Dear Charlie:

Just watched The Longest Yard, 2005 version.

Now, I doubt many people did what I did -- watch the original the night before -- but I'm kinda glad I did. You don't need that fresh memory to enjoy this one, of course. The new version is a great remake, with everything we loved about the old one and lots more humor to boot.

Aside from the plot -- which I think was treated better the second time around, despite several of the same lines and the identical follow-thru -- the football action was INCREDIBLE.

Enter Bill Romanowski. Now, part of my beef with Romanowski is that he's a former Raider, and I'm a heinously loyal Chiefs fan. That in itself is good for a helluva hate-on. However, I also dislike him because he's MEAN. He's one of those players that adds that extra elbow after the whistle, the "accidental" step on the chest as he walks away, and doesn't even bother hiding it from the refs or the camera. Forget the suspected steriod use and all that stuff. He's just MEAN.

However, he's a helluva football actor! *laughs* Man, did he carry that prison guard part!

Then, there were the three wrestlers -- Stone Cold, Goldberg, and Nash. Woo-hoo! They did GREAT! Not only are they big hulking guys that are used to acting, but they actually played great football players. Awesome!

And there's Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, both of whom simply crack me the hell up. And they played it pretty straight, too. Comedy, yes, but not over-the-top. They played their parts. In fact, they played them well.

Phenominal.

Now, for the plot. I always wondered why Burt Reynolds never told his team why he tanked at the start of the second half. I wondered why he didn't simply say, "Hey, guys, it's either skim points or spend the rest of my life here, so whaddya say?"

That's one of the few things that changed in this remake, and I think it changes it for the better. I believe the rebuilding of that trust more because Sandler was simply honest with his boys. He tanked, but when he realized the deal was shot, he tried to make things better, then admitted what he'd done. I can dig that.

And oh, my God...is that guy HUGE! That #44 guy. MAN. Is he like a relative of Jaws from the first one? *laughs* He's a monster!

And damn if he isn't great, too!

Seems like Hollywood's intent on making a bunch of remakes lately. Some of them seem pointless -- like Dog Town, which wasn't terribly interesting to anyone outside that culture in the first place, etc. -- and some of them are just bad remakes.

This one, however, is good. It's good on its own, and it's good as a remake. If you've never seen or even heard of the first version, you'll still love this one. If you just watched the original the night before, you'll still love this one. It takes a lot to make a movie that's enjoyable no matter what, but they sure as hell did it.

Anywho, it's a good flick. I can honestly say that it doesn't deserve the morose, meeching review that Ebert gave it. I mean, I'm sure that all the artsy shit at Cannes makes this look like a high school play, but that's no excuse to damn it with such faint praise while giving it a pity grade. *shakes head*

Just goes to show that critics no longer actually like movies.

And Burt Reynolds was great. *snickers* Gotta love that guy!

Bizarro Sidebar:

Let us ignore my personal angst for the moment. Hell, I'm not very good at angsting anyway, and I'm pretty much over it. Heh.

At any rate, I've just found out something disturbing. No, life-altering. This was like finding out that light has weight. That energy can never be destroyed - only redistributed. That kind of thing.

Luther Reigns was dismissed from SmackDown. From WWE!

*cries*

What am I gonna do?? Whose legs am I gonna ogle now??

*wails*

Okay, now the rumor is that he asked to be released. That, I can kinda understand. I hadn't seen him since the week after WrestleMania. They weren't doing anything with his character - had in fact made him something of a fool for the last few episodes he was in.

He's obviously a good wrestler - big and quick, agile, not a muscle-head. They could've shot him to the top fast, and I doubt anyone would have complained. But they didn't. It's almost like they forgot about him, forgot that he was capable of throwing even the Big Show a beating when they needed it.

So...I can understand why he'd want something more. Plus, he's been in movies - his part in The Girl Next Door was absolutely priceless - and has some real estate stuff in his home state, so it's not like wrestling was his only option.

But...but...but how will I get to see him!?!

*whines*

At any rate, he apparently left the WWE with good feelings all around, so if he wanted to come back, I doubt there'd be any problem. I just wish there was some word of future gigs or something. A "Don't worry, LR fans! You'll still get your dose of Horshu fineness! Just go HERE" message or something.

