Masters of Beverage Storage

Photos of some interesting treasures at a garage sale, with more after the break.

I regret not buying this He-Man, Masters of the Universe cup, but I did have any loose change with which to haggle.

They are always watching.

There was a tarp laid out which was covered with dolls of all shapes and sizes. It made for a fun way to fill the frame.

A boxful of tapes and DVDs. It was an amusing collection. I really hope that Die Hard Dracula is like Die Hard with vampires.

This episode, and the next two, have plenty of action. Uncle Shameless dukes it out with the bounty hunter Zeroth. Good times are had by all.  Uh, well maybe not.

In Fistful of Dollars costume news, my metal chest plate is finished, mom mailed me my vest and scarf and I picked up some cigars last night (don’t tell mom).  I did buy a hat yesterday, but after getting it home I hated it and realized it just wasn’t going to work. Sigh. That’s $10 I’ll never see again. I’m going to suck it up and buy a nice felt hat for around $30. At least it is something I can wear after Halloween. It won’t be 100% the same as Clint’s, but it will be close enough.

I will do a proper blog update about the progress of the costume later.

Part 1

My non-firing Colt Single Action Army replica (say that ten times fast) arrived Friday afternoon, along with the leather gun belt/holster and 28 solid brass dummy cartridges.

I aim to misbehave.

I am very happy with the gun, as it looks just like an original Colt–and I think it weights the same too, as it is rather heavy. I’m glad I opted for the longer barrel (that’s what she said), but I imagine “spinning” and quick drawing the shorter barreled version would be easier.

Loading gate open, dummy rounds loaded.

Everything on the gun works, which is really neat. The hammer has two positions, half-cocked (loading) and full cocked (firing). The loading gate pops open and the ejector tube works, although the dummy rounds will usually just fall out if the gun is tilted upward with the gate open (which is the case with a real Colt, I’m sure).

Eject!

My only point of concern is that the gun does not have an orange tip, which I think it legally has to for me to wear in public. I can rig something up, I’m sure.

No orange tip, which could make carrying this in public a problem.

The dummy rounds are OK, but I thought they would be a bit longer–but they suit the task they were designed for. Some are difficult to eject from the cylinder of the Colt, as they seem to get wedged in a bit. I think once the gun/rounds get broken in a bit more everything will be fine, everything is already starting to work a bit smoother after a couple days of use.

I may not “load” the gun with the dummy rounds when carrying it in public, out of concern of misunderstandings. Better safe than sorry, but we’ll see. If I’m at someone’s house for a party indoors, that’s one thing–but if I’m walking around a convention or something, well I may leave the dummy rounds out.

The belt and holster however, were a big disappointment–not in regards to the construction, which is fine, but the decoration. The bad job is down right horrible. In the photos I viewed online, the paint job appeared more blended in and uniform. With my belt, it looks like someone just ran a black brush along the edges–or that a the last step was skipped. Considering I paid a little over $40 for this belt, I was not happy. But in terms of functionality, the belt/holster work just fine.

I am not happy with the lameo paint job on this holster. The pictures on the Internet led me to believe these colors would be blended in a bit better.

The loops don’t always keep the cartridges secure, but I knew about that ahead of time. I picked up some putty that I’ll use to secure the cartridges in the belt. I’m torn as it if I should keep the entire belt filled or only about half or so–with several empty loops between cartridges. I think the look of having less cartridges might be a bit more interesting, as it hints at some of the ammo being used.

I also picked up the a poncho at a local Halloween shop (which upon spotting some weeks ago was the inspiration for this costume). Yes, this isn’t the exact same thing Eastwood wears in Fistful of Dollars, but I don’t care. It is close enough and at least a similar color (yes, it is green despite sometimes looking brown in the films).

Not the exact design, but it'll do.

My next quest is finding a decent hat and a pair of boots. For these, I want to go cheap–which I quickly realizing might not be an option. After visiting three resale places and a slew of shoe places, I am currently trying to get a pair of boots on eBay. Again, they don’t have to be exactly what Eastwood had. I just want an affordable pair of boots I can wear spurs with (which I found at a store, but haven’t bought yet).

