The Ghosts with the Most

“Ghost Hunters”
Channel: SciFi (I refuse to call it SyFy) Check your local listings
Time/Day: 9pm Wednesday

The new season of “Ghost Hunters” came back to the SciFi channel last Wednesday. If you don’t know what “Ghost Hunters” is then you need to get on it quickly. Each episode is full of suspense and just the right amount of creepiness to keep you watching. Usually you will see two cases in the hour long episodes. You are taken through the investigation, the going through of the evidence, and the reveal to the owners of the property they just investigated by the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team. There is typically a team of five or six, always led by the founders of TAPS, Jay & Grant. Regular investigators are Steve, Dave, and Kris. The show keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The first investigation on this episode finds the team at the Samuel Mudd House in Waldorf, MD. This place is famous for having John Wilkes Booth stay there after having just assassinated President Lincoln. There have been all types of reports ranging from seeing figures around a fire to a rocking chair rocking on its own. The team goes through the investigation checking out all of the “hot spots” with their equipment. Their tools usually consist of a thermal imagining camera, hand held cameras, K2 meter, digital voice recorders and the list goes on. As Jay and Grant go through one of the rooms Grant has an experience where he feels something hit his hand. They both also feel static charge through the air in certain areas of the room. Grant and Jay are then outside heading towards another “hot spot” when they have the human figure pass in front of their thermal imagining camera when nothing or no one was in front of them. The rest of the team goes through the house but none of them get anything. After Steve and Dave go through the evidence Jay and Grant present the evidence they have found. Of course they show the owner of the home the footage of the figure passing in front of them. They also have an audio recording of a voice saying, “I am not guilty.” They have determined that there is some sort of haunting occurring there.

In the second investigation of the night the teams heads to Edgewood Plantation in Charles City, VA. This house use to be a signal post for the Confederacy. After hearing the claims of paranormal activity and getting a tour of the facilities the team sets up for a night of investigating. Unfortunately for the team and the readers is that nothing was really found. There was only one instance when the K2 meter goes off uncontrollably. Some say that when the meter goes off it is reacting to the electromagnetic waves from the ghost. When Kris went out to research the land she found that there was documentation to support a person staying in that area with the same name as a ghost that was reportedly speaking to an individual at Edgewood Plantation. So it’s safe to say the team did not determine the plantation was haunted.

I personally can’t get enough of this show. It is interesting to watch the team go in and try to debunk all of the claims of paranormal activity. When the find something though you are freaking out because it’s so real. This show makes you look at the shadows on your wall a little differently and listen harder to the sounds around your house. While I normally am on the edge of my seat I have to admit that the second half of this episode left me wanting more. I know that not every place they go to will be haunted but the plantation just wasn’t that interesting especially in comparison to the Mudd house. I will be watching next week though in hopes of catching a glimpse of a ghost.

So I am giving this episode four frames. I give the series five frames, but this episode was disappointing.


Check out this video clip


Also check out the website for TAPS: http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/

Head on over to the forum at j1studios.com to discuss the show, ghosts, whatever makes you happy. A healthy debate about the existence of ghosts should be fun.

Until next time kids, this has been Hava.

District 9

District 9 (2009)
Rated R
Action/Drama/Sci-Fi

Wow, wow, wow. The under the cut film, District 9 came upon us stealthily and had many soon squirming in anticipation. In first hearing about District 9 via facebook.com, (the site that can bring together friends and family, can be the initiator to a new relationship or an end to one:http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=114523173025&ref=share), intrigued I was!

The idea alone; a sci-fi film with creatures unlike I’d ever seen captured me. I then learned that the film was based off of a short 6-minute film called “Alive in Joburg”, written and directed (just as District 9) by Neill Blomkamp, a South African native.

Blomkamp was initially directing Halo (also produced by Peter Jackson) but according to internet sources, either disagreements between productions studios and/or budget issues caused filming to screech to a halt and Blomkamp was informed that filming was to cease. This led the way for the Peter Jackson/Neill Blomkamp partnership to fully develop into an original movie-making experience.

What I had thought would be an entertaining, “that’s so cool”, nerd fueled sci-fi experience turned out to be so much more than I expected and RARELY do movies impress me /deem my initial judgment void. **SPOILER ALERT **

The opening alone was unexpected – unaware was I that it was a documentary-style film and thus was thrown into the film featuring commentary on the happenings of twenty years past, when an alien ship had arrived and had stopped directly over Johannesburg, South Africa. It hovered above for three months until the humans decided to investigate and make their way into the ship. They discovered a large group of aliens who were malnourished and sick. The aliens are later assessed as apparently being all "workers", with their leadership gone (they state the possibility of the leaders having fallen ill and died). I can’t speak much more on the story as I’ve given more than most knew when first going to see the film!

