“Get Low” Get Down to Business
Aug 24th
“Get Down to Business”
GET LOW is a wonderful little film starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray that will have you chuckling throughout and wiping away a tear at the end.
It takes place in the 1930s and is based on a true event in which a local recluse wanted to throw a funeral party for himself while he was still alive so he could hear what people had to say about him.
Duvall plays Felix Bush in an outstanding performance that could easily win him an Academy Award nomination in 2011 for Best Actor.
Bush is a local legend who has lived alone in his house out in the woods for 40 years, which causes the kids in town to gather up their courage and go out to throw rocks through a window.
Whenever Bush harnesses his mule to his wagon and goes into town, it causes a sensation, one that doesn’t always end well.
One day Bush goes into town to see the local preacher in his church; he pulls out a wad of money and says to the preacher, “About time for me to get low.”
When the preacher asks what he means by “get low,” Bush explains, “Down to business.”
However, when Bush tells the preacher what he wants, the preacher turns him down.
On the other hand, business has been bad at the funeral home, and when the funeral director, Frank Quinn, played by Murray, hears about Bush’s desire and especially about his wad of money, Quinn is eager to do business with the recluse.
However, Bush has more in mind than just a funeral party and hearing what everyone has to say about him. Bush has a secret that he wants to reveal, and he also wants to sell $5 tickets for a raffle, the winner to get Bush’s house on 300 acres of uncut timber when he does die.
Well, money makes people do funny things, and everything doesn’t go as planned, to say the least.
Spacek plays Mattie, a widow, and as Bush puts it, he once “had a go” with Mattie, but she also figures prominently in Bush’s secret and why he has been a recluse for 40 years.
GET LOW gets down to business as an excellent film that I admired for its story, the acting, and its rewarding conclusion.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Get Low – Movie Trailer
Aug 24th
Inspired by the true story of Tennessee recluse Felix “Bush” Breazeale, who planned his funeral while he was still alive, director Aaron Schneider’s dramatic period thriller stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black. Few folks have spoken with Felix Bush (Duvall) since he disappeared into the Tennessee woods 40 years ago, and the ones who have don’t necessarily have the kindest things to say about him. Gruff, confrontational, and ill-tempered, Felix has been the source of many malicious rumors over the years. Some say he’s a cold-hearted killer and his penchant for walking into town with a shotgun, a wild beard, and threadbare clothes doesn’t exactly give the impression of a man who seeks to make friends. When Felix walks into Frank Quinn’s (Murray) funeral parlor and announces his intentions to throw himself a massive party before he passes away, word quickly spreads through town and anticipation starts to run high. Before long the big day has finally arrived, and Felix surprises everyone by revealing exactly why he shunned society to lead a life of solitude in the deep woods.
“Eat Pray Love” Indulge
Aug 18th
“Indulge”
EAT PRAY LOVE is based on the successful memoir of the same name published in 2006 by Elizabeth Gilbert, except that the commas have been taken out of the book’s title.
Julia Roberts plays Liz in the story that describes her year off to travel the world after a messy divorce, and the title gives away what her activities are in the three places she visits: Italy, India, and Indonesia, specifically the island of Bali.
Liz is a successful travel writer, and she had been to Bali before while writing an article, which we see at the beginning of the movie, along with her encounter with Ketut, a ninth-generation medicine man who tells Liz’s fortune by reading her palm.
Ketut tells her, “You will lose all your money.”
Then Liz is back home in New York City, and we see her unhappy marriage to Stephen, who has recently changed jobs and is now thinking about going back to school.
In a scene in which she prays to God, Liz says, “I’m in serious trouble. I don’t know what to do. Please tell me what to do.”
One could argue then that the rest of the movie is one long piece of advice about what to do and what not to do.
Liz becomes involved with a young actor named David, played by James Franco, whom she describes as a yogi from Yonkers and who looks a lot like Stephen.
Liz makes a break for it, and she is off to Italy, where she indulges in food and learns the Italian sweetness of doing nothing. Naturally, there are many closeups of food and of eating food.
After four months, Liz goes to India, where she joins an ashram and meets Richard from Texas, played by Richard Jenkins and whose every speech is nothing but advice, except for one long speech of maudlin overacting.
Then it is on to Bali, where Liz reconnects with Ketut the medicine man, and, sure enough, Liz meets a Brazilian played by Javier Bardem. To her credit, Liz tries to resist his advances, but if you know the story of the real Liz Gilbert, you already know the ending.
EAT PRAY LOVE can be boiled down to just a one-word title: INDULGE, but at least for many, two words should be added: IGNORE and FORGET.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
