Happy Halloween!
In order to avoid having a gap in my archives, I’m writing this quick review instead of preparing for my supervisory committee meeting tomorrow. Because I would never avoid work in any other circumstance. Ever.
Anyway, I’m here to discuss two movies. Yes, only two. Since the girlfriend moved away and the summer ended, I’ve become something of a shut-in.
Ahem.
Anyway, the two movies up for consideration couldn’t be more different, but both were quite interesting and enjoyable.
Get Low
This movie veers into “film” territory. The girlfriend and I settled on this instead of being caught in then rain. We hadn’t heard of it before (or since, for that matter), but Bill Murray was listed among the cast, so we figured it was worth a shot. Get Low is the story of an old man who decides to arrange a funeral party before he dies, where people can come and tell their stories about him. Of course, it turns out that what he really wants is to tell a story of his own, and how he gets to that point is the whole point of the film.
This movie is both dark and humourous, rather more slowly-paced than my usual fare, and yet it held my attention. The tale that is unraveled is deeply tragic, and yet never so bad as you might imagine. The story unfolds naturally at the hands of an excellent cast (Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray), and overall the movie exudes the feeling of a quality, well-made film. If that’s the sort of thing you like, I think this is worth your time.
Easy A
I had no expectations going into Get Low, but with Easy A I just had low expectations. It looked like a silly and fun movie, but I expected little more than that. I was very pleasantly surprised.
Easy A turned out to be one of the smartest comedies I’ve seen in long time. Emma Stone rocked the lead, but had a lot of support by an odd and eccentric supporting cast (including the most delightfully strange parents), and the story never quite went where you would expect. I expected a fun-but-stupid high school comedy, and got a fun-and-smart one instead! Hooray!
So, yeah, I would recommend this one. No deep thoughts on it or anything. For me, it all just worked.