*pouts*

*brightens*

On a brighter note, I had a lovely dream last night. Had Vin Diesel in it. *drools* Don't remember much about it, but I'm always happy to dream about that guy! Woo-hoo!

Even the most boring, non-fantasy dream is elevated to hella-cool with Vin Diesel in it!

Dear Charlie:

Brutal. That was BRUTAL.

Just did the ten-year high school reunion thing. Yeah, I didn't want to go. Yeah, I debated it for weeks (months?). Yeah, I went.

Pretty much wish I hadn't. See, I learned a couple of things. First?

I have nothing in common with the people I grew up with, graduated with. They all got married and had kids. Well, not ALL, but most. They settled down. I'm sure they're happy and all, but...what am I supposed to talk about with them?

I am happily single and ecstaticly childless. Can't talk about that crap. Am I supposed to chatter about writing? None of them could relate. Maybe being a DJ? Sure, they think it's kinda cool, but I got that "you're serious?" look a lot. Trade movie quotes? They all have kids! They didn't go see Kung Fu Hustle or Episode III! They couldn't get babysitters!

*facepalms*

The truth is that they all grew up and settled down. I grew up...and didn't settle down. In fact, I became more myself. I don't know exactly what they thought of me there, but...but I learned that I really, truly have nothing in common with them.

And it kinda makes me sad.

I also learned something else: I don't miss living in the country because of the people. I don't miss living in the country because of my hometown, because of Osceola. I don't miss a particular house or stretch of land, though driving around the ol' stomping grounds was nicely nostalgic.

No, I miss living in the country because I miss being SECLUDED.

I've always known that I feel hemmed in here in Joplin. Even where I am now with a free lot on either side of the house and no one directly behind me, I feel almost claustrophobic. In the country, there are just big swaths of empty land -- grass and trees and such. It kills me to be living in a neighborhood.

I wanna be secluded. Not alone, per se, but secluded.

That's not such a bad revelation, though. It's not as bad as realizing that I no longer have anything in common with my old high school friends -- Kristi excluded. It's not as bad as realizing that I must be something of an oddity to them. It's not as bad as the thought that, no matter how often I've mused about one day going back home...I might not be able to.

That...sucks.

I wish I hadn't gone. I think. *sighs* I dunno. Fuck.

Dear Charlie:

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

You know, I'm gonna stencil that on my cellar door, just for grins. See, not only is my cellar creepy beyond all reason with all the cobwebs and crypty atmosphere, but it also seems to house all the shit that's gonna break.

*sigh*

See, the toilet frigs up every so often -- not clogging so much as just refusing to flush. Water comes in, but very little goes out. It's a problem of suction, and it's likely because some old cast-iron tubing connects to some new PVC stuff, which is just plain dumb. Many thanks to the previous owner, Mr. Do-it-yourself.

But now?

Ah. Now, the wax seal is broken. We got leakage, folks. And the possibility for a big frickin bill. And I'm unemployed! Oh, joy!

*does a little dance*

Sooooooo...what to do? Well, I'm not taking a leak in the toilet. That's for sure. Or anything else. *dies*

I'm about two steps away from just getting a factory job for $9 an hour, then working about 60 hours a week. I could do it...for a while, anyway. I wouldn't mind most factory work. I deal well with tedium. Hell, I abstracted depositions for five years. Wanna talk boring? Wanna talk repetition?

Can do.

The only thing that stops me is the uneasy feeling that I'd get stuck in said factory job. It wouldn't be temporary. See, even a job you hate is better than not working at all, better than risking leaving a situation (comfortable or not) that works for a situation that might not. The old "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't" syndrome, ne?

So, I guess I'll still stick it out for the part-time radio job, though I'm considering taking an envelope-stuffing job overnight at the local newspaper. That's guaranteed pay (though not so much), so I'd at least have some money coming in and still have my daylight hours for the part time stuff. Wouldn't have to do it forever, either, as they really don't expect those overnight stuffers to last long.

Can I sleep during the day when I have enough trouble sleeping at night? We shall see.

*drums fingertips together and smirks*

Yeeeeeeesssss...we shall see.

Dear Charlie:

I so admire my beloved sister. I don't have the words to describe how amazing she is. My much-vaunted vocabulary escapes me.

Suffice it to say that I admire her more than anyone else. You rule, Sis.

