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Ghost Hunters – Live From The Stanley Hotel

Ghost Hunters – Live From The Stanley Hotel

On Halloween the Ghost Hunters went to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado which of course is the hotel Stephen King based his book The Shining on. So this was their first live investigation which went on for six hours. Season 3 has the TV episode which shows their tour, a few highlights from their investigation then their “reveal” at the end. This disc is a three hour episode that has a lot more footage and shows each one of the teams investigating multiple rooms, plus they were taking advice and information from the audience who was watching it live.

They investigate the room Stephen King stayed in while he wrote The Shining as well as investigate several rooms which have unusual activity. There are plenty of bumps, sounds, shadows, cold spots and even some voices that seem to want to communicate.

Jason and Grant are their usual excited but reserved selves waiting for something to come out at them. Brian and Steve are joined by Tango, Dustin, Lisa and Donna who scour the hotel looking for signs of the paranormal. For this episode they are also joined by wrestler CM Punk. He seems like a normal guy who behaves himself pretty well and keeps himself from getting tangled up in the wires and hurting himself. I was a little confused why they would have him on the show, but he actually blended in with the group just fine.

So out goes the Scooby Gang in search of the restless spirits. There is supposed to be a maid who makes the bed even with guests still in it, puts away the clothes and bags without being asked, a little girl who used to play at the hotel and Mrs. Stanley who doesn’t like her piano to be touched. They go from room to room asking if anyone if “anyone is in here with us” and waiving their EMF meter all over the place. A few suspicious moments come to light, but for the most part the show is made up of Steve and Brian seeing their own reflections and educating “Punk” on the finer details of ghost hunting.

Grant and Jason spend a lot of time in the basement or “Employee Passageway” talking to something which might be the spirit of a little girl. Grant gets to the point of almost losing it he’s so tense and worked up over seeing a spirit. He wants the entity to show itself so badly he’s almost cussing at it.

Brian seems a little off his game in this episode since he’s yawning a lot and seems a little disinterested in what’s going on. He’s still in the game but he doesn’t have the same enthusiasm I’ve come to expect from him. He gets a little more animated when they show them analyzing the evidence when he exclaims, “That’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard in my life dude!” Now he’s all animated and ready to deal with the spirits.

Not quite as humorous or eventful as other episodes but it’s still fun to watch. Considering there is some element of truth to the stories behind The Shining the fact that they’re out there investigating is pretty interesting. The DVD is $10 for 3 hours of entertaining so it’s a pretty good value. It lacks some of the chemistry of other episodes and doesn’t have Brian yelling “Dude, what the hell is that” every few minutes but it’s still fun to watch.

This is good pumpkin carving material to keep things light and entertaining.

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Ghost Hunters Season 3 Part 1

Ghost Hunters Season 3 Part 1

I have to say I think I’m becoming addicted to this damned show. I jumped ahead and bought Season 3. There are some stores about Arizona and Tombstone which sounded really neat, plus I have been to the Bird Cage Theater, Bisbee and the OK Corral. I was also really interested in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado because I used to live there. And to top it all off was the added benefit of the Irish hauntings which sounded really wild.

The TAPS team has definitely upgraded the apparatus with bigger IR camera, thermal imaging, bigger monitors, more computers and other nifty gadgets. But they haven’t lost that humorous edge that makes this show worth watching. Brian is still his goofball self with “Dude” spewing forth every other sentence and Steve trying to be serious as he takes his EVP readings and searches for cold spots. You don’t watch this show for ghosts since up to this point I don’t think they’ve done a single thing to prove there are spirits or entities. You watch the show because of the crazy dynamic these guys have together. Jason and Grant forge ahead as the voice of reason trying to find evidence of spirits or debunk them if they can.

Steve and Brian provide the comic relief by bumping into walls, jumping at their own shadows and the constant swearing which has to be bleeped out. They seem to know what their doing, but their approach is more like Dr. Venkman in Ghostbusters rather than serious scientists. But the show is all in good fun and it really is fun to watch. I always get a good laugh out of watching this series and since I watched the first Season on DVD I keep coming back for more.

I hate the way they release the discs in Parts and the cases they use are stupid – they stack 3 discs on top of each other instead of using the standard slim packs which hold 2 discs each. I have to say I’m a fan of the show and will get Season 2 in the very near future (NCIS Season 4 takes precedence). Also the price is a little high considering the production value and cost.

These guys are fun to watch and the kids should get a big kick out of their antics. Fun stuff to watch and hopefully they will be on the air for quite a few more years.

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Count Dracula – BBC Mini-Series – Rating 3.5 out of 5

Count Dracula – BBC Mini-Series – Rating 3.5 out of 5

“For those familiar with Bram Stoker’s novel, this adaptation follows the book quite closely in most respects. Jonathan Harker visits the Count in Transylvania to help him with preparations to move to England. Harker becomes Dracula’s prisoner and discovers Dracula’s true nature. After Dracula makes his way to England, Harker becomes involved in an effort to track down and destroy the Count, eventually chasing the vampire back to his castle.”

A remake of the old classic that is indeed much longer than the original (150 minutes) and stays with the low budget end of movie making. I hadn’t heard of this version before, but it was just released on DVD recently so I had to check it out. There are more editions of Dracula out there than you can plunge a stake into, but this one is worth looking into.

There is a lot more revealed in this version of Dracula. First off though, you have to put aside some of the 70’s elements that go into this movie. Some of the hair and speech is a little off, and some of the editing looks a little off (scenes look like they were re-shot and stitched together even though the lighting isn’t the same), but overall this is a decent rework of the story. Delving much more into the story of Dracula we see Mr. Harker fall victim to Dracula, but we see more of what happens and how he tries to make his escape, how he writes the letters at the behest of Dracula and how Dracula uses his wives to seduce him.

We also see more of why Dracula has to move away from Transylvania, he’s drained the herd. He’s taken so much from the village that there is nothing for him to survive on and he is off to England for a more fertile hunting ground.

I like this version because of the low budget quality, it works with the story and tries to build the characters. There weren’t many special effects for the time and the movie is the better for it.

We see more in the way of tracking down Dracula and dealing with him and more story is revealed. Definitely worth watching to get a better rendition of this often told tale. Special effects nuts and gore fans won’t like this on, but those who want a good story will find plenty here to like.

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Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Rating 2 out of 5

Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Rating 2 out of 5

Another tragic rip off and sad remake of the classic Dracula. What the movie lacks in plot and substance it makes up for in blood and lust. The cast is comical in their roles and each seems completely out of their element. Reeves is boring as Harker, Rider is bland and boring as Mina, and Hopkins makes his role far too comical and eccentric (not in a good way) to be suspenseful.

I couldn’t get into this movie at all. It held no suspense, no thrills, was predictable at every turn and ultimately turned into a haphazard mess by the time it was over. There are some moments of excitement but the rest of the film is so devoid of life it makes this movie hard to watch.

There is no mood or atmosphere. There is no belief in the power Dracula has over people – I’m Dracula dammit! I’ll do what I want!

I thought the acting was terrible; it lacks suspense, mood or atmosphere. It’s in my collection as one of many Dracula remakes, but that’s where it will stay.

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