Latest stash come under and gone, a swag of beanies and preview passes for Hostel: Part II from writer/director Eli Roth. Thanks to Sony Pictures for the gear to giveaway. Catch it out there from July 7.

As usual, a customary scan over the registry what made visits into the shacky rackles of the roach-infested, blood stained inn...

What is Quentin Tarantino's involvement with the film?

Executive Producer.

Writ large across the trailers and all that other material what pimps and promotes the slasher/gore/horror film. Nothing much more than paying attention.

Of the three from the first film, who survived?

Paxton. Or Jay Hernandez.

Either answer fine given it being the same person, only in the character/actor names as they usually are. To work this one out, a read up on the first film's cast list with a glance on the sequel listing matches up with only one name appearing. Of course, another method is to actually watch the first movie all the way to the end for the answer.

Not everyone needs to watch the first installment before jumping to watch a sequel. Helps, doesn't always hurt. Hardest question of the bunch.

Where do you stay when on vacation or a holiday?

Anything goes. Really, anything.

Bunker blasting, a shanty by the seaside, a relative's place, a dungeon (for those inclined), a hostel, a hotel, a motel, a ranch dressing inn. Whatever, all answers up to personal choice and selection. Not a traveller? That works too. After watching the first film, and smelling the toast from a backpackers, why chance it?

Questions pretty much of standard fare in terms of level of hunting required. Certainly not the kind of trivia markers what leave people sitting in dingy under-lit toilets watching films of prequelistic nature.

For those who won beanies, size up those skulls, the headgear looks tight.

 

Dropping on a stone last week, a box full of 3D lenticular promotional cards. Lenticular! Oh what long wait since the late 90s for a lenticular something or anything in a comic shop.

And the soundtrack to the first Spider-Man film doesn't count, even if it angle-tastic.

From Roadshow Films in flogging the new Hilary Swank movie, The Reaping:

A former Christian missionary (Hilary Swank) who lost her faith after her family was tragically killed, has since become a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But when she investigates a small Louisiana town that is suffering from what appear to be the Biblical plagues, she realizes that science cannot explain what is happening and she must regain her faith to combat the dark forces threatening the community.

Not a lot going on when it's a slide into time to count and stack the many, many, many(!) cards in the box. One ten makes a pile and then a few more. Until those piles stack themselves so high that the Gods of Egypt will snap a cracking whip into the plebs to build upon itself, a pyramid.



All up, like the take down of the below the line of the big white sheet thing at the recent state elections, 793 cards all up. Good thing to flip over too. They work well as postcards to strangers and friends. All that ample white space and it's of a sturdy card stock to boot.

Drop in, pick one up. Or more. It's not like other people don't want to have strange things sent to them in the mail you know.

 

Second from the series that takes a flash back into the life and times of running with the penitent work of John Doe from the film of the same name. Ralph Tedesco and Joe Tyler working the sin right here as Doe goes this time for a lawyer, evil sickness they are.

Straight off the back of a loose fingernail and format smacks up a dry scalpel that is hard to ignore. From the easy to read saddle stitch of the first, this concoction down the spine, where the glue is ripe, makes taking in the art and indeed the mass of words on pages in the crack, no fun at all. Can't really read this comic when the motion swerves toward the middle of the spread. Peering into the mind of Doe hits the block when the shadows are all too real.

For show, it's a good rock at bringing in another level to reading a comic, yet this clearly can't be the case. Who in their right mind publishes a comic that makes reading it a challenge in the simplest task of opening the pages themselve.

Notes in a ledger, with the run down crazed ramblings suffer for this binding fact. Shining through, Doe is one twisted soul, the collection of clipppings and his mind are comforting in a strange "this is wrong" way.

 

Passes no more in the hands of the Comic Shop for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The last of the last of the free movie passes through Roadshow Films walking out the door on the weekend.

Interesting methods of half direction and slight delusion in the give away period which sees a slight overlap into that of A Scanner Darkly.

One soul, on the Saturday toward the very end, comes face up to the offer with a slight misunderstanding on the concept of free. Bamboozling with questions, the offer comes quick and fast with a jab to the left cleft and it's not unexpected for more than a second to pass for it to sink in.

"How much does it cost for the free passes?"

 

Having problems figuring what day of the week it is no matter how many reads of the calendar and desk notes? Forget about trying to figure out when the smoke of night and blaze of day happens in this comic then. No easy colour codes for the blind, it's a swing into the nightmare world ruled by Freddy and back again. It's like a haze of drugs that burn purple and nobody else is clearer for the message.

They'll have a nice opening with a spill of blood and that there shines in the face of the horrors for the outline. Of course, it does help to at least get something of an origin in the first issue, and in a single page, it's all out here for the guy in the red and green/black striped sweater.

When in the playground of this maniac, nobody gets an easy night's sleep. Reading this is the distillation of the movie series, and it's quite and easy feeling to just put it down and not feel like needing another dose.