The hat is a whole other challenge. Eastwood doesn’t wear a typical cowboy hat in Fistful of dollars and finding anything even remotely close is proving to be expensive. I have some options locally, so I’ll hold off a bit, hoping to see if I can score something on eBay–but I’m hesitant to buy a hat on eBay because I won’t know how it’ll fit until it arrives. I may have to suck it up and drop a bunch on a hat..or just say the heck with it and get a cheaper one that is only kind of close. I saw one today at Gander Mountain for $30 that was pretty close (but black).

As far as the rest of the costume, I commissioned my mom to make me a vest–doesn’t have to be hide like in the film, just a light tan material is fine. I have a shirt and jeans that are close enough…and other than that, all I need is cloth for the scarf he wears and the trademark cigars (someone I know already recommended a brand to try).

Finding a hat like that is a problem. Mom is making me the vest, I have a shirt and jeans. Just need a black scarf and cigars. Image © United Artists

Days Until Halloween: 30

I decided the heck with it and ordered the non-firing Colt Single Action Army replica, the leather gun belt/holster and the brass dummy rounds for my Man with No Name costume.

After a lot of searching online, I found a site where I got everything for about $130 (including shipping). Pricey I know, but one of my recent freelance articles more than pays for that (which is the whole reason I write the freelance stuff to begin with–to pay for goofy things like this). Plus, I was part of a focus group for the Lansing State Journal on Monday night, earning me a bounty of $25 for an hour of my time.

When I realized I could use the gun/holster for future costumes (I already have several ideas), I decided it would be a good investment. If anything, it will make for a good show piece at home, how’s that for a conversation starter?

The first website I was found had what I wanted for a few dollars cheaper (sequel pun not intended), but when I went to their shopping cart I kept getting warnings from my browser that their security certificate was expired and/or unreliable. I sent the website an email in regards to this, but I ended up finding a different website to go through and pulled the trigger on the deal (pun intended). I’m glad I did–it is looking like I might get my gear as early as tomorrow, which we be great because I could wear some of it to ConClave next weekend.

Only at a fandom hotel convention can you get away with wearing a gun belt all day. I may wait and wear it only when moderating panels or giving critiques for the Writer’s Workshop. We’ll see.

The website I contacted eventually responded, saying they were in the process of overhauling their site and said I could just pay with Paypal and directed me to their new URL. But the new site had next to nothing on it. I ended up paying a little bit more by using the site I did (maybe $10, if that) but the peace of mind is priceless.

I opted for the Cavalry model over the Peacemaker (the website’s names, as both are technically Peacemakers)–the only difference is the barrel length. The Cavalry has a 6 and 1/4 inch barrel, while the Peacemaker has a 4 inch barrel (start with the Freudian jokes). The shorter barrel was the favorite for trick shots and quick draws in the films and wild west shows (and was more popular with civilians), but since I’m not getting into any quick draw contests, I wanted the gun that had a better ‘look.’

Honestly, when I think of a Single Action Army, I visualize the longer barreled versions, because they had a more distinct look. Eastwood’s SAA in Fistful of Dollars had a barrel length of just under six inches.

I’ll take pictures of the gear once I get everything. I’m excited. I even watched Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More last night as research/inspiration.

My next big task is finding cowboy boots and a hat that is at least somewhat similar to Clint’s. Luckily, I saw that the local TSC store sells spurs at an affordable price. I was on the fence about wearing real spurs at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be a cool addition (especially the sound of me walking around with them on).

The local costume shop has plastic spurs, but again, I want stuff that’ll last. I’m sick of spending money on cheap props that break easily (as I’m sure these plastic spurs would).

Boots could be an issue, as a I don’t want to spend a lot on them, but if I can find a pair of real boots for under $40, I might get those. I will hit up the Goodwill and the like first however–you never know what you’ll find there. Eastwood’s boots in Fistful aren’t anything fancy (which I’m thankful for), they are more or less basic cowboy work boots. Again, if I do additional Western themed costumes, buying a pair of boots would be a good investment (as would the spurs).

Stay tuned, I will keep blogging as I put the rest of this costume together and will have photos. I’ll probably do another Flickr set like I did for my Ghostbuster costume.

yeah I could pull this off, I think.

Most of the required gear is easy, as I found a poncho at a nearby costume shop but the biggest part of the costume is going to be the gun I get.

To me, much like my proton pack for last year’s Ghostbuster costume, the gun I end up getting will either make or break the costume. I can go one of two ways with this: cheap with a metal cap gun, or expensive with a non-firing Colt Single Action Army replica.