Make a note to self (and this is you guys posting a mental note to your temperamental and forgetful brains) that you must see this politically poignant, emotionally compelling, and still graphically amazing story, a reflection of what a group of people can do to one another, ignorance too many ethnic groups have been guilty of. The aliens are looked down upon, treated like dirt because of being misunderstood – no matter how silly (and when you see this movie you will not think it silly) the idea is, the craziness is how it portrays that which many of those who came before us (and into current day) have either been guilty of, directly experienced or been a victim of. It is a powerful film - it made my heart ache on a different level.

To its detriment, the strange and sometimes ridiculous reaction in specific scenes by our main character, Wikus van der Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) annoyed me. While I have never been in a tense situation with aliens (well…), a purposeful and fairly smart response is expected and was not usually provided here. In addition, I love violence in films (violence, not necessarily victimization) and the graphics were amazing but to some it may be a bit much.

I give this a four and a half out of five frames. Not quite perfect but a powerful film indeed!!



Teaser Trailer below!!!!



Danae signing off!

I beg of you, come to the J1studios.com forum to chat if you’ve seen this film or suggest a film that pleasantly surprised you!

Real Housewives of Atlanta Premiere: These ladies are no sweet peaches

“Real Housewives of Atlanta”
Channel: Bravo (check your local listings)
Time/Day: 10pm Thursdays

Last Thursday marked the return of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” on Bravo. They are back for their second season and they are poised and ready to tear each other apart just like last season. Dyshaun Snow, who was more boring than watching paint dry, from the first season is out and Grammy award winning Kandi Burruss is in. In the premiere we are brought up to date on what is happening in the lives of our housewives. Lisa and her husband are thinking about having another child. Kim has broken up with her meal ticket boyfriend and she wants to design her own line of wigs. Nene and family have moved into a new home in Lisa’s neighborhood. Sheree has been forced to move due to unfortunate situations with her ex husband. She is also planning an independence party since she is officially divorced. We are introduced to Kandi’s world and given a bit of a background on her music career in Xscape and her songwriting for other artists. The viewers also learn that she is working on her own record and has recently gotten engaged.

The drama never stops with these ladies. When we left the housewives at the end of the first season Nene and Kim were not speaking after a long feud throughout the season. Kim and Sheree had become quick friends sharing in their mutual dislike for Nene. During the premiere we find out that Kim and Nene have never gotten together to quash their differences like they promised on the finale. If nothing else they only have more of a problem with each other. Sheree and Kim are now no longer besties and Sheree has been keeping her distance. It also seems that Kim has been spreading some vicious rumors about Lisa. So basically she is alienating herself from everyone on the show. Way to go.

In the premiere Sheree and Nene make up and become friends again after absolutely hating each other last season. There were some “brush off” scenes between Kim and the other girls at Niecy Nash’s birthday party which got Lisa, Nene, and Sheree all in a tizzy and discussing how they don’t like her. I have to admit that the real fireworks didn’t start for me until the last five minutes of the show. Sheree was displeased, to say the least, with the party planner for her independence party. During her meeting with him, let’s just say things got a little heated. No, that is a gross misrepresentation of what happened. It almost came to blows. Sheree and that man were in each other’s faces, yelling and screaming, calling each other all types of names. He was dragged kicking and screaming out of the room by a colleague. Hmm, I think Sheree’s party may have to be postponed while she looks for another party planner.

All in all I was highly entertained by the premiere of the second season of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” It was the perfect mix of catch up and drama that settles you back in with the girls as if they never left. The preview of the season to come also shows crazy promise. It appears that in the next episode Nene and Sheree gang up on Kim that leads to an altercation on the street where Kim possibly loses her wig. Yes folks, the white girl loses her wig this time around. Real Housewives, breaking racial stereotypes one episode at a time.

I gave this episode four frames out of five. Only four because I think there could have been a little more drama and a little less catching up.


For more information on the Real Housewives of Atlanta and other Bravo programs head to http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-atlanta.


Head over to www.j1studios.com to discuss the real housewives and the drama yet to come in the forum!

Until next time kids, this has been Hava.

Bravo TV Video: Real Housewives of Atlanta

A preview of the season to come on the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Enjoy!




Until next time kids, this has been Hava.