Last Minute Halloween Costumes- Movie Edition

Halloween is only a couple of days away now and I'm sure most people have their costumes picked out, but does that stop me from dreaming up possible costumes for people on the daily? Of course not. All of the costumes below are super easy and cost efficient, so go as any of these awesome fictional characters and you'll be set.

• Elle Driver

With Kill Bill Volume I and II being my favorite Tarantino films, I've considered being Beatrice "The Bride" for Halloween every year. Unfortunately, The Bride's iconic yellow jumpsuit will cost you if you want it to look even the least bit legitimate. I've re-watched Volume II recently and realized that Elle Driver would be an awesome, easy, and cheap alternative. I think that a lot of girls face the problem of wanting a scary-ish costume but also wanting to look hott. This costume fits both requirements very well.

Elle Driver

• The Ferris Bueller's Day Off Gang

I've never been so strongly influenced by a character than I was by Sloane when I first saw FBDO. Besides being the coolest, prettiest, most laid-back high school girl ever to grace the big screen, Sloane rocked a killer outfit that had me asking for a white fringe jacket every year for Christmas. My favorite thing about Sloane's style is that the movie only takes place of the course of one day- she really never has a wardrobe change but because of the many layers to her outfit, it appears as if she's wearing something different in every scene. While I think it'll be close to impossible to find Sloane's jacket in your local department store, you can find a lot of similar items at the thrift store.

Sloane Peterson

Cameron is a great costume for any guy because all it really requires is a Red Wing's jersey. For Ferris it's just grey slacks, any 80's/90's patterned vest and parted hair.

Cameron Frye and Ferris Bueller

• Margot and Richie Tenenbaum

 Richie is a great costume because not only will you get major indie cred, but you have options. If it's cold where you live you can go with the suit and scarf combo, and if it's warm you can wear the striped polo. If you have long hair you can go as pre-suicide attempt Richie, and if you have short hair you can go as post-suicide attempt Richie. Just try not to listen to any Elliott Smith that night.

Richie Tenenbaum

The obvious sidekick to Richie would be Margot of course. Look for a (faux) fur coat, a polo dress, and baby pink gloves (and remember to cut the finger off one of the gloves for accuracy). Add a red hair clip and lots of eyeliner and you'll look just like the adopted Tenenbaum herself.

Margot Tenenbaum

• Olive Hoover

K so I guess I'm still not over how good Little Miss Sunshine was because I've been thinking about how cute an Olive costume would be lately. All you would need is cowboy boots, colorful shorts, grandma-like glasses, and some sweatbands. Play Super Freak on repeat for the whole night.

Oliver Hoover

So that wraps up my Halloween costume guide for 2013. In the end, it does not matter who you dress up as, just that you do. 

Last Minute Halloween Costumes- TV Edition

Halloween has always been the one day of the year that I get to be one of the many fictional characters that I idolize so much. Looking back at my past Halloween costumes, they've always been pretty spot on, and I can proudly say that I've never had a sexy cat moment. Halloween is a little over a week away now, so if you don't have a costume yet I hope one of these will help you out.

• Skyler White/ Marie Schrader

This works best if you have a boyfriend/ significant other to dress as either Walt or Hank, but costume wise it couldn't get easier. For Skyler you of course need a blonde wig if you're not blonde already, a button down shirt and a light blue cardigan. You can also add a few touches like an A1 car wash sticker, a Beneke mug, a cigarette, or if you want you can carry around a fake baby in a pink hat all night. For Marie- well I'm sure you could've guessed- but it requires only draping yourself in purple accessories.

Skyler White

Marie Schrader

• Leslie Knope

Another super easy costume. Pretty much all you need is a shoulder length blonde wig, a blazer, and a KNOPE pin. I recommend eating sugary breakfast foods only for the night.

Leslie Knope

• Alex Vause

Alex has some really recognizable traits, i.e: tattoos, black glasses, cat eyeliner- but you can get away with going as any of the ladies, as long as you get yourself a prison uniform (not one of the striped ones from Party City, please). If you're looking for a beige uniform like the ones in the show, you'll have better luck just getting beige nurse's scrubs.

