oh Keith......we want you, we want you

This one’s for Alan and Keith.  We loved it as kids (well, not Keith) and I’m thinking this one’s worth a Derosby family field trip to the theater.  Two of my kids have been “initiated”.  I think it’s time for Izzy, Sofie, and Keene to become honorary f-ed up Derosby kids like their dads were….still are.

Guillermo Del Toro writing the screenplay and producing, how can we go wrong?  Enjoy.

For those that do not know the story, Craig’s comment about being banned from picking a movie are correct.  In 2006, we traveled to Scotland with a group of high school students.  One night, when figuring out what to do, Craig mentioned going see a movie.  He said that “An American Haunting” looked good so it was agreed that we would spend roughly 20 dollars per ticket to view the movie.  End result?   It sucked big time.  While I tease Craig about this a lot, it wasn’t his fault.  Movies concerning the paranormal are so hit and miss.  The scares throughout the film are important but it is the final chapters that explain the film.  If the hidden theme is lame, the movie becomes lame.

The latest “strike-out” movie is “The Last Exorcism”.  It started out so well and I honestly thought the concept was good.  A priest who has lost his faith sets up fake exorcisms in order to help families.  He does not believe in them and refuses to accept the fact that God and the Devil exist.  Unfortunately, things are turned upside down when the girl is “seemingly” possessed.  The first hour and seventeen minutes rock out with your….well you know what I mean.  If you decide to watch it, turn it off at that point.  Accept the fact that you won’t know if the girl is really possessed or not.  Because if you watch on, and I am expecting you will, it will turn crappy fast.  The ending makes no sense and the director clearly wanted to make an ending which left the viewer thinking.  And he got me thinking that his movie turned in to a steaming pile of crap.

The “Paranormal Activity” series were decent in the way they clearly drag you in to viewing the camera scenes as they happen.  The stories make no sense and my worry is one day they will attempt to describe why the house is haunted.  When they do, we will all think it sucks and another series is down the drain.

The “Blair Witch Project” was very good in its individualism, using the view of the main character as he/she goes through the motions.  It allows the viewer to be scared along with the protagonist.  But this is played…so played.

Craig is right to think I want to see this newest survival paranormal movie.  It looks very good but random girls in white robes has been done before.  Once I find out more about my Daddy and Baby Monster Hunters series, I plan on writing a story dealing with the paranormal.  The reason I think it will be different is the stories are real.  Whether you believe in spirits or not, my brother and I lived in a haunted house in the early 2000′s.  While the backstory will be fictional, the events and hauntings will be real.

UPDATE:  Saturday April 30th

One thing I was pondering as I was watching “A Haunting in Connecticut” was the fact that if a person has been a part of a haunting, he/she doesn’t experience what we see on the movies.  Creaks, voices, shadows, footsteps:  those are all part and parcel of living in a haunted house.  But some of the movies seems to build off of unnecessary scares without realizing that a real person who might not believe in the paranormal might be afraid of small things.

I dedicate these videos to my brothers. It’s that time of year kids. I’ve even gotten into the spirit, joining up in their fantasy league. I don’t know baseball, so we’ll see how well I do. I’m holding out for September when the Patriots take the field again.

I’d also like to welcome the newest Derosby brother, Keene Robert Derosby, who joined our family on March 28th. Congrats to Keith and Elaine for yet another gorgeous Derosby kid. I’m still not sure how we pulled off so many cute kids, as it’s certainly not because of the Derosby genes.

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Brandon Routh (Superman from Superman Returns and guest appearances in TV’s Chuck and as one of the evil exes in Scott Pilgrim vs the World) and and Sam Huntington (Josh the werewolf from the American version of Being Human and Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns) team up for this comedy/horror based on a Dark Horse Comics title of the same name. Looks entertaining enough. I’m pulling for Routh as I feel he got the bulk of the blame for Superman Returns being the bomb it was and not Bryan Singer, who I think should get his director card revoked. Take a look and tell us what you think.

Dylan Dog Film Trailer
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Here’s the new teaser trailer for Cartoon Network’s upcoming Thundercats reboot. Oh Keith….

As our 4 or 5 fans may have deduced over the years, the Derosby Brothers (and many other members of our family) are fans of ghosts and the supernatural in general.  Alan’s even tossed around the idea of getting some equipment and going on road trips to bust or debunk.  I for one would love to put on the gray jumpsuit and strap on the EM goggles.  At any rate, the marathon got me thinking.  I started comparing Paranormal State to the other “ghostly” reality shows and here’s what I came up with.  Listed from best to worst, here’s my take on the Reality Ghostbuster genre of shows.

1.)  Ghost Hunters (Ghost Hunters Academy and Ghost Hunters International) – The SyFy Channel:  The benchmark for the genre.  Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, the founders of TAPS (The American Parnormal Society) from here in New England have the best trained and most professional staff, both experienced and likeable.  They have the best equipment and most importantly, the most success with it.  Not only are they extremely thourough in their placement of cameras, audio recorders, and even little flashlights, their attention to detail pays off as they tend to collect more actual evidence than any other show I’ve seen on TV. 

The thing I like the most about them though, is the fact that they are not so quick to jump to conclusions.  They are just as likely to debunk an event, especially in the earlier episodes.  They bring their EMF detectors and have discovered everything from poor wiring creating EM hotspots to ventillation systems transferring sounds from one room to the next and even put their plumbing experience to work on one episode.  They’ve even caught their clients trying to pull one over on them on more than one occasion.  All in all, not only is it the best of the “reality Ghostbuster” lot, it’s one of my favorite shows on TV today.

2.)  Ghost Lab – Discovery Channel, kind of like Ghost Hunters light.  The Klinge brothers (Brad and Barry) have all the enthusiasm of Jason and Grant and certainly have the equipment to back it up. 

