At Essex Cinemas with Eli. I didn't know I would even get to hang out with him, and then suddenly I did, and he was in the mood for a movie. We had just enough time to get to the theater to see this. He knew nothing about it going in, which was kind of awesome. Right away, as soon as he saw the prologue and the whole wedding scenario, he was anticipating: "I'll bet there's going to be some kind of crazy hazing ritual." Yup.

The way he put it, every time he thought, "I wonder if they're going to..." the filmmakers either met or exceeded his expectations, so he was pleased. Like when Grace is trying to climb out of the goat pit, he was savvy enough to notice the nail, but was enough of a novice to have to wonder if they were actually going to go there. When they did, he was low-key delighted. He was kind of hoping that Adam Brody would make it to the end (that mysterious Brody charm at work), so he was a little disappointed at that. Overall, the movie was a fun ride for both of us. I didn't think it was so much a great movie as it was a great movie for the occasion.

He's super interested and curious right now about the films that contain a lot of violence and mayhem (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes). I felt like it was kismet that we got to see this together, which is like a more easygoing film that nonetheless built for maximum mayhem. Ready or Not neither shies away from gore nor overly belabors it, it's cynical but doesn't take itself too seriously (and so start to feel nihilistic) and of course it's leavened with humor (Eli particularly enjoyed Kristian Bruun's snark and mugging). Glad to be able to take my son to a movie with an excellent heroine leading the cast.