Alex Vause

• A

A great last minute Halloween costume is A from Pretty Little Liars- or should I say Alison. I actually have no clue what's going on in this show anymore, but it makes a good trick or treating costume anyway. All you need is a red coat and I've seen red coats everywhere lately. Try and get one with a hood if you can. You should also add a wavy golden-blonde wig, a name tag that says A in red handwriting, some gloves, and make sure you set your ringtone to match the one the girls have on the show.

A

• Tina Belcher

I've seen a lot of people cosplay Louise, and sure she's more recognizable with the bunny hat- but I'd die if I saw someone dressed as Tina at a party. Pretty much all you need is a short black wig, thick black glasses, a blue t-shirt, a frumpy skirt and tube socks.

Tina Belcher

I hope this helped some of you who are still looking for a costume. Everybody loves a good pop-culture reference and these are all very recognizable, even if you're not a TV fanatic like us. 

Jesse Pinkman's Fate

After last weeks episode, I've been thinking a lot about the final fate of Hank, Gomie, and especially Jesse. Come 9:05 this Sunday, one or possibly all three of these characters could be dead. While Hank's sentimental victory phone call to Marie was a possible final good-bye on their behalf, this is Breaking Bad, and Gilligan likes to throw curve balls. The neo-nazis are supposedly notorious for killing people, and by the sound of it they really want Walt to teach Todd a thing or two about his famous blue product. Jesse was the one that Walt agreed to have killed, not Hank or Gomez. If they want Walt to teach them his ways, they're going to have to hold up to their end of the bargain. I have come to love Jesse Pinkman as much as the next person, but I truly feel that as long as Walter White is alive/ not locked up, Jesse will never happy.

Almost all of Jesse's screen time in the first three episodes of 5b were spent showing how depressed he was. Suitcases of money, not a DEA agent in sight, and finally free from working with Walt, and he was still at the lowest point of his life. Think of everything this character has been through- Jane's death, killing Gale, Combo's death, Andrea's little brother's death, Brock being poisoned,  and the icing on the cake- Drew Sharp. I don't even think that changing his name and moving to Alaska could provide a guilt-free life for Jesse, and I'm starting to think that death is the only way out for him.

D-E-A-D (The handle of the mug)

Scenario 1: Hank, Gomez, and Jesse all live- Hank and Gomez outshoot the neo-nazis and Walt finally gets sent to jail. Jesse would wind up spending some time in jail himself, and it wouldn't be so bad, knowing that Walt was finally punished. Unfortunately, we know from the 5a/5b teasers that Walt is on the run and not in jail, therefore- Jesse is either in jail or depressed.
Scenario 2: Gomez and/or Hank die, but so do Todd and his Gang. Jesse is left with Walt. Again, we know that Walt doesn't get sent to jail or killed at this point, therefore- Jesse is either alive and depressed, or Walt kills Jesse.
Scenario 3: Hank, Gomez, and Jesse all die- Marie tells the DEA everything and shows them what evidence she has after Hank's death. Walt's only option is to be on the run while the DEA tries to find him- but Jesse is dead.
Scenario 4 (and the scenario that I personally hope happens): Jesse opens the door of the car and walks into the Aryan's open fire. He dies, but on his own terms. Hank and Gomie wind up killing some of the Aryans, but Gomie winds up getting shot. Either Todd or one of his Uncles snatch Walt out of the car and take him with them, forcing him to teach them how to make his crystal meth, and leaving him alone and on the run afterwards. Hank lives (hey a girl can dream).

The only possible way I can see Jesse living and being happy is if he gets back together with Andrea and if Walt dies in a flash forward- but happily ever after isn't necessarily Vince Gilligan's thing, is it...
Next Week's episode is called 'Ozymandias', and Gilligan has said that it's his favorite episode in the whole series. Just like how Vince used Walt Whitman's 'Gliding O'er All' to perfectly fit last year's episode, 'Ozymandias' is no coincidence.
Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, 
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed 

Breaking Bad Review- Blood Money

   It felt like the return of Breaking Bad would never come. I remember sitting in my living room immediately after last year’s mid season finale thinking that I would give anything in the world to fast forward a year to see what happens next, and yet here I am dreading the coming weeks and what lies ahead for these characters. The episode started with a flash forward similar to last year’s premiere, with Walt looking as unruly and delinquent as ever. I feel like one of the most difficult tasks for the writers must be coming up with these cold openers. They tend to set the mood for the entire episode, and the possibilities are endless in terms of style (i.e Season 2 Episode 7 with the mariachi band). The most familiar scene of the show, the White residence, is barricaded like the crime scene of a massacre, with no wooden-panelled station wagon anywhere to be found. Side note- I remember reading once that both the White and Schrader houses are rented out, and when the show isn’t being filmed, perfectly normal people live there. I wonder how the owner of the White house felt about it being pretty much destroyed in ‘Blood Money’. Walt breaks into his old home, and it’s perfectly clear that he’s not there to reminisce.