But what they have in attitude, they sometimes lose in their short-sightedness.  They come across to me as more cowboys than scientists, and where they definitely embody the spirit of the Ghostbusters from the movie, they lose that credibility that comes from being able to look for a more rational explanation to what’s going on around them.  Still, it’s a great watch for a weekend afternoon.

 3.)  Ghost Adventures - The Travel Channel.  Take the three biggest idiots you find in a random frat house at any college campus around the US, get them drunk, lock them in a dark building at midnight, then scare the living shit out of them.  That pretty much covers what this show has to offer. 

It’s a riot.  Check out the episode where they go to Bobbie Mackie’s to get a good dose of what these guys are all about.  Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin are great hosts and aa blast to watch and really entertain.  Few ghosts, little proof, but worth the watch nonetheless. 

 4.)  Paranormal State – A&E TV.  This show definitely takes itself more seriously than the others.  Ryan Buell and his crew are actually trying to save people from their demons.  His earnest desire to help is endearing, but is quickly overshadowed by his blind belief in everything they run into with no apparent desire for any scepticsm.  They’ve run into everything from poltergeists to natural spirits, and even a demon or two.  He’s convinced himself that one demon in particular has it out for him and occasionally runs into his arch-enemy from time to time. 

His crew never seems to be made up of the same people from one show to the next, the only constants being his longtime friend and cast member Sergei and resident “occult specialist” and team odd duck Eilfie.  The crew has all the equipment but rarely seems to be able to catch even the slightest bit of EVP or photographical evidence.  When they do, it’s automatically assumed to be of supernatural origin, no proof required.  It’s frustrating to watch and at times uncomfortable.  Buell and his team mean well though and where the show lacks all that is empirical,  they make up for it in heart.  And as an added plus, they got rid of that quack psychic Chip Coffey.  If you want to see a charlatan of Patric Jane stature (of the Mentalist), tune in to that show.  If you notice, it’s not on my list.

Does anyone else have a favorite?  Am I alone in my love of these shows?  What’s your take?

Click on the Image to see schedule times for all epidodes of The Walking Dead on AMC

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Here are some of the TV spots I’ve found for Star Wars:  The Force Unleashed II.  I’d seen the first one multiple times on TV and had found the Boba Fett trailer a few weeks ago.  The others were all pleasant surprises.  Enjoy.

The Force Unleashed 2: Vader fight

The Force Unleashed 2: Snow

The Force Unleashed 2: Boba Fett

The Force Unleashed 2: Yoda

The Force Unleashed 2: Subject 1157

The Penguin:  I’ve got faith that Nolan could take a character as misrepresented as old Oswald and make him the badass weapons-dealing mob boss I know he can be.  Maybe have the guys on his crew call him Penguin behind his back. 

Or as an alternative, at least have him as an opening scene character, showing how outlandish the villains in Gotham have become thanks to the antics of Bats and the Joker in The Dark Knight. 

The Penguin

Two Face:  Commissioner Gordon exclaimed that Dent was dead at the end of the Dark Knight (Spoiler?  I think not.  If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight by now you deserved it) but he didn’t say anything about Two Face.  As far as his political career was concerned the person that was Harvey was dead.  And Commish and Bats of course would want it to stay that way, not wanting to sully their friend’s memory with what he’d become.  I’d love to see him break out of Arkham and make his rise to power.  Maybe bring a few familiar faces with him.

Two Face

Catwoman:  Batman takes a break, tired of what he’s become after Dent’s “death” (I still don’t buy it) and in his absence, another takes his place.  She’s a bit more of a vigilante, maybe stealing from the crooks she nabs.  Can’t deny her results, but the ends don’t really justify the means.  She and Batman cross paths, don’t see eye to eye and disagree with the other’s methods, but can’t deny what a great team they make.  Nolan could really run with Selina and make the character as great as she was meant to be (no offense to Halle or Michelle, but looking hot in black leather does not a Catwoman make).

Catwoman

The Riddler:  I think this rumor is going to prove to be the most accurate.  And in an age where the internet is everywhere and identity theft, cyber bullying, and our total reliance on the electronic media are part of everyday life, he’s the perfect choice.  Nolan could recreate him as a brilliant sociopathic hacker who decides to target Batman after he unwittingly foils one of Nigma’s plots.   This has been the most prevalent character name dropped at the mention of Batman’s 3rd installment, with an ever-growing host of actors supposedly “up” for the role (Doctor Who?  Really?)  If I had a decent paycheck, I’d be putting it down on the Riddler for the next movie.

The Riddler

Harley Quinn:  I think this one’s not going to work so well without the Joker to play off, but I’ve got faith that if Chris decides to add her into the mix (and don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved Harley since day one) he’ll make her unforgettable.

Harley Quinn

The Ventriloquist / Scarface:  Mostly because it’s never been done (as far as I know) on film, although Paul Dini did a fantastic job with the character(s) on the Animated Series, I’d like to see what Nolan could do with them.  It would definitely as an opening fight character only.  As with what I said earlier, maybe showing how the criminals have taken a page from Batman’s book.  The Detective may be Gotham’s savior, but he’s also the reason most of the rogues gallery is around in the first place.

Ventriloquist / Scarface

 Poison Ivy:  Starting to get into the “suspension of belief” type characters that may be just too outlandish for the world that Nolan’s created for his version of Batman.  She’s always been one of my favorites and I hated what happened to her in her first big screen appearance.  I really liked her in the Animated Series and loved how she was portrayed in the Arkham Asylum game.  I’d love to see what Nolan could do with her.  Who knows, maybe a Gotham Girls big screen debut is in the works?