delivered by some very goofy, mischievous guys.

A big “sorry” to all of you looking for “The Interview” to be some sort of patriotic manifesto intelligently taking a stand against the likes of North Korea. For that sort of movie you must look elsewhere. This film is about the political ramifications of a world leader sharting on live TV.

Showtimes for "The Interview:"

The Loft Cinema
3233 E Speedway Blvd
520-795-7777 (Showtimes Recording)
520-795-0844 (Box Office)

Monday, Dec. 29
11:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
5 p.m.
7:45 p.m.
10:20 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 30
11:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
5 p.m.
7:45 p.m.
10:20 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 31
11:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
5 p.m.
7:45 p.m.
10:20 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 1
11:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
5 p.m.

It turns out James Franco and Seth Rogen’s controversial film “The Interview” will be coming out after all, despite threats from a hacker group claiming “9/11-style attacks” on theatres that screen the film. Joining other art house movie theatres is Tucson's own Loft Cinema. The movie will premiere on Christmas and continue in a regular engagement starting on Friday, Dec. 26.

Jeff Yanc, programming director for the Loft, said he's "really excited to have 'The Interview.' It's a great opportunity for free expression."

Yanc said the team at the Loft had been working on securing the film since last week.

"Sony said it would be available to independent theaters and that's us," Yanc said.

According to Entertainment Weekly, “The Interview” has an unreasonably high IMDB rating right now, despite no one actually getting to see it. Thanks to 4chan, the film has a perfect 10 rating from over 35,000 votes. Whether that perfect rating will keep once audiences actually view the film remains to be seen.

You can buy tickets and get more information on showtimes by visiting The Loft's website.

It's not a question of whether President Barack Obama was anxiously waiting to watch the new Seth Rogen and James Franco film, The Interview, or not. He's just disappointed Sony Pictures decided to pull the action/comedy over threats coming from North Korea. They let Kim Jong-un win without putting up a fight. 

In his end of the year address, Obama said Sony had made a mistake. "I wish they would have spoken to me first," he said. But the Sony execs were really peeing in their panties, and they defended the action saying they had no other choice but to cancel the premier and any other screenings. Also, some major cinematic chains had already said they weren't willing to show the flick, etc., etc.

So, these guys, with all their dick, weed and killing Kim Jong-un jokes, may unravel a North Korean NUCLEAR WARFARE on U.S. soil.

I'm not too paranoid about that. Still, the pair must be smoking a bowl, proud to see the shit show they've created.

Our lives are in danger because of these dudes:


Obviously, that guy has no sense of humor.

The striking resemblance actor Eddie Redmayne bears to physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” definitely makes you take notice.

And while the film takes great pains to show Hawking’s diminishing physical abilities as a result of a motor neuron disease that struck him almost 50 years ago, as well as Redmayne’s remarkable transformation, “Everything” is more the story of Hawking’s first wife, Jane (Felicity Jones). Now there’s a patient woman, not buckling when the man she loves is diagnosed, and marrying him and bearing three children while his body withers and contorts.

It’s a rare story of how much both people in a relationship can take, albeit from entirely different stimuli. Both young actors are wonderful, but you won’t learn much about black holes. The story’s a little soft and dewy, which you may have come to expect from tortured genius movies of Oscar seasons past.

Somehow, this year is the 25th anniversary of the cinematic release of UHF, Weird Al Yankovic's attempt to expand his media empire. The film came out on Blu-ray this month, but even better, you can see the movie on the big screen this weekend at the Loft Friday and Saturday.

If you want to go even deeper into the world of Channel 62, including the insights of Roger Callard, the guy who played Conan the Librarian, The Dissolve has an oral history of the movie:

I guess I must’ve had an inside track on the audition just because I was one of the few guys that were bodybuilders and could actually act. I actually won a dramatics award for The Mouse That Roared in high school, so comedy was actually my forte, even though people didn’t realize it. Being around Arnold actually kind of hurt my career, because people thought I was just another bodybuilder who was into acting, when I was really an actor who was a bodybuilder. In fact, when Arnold first got into acting, he’d take me along because he knew I’d acted in high school and college. But I never could teach him to say “Callard” or “California” properly. [Laughs.]

I knew UHF was going to be hilarious just because Weird Al was associated with it....It’s not like it was Othello or anything. Anyone thinking that they were going to go in and get Shakespeare would have to be an idiot. It was all you could do to keep a straight face throughout the whole thing. But, you know, it was Weird Al. Anyone would jump to be a part of that opportunity.

Today at the Loft Cinema, a screening of "Billy Bates," a movie from director Jennifer DeLia and producer Julie Pacino will be followed by a special Q&A with DeLia and Pacino and the movie's lead actor, James Wirt, moderated by yours truly.

The Billy Bates crew are on a 10 city tour of their movie about troubled artist, Billy Bates, walking the tight rope between brilliance and madness. Sounds like writing for an alt-weekly. OK, so more madness.

From the filmmakers:

Billy seeks solace in his beautiful lover, Kaia, an angelic singer he meets at an art show. As the two together attempt to navigate his mind-bending reality, the film becomes a cacophony of voices, music, and memories that take us through Billy’s kaleidoscopic world of underground parties, a psychotic break, and on the rise as an artist. All throughout this journey, Billy creates his newest body of work and is coined ‘the Warhol of his generation.’ Billy Bates stars James Wirt and Savannah Welch and features Margherita Missoni, Josephine de La Baume, Zoe Twitt, and Sally Golan. Music by Moby’s band The Little Death, the Trishas, the late Arthur Russell, and more. Original artwork by Burton Machen and featuring works from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat.