    The most suspenseful, beautiful slow pan I’ve ever seen takes us to exactly where we left off last year- the White’s master bathroom. The show takes no side roads or delays in the reveal of Hank’s revelation. He knows. It’s a fact and it’s written all over his face and this is how it’s going to be and it’s just a matter of when everything starts unravelling. Luckily for us, there’s only eight episodes for the unravelling to occur, so it happens rather fast. As Julie Bowen mentioned on ‘Talking Bad’, the first thing you hear as Hank rejoins everyone in the backyard is Marie sarcastically joking to Walt, “You’re the devil!”. It’s a pretty straight forward bit on the writer’s part, but I see it as more of a wake-up call to the audience (THIS MAN IS LITERALLY THE DEVIL HE HURTS EVERYONE HE COMES IN CONTACT WITH EVERYONE RUN) than just foreshadowing. Side note- I’m still not over Marie not wearing purple in this scene.

    Business seems to be booming over at A1, which is no surprise. Skyler is a business bitch, and even if the car wash is just a way to launder illegal drug money, it’s still going to be a successful one, damnit. Considering just a few episodes ago Skyler was literally praying for this man’s cancer to come back, the two seem to be doing alright. When Walt confronts Skyler about possibly expanding the business, they civilly agree with each other without being condescending. Mr and Mrs White are even in head to toe matching colors-bland beige and off-white hues, where in season three, they were in corresponding shades of vivid, money hungry green. You have to think that a man who was involved in a high intensity life style for the past year might just find waking up everyday and ringing up air fresheners a little boring. I’m sure there’s even a little bit of Skyler that craves the adrenaline rush she got from creating cover stories of gambling addictions and such, but when Lydia appears with an opportunity to re-enter the game, Skyler is not having it. While I usually look for an opportunity to praise any and every female character on this show, there’s something about Lydia that I just don’t like.

   Jesse Pinkman’s house is as just as we remembered- devoid of any reliable furniture, and with no shortage of week-old pizza boxes. I’ve always paid close attention to the way the show fills in sets, specifically houses, and Jesse’s is a perfect example of how much it reveals about a character. I especially loved pausing the show the few times we were invited into Gale’s house. While Pete and Badger ramble on about pop culture references I don’t understand, Jesse looks like he’s going to dissolve into a puddle of tears at any moment. The writer’s are definitely building up the sympathy card for this one. Someone give this kid a hug (and another Emmy!) I don’t even see how there could be a satisfying ending for this character considering all he’s been through, and unlike Walt, he has this weird thing called empathy.  I understand why he’s the fan favorite, but at the end of the day if there was any indication of what was to come by teaming up with his old chem teacher to cook, it was apparent from the earliest episode of the series. A day into cooking with this guy, and he’s killing people and dissolving them in acid to avoid getting locked up.

    The Breaking Bad Wiki page mentions how the way Walt places a towel under his knees before vomiting mimics the way Gus did so in ‘Salud’. The similarities between Walt and Gus grow with every episode, but as a wise Mike once said. "Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make you Jesse James." I guess that’s how things work in the meth cooking world, but the problem is that Walt had to betray everyone who ever cared about him to get there, and for what, a trip to Europe? Walt could’ve just taken the job at Grey Matters back in season one to be able to afford a nice family vacation. It was never about the money, as made clear when he surpassed the 737,000 dollar mark he claimed would be his end point, and continued cooking. Walt tells Hank in the epic garage scene that his cancer is back, and he has very few months of life left. From the opener we can tell that he at least lives to his fifty second birthday, but he’s also weezing up a storm. I think the obvious guess is that he is on the run at this point and had to stop chemo, hence the full head of hair. Either way, if the cancer doesn’t kill him, something else will.