Sunday, February 28, 2016

Movie Spotlight: Goosebumps

Goosebumps is a 2015 movie starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell, and Ken Marino. When Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) moves to a new town and accidentally unleashes monsters from the manuscripts of neighbor/horror author R.L. Stine (Jack Black), Zach, his friend Champ (Ryan Lee), Stine's daughter Hannah (Odeya Rush), and Stine himself must try to get the monsters back into the manuscripts before they destroy the town.

Even if I hadn't read R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series as a child, I would've watched this movie because I love Jack Black. Goosebumps is geared toward kids, but I'm 35, and I really enjoyed it. All of the performances were great, and Zach's aunt (Jillian Bell) and the two cops (Amanda Lund and Veep's Timothy Simons) were hilarious. Goosebumps is a fun movie, and I'll definitely watch the sequel (I'd love to see a Fear Street movie or TV show too). I'm glad that monsters can't really come out of books since I mostly read suspense books, and those are full of murderers. ; )

My rating: 8/10


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Paranormal Podcast: The Cryptid Factor

I recently found out that Rhys Darby has a paranormal podcast, and I'm a little annoyed that I just found out about something awesome that I could've started listening to a few years ago. I've been a fan of Rhys since his time as Murray Hewitt on Flight of the Conchords (if anyone has ever wondered why I named my hamster Murray, now you know), so of course I had to check out his podcast. It's called The Cryptid Factor, and he hosts it with David Farrier and Leon "Buttons" Kirkbeck. For anyone who doesn't know, a cryptid is an animal whose existence has not been proven or accepted by science (Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, etc.). I've only listened to one episode so far, but it was pretty entertaining (plus I like listening to Rhys because his accent is THE BEST), so I'm definitely going to listen to more. If you'd like to listen to a fun, interesting podcast, you can find The Cryptid Factor here:

https://m.soundcloud.com/the-cryptid-factor

Make sure to check out the Facebook page too...it's a great way to keep up with cryptid-related news. : )

https://m.facebook.com/CryptidFactor/

Sunday, February 21, 2016

TV Show Preview: People of Earth

When I was watching the Angie Tribeca marathon a few weeks ago, TBS showed a preview for an upcoming show that I'm sure I'll like. It's called People of Earth, it stars Wyatt Cenac, Ana Gasteyer, and Oscar Nunez, and it's about a support group for people who have been abducted by aliens. I haven't been able to find a premiere date yet, but you can watch the People of Earth trailer on the TBS website. I'm really looking forward to this show. : )

http://www.tbs.com/videos/people-of-earth/season-1/extras/1735102/people-of-earth-trailer.html

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Movie Spotlight: The Final Girls

The Final Girls is a 2015 movie starring Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Adam Devine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, and Nina Dobrev. Max (Taissa Farmiga) and her friends go to an anniversary screening of Camp Bloodbath, a slasher movie that starred her now-deceased mother (Malin Akerman), and end up trapped in the movie after the theater catches on fire. They must defeat the movie's villain in order to escape Camp Bloodbath and return to their real lives.

I've wanted to see The Final Girls ever since I first heard about it, but I don't think it ever played in any of the movie theaters in my town, so I'm glad I finally got to see it on DVD. I loved Alia Shawkat on Arrested Development (aka the greatest show of all-time), and I'm a fan of Malin Akerman because she was great in Rock of Ages, Childrens Hospital, The Brothers Solomon, Burning Love, and some other stuff, so I was really excited to see this movie. The Final Girls has a great cast, and it's a fun movie that also has some pretty emotional moments (between Max and her mother's Camp Bloodbath character). I loved the ending, and I hope there will be a sequel since I'd like to see more of these characters. My two favorite movie genres are comedy and horror, so I love when the two genres go together to make something awesome. : )

