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Reviews
Ghost Adventures: House Calls (2022)
Whether You Believe It Or Not, I'm Certain They Do
Despite being a bit of a skeptic, Ghost Adventures has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Being a Vegas native myself, these local (and now international) celebrities peaked my interest, and I have seen every episode to date of each of their series and subseries, such as Ghost Adventures: House Calls.
Though I've made many attempts at watching other paranormal shows, this is the only one I have been able to sit through more than one or two episodes of. The reason for this is simple; they actually seem genuine. Based on the interviews I've seen, as well as from person conversations with friends who were at one time employed at the Haunted Museum, I confidently believe Zak Bagans and his team have made no efforts to deceive the public and truly believe in everything they capture.
To me, this means that, whether I believe the experiences they are having are paranormal or not, I can at least rely on the comforting knowledge that they believe it is paranormal, and are thus not lying to me as an audience member. This is what sets them apart from other paranormal/ghost investigation shows, and remains true for House Calls.
I felt this sub-series in particular was approached with an immense amount of care and compassion when it came to dealing with distraught individuals seeking help. While I do hope they consider mental illness, particularly any form of psychosis, as a possible factor before selecting these individuals, I truly believe they are attempting to aid people in the way they feel is best for them. Their intentions are in all the right places, and it shows in the way they approach their interviews, investigations, and analyses.
Pinokkio. Pravdivaya istoriya (2021)
Horrible, but Hysterical
The plot and dialogue is nonsensical. The constable and his goons shuffle around during the film looking for... something suspicious? Apparently? And the weird forced father-son dynamic between Pinocchio and Tibalt was bizarre. It looked like they spent their entire budget on making Bella's hair flow like she was underwater and a singular shot of a water fountain.
The timing, framing, reactions were all off, and the voice acting was jarring at worst and laughable at best. Feels like a giant money laundering scheme.
High Guardian Spice (2021)
Lazy and Disappointing
I'm a transgender man who's been on my transition journey for years now. I'd never seen a trans male character before in any show and, though I'd heard bad things about HGS, I wanted to give it a go for that reason. All I can say is, it was a waste of time that would've been more fun had it simply been a drinking game.
It's a tacky, lazy approach filled with countless embarrassing mistakes, continuity errors, and hamfisted attempts at representation. The only thing it had going for it initially was the diversity it boasted, and the product did not even come close to what was expected. Creator, Raye Rodriguez, recently took to twitter to defend this show by blaming budget issues and time. But as someone who has seen countless award-winning films and productions made in less time for under $200, I find this very difficult to believe. The time, resources, and drive were there - the talent simply was not.