PRVanAken Reviews

Paranormal Survivor (2015– )

has gotten a lot better

[8/10 · 24 January 2016]

The first season of this show had elements that made it seem like an amateurish production. Most of it was due to using ordinary people to do the re-enactments and some low budget ghost effects. Both, I would assume, were due to budget constraints. With season two, however, things have gotten better. They have been able to hire professional actors for the re-enactments, and the special effects have improved somewhat. I am surprised by the level of acting ability of the season two episodes. Of course, you know it's just acting (not the actual event), but it's just such an improvement over the stilted and unnatural performance of their season one cast. Some of those actors in season two are very good; I assume they are all Canadian, since the production company is in Canada. There is a large pool of fine under-used actors in Canada to choose from. Apparently, the production company of this show have taken advantage of that. I'm happy that a Canadian show seems to have been able to catch on with viewers. I live in Toronto. By the way, this show now has a narrator who sounds just like Anthony D. Call, the narrator that very long running American production called A Haunting.

Ghost Asylum (2014– )

pretty bad

[3 December 2015]

The only saving grace about this show is the Tennessee accents of the Ghost Asylum team. But, you get over that and then try to get into the ghost hunting they do, but you come up short.

The ghost trap stuff they do is an adolescent fantasy. In fact, the whole show has an adolescent flavor to it. I've watched many episodes, well maybe five, and really tried to get excited about it. But, I couldn't. I found the team leader's showing off his buff physique to be offensive, pathetic. He can can hardly walk normally, he's so stiff. Sure, he's probably a super guy, but man, that bodybuilder stuff is ridiculous. Well, I guess better than being obese like the rest of the crew.

Time Team America (2009– )

poor

[2/10 · 18 November 2015]

As a long time fan of the original Channel 4 UK Time Team, the PBS version is poor by comparison. They try to bring a punk flavor to it by using people that look "cool". Too bad. They look very uncool because you know it's the producer's effort to suck up to a youthful audience. The end result is embarrassing ...not to mention that North American archaeology is really boring. And, I mean, really boring.

If you'd like to see a good program about North American archaeology, look up Channel 4 (UK) Time team episode where they dig at Maryland. It was a great show, as was the whole 19 years of that series.

The original Time Team had serious participants. The PBS version has clownish participants and stultifying boring dig results.

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)

excellent

[10/10 · 30 June 2015]

Whew, when I say "excellent', I mean excellent. What a feel-good movie, full of comedic moments that both children and adults will love. What many people are not aware of is the huge amount of work that goes into a production such as this. The movie is accomplished by filming real objects a frame at a time, moving things a tiny bit, proceeding to the next frame, exposing the next frame, and so on. When the reel is run, you get the illusion of motion. It is called stop motion animation. The old Gumby cartoons were done this way. The beauty of Shaun the Sheep Movie is how expertly the animation is done, and the absolute genius of character expression, smooth movement, gesture and a great story-line. Funny, funny, really funny... slapstick. Pure genius. Children will be in an uproar of laughter, adults will chuckle out loud. Children will remember this movie for the rest of their lives, hands down. If you're hedging about getting this movie, just go ahead and do it, even if you're an adult or teen. You'll like it, even love it.

My Haunted House (2013–2016)

All contrived, not real testimony

[1/10 · 31 May 2015]

If you're OK with knowing this show is fake, go ahead and give it a try. Myself, I thought the show was insultingly bad to the point that it seemed like I was watching a comedic parody of ghostly shows where real witnesses are telling (supposedly) real events. I was half-amused, half-angry at the stupidness of this show. So, a production company wants to make money on real-life witnesses but they figure, oh heck, let's just make it all up. That'll be good. Uh, no. It isn't. I can imagine that most kids and probably a lot of adults will think the interviews are real, that the events really happened. It doesn't matter that there is the "inspired by" message in the beginning. Clearly, the producers want you to believe the whole thing is real and they're making money doing it. That's what annoys me. I saw clear evidence of the spirit of my mother for three days after she died. I was young and knew then this stuff is real. At the time, I didn't think it was scary... I just filed it. Imagine that, though... some people actually hang around here after their body is dead. To sensationalize these kind of events in such dramatic fashion in a show that exaggerates it all is wrong, in my opinion. It is especially wrong to harp on ridiculously contrived scary scenarios that rarely, and I mean rarely, occur. To top it all off, they made it all up for shock value and ratings. Money, money, money

Paranormal Witness (2011– )

quite good

[8/10 · 8 March 2015]

As previous reviewer says, it's that they let the people who experienced the things talk. The dramatization parts are much better than similar series because of good actors. Special effects, however, are dumb but not as crummy as in other series. As an example, when the witness describes a misty black human figure, the producers show almost like a guy in a black demon suit with claw hands. Laughable, but the quality of the show overall makes up for it. The other thing that is a little annoying is the action/thriller music. This isn't a Bruce Willis film. More low-key creepier stuff I think would be more appropriate. These types of shows make me wonder, by the way, how the heck do they find these witnesses and their stories? Do they advertise in newspapers or something?

