Cristy tries to run a number on her caretakers

She's a gutsy kid, and she can hold her own in a family altercation. Here she's facing down her mother (right) and Aunt Maru (left). Cristy's cause is doomed and she knows it, but that doesn't stop her from putting a full court press on her elders.

Cristy is taking point. Safely behind her, Cousin JJ nervously scratches his head while just visible between Cristy and Maru, two other cousins wait for a verdict.

"WHAT? Are you CRAZY? You're sick! You're NOT going ANYWHERE."

(I'm reconstructing the gist of what Maru is telling Cristy. Note that Patty is relaxing while Maru leads the defense. Sometimes big sisters come in handy.)

Voices are raised. Behind Maru, a half-dozen people are watching futbol. Someone scores a goal. The TV roars. Cristy shouts an emotional counteroffer. Everything is chaos.

Everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be.

—§—

When you're grounded, how do you fill the hours between 9 PM and your bedtime at, say, 3 AM? One possibility is to watch some DVDs. Somebody went out and got a half dozen new ones.

$8 worth of movies

They weren't rented from Blockbuster. Blockbuster movies, at $3 per rental, are too darn expensive. Besides, you have to return them. Also, Blockbuster doesn't have the latest films—ones that haven't yet been released to DVD.

Blockbuster is a bad deal.

Kids know they're better off to buy their movies from a street stalls. Those vendors have got films that aren't even in theaters yet. $15 pesos each, no más.

Of course, sometimes the image is blurry, a little out-of-focus. The audio sounds like it was funneled through the microphone of a small camcorder. Occasionally the silhouette of someone's head drifts across the screen—a theater patron taking a bathroom break. No matter. If you're watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, you're not gonna notice these things.