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Showing posts from September, 2012

The Fourth Kind (2009)

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    After a day without the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was focused on completing my Dexter marathon in preparation for tonight’s season debut, it was time for a bit of a break. What to watch prior to Dexter to pass some time is a challenge. My selection for the evening was something from a different spectrum, The Fourth Kind from 2009.     Plot/ A thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up.     After some time passed where I could think about this movie, I think I see things a lot clearer. Yes, it is not the scariest or even best UFO abduction flick out there, but on many levels, it is entertaining. In fact, it has a lot going for it. The way the “real” footage was woven into the fabric of the film, the solid performances, and interesting storyline all work in harmony to allow for something

Night Claws (2012)

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    As a fan of the creature features and exploitation flicks of the past, any chance to see a movie that pays homage to those makes me smile. Sure, there are times where the ideas do go against the reality of the world or subject at hand, such is the case with tonight’s selection Night Claws (Midnight Releasing), which portrays Sasquatch as a violent killer. However, as a fan of movies and science, I understand the fictional need for these changes and realize, there would never be creature features unless the monsters became something they are not, bloodthirsty murderers.     Plot/ A small town is being terrorized by a killer Bigfoot; one that is bloodthirsty, vicious and kills without warning and without discrimination. A scientist shows up to help the town's sheriff and his deputy girlfriend Roberta hunt this thing down and put an end to the killings.     I am all for indie horror flicks, especially ones that want to take on any type of B-Movie or

The Hole (2001)

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    After a few days of creature features, I decided to venture into a completely different realm for the evening movie. Of course, I had thought of doing up a review of the classic Forbidden Planet, as my class watched it this afternoon once they completed their final fiber optic exam, but I will save that for another day. My selection for the evening was a lot different than that, 2001s British import, The Hole.     Plot/ Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.     After suffering through some low budget creature features, I am glad that I changed it up some with something different. This flick was just that, not really horror, but more a psychological thriller / mystery. This thriller features a solid cast with even better performances, the cinematography is creates an air or realism, and the storyline is tremendous. Sure, some of

Forgiven Sins - A Short Story

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I remember leaving your house at dusk that fall night with the eerie mist and the brisk winds howling through Appalachia etched into my mind. Our sins were weighing on my soul. These forbidden desires we harbor in this illicit union. I could still taste you on my lips, your soft pale flesh, so sweet, so luscious. My mind entranced by the thoughts of your beauty, but my heart torn on the reality of the situation. Our end was near. I started up the summit with the Lonesome Wyatt streaming out of my Ipod; their music, creating the perfect soundtrack for my life, filling my mind with remorse and regret. Our unholy bond in the forefront, the thoughts of truth silenced. Our last ritual together changed everything. As soon as the blood flowed into the chalice, I knew we could rule the world. From the first slit of the wrist, to the depths of your inner thighs, we could indeed be one. Apart we are but pawns, but now, after what seems like all perpetuity, we exist together. I

Malibu Shark Attack (2009)

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After taking a break last night to put out a sighting report for interesting creatures or UFOs, it was time to get back into the swing of things. Of course, with some of the daughters still feeling the buzz of the news from the Bigfoot hunt, I decided to continue with some creature feature. My selection, from the Maneater Collection is the SyFy Channel flick Malibu Shark Attack from 2009. Plot/ When a tsunami floods Malibu , it brings with it a hunting pack of deep-water, prehistoric goblin sharks that go after the lifeguards in their half-submerged station on stilts and a team of construction workers stranded in a flooded house. Let me start by saying that I am not the biggest fans of SyFy Channel creature features, and I mainly watch them with my daughters as a fun alternative. I will admit that sometimes they surprise me; unfortunately, this is not one of those cases. While the acting was not too bad, actually decent for this type of faire, it is too

Do You Have a Sighting to Report or Had a Strange Encounter?

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    Over the past few weeks, I have been doing a lot of research and networking with different investigators in the South Western Pennsylvania Region and am looking forward to spending more time in the field. As many readers know, I am fascinated by every facet of the unexplained world and have experience investigating all of them.   With a tremendous amount of local researchers near me, we are always looking for new cases to research regardless of whether it is Cryptozoological or UFO related. One potential project I am working on is a comprehensive sighting list for Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.   If you have had an encounter and would like me to include it in this list or have it researched further, please email me or leave a comment and I will get back with you. Of course, all correspondence will remain confidential.      

Swamp Devil (2008)

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    With Documentary Week behind us, it was time to get back into the swing of movie watching. For me, I wanted to watch a good old-fashioned creature feature (yes, still have the adrenaline from the Bigfoot expedition). Unfortunately, there is little on Netflix ) that I have not seen) that fit into what I wanted. In the end, I decided on Swamp Devil from 2008.     Plot/ A young girl finds out some disturbing supernatural truths about her father, who has been a suspect to multiple murder cases.     While I knew from the title what I was getting into with this one, I was actually a bit more disappointed than usual. This flick has a lot to like with solid acting, some good production values, a decent score and some awesome locations / set design. Unfortunately, as good as some of those attributes were the utter horrendous attempt at special effects and make-up are laughable (at best) and the storyline is riddled with cliché and predictability. And, that