Sons of Liberty (2015)

History Channel

[1/10 · 27 January 2015]

Agree with previous reviewer about History Channel. It's so dumbed down and just plain bad that it is an offence and unwatchable. Watch a few BBC or even PBS history offerings, then go and watch something from History Channel. It's like a slap in the face to be suddenly back in 6th grade, and to imagine that the implication is our adult population in Canada and America just can't handle anything above that adolescent emotional and intellectual level. Guess adolescents are the target-audience, $$. The answer is, of course, just write off HC completely, and never watch anything from them again, sight unseen.

I was glad to see the review mentioned and know there are probably a million adults who are jumping up and down with pure annoyance that American history has been so poorly represented.

A Field in England (2013)

unusual, good

[8/10 · 29 December 2014]

This movie is like Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" transported back to England in the middle 1660s. The acting, costumes, speech and action are all very good, excellent. The whole effect is what one would imagine the English Civil War period would be like. The film is abstract, metaphorical and profound in its character interaction. I felt I "was there", transported back in time. The story-line is meant to be obtuse and may put a lot of people off. It's difficult to understand. However, the overall effect is very good. I recommend this film to anyone who is into knowing something about what men were like in the middle 1600s in England. I also recommend this film to anyone who enjoys something that is not usual.

Gettysburg (2011 TV Movie)

awesome

[10/10 · 7 December 2014]

Ignore the reviews about inaccurate historical details, this film is very, very good. The action *must* be like it really was. Watch it. What a joke the reviewers here say about inaccurate historical details... they're just armchair historians giving poor reviews because they're obsessed with details about who did what and when. Who cares about who did what and when? It was such a chaotic battle, no one will ever really know the truth of what happened and when.

The action in this film blew me away. My great great uncle fought there, and I'm sure he'd agree that this is the way it was. One of the best CW films I've ever seen, maybe THE best. It's the combat scenes that make it and that's what I, and most other guys, want to see realistically depicted.

This film is simply the best. Ignore the nit-picking reviews. Darn the wannabe historians who think they have a corner on what the Civil War was about... Jeez.

The Dead Files (2011– )

good show if you like paranormal stuff

[4 November 2011]

I tend to believe what psychics say in shows about spirits haunting places more than what so-called scientific evidence investigation shows come up with. The Dead Files has given me a real sense what a creepy haunting is like. Better than trying to make us believe in the equipment used on ghost investigation shows... the ultimate bogus device being The Ovilus. A prime example of a show with purely manipulated "evidence" and video edit faking is what you see on Ghost Adventures. It's in the same class as Most Haunted out of the UK.

As far as shows featuring psychic work, The Dead Files is better than average and has a more authentic feel than the above-mentioned physical evidence shows.

The Universe: Cosmology Quest (2004 TV Movie)

good advertisement

[10/10 · 12 January 2011]

I found this documentary to be one of the most interesting I've ever seen. If you have deep questions about what the core truth is about everything and believe that what we have discovered and observed about the universe can contribute to your understanding of this elusive core truth, then this is the documentary for you. It is also a human interest story in that the ideas presented apparently have not just raised the hackles of the established scientific community, but have aroused outright hostility. The previous review above on this documentary is a great advertisement and superb example of this hostility. It should be noted therefore that, based on this type of reaction, one should immediately take notice that there is something very important afoot with the confrontation between the steady-state and big-bang "camps": that the new theories are something to look at carefully since they have a ring of truth; and, that the hostility towards them indicates that within the established scientific community, particularly in the halls of education, to use a quote from Shakespeare, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark'.

The Story of English (1986– )

continuously entertaining

[10/10 · 7 December 2010]

I have watched this several times since its first broadcast, now nearly a quarter century ago! You can still find the VHS tapes in local libraries, but this is becoming a rare thing. I seem to recall that it is now released as DVDs, but I could be wrong. Hunt this one down, in whatever form. It's fascinating from its opening scenes right through to the end. For me, as a history buff, it ranks in the top ten best documentary series ever made, right up there with Ken Burns and Richard Attenborough. No joke.

A quick note: there is a 2002 similarly named documentary series called "The *Adventure* of English". It is also a great series, but not as comprehensive nor as entertaining as "The Story of English".

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to finally post comments about this series. An oldie but very goodie.