Twist Endings: Can You Figure Them Out?

Do you enjoy suspense, mysteries and thrillers? If so, please check out my two newest releases, Cad to Cadaver and Growler to Grave. Now, on to today's subject matter. Do you enjoy twist endings? I love them because they always come as a complete surprise to me!

I'm hopeless when it comes to figuring out the twist ending of a movie, but my husband can tell me what it is less than halfway through. "He's in on the scheme." "He faked his death." "She has a split personality." Sometimes he's wrong, but most of the time he's on the right track or nailed it completely.

I suppose our brains work differently.  I enjoy seeing the story unfold. I love being surprised, shocked and scared. I'm too busy being entertained to think about unraveling the plot. Also, I'm vulnerable and tend to take things at face value.

In Derailed, Jennifer Anniston pays for Clive Owens's train fare near the beginning of the movie. My husband started suspecting something right then. Not me! If I'd had an extra $9.00 and someone (like a stranger who didn't look suspicious) had forgotten his wallet, I would've been a good Samaritan and helped him out, too!

When the twist is finally disclosed, I'll rethink my way through the movie to make sure the screenplay was consistent and the conclusion realistic. And sometimes, once armed with the knowledge of the ending, I'll watch the DVD all over again.  Then I'll see information I missed the first time around, and understand little things I paid no attention to before.  Shutter Island, The Sixth Sense and The Others all have to be watched more than once.

Despite my inability to figure out the twist, these types of movies are my favorites! Nothing like the element of surprise.

If you love a good twist ending, be sure to rent these if you haven't already seen them:  The Prestige, Shutter Island, Derailed, The Secret Window, The Illusionist, The Sixth Sense and The Others.

Can you figure out the twist before a movie ends? What are some of your favorites (books or movies) that have twist endings?

Thanks for visiting and have a great week! 

Goodbye, Pete Rose!

I've been dealing with some life issues as of late and the blog has fallen by the wayside. I'm back today to reminisce about the late Pete Rose, also known by the nickname Charlie Hustle, who died on September 30. I'm a Cincinnati native and as a little girl, I had a crush on him. Don't ask me why, I just did. Back in the day, The Big Red Machine was a force to be reckoned with. I am not a sports fan by any means, but I loved watching the Reds play so we could see Pete slide onto the bases!

I must digress for a moment and do a little shameless self-promotion. I did attend a few baseball games at Cincinnati's River Front Stadium back in the 1970s with my parents, and beer was a big seller at those games. Cincinnati has a strong German heritage and the city is known for its beers. With that said, please be sure to check out my new mystery Growler to Grave (where Cincinnati's beer brewers play a role), as well as its prequal Cad to Cadaver. 

So back to Pete Rose. How did he become known as Charlie Hustle? Here's the answer from The Cincinnati Enquirer:

According to the 2024 book "Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball" by Keith O'Brien, one of the first links to Rose and "hustle" in print came from Earl Lawson, a sports reporter for the Cincinnati Post, who in 1963 praised Rose's no-holds-barred playing style by writing, "Hustle is young Pete's middle name."

But the christening of Rose as "Charlie Hustle" was anything but complimentary. In a spring training game against New York that year, Rose bunted for a single, much to the amusement of Yankee's great Mickey Mantle and teammate Whitey Ford. From O'Brien's book:

Mantle and Ford ... intended the name to be an insult. They were laughing at Pete. They thought he was working too hard. But Pete refused to see it that way. He knew that hustling was the secret to his success, the key to every room he would ever enter. He happily wore the name. “The Mick gave it to me,” Pete bragged that summer. “He and Ford,” he crowed. “Mantle said to me, ‘Hey, Charlie Hustle.’ ” Pete told the press it was a compliment.

There's your trivia for the day! Any of this new to you? For the complete article click here.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!