Paranormal activity at the Cecil Hotel: Why does negative energy attach itself to certain properties?

In the paranormal world I believe that certain grounds are sacred particularly those where tragic events took place.  The plantations in the Antebellum South, Auschwitz, Indian burial grounds and Ground Zero are all hollowed grounds not necessarily haunted but it wouldn't be a good idea to desecrate them.

When sacred grounds are desecrated strange phenomena  has been recorded by ghost hunters, evidenced by EVP (electronic voice perception) orb photos believed to be the ghosts of restless human spirits with unfinished business.  On the more sinister side it is believed to be demonic entities with an agenda to cause pain and suffering.  

Some places are magnets for negative energy examples include: The Middle East particularly because conflicts in this part of the world stretch back for centuries and are on going.  Abortion clinics are magnets for negative energy due to the guilt, shame and anger associated with these buildings.  Crime scenes and households where evil is allowed to incubate.  Households may become haunted due to people dabbling in the black arts specifically Ouija Boards so when it comes to the Cecil Hotel I prefer to look at it as a magnet for negative activity due to it's history of homicides.  Cecil made headlines on February 19th 2013 when the body of Elisa Lam a 21 year-old-Canadian student was found inside one of the water supply tanks.

Hotel guests had complained of low water pressure and water that "tasted funny."  Authorities later ruled Lam's death as an accidental drowning.  Surveillance video taken from inside the elevator showed Lam acting strangely.  Today the Cecil Hotel remains open and rebranded as "Stay on Main."  Let me set the record straight I believe in God and I believe that evil exists.  I have issues with most ghost hunting evidence.  It can easily be faked and a lot of the theories fall into pseudo science.  Since we can't capture a ghost and interview it no one can truly become an expert on the paranormal.  Upon my investigation of the Cecil hotel I can deduce that it is indeed creepy and may be haunted.  I can't rule out the possibility of foul play.

I believe a guest or someone on the hotel's staff murdered Elisa Lam.  In the surveillance video Lam is seen conversing with someone off camera.  I believe it was the killer.  Somehow she was lured back to his room and drowned in a bathtub then at night----- under cover of darkness he dragged Lam's body up the fire escape and dumped her in the water tank.  This is just my opinion but someone associated with the hotel has a secret.


Check out the video I made about the history of the Cecil Hotel and tell me if you think its haunted.

The Wolverine 2013 Review B+

The Wolverine is the follow up to the disappointing X-Men Origins movie.  This film takes the elements we like about the character and takes it to the next level.  What we get is a Yukuza action flick which isn't a bad thing.  The action sequences are marvelously staged and the cinematography is above average.  Director James Mangold is at the helm of this sequel spin off.  Mangold's previous work includes 3:10 to Yuma and the forgettable Knight and Day with Tom Cruse and Cameraon Diaz. 

We first see the Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman locked in a cage for some unspecified reason just before the H-Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.  Wolverine saves a guard from the nuclear blast by using his bodies healing ability to absorb the flames.  Years later Wolverine is living like a nomad presumably still devastated by the events of X-Men 3.  In the previous film  he is forced to kill Jean Grey aka The Phoenix and becomes so traumatized by this event he chooses to live off the grid.  Conflict happens when his only friend a burly grizzly bear is severely injured by a gang of hunters and Wolverine is forced to end the bears suffering. 

Seeking retribution Wolverine tracks down the hunters and lets them now how unhappy he is about the situation.  I had a problem with this scene because it is a bit of a stretch how he randomly runs into a character named Yukio played by Rila Fukushima.  She is a deadly assassin with precognitive mutant abilities.  I would assume she used her psychic abilities to find Wolverine at that particular bar because it isn't explicitly stated in the movie.

 Yukio convinces Logan to fly to Japan to meet an old friend who we find out is the guard he saved from nuclear blast years ago and is currently on his death bed.  He summoned Wolverine because he wants his mutant healing ability.  Logan is unwilling to help him because he believes death is a natural end.

From this point on the story is about everyone trying to rob the Wolverine of his mutant powers.  I get the feeling that this film largely caters to the Asian film market with it subtle and not so subtle nods to Asian culture.  The movie is very much a Yukuza action flick where we see Wolverines use his claws as deadly weapons, slicing and dicing foes explicitly riding the line between PG-13 and R Rated violence.  I enjoyed the creative action sequences particularly one taking place on top of a 300mph bullet train.  The set design is phenomenal and the cinematography is exceptional giving the movie a particularly slick look.  

The pacing doesn't seem to slow down and stays centrally focused on the Wolverine character.  I would have liked some acknowledgment of the bigger events going on in this expanding marvel universe.  I wanted to know what The Avengers and Shield were currently up to.   My only complaint is that the computer graphics are quite obvious in certain scenes and particularly unnecessary in others.  There is one where  Jackman as Wolverine is in the woods walking along side a computer generated bear.  I don't know if it was an insurance issues but the filmmakers could have had a real bear for that shot.  I have to acknowledge the rigorous training regiment Jackman must have endeared to look the way he does on camera.  According to fit magazines Jackman is taking training advice from former professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson. 

The Wolverine is quality entertainment and a recommended travel movie.  Stay for the credits as they lead into the next instalment Bryan Singer's Days of Future Past.  See The Wolverine in theaters B+! 

Star Trek Into Darkness review 2013 grade A

Star Trek is about working together to advance society.  In the Abrams era of Star Trek most of this tone has been lost in favor of a more action oriented story telling.  Its brisk it's kinetic its a fresh cote paint of on an old car.  So when I get into my review of Into Darkness I'm focusing on whats under the hood.

The story pulls us in with an Indiana Jones style action sequence where Kirk and Dr McCoy are running from a prehistoric extraterrestrial culture.  The dialogue is snappy and traded via banter in the middle of an action scene.  It seems like these new films are obsessed with entertaining you.   I have no problem with that but I do have an issue with invoking 9/11 like imagery to give the movie modern gravitas.

My issue with 9/11 imagery is that it is beginning to