I'll have a lot to say about Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith some other time, but that's too long a post for right now. 'Tis the witching hour, and I really need to head to bed. I'll hopefully be job-shadowing tomorrow at my favorite radio station, so I don't wanna look dead on my feet.

Deader, anyway. *snerks*

I also finished Incubus Dreams in two days (maybe 8 hours of actual reading time), which might be a personal record for a book that size, though it's been a while since I timed myself. That book is 650+ pages, you know, and a hardback. Strengthened my forearms just hefting it to read.

Heh.

And I have to publicly thank Pesh for buying it for me, though she'll probably just wave it away and say it's payback for something or other. Pssh. The silly monkey.

So, thanks, Pesh! You rule, too! Much, much appreciated, and I hope you have a hella-cool time in Houston this week. I'll miss you!

Haven't done much on The Great Rewrite of 2005 this weekend because I was reading ID, but I did read a little and add some character description that I forgot the first time around. *sheepish* Got used to writing fanfiction, where everyone already knows what the characters look like. But I don't wanna put in too much, either. I hate those, "She looked into the mirror, studying her finely arched eyebrows, her glistening blue orbs, the pert nose and full, rosy lips. And her HAIR!"

Can't stand that. 'S kind of a cheat, in my opinion. I try to sprinkle these things in, rather than just dumping them on the poor, unsuspecting reader in the first paragraph or so.

Anywho, my ten-year reunion is coming up this weekend, and I'm still not sure if I'm going. We're having the daytime picnic part of it at some daycare-type facility, and I'm really, really not sure I wanna spend the day watching my former classmates coo and brag over their snot-nosed, screaming children.

Okay, that was harsh.

After all, I adore Kristi's twins, ne? They've puked on me, and I still adore them. I just don't want to deal with my entire graduating class's kids. There's that still-running list of 380+ reasons I don't have kids, and I for sure don't want to have to spend all day explaining it. Oi.

I'm just not thrilled at the prospect.

But it's my 10-year reunion, and there were only like 30 kids in my graduating class, so it's not like they wouldn't notice if someone was missing. Sure, some people will simply be too far away to run home, but I don't really have an excuse. I'm barely 2 hours away.

*sighs*

I dunno. I can brag about being a potential DJ. That would be cool. I'm sure no one will be shocked, there. I can brag about avoiding marriage by the skin of my teeth to the guy I was dating at my 5-year reunion (we broke up maybe 3 months after that reunion, ironically enough, though we'd still been tossing around the idea of getting engaged at the time). I can tell horror stories about the dumb stuff people want to sue about. I do have five years of legal experience under my belt, and that makes quite a conversation piece, sadly. I can entertain my old buddies like I used to.

But I really have no desire to go. I don't want to see who got old-looking first and who got fat and who got anorexic and who had 5 kids and who got a great career and who just got trailer-trashed. I had a great time in high school, and I have no need to relive it, to rehash it, to revisit it. It was great. Then I went to college, and it was great, too. Then I did a career for 5 years, and it was sometimes great.

Now? Now...well, that's where I always live. In the now. And a high school reunion is the past. Do I care?

I really don't know.

But I did kinda tell Kristi that I'd at least go to the picnic. *grumbles* Maybe I'll knock 'em dead with my job-shadowing and be working that day! Woo-hoo!

...

...

*glowers* HEY! Stranger things have happened!

Marvelous Sidebar:

In honor of going to see Revenge of the Sith tomorrow night, I simply can't resist posting a link to The Darth Side. Start from the bottom, or it just doesn't have the same flavor.

Now, I read this blog for weeks, knowing it was timed just so. I knew the last entry would be either the day before the big RotS opening or the day of. Like in God of War, there's something so...so...deliberate about sticking your nose into the life of a character you know is doomed. Can't describe it any better than that.

At any rate, I asked the author in the comments (some of which are almost as fun as the blog itself, really) if I could link him and received no answer. Though the glistening throng of commenters had no problem linking anyway, I staunchly refused to succumb to temptation, knowing it's rude and presumptious to link to someone's blog without permission. I'd be annoyed if I discovered that someone had done so to me, ne?

[Though I'd also be perversely chuffed if anyone thought me worthy of unauthorized linkage....]