My rating: 8.5/10


Saturday, February 13, 2016

Asheville Ghost Tours

My husband and I went to Asheville, North Carolina, on our anniversary trip a few months ago, and we didn't have time to go on a ghost tour since we only spent one night there, but I picked up some brochures for some ghost tours that sounded interesting. The one that really caught my interest is called the LaZoom Haunted Comedy Tour. Comedy and the paranormal are two of my favorite things, so I'm sure I would enjoy the Haunted Comedy Tour, and I hope I'll be able to check it out the next time I go to Asheville. Tickets are $21, and the tour is only for those who are 17 or older.

http://www.lazoomtours.com/tours/haunted-tours/

Ghost Hunters of Asheville offers a few ghost tours: Downtown Spirits, Haunted Montford, Graveyard Ghosts, and Ghosts & Grapes. Ghosts & Grapes is for adults only and costs $65; the other tours are $20 for adults, $13 for kids and teenagers 6 to 15, and free for kids under 6. Guests get to use ghost-hunting equipment on all of the tours.

http://www.ghosthuntersofasheville.com/

If you take any of these tours and would like to write a guest post about it, please let me know (at crystalsmithconnelly@yahoo.com)...I'm always looking for guest bloggers. : )

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Movie Spotlight: Hell and Back

Hell and Back is a 2015 stop-motion movie starring Nick Swardson, Mila Kunis, Bob Odenkirk, T.J. Miller, Rob Riggle, Susan Sarandon, Danny McBride, Maria Bamford, Kerri Kinney-Silver, H. Jon Benjamin, David Koechner, Brian Posehn, J.B. Smoove, and Paul F. Tompkins. (Wow, there are a lot of good people in this movie!) When best friends Remy (Nick Swardson), Augie (T.J. Miller), and Curt (Rob Riggle) break a blood oath, Curt is sucked into Hell, and Remy and Augie must do everything in their power to save him.

Since I've written quite a few plays about Satan, Hell and Back was right up my alley...and with this cast, there was no way I wouldn't like this movie. Bob Odenkirk was an awesome devil, and now I really want him to play Satan in one of my plays someday. The rest of the cast was great too, and I liked the movie's version of Hell. I also really liked the running gag with Paul F. Tompkins' Annoyed Lost Soul being inconvenienced by Hell's tame punishments, like the Taco Bell-Pizza Hut not serving pizza. Hell and Back is a fun movie (that looks so cool because of the stop-motion animation) with horny trees, a pole-dancing angel (who the devil is in love with), and a great cast, and I'm really glad I got to see it. : )

My rating: 8/10


Friday, February 5, 2016

Movie Spotlight: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is a 2015 found footage movie starring Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Dan Gill, Ivy George, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Krawic, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Hallie Foote, and Don McManus. A new family moves into a house that stands on the spot where Katie and Kristi (from the other Paranormal Activity movies) grew up and finds a video camera that can see spirits, as well as some disturbing videotapes. They realize that something evil is in the house...and it wants their daughter.

Like the other Paranormal Activity movies, The Ghost Dimension succeeded in building tension and making me feel uneasy during the whole movie. In this one, we finally get to see the demon, but the effects in this part of the movie seem out of place in the Paranormal Activity series (everything in the other movies generally looks realistic, but the demon and some of the effects definitely did not). The Ghost Dimension was creepy, but it didn't make much sense. Despite the fact that this is supposedly the last Paranormal Activity movie, I hope they make another one since most of the fans seem unhappy with this movie being the end of the series.

My rating: 6/10


Monday, February 1, 2016

Encounters: U.F.O. Experience in Anaheim

In September 2014, I visited an exhibit called Encounters: U.F.O. Experience in Myrtle Beach and loved it. (You can read about my experience here:  http://paranormalcrystal.blogspot.com/2014/09/encounters-ufo-experience.html). If you live in or near Anaheim, California, now you can see it for yourself at the Anaheim Garden Walk...you can get all the info here:

http://www.latimes.com/socal/weekend/news/tn-wknd-et-0117-ufo-exhibit-20160117-story.html

It's a really cool exhibit, so if you're interested in aliens and UFOs, make sure to check it out. : )