I didn’t want a plastic cap gun, as they are all pretty much lame. I found a metal one, the Big Tex–and it comes with a holster, another important component of the costume. I’m not worried about either the gun nor the holster matching exactly what Eastwood had in Dollars, I just want something that looks good. The Big Tex would be an inexpensive way to go, but, at the same time I’m more or less just buying a toy. And the holster is only plastic (or pleather).

The expensive option is the non-firing Colt SAA replica made by a company called Denix. This baby is the exact look, feel and (nearly) weight of an original Colt SAA, the handgun of western films (and Revolver Ocelot). Being a bit of a western junkie, I’ve always wanted a SAA of my own, and if I ever considered buying a real handgun, that would be one I’d consider.

The replica isn’t cheap, running about $60–but compared to some air soft guns, that isn’t too bad. Everything works with this model: the hammer, the action, the cylinder rotates, the loading gate and cartridge ejector. You can “fire” the gun, only in the sense you can squeeze the trigger and the hammer activates (and like the original SAA, the hammer has two click positions–one is for loading, the other firing I believe). It is not possible to actually fire this gun or to make it fire–the barrel is solid (and after finally seeing a different angle on eBay, I was relieved to see there is the required orange cap recessed into the barrel).

However, if I get the replica, I still need a holster. The company makes a very nice looking leather holster (complete with a leg tie) for about $44 (although I found it for $50-something on eBay, but with free shipping). The other neat bit is that it has leather loops for “dummy rounds“–fake bullets that are just solid brass. These rounds can also be “loaded” in the replica gun (obviously, nothing happens when you pull the trigger). I found a site that sells ‘em for 59 cents a piece (I’d probably order at least 12–six for the gun, six for the belt).

But here is my problem: do I just say “who cares?” and drop $20 on a mediocre cap gun, or do I spend over $100 on a high quality replica, holster and dummy bullets?

The only advantage of going the cheap route is that, it is cheap. However, going the expensive route has more advantages.

First, the expensive stuff isn’t going to break after the first time I wear it. My main complaint of my (self-built) proton pack was that it is very breakable, so much that I can’t even wear it any more. And I’ve bought cheap prop weapons in the past, and they never lasted that long.

Secondly, the replica, holster and dummy rounds just look AWESOME.

Thirdly, this is a prop I can easily use for other costumes (Rooster Cogburn from True Grit comes to mind)–or just wear it around the office. It think it’d go pretty good with at least one of my suits. There is the safety issue here too: I can legally wear this thing to parties, conventions, in public, etc because it is not technically a ‘gun.’ (this doesn’t mean I’ll wear it around town or something, I’m not stupid). But because it is a prop, there is no danger of using it for a costume–that’s the whole point–whereas with a real SAA, there are all kinds of legal issues if I tried using it for a costume. Heck, I was nervous about getting the replica until I saw that it had the required orange tip in a different photo (the stock images didn’t show the angle where you could see it, probably on purpose).

Lastly, it will fulfill my fantasy of owning a real SAA to some extent. Yes, I won’t be able to fire it, but honestly after researching .22 target shooting rifles (I’m considering buying one, but just for target shooting at a range), I’ve discovered how expensive firearms–especially ammo–can be. Also: SAA style handguns run in the neighborhood of $400+ on the low end (based on what I’ve seen locally). Yikes. If I get the SAA replica et al, I’m not buying a .22 until the Spring (I still need a new iPod as well. PRIORITIES.).

Another thing is that the novel I’m currently working on has a character that uses a revolver based on a SAA, so if I had one to mess around with (even without being able to fire), I could get a better idea as to how it feels, the weight, etc.

If I get the replica, I will probably go the cheaper route for the remainder of the costume, namely the hat and boots. Finding a hat just like his has been a bit difficult. The cowboy hats I’ve seen around so far don’t have the flat top like Eastwood’s does. I would like to get something pretty close to that, as the hat is rather distinct. We’ll see though.

The vest he wears under the poncho could be a challenge (it is some kind of hide deal), but I will do the thing with him wearing the metal on his chest as a sort of proto-bullet proof vest. I will also have to grow some of my beard back and at least pretend to smoke those cigars.

If I go all the way for this (the expensive route), this could be a really awesome costume. And honestly, I probably spent at least $100 building my Ghostbuster costume anyway (easily) and all of that stuff broke apart (even my goggles!).