If you're interested in seeing today's screening, Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Loft, 4 p.m., you can go inline here to RSVP and receive a free pass.

An interview on MovieClub, with DeLia and Pacino, the partners discuss working together and the challenges, like almost all emerging filmmakers, they faced making this movie:

Jennifer: I’d say financing was something that was an ongoing uphill battle but we found the right partners in that so; it was definitely worth the struggle. But for independent film, financing is always something you wrestle with. With this one, we had several different investors put in different percentages of the budget and sometimes dealing with that takes you out of the creative phase but it also fuels the creativity, too, because you’re constantly answering questions and with their questions you question yourself to make sure you’re, kinda, on the right path… but financing is definitely big.

And then I think creatively the biggest challenge was honing in on the story; the actual heart of the story because I experimented with several different themes and, kind of, explored different ideas over the course of two years in kind of a documentary fashion so the story came together, unconventionally, in the creative process then what would be considered traditional filmmaking. It was… it was always something that I was dreaming about and thinking about for two years straight and it was so rewarding.

The Loft is hosting a screening of the film Billy Bates on Sunday, with a conversation with director Jennifer DeLia and producer Julie Pacino, and hey, it's free. All you have to do is sign up online.

Here's what the website says about the film:

BILLY BATES explores the fiery world of thirty-year old enigmatic artist Billy Bates. On the one hand, Billy’s reality is a kaleidoscope of artistic beauty and on the other, an extremely troubled existence. As Billy floats the tightrope between brilliance and madness, he seeks solace in overcoming his personal inner-demons. Billy’s hyper -sensitive mind and colorful soul are haunted by the abandonment of his nurturing mother and also by the abuse from his monstrous and envious father. Billy, intellectual and poetic, eventually meets Kaia, a beautiful singer who seems to understand exactly who Billy is.

The layers of Billy’s psyche are explored through an extensive interview done in documentary fashion infused with the dark and provocative images from Billy’s past and present. Through fragmented memories of underground parties, inside the insane asylum, and his rise to become a famous contemporary artist, Billy takes us on a love story quest and journey to transcendence, all with the looming question: How important is it to know what is ‘real?’

For what it's worth, I would see any film with an Arthur Russell song on the soundtrack, so keep that in mind.

If you're into bicycles and erotica, you'll want to make plans to head to the Screening Room on Saturday, Nov. 22 for the return of the Bike Smut film fest, which, as the poster says, celebrates "human powered transportation & sex positive culture."

Sure, you might be a little tired from the Tour de Tucson, which is the same day, but if this is your thing, how many opportunities do you have to outwardly celebrate your bikesexuality? Maybe more than I imagine, but this is basically your only chance to see the eighth installment of the traveling porn extravaganza - they keep the videos under lock (for reasons you might imagine):

The only way to see Bike Smut is when it plays in a theater, bike shop or basement for a live audience. There are no DVDs for sale and no screeners for the media. This creates a challenge for us but is the only way to ensure the filmmaker's privacy, and it works. After more than 1,000 screenings we have had no leaks. We keep filmmakers' identity as safe as they desire.

Bike Smut is a shared experience. Typically we view porn only in the most private places in our home (or for some, at work) are rarely do we talk about it. This is a call for a more honesty in our sexuality. Sex happens. We can either ignore it or accept it. Watching Bike Smut in a social setting encourages talking about sex, gender and other topics considered taboo.

Bike Smut is civic. Current political policies are designed to repress sexual expression and transportation choice. The Bike Smut film festival challenges that trend by enthusiastically displaying the quality of creative expression and the amount of fun inherent in both cycling and sex. Both actives are worth elements of a healthy lifestyle and a pleasant quality of life.

A preview from the 2011 show:

[NOTE: The video above is probably wildly NSFW unless you work at the Weekly, then it's not that big of a deal.]

Tickets for Bike Smut 2014 are $6. More info at the event's Facebook page.

Today's the 60th anniversary of the release of the first Godzilla movie in Japan, a film which ended up kicking of a series of 28 cinema classics by the Toho company, including 1965's Invasion of Astro-Monster, 1992's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. While let's all agree to pretend that the 1998 American reboot starring Matthew Broderick didn't happen, critics and audiences seemed to enjoy the 2014 version, although our reviewer, Colin Boyd, wasn't crazy about it.

In honor of the anniversary, the Wall Street Journal has a fun article looking back at the creation of the monster that would destroy Japan, fight other monsters and eventually take on San Francisco earlier this year:

Before signing with Toho Studios, Mr. Kaimai made a living creating life-size dolls, including those used in haunted houses in theme parks. Godzilla was his first job collaborating with a film actor. On his first day, he says, he was presented with a miniature clay model of what the beast might look like and told to get to work.

The exterior of Godzilla’s body was manufactured with rubber material. For its feet, the team came up with the idea of remodeling rubber boots. World War II had ended just nine years earlier and the only place such gear was available at the time was the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Mr. Kaimai says.

Directors, designers, actors and producers all came up with requests and their ideas on what the beast should look like. Mr. Kaimai would add or reduce bumps on Godzilla’s skin.

“It wasn’t a fun process, to be honest. Everything was done on a trial-and-error basis,” Mr. Kaimai says. The finished prototype was a failure as well. “I knew the moment we were done, the first Godzilla suit had failed. The joints were too stiff and no one could move in it,” he says. “Plus, it weighed 100 kilograms [220 pounds].”