So why do I go against that good moral fiber now? Well, because the end has come, and the writing is simply so damn good that I can't hold out any longer. Presumption be damned -- this is sincere admiration.

And if the author has any qualms with my linking him here, I will quickly remove it with an apology, no questions asked.

Now, go read. Trust me. *snerk*

Dear Charlie:

I need a hero
I'm holdin out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I'm holdin out for a hero 'til the mornin light
He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life

Larger than life....

Heh, I may not be a damsel in distress, but who wouldn't want a hero?? I made Holdin out for a Hero my song of the moment (see sidebar) because it's been stuck on my head since I bought the Shrek 2 soundtrack. That Jennifer Saunders chick does a great job of it, ne?

*laughs*

At any rate, it's kinda acting as motivation for The Great Rewrite of 2005. Yes, I'm writing. Woo-hoo! I went thru a long, dry spell there for a few weeks (the new horror story notwithstanding, as I only wrote on it in drips and drabs), but I'm over that now. Since I'm still unemployed, it's good to have my writing to keep my sane.

I swear writing is better than anything a psychiatrist could prescribe. I've never had need or opportunity to talk to one outside of class (I got a psychology minor in college, you know), but I can't imagine any drug or couch session making me feel better than I do while I'm in the Zone. I feel RIGHT.

Luckily enough, it's flowin like buttah. Partly thanks to needing a hero. *laughs* It's not NEEDING a hero, of course, but needing to WRITE one. Heh. Too bad neither of the men in my trilogy are exactly HERO material. Yes, they're cool, cranky, buff, strong as hell....

Yes, I slipped a "cranky" in there. *grins* A judge who read the first few pages under the assumption that this was a romance instead of a science fiction story said one of the guys was "too cranky and attitudinal to be sympathetic". Woo-hoo! Then I wrote him right!

So, they're all the things heroes should be, except one. See, the main, unstated qualities of a hero is inability to stand injustice, to let big guys pick on little guys, to sit back and watch all Hell break loose without doing his noble best to avert tragedy.

These guys, while likable and strong and perfectly able to be heroes, don't give a rat's ass about anything but their own lives, their own situations. They lend a hand, sure, but they don't feel the hero's true outrage, and they only really get into it when the security of the planet is threatened -- and only then because it's where they keep all their stuff. Heh. It's not until one of their own is threatened that they truly mobilize and tap their strengths to their full potential. So, I wouldn't call them heroes, per se.

Good guys? Absolutely, though one doesn't really like that label and would grumble at me if he knew I'd used such a stupidly sappy phrase to describe him. Good guys.

Heroes? Nerp. Don't think so. And they don't, either. Wouldn't claim the title if someone offered it.

But damn, if they aren't fun to write!

Oi, and I got to be on the radio today! *does a little dance* Yay! Okay, I really was just in the background, but I cracked the DJs right the hell up a couple of times and hopefully made a good impression. I'm gonna call tomorrow and ask if I can maybe job shadow someone, learn a bit about what the heck I'm supposed to be doing there.

Also, it'll be hard to keep forgetting to call me to tell me when I can actually start working if I'm there, ne? *wicked grin*

Hey, I know they're all busy, but I'm unemployed and going nuts being at home all the time. I've been out and about, both job-hunting and just dinking around with friends, to keep myself busy, but I guess I just learned early that "unemployed" is only a few steps away from "worthless". Gah! Guess you can tell that I come from blue-collar roots!

So, I don't wanna be unemployed anymore, even if I'm only working part time. I'll still need another job to keep my head above water (forget swimming -- I'll be happy if I can manage the financial equivalent of the dead-man's float), but at least I'd be employed! Woo-hoo!

And I'm absolutely stoked about the fact that, even if I do production for a year, I'm IN RADIO! Yay! I'm all excited! Got the metaphorical foot in the door! Someday (hopefully soon), I'll be a DJ!

I'm such a little kid. *cracks up*

Sidebar:

Well, I think I'm getting the hang of this operating system installation process. *grins* I just installed XP Professional on the ol' laptop. Thus far, it seems to be working admirably. No more slow-down than usual, and I haven't been kicked off the internet quite as often as with Win2K, either.

*kicks Win2K and buries it in the deepest pit of the Hell that spawned it*

I'm willing to temporarily suspend my distrust of XP long enough to give it a try...mainly because my speakers work again and I can listen to music without that annoying clicking thing disrupting the beat. Woo-hoo!