I also updated my Writing Samples and Resume pages.

#

In Halloween costume news, I swung by a local costume shop–one of the mega costume stores that appears in early September and disappears on November 1st, like some kind of costuming Bringadoon.

My plan for the moment is go as The Man With No Name character from thee Fistful of Dollars trilogy.  The main thing I need to pull this off is the trademark poncho Clint Eastwood wears.  Thankfully, they had ponchos (not the exact design, but that’s OK), so that part is taken care of.  Next, I need to find a decent looking gun with a hip holster, and a hat.  I can get the Eastwood squint/scowl down, no problem–and I’ve already been working on the voice (which I use for the Magic of Eyri podcast).

All in all, this should be an easier task than last year’s Ghostbuster costume.

From Wikipedia:

“…the opening football scene for the new film; which did not appear in the original film, was shot at the former Detroit Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan.”

I know the original film doesn’t exactly have broad appeal, however, I enjoy it for its over-the-top-Cold-War-paranoia aspect. It is an excellent Cold War media time capsule and as such, I don’t think it should have been remake (but I am thankful that the filming of it brought money not only to Michigan but my home town).  I don’t see the new version having the impact the original did when released in the early 1980s.

Anyway, my li’l sis shot a few set photos and I put them online if you are interested in checking them out.

The conversation that followed could only best be described as “random.”

*RING RING*
Dad picks up:
Dad: One-Eyed Willy.
Me: …Excuse me?
Dad: The pirate from Goonies.
Me: Yes, One-Eyed Willy, you got it.
Dad: That’s all I needed know.
Me: …Why?
Dad: I was trying to think of it and I couldn’t and it was driving me nuts. So I called you, but right after I did, I remembered.
Me: Glad I could…help?
Dad: Thanks, have a good day, son–and May the Force Be With You. *CLICK*

Those who know my dad, will confirm that a conversation like this is not that surprising. Random, yes. But not surprising.  His whole attitude since crossing 50 a few years ago has been “I’m over 50, now I’m eccentric and I’ll do whatever I want.”

Why he was thinking of The Goonies, let alone pirates, at 8:40 on a Monday morning, I may never know.

The other funny part of this is that I was enthusiastically quoting The Goonies Friday night while playing Bang! with friends.  I was sticking to some of my favorite Mouth, Data and Chunk lines, and the always classic “Slick Shoes?! Are you crazy?!“

Part 1 :: Part 2

Guess who? HINT: Not the Iron Giant

I only took my backpack with me for this trip, as I required just one change of clothes and even then just the basics (tshirt/underwear), so I had to watch how much I bought. This did keep me from buying a few things I didn’t really need (ex: a Scud the Disposable Assassin action figure) but also prevented me from getting a couple items I would have really adored (a killer print by the artist of Cursed Pirate Girl). But my rule was:  if it didn’t fit in the backpack, I didn’t buy it. Crushable items, such as prints and posters, were out of the question.

Yes, I could have bought a tube to keep prints and posters safe, but I was afraid of having to check it on the Mega Bus and something happening to it.

Cobra Commander: looking better here than in the live action movie.
My time at the con on Sunday was somewhat abbreviated, as I had to catch the train downtown around 3 PM–but I made the most of the day. Not only did I get my Frank Cho sketch, but I also picked up a Doug TenNapal graphic novel, Flink, for only $5. That ended up being my only purchase of the day, due to me leaving soon and wanting to make sure I had money for food on the way home and for any possible emergencies. There were a few tshirts I eyed, including a Han Shot First shirt I spotted in Artist Alley, but most were too expensive–one of the big tshirt sellers sold theirs for $20.25 each, or two for $35. Yikes.

If you shopped around, you could certainly find better deals, but there were few shirts I spotted that screamed for me to own them (interesting post script, the Monday after the con I bought a $10 Iron Maiden tshirt at JC Penny’s back home using the money I didn’t spend at the con).

Eventually, my time to depart arrived. I called my comrades in geek arms and informed them of my impending departure. They joined me outside and we said our goodbyes. Two of our group I have known since middle-school, another since college and the last, my oldest friend, since first grade. I was happy I decided to trek out to Chicago to see my friends once again (scattered to Washington D.C., Milwaukee, New York and Chicago in the years following college).