666 Revealed (2006)

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    As the end of Documentary Week is upon us, I realized that I had only covered a couple of different topics and it was not the variety I had hoped for. Yes, there was Cryptozoology with Bigfoot related material, UFO material and conspiracy topics, but it all seemed bland or rehashed. With that in mind, I decided pump things up a bit with something darker. The occult and the dark arts are always an interesting subject and for some, extremely controversial, so it would be a perfect topic to close the week. My selection in that realm, 666 Revealed.     Plot/ This documentary examines Satanism, the occult, and serial killers including Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, Fred and Rosemary West, Harold Shipman, and David Berkowitz.     Being a fan of the occult and the dark arts, when I saw this one on Netflix, I knew it had to close out documentary week. I especially enjoy works that portray controversial topics such as Satanism in an appropriate light. While

Ancient Mysteries: Bigfoot (1997)

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    Last night, I took a break from everything as I headed out for a Friday high school football game, and to see my oldest daughter rock out on her trumpet with the band. Unfortunately, the hometown football team lost, but her band did rock out. Now, being back out in the mode, I decided to jump back into a Bigfoot Documentary with the 1997 Ancient Mysteries: Bigfoot from A&E.     Plot/ Ancient Mysteries examines the history and myths surrounding the Pacific Northwest creature known as Bigfoot.     This newer reincarnation of the classic Leonard Nimoy series In Search Of, continued the ideal of taking on a subject by presenting the audio or visual evidence along with a cross-section of interviews. In this case, as with a lot of documentaries, there is quite a bit of rehashed material. In fact, this one did a great job of providing a solid historical look with a modern take and theory.   In the end, it was an entertaining documentary of the subjec

Kurt & Courtney (1998)

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One of the interesting tidbits I discovered when researching some material for the week was that this is the actual week that the Paul is Dead conspiracy started during the 1960s. Honestly, that is an interesting musical conspiracy theory that is rather hard to debunk. While I am an outsider on that investigation, the information and evidence, pointing toward this cover-up is compelling and tremendous. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at a modern music conspiracy that took the life of a musical icon. My selection was Kurt &Courtney, the documentary focused on the life and tragic death of grunge rocker Kurt Cobain.     Plot/ After rocker Kurt Cobain's death, ruled a suicide, a film crew arrives in Seattle to make a documentary. Director Nick Broomfield talks to lots of people: Cobain's aunt who provides home movies and recordings, the estranged father of Cobain's widow Courtney Love, an L.A. private investigator who worked for Love, a

Jillian's First Track Cast - Fayette County Bigfoot Expedition

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  I know that this was supposed to be Documentary Week, but I decided to change things up tonight to mark a special occasion of sorts. If you have read my blog over the past couple of weeks, you already know about the Fayette County Bigfoot Expedition I took part in, and the interesting discoveries we made. If not, here is a quick recap.     Over two days in September, members of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society organized a trip into the mountainous region of Fayette County . During the expedition, some interesting events took place and some pieces of potential evidence was discovered. On the first day, team members encountered something that displayed what appeared to be a innate intelligence as it moved, on top of some wood knocks in response to known knocks and even rock throwing that hit some team members. On day two, the activity was a lot less, but the team did discover a potential Bigfoot track in an area of the Forbes State Forest .     Af

Dan Aykroyd Unplugged on UFOs (2005)

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I was covering a different quarter today at school, and again had the pleasure of instructing the class I taught last quarter. Yes, they are short three after graduation, but the mixture of personality and knowledge is still awesome. Of course, they had to take a jab at my choices of movies and documentaries, but hey, it was still a good day. One of the areas we did discuss today was UFO Disclosure and the reverse engineering of alien craft, something that had to take place. It is truly the only way to explain the great technology jump over the last century. Now, off to documentary week with my selection, Dan Aykroyd Unplugged on UFOs.    Plot/ David Serada, a UFO enthusiast, interviews the comedian Dan Aykroyd who claims he has had experiences with alien beings. Aykroyd expounds on UFO lore and his own beliefs on matters related to extraterrestrials. Footage of this interview is interspersed with video and film of these flying objects; video clips of a former Canadia

UFOs: 50 Years of Denial (1997)

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With the week in full swing, I decided that it should be a documentary week for me here on The Ringmaster’s Realm. I love documentaries, and more importantly, I have little trouble getting the daughters to watch them with me. With such a wide variety to choose from, it was a bit difficult to decide on one. What I finally decided on was UFOs: 50 Years of Denial from 1997. Plot/ A documentary full of interesting content. From Col. Phillip J. Corso overseeing the recovery of alien spacecraft and the harvesting of technology from recovered crash debris of extraterrestrial origin to Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell reveals that the Roswell UFO crash of 1947 was a real event and discusses the 50 years of cover-up that followed. I am a huge fan of documentaries on anything from Cryptozoology to the Paranormal to UFOs, and as a researcher on fringe subjects, there is always something to take from them. Sure many lack quality funding or like the ABC trave

Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie (2008)

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After watching the Pittsburgh Steelers dismantle the New York Jets, it was time to find something to watch. When searching, I was in the mood for something a bit different, as I am a bit tired after hiking with Jillian in the Forbes National Forest today. What I decided on was actually a documentary, Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie from 2008.  It has to be decent, it shows the hoaxer side of Tom Biscardi, doesn't it? Plot/ Through the experiences of two amateur Bigfoot researchers in Appalachian Ohio, we see how the power of a dream can bring two men together and provide a source of hope and meaning that transcend the harsh realities of life in a dying steel town. When I turned this on, I had no idea what to expect. What I found was so much more than I could have expected. Sure, it really is not a Bigfoot or Sasquatch research film, in fact, that is just a subtle backdrop to the story. This one is clearly a documentary about friendship (although it d