*does a little dance*

At any rate, I think it's okay for now, so that's good. I think this is the first time I've ever had the "latest" version of Windows. Don't quite know what to make of it. 'S a new and unusual feeling. *is all tingly* Hopefully, it doesn't suck.

*crosses fingers*

Anyway, more tomorrow or the next day. I've been busy, busy, busy, and I wanna blab all about it, but it's just shy of midnight, and I gotta get up relatively early to go to "the river" with Pesh tomorrow [which is why I kinda crashed production on this installation and hope I didn't miss anything] to do some sunning and relaxing and writing and gabbing. Woo-hoo!

Yes, I've been writing. *big grin* And yes, it's been on both the horror fic and the Great Rewrite of 2005. Woo-hoo!

Dear Charlie:

Oi, what a week. And the weekend?

Do I ever have a slow one? Geez, I thought my life was relatively boring until I started blogging, ne? Heh.

At any rate, I got my hair cut. Supposedly, she only took off 4 inches and did a nice layer thing. Seems AWFULLY short to me, but no one else seems to notice much difference. *frets* SHORT.

I also hand-delivered Mom's Mother's Day present and visited Kristi and her twins. Woo-hoo! Baby-snuggling! Heh, I'm really not a baby person, but damn if those two aren't just the cuddliest, sweetest little bundles since my own nieces. *big grin*

Then, I came back to Joplin and found out that the radio station, whom I'd all but given up on after 4 weeks of no word, had called not 2 hours after I left town Friday. *facepalms* Oi! Not cool! The one time I leave town!!

But it's cool. My sister's sister-in-law [that's her husband's brother's wife, Bridget -- Aunt BB to my nieces] put in what can only be SEVERAL good words for me with the main guy at the station, and -- unless some disaster happens wherein they absolutely don't need ANY HELP WHATSOEVER -- I have a part-time job working with the radio group that houses my absolute favorite rock station! Hell, I may end up working at 105.3, and wouldn't THAT just be the ultimate shit?!

*does a little dance*

At any rate, I'll probably be in production for a while -- not on the air, per se -- but it's a foot in the door, and I'll be able to put in a good impression and such, and hopefully, I'll be on-air before I know it! Woo-hoo!

Of course, it being a PART TIME job, I'll need another, but that may work out wonderfully, too. The job for which I sent in my résumé may be taken, as it wasn't advertised in The Globe this week, but I keep telling myself that's just because they only paid for one week, ne?

*crosses fingers*

Anyway, it was a good weekend that I capped off by driving to my beloved sister's house and chillin' over there. Excellent way to wind down, and I hadn't been there for quite some time -- since before I quit at the law firm. I missed my Sis! *hugs her* We had coffee and pizza and donuts and watched movies and shot the shit, and it was a great time.

Good weekend.

Now, I'm hoping to get in some mini-golf with Pesh and Edy (and Dave, of course) tomorrow before rejoining the work force, and I'm hoping for that call from that really cool job that I wantwantwantWANT. Until then, I'm watching Blade: Trinity, drinking an icy-cold Coke, and I just finished Stephen King's IT.

GutterBall is a happy, happy girl.

OH! And I also bought Motley Crue's [I'd spell that right, but I'm too damn lazy at the moment to find the umlauts] new album -- Red, White, and Crue! Woo-hoo!! I've listened to it three times already, and it's a 2-CD set!

*is all excited*

Oi, doesn't that evil clown guy look like Pennywise? Or is that just a vicious, not-quite-funny koinkidink from me reading IT?

Marvelous Sidebar:

That was quite a weekend! Busy as hell, between friends and activities!

However, bad news first: no job yet, and both the newspaper and the City already hired someone. Bummer. That's 2 of the 4 jobs I want. Of course, that doesn't count the half-dozen other places that I consider either for part time or as a last resort if my finances don't hold out.

On the upside, there were three good possibilities in the Sunday paper, one of which I'm on fire to know more about. All I gotta do is write up a cover letter for my résumé and mail it in. More on that if I hear back from the place. *wicked grin*

And the good news? I watched Kung Fu Hustle this weekend.

Now, I was mildly disappointed that neither The Hustle nor Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting were played during this flick, though the Axe Gang did indeed do the Hustle and everyone was definitely kung fu fighting. Heh.