The con for me was not about buying comic books, or even being within inches of the likes of Ray Park (Darth Maul), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) or Billy Dee Williams (Lando).  That was when I was younger, but things have changed. Now, going to the con is about seeing some of my oldest friends one more time. As we  march towards our thirties, I wonder how many more times I’ll see these gents, or even have the means and/or desire to go to a comic book convention (and after last year’s fiasco, I nearly swore off going to a Chicago con ever again).

Ironically, I have heard rumors that this con could be the last Chicago Comic Con–at least in its current form (and time of the year).

I had a bit of a misadventure upon reaching downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The ride on the blue line went well enough, but when I reached the stop for the Mega Bus, I looked at the clock on my phone. The time hadn’t switched to Chicago time right away when I arrived on Saturday (as my old phone would do), so thinking I was still on Michigan time, I thought I had an extra hour to kill.

Turns out, I did not.

Figuring I had time to kill, I walked away from the bus stop and ventured over to the Amtrack Station, looking for a place to get an ice cream to help beat the 98 degree heat. I entered the station and looked up at the old analogue clock on the wall.

“Oh, that can’t be right,” I said aloud after figuring out that my time was incorrect. I called my mom and asked her what time it was in Michigan.

“What time is it there right now?”
“Quarter to six, why?”
“That means it is quarter to five here–I gotta run!”

Dangit. I didn’t have an extra hour: I had been at the stop on time. I ran to the bus stop, making it with seconds to spare. That was the last bus to Ann Arbor, and it would have been a long walk home.

The ride home was not as smooth as the ride to Chicago, but that was not the fault of the Mega Bus people–there was a bunch of construction on 94 in Michigan (no surprise), which added about an hour to our ride home. By the time I drove back to Lansing, it was nearly 1 AM. Ugh.

I survived yet another Comic Con. I saw some old friends, including one I hadn’t seen in four years. I had a great time. All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend.

To set things straight, I disliked the first film.  A lot. Why would I go see the sequel even though I didn’t like the first? Because, I enjoy seeing action films such as this (crappy or not) on the big screen. Even though I can’t stand Michael Bay films, I’ll confess they are usually worth checking out (at least once) on the big screen.

I won’t waste time with fan-boy nitpicking about how this movie and the first were nothing like the show–because that isn’t the point with these films. When you’re taking a 25+ year old children’s cartoon show designed to sell toys and trying to adapt it to a mass audience film, some stuff just ain’t gonna work. Even more so when you take it from a cartoon to live action.

However, I died a little on the inside when Optimus Prime said “My bad” in the first film.

Thankfully, this film actually featured the Transformers for more than what felt like twenty minutes in the first.  My feelings about the first film are brilliantly summed up in this comic.

But, I’m still not a fan of the character design for the Transformers. Not that ILM didn’t do a great job with the animation, I just don’t like the busy/cluttered design of the robots.  I had heard that ILM’s idea was to make it look as if all the parts from the vehicles fit into their robot bodies, but I don’t like it.  I also have a hard time telling who is who–especially with the Decepticons (Megatron and Starscream are nearly identical).

I also don’t like the ‘human focus’ of the films. But, I did like the idea of humans and Autobots teaming up to hunt Decepticons, that was pretty neat (and made for a pseudo G.I. Joe/Transformers cross-over element).

I could have done with WAY less of the human stuff, it just dragged things out.  But some of the new characters were fun (Jetfire), and some where down right horrible (the Twins). I don’t need to go into details about how bad the Twins were, just read this write up on the whole thing on /Film.

One of the saving graces of this film was John Turturro, who is one of my fav actors—which was the case for the first film.  He’s so great. The other saving points were the inclusion of Soundwave and Ravage–two of my favorites from the show and voiced once again by Frank Welker. Lastly, Starscream (another favorite) finally became interesting and had some great back and forth moments with Megatron, which was a fixture of the original show.

This film defines brainless action–which, hey I have nothing against in general (Commando is one of my favorite movies), but I’m just not a fan of Michael Bay’s directing style, or the focus on the very boring human characters.

And the character of the Fallen, while cool in concept (I enjoy Transformer history as much as the next geek) didn’t really come across as that interesting.

So if you enjoy brainless action, and for some reason enjoyed the first Transformers, check this out…but maybe for a matinee.

