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imno007-2
Reviews
Ghost Adventures (2008)
Never saw the appeal of this show
Every once in a while I tune into this show, usually just because there's nothing better on at the time and because I 'm interested in the paranormal in general, but every time I watch it I'm reminded of why I don't watch it more. As other reviewers have remarked, there's zero objectivity here, no real scientific approach beyond the questionable value of many of their gadgets. Instead of being Ghost Adventures, it should be called Demon Adventures, because they almost always (always?) start from the premise that what they're investigating isn't whatever remains of a once living person, but a demonic entity or evil spirit - although I suppose they might argue that evil spirits can also have once been human beings. Whatever. The bottom line is, everything is evil, and every place they investigate is a "portal to hell." I suppose if you're a certain type of fundamental Christian and believe that just about anything that's weird or unexplained is attributable to Satan and demons, this will make sense to you, but I don't see how the show can be satisfying for anyone else - except maybe those who watch it mainly because they find it humorous or entertaining, like a lot of fans of Wrestling.
True Conviction (2018)
Better than some of the reviews would lead you to believe
Pretty good show. A lot of the criticism seems to be personal, directed at Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi, rather than the show itself: complaints that she gets too much screen time, reviewers questioning why her own past cases aren't presented (which surely wouldn't please the people who think the show's already too much about her), and accusations that she would be glad to lock up an innocent person as long as it was a personal victory for herself (zero evidence to back that up). And finally, the complaints that the show is just boring, with zero excitement. Hmm, I just watched an episode where the killers attempted to slaughter an entire family, stabbed the mother 11 times, shot a grandfather in the face, put a pillow over the face of the husband and shot him twice in the head, and finally shot a little baby behind the ear... yawn, yeah, very boring. I could be wrong, but I suspect that at least some of these complaints might have something to do with the fact Anna is a very attractive woman. People can be funny.
I enjoy the one-on-one's with victims and law enforcement officials. It makes it all very much more personal to see just how much the lives of these people are effected by these crimes, and that much more satisfying when the killers are brought to justice. Two thumbs up!
Overlord (2018)
10 Stars When Grading on a Curve
If I were being completely objective, I'd probably give this 8 stars, but in this case I feel inclined to give it 10 to counter-balance what I think are a lot of unfairly negative reviews. I'm not going to turn this into a book, but suffice to say the movie has a good cast, all very competent actors, great production values - definitely watch in high definition if you can! - and is equally good as a war movie as it is a horror movie. And let's be real here, people: when it comes to horror movies, you kind of have to grade on a curve: as horror movies goes, this IS at minimum a four-star movie. If you're a diehard horror fan, you know exactly what I mean. If you're not, then maybe you won't like it as much - and what I think of as some of the unnecessarily harsh reviews are probably from people who don't watch a lot of horror, but watched this one because they saw J. J. Abrams name attached to it, or something.
My Lottery Dream Home (2015)
Good Show! Ignore All the Wanna-Be Accountants
The title says it all, really. It makes you feel good to see a lot of people who are struggling suddenly get lucky and have their lives transformed for the better. Even when they might have been doing alright before, their winnings usually allow them the kind of homes they could only dream about before. And David is a fun guy, despite whatever whoever here might say about him being "creepy" or whatever. I'd say "eccentric" is a more apt description, and I'd love to have him along for the ride if I was in the market for a new home. His energy and humor would definitely make it a more enjoyable experience.
As for all the comments about some people winning "only" a million dollars and going on about taxes and this and that other expenses, come on. Does the show really deserve a bunch of one-star reviews from people who are angry that it doesn't tell us explicitly about a bunch of stuff we all already know? That it doesn't "teach" viewers about how they should judiciously spend their money if they ever win the lottery? (Like that's very likely!) Ridiculous. It's supposed to be a fun show, about happy people who've had a big change in their fortunes for the better, not an economics class. David is just along for the ride, to have a good time and give people what THEY want, not to lecture winners on how they should spend their money. (But while we're on the subject, half the time I think the winners are being too cheap! Some of them will win 4 or 5 millions dollars and balk at spending more than a few hundred thousand.)
Finally, you can imagine that it's not easy to find a lot of million+ dollar lottery winners, and even harder to find many of them willing to do the show. Maybe think about that before you get too fixated on all the people on the show who've won only x-amount and will really have only x-amount left after taxes, etc., and how some of the homes aren't really ALL THAT, etc. Come back down to earth, people, and have more realistic expectations.
Anyway....sorry for the long rant, lol, but I was a little dismayed when I saw all the negative reviews and the reasons for them. If you watch the show, relax and enjoy it for what it is, rather than wasting energy getting angry over stupid stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with you. If some winners spend their money unwisely, that's on them, not David or the show.
American Pickers (2010)
Love This Show
It's a great little show if you have realistic expectations. First off, just because it's on the History Channel does NOT mean it's primarily a history program, and I'm pretty sure Mike and Frank don't think of themselves as historians. Doesn't make much sense to expect that Frank and Mike wouldn't do the show and make all that money because they didn't feel it was "ethical" that they might be letting down the hard-core history fans who watch the channel. I'd tell those history fans to come back to reality. If they want to be mad about the show being on the channel, maybe write the History Channel to complain instead of coming here to give the show a poor rating/review. I used to watch the Syfy Channel and get exasperated with all the wrestling shows they used to have on there, wondering what the heck wrestling had to do with science fiction, but I didn't blame wrestling, I blamed the Syfy Channel.
Second, Mike and Frank run a business and they're in it to make money, just like all businesses. So if you can't watch the show without getting angry they they try to get the best deal they can to maximize their profits, then just stay away. A lot of people on here seem to forget that running a business also means paying for overhead, for building space and employee salaries, etc., it isn't just a matter of looking at how much can be made on an individual item and that's it. And if sellers want to make maximum profits on their collectibles and junk, they can get off their butts and sell it on eBay or at an auction, or wherever else. Having said that, though, I've seen the guys on numerous occasions tell sellers that they're asking too LITTLE for an item and Mike or Frank offer them more.
But if you just mainly like collecting and old stuff, and a "little" history to go along with it all, then it's a fun 45 minutes. I like Mike and Frank, you can tell they've been friends a long time, and they make me laugh. And there's a lot of touching moments on the show. 'Nuff said.
The Void (2016)
Better than Average Horror Movie
I'm surprised this has such a low average score. I mean, the story and script are pretty simple at heart, but it's not bad at all for what it is. It's hard enough to find horror movies worth watching that I tend to judge them on a scale. In other words, I'm not scoring this movie against something like Moonlight or Hacksaw Ridge or even Logan - I'm judging it against other horror movies, most of which just plain suck, in my opinion. This movie, as simple as it might be, at least has some polish: decent acting, some great special effects (especially considering the budget), and just a great mood throughout. Very Lovecraftian. It reminded me a lot of In the Mouth of Madness, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer/director took some inspiration from that movie.