That was the only disappointment, though, and I barely noticed it under all the hilarity and simple joy. I usually hate drawing parallels between flicks, but I have to say that I love this movie in almost the same way I loved Sin City.

*ducks thrown fruit*

Now, now! Before you bring out the torches and pitchforks, hear me out! I love them because they are both perfectly-handled homages to their genres -- Sin City to the hard-boiled old gumshoe detective flicks and comics and Kung Fu Hustle to cheesy-but-still-good kung fu movies and to the ever-growing staple of CGI. Both are handled with a decidedly loving hand, showing their creators' adoration of the subject material and their incredible ability to inject the perfect amount of comedy while still having an honest-to-God plot.

There, the similarity ends. Heh.

In Kung Fu Hustle, the cheese is thick enough to cut with a knife, but it's perfect for the dinner palate the creators have set. The flick never takes itself too seriously, but...but you almost can. There are -- between the incredibly outrageous battles and the often silly dialogue and the over-the-top effects -- moments where the plot is simply THERE. It almost slaps you, because it's no more far-fetched than the plot of any kung fu flick, treatment of the subject matter aside. It's an actual plot, and it's well-told and incredibly well-acted.

However, before you get the idea that this movie will give you the depth and mysticism of, say, Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, remember that it's frickin HILARIOUS.

It's such a great oxymoron! That serious/hilarious duplicity is in every scene, every aspect of the film. On one hand, you have one of the cheesiest, absurd kung fu flicks ever made; on the other, you have an interesting, if not quite brain-twisting, plot. Even the effects show this dichotomy. They obviously shelled out some cashola for the top-notch graphics in this sucker, but they used them, for instance, to make a guy bloat up like a toad for his rare and...unique...fighting style.

*snickers*

And the fights! On one side, you have incredible live-action action -- the "everybody was kung fu fighting" syndrome in which everyone knows their place and performs with beautiful perfection. I absolutely adore the coolie, and I only wish he could have hung around to the final frames. Heh. But on the other side, there's the gigglingly silly "toe-stepping" at nearly light speed that leaves a line of fighters wailing and clutching their wounded tootsies. Good Lord.

*furtive giggles*

And then, to balance that, there's that breath-taking (though still occasionally goofy) fight with "the musicians". Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love the school of thought wherein martial arts masters can physically manifest their...their energy. Where they can use their very spirit, their essence, as a weapon. Without giving away any details, the musicians kick some SERIOUS ass, and all while perching on one leg, the other crossed at the knee, balancing their particular instrument (oh, and doesn't the phrase "instrument of death" just jump onto the tongue?) across that braced leg and stringing out chords of destruction and....

*stops to catch breath*

Well...let's just say that I could go on and on about that battle. Woo-hoo! And again, there's that odd twist of seriousness mixed into the ludicrousness of the scene. You find yourself staring raptly at the scene, a stupid grin on your face, filled with that simple joy I mentioned earlier.

It's an easy flick to love.

And it's frickin HILARIOUS. Heh. I can't say that enough! And even though you know it's hilarious -- you've laughed so many times already that you oughtta know, anyway -- you can't help but be surprised when something else thwaps another laugh at you. You don't even have to be a kung fu lover to crack up! Some of that stuff is just funny.

Someone asked me, as I went into rhapsodies about the flick, what I meant by funny. "Is it, like, Mel Brooks funny? Monty Python funny? What?"

I really couldn't answer the question. I'm sure someone else could, but I can't. Kung Fu Hustle just stands on its own in my mind. It's too unique to compare (despite my earlier comparison to Sin City, which is more about the...the handling...than the movies themselves), especially to another comedy. Not better or worse. Just...different.

I can't imagine anyone not liking this flick. Even the critics seem to like it -- both James Berardinelli and Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars. I don't always agree with the two (though I read them more often than all the others combined), and they don't always agree with each other (in fact, I think that's pretty rare -- especially with them actually enjoying the flick), but I'm tickled to death to see such high praise.

It's a good flick. Funny, eye-catching, entertaining, and simply wonderful. Great flick.

Can't wait for DVD. Between that and Sin City, I'll probably have to eat Ramen noodles for a month, but the hours of entertainment will be well worth the sacrifice. Heh.