Last year, we started doing t-shirts and because the one I came up with was such a bit hit, I was asked to do it again. Here is this year’s design (still awaiting approval from Mom though). This isn’t the absolute final version, but it’s pretty close (I noticed a couple things I gotta tweak). This year is the fifth party, so I drew inspiration from another fifth installment.

Here’s the other one that isn’t skewed/rotated, if you wanna check it out. I’m voting for the skewed one, as it is closer to the original logo and I think it makes the design “pop” a bit more.

I did these in Photoshop and found a helpful tutorial online to help me get the logo  “box” right.

Pixar has done it again.  I am amazed by the consistent quality of animated films that Pixar cranks out. Even Cars, perhaps their weakest film, was considerably better than I thought it was going to be and not unwatchable (they won extra bonus points for having the guys from Car Talk do voice-over work).

Up is the next installment of that fine tradition.  I didn’t think it was possible to top last summer’s WALL-E, but they did. And I loved WALL-E.

Up goes beyond being just a wacky adventure film.  It touches on life, death and what we make of each.  And it shows what happens when one forgets to follow their dreams (the case of Ellie) and when one becomes so obsessed with their dreams, that they lose their mind (the case of film’s villain).

I paid extra to see the film in 3D and honestly, I don’t think is worth it.  Sure, it looked great, but there weren’t that many times where I realized I was watching something in 3D. Coraline still holds the title of best 3D film that I’ve seen thus far.

This is easily Pixar’s most serious–and in some parts, darkest–film to date.  We see characters bleed, which unless I’m forgetting something (maybe Incredibles?), is a first.  The montage that covers Ellie and Carl’s life together towards the beginning of the film is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.  Watching the characters age before your eyes is great.

As serious as Up is, it is also very funny.  The mismatched characters of elderly Carl and the young, energetic Russell make it an endearing buddy film. Add to that mix a few goof ball animal characters (namely, Dug the dog) and you have another classic film from Pixar.

I don’t throw the term “instant classic” around to often, at least not since that epic sailing film, but I think it applies to Drag Me to Hell.

The film is Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre after spending the better part of a decade making the first three Spider-Man films. Raimi cut his directing teeth on this genre twenty-plus years ago with his classic horror films, Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn. Drag Me to Hell is worthy of their company.

What I liked most about the film is just how creepy and scary it was.  I’m not usually a fan of the more common place ‘gore’ horror films, like the Saw series, so when a film like DMTH comes along that focuses more on suspense and thrills, I really excited (NOTE: yes, I realize the Evil Dead films have their fair share of gore…but they don’t compare to stuff like the Saw series…and the Evil Dead films–especially the second one–use it in a more comedic manner).

The plot is simple, but works great: a young woman (Alison Lohman) angers an old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver, who is amazing in her role) and has a curse put upon her. After a few days of torment, a demon will appear to–you guessed it–drag her to hell. Lohman spends the rest of the film being tormented by her choice to no help the old woman (and the demon) and does everything she can to be rid of the curse–including some things that even surprised me.

The tension and suspense in the film are top notch–and makes me wonder what a full Venom-based Spider-Man film would have been like if Raimi had the chance to do it that way (I hated that Venom was a last minute thing thrown into the last act of Spider-Man 3, but I had heard Raimi was under pressure to do so).  The way Raimi uses music, sound and editing are great. He follows the less-is-more-rule, and teases you the whole way or lures you into a spot of quiet and then BAM! Loud shriek and a flash frame of a scary face.

Sure, there are some gross parts but nothing involving graphic violence and it just adds to the layers of creepiness. Raimi’s usual sense of odd-ball humor runs rampant throughout the film as well, especially the way he abuses Lohman on a regular basis (she and Bruce Campbell will have plenty of war stories to swap).

You can kind of see the ending coming, but that really isn’t the point–and Raimi keeps throwing so many curve balls that while you may know what is going to happen, you don’t know exactly how it’ll happen and you’ll second guess yourself right until the end.

Drag Me to Hell is a great example of a classic horror film. It is worth seeing in the theater to get the whole scary effect. And it has (at least for me) a lasting effect. As my friend who I saw this with put it “it is a great cautionary tale about how we all have to stick together in this Recession Economy.” (Lohman gets cursed after refusing the gypsy an extension on her mortgage payment, thus taking her house away and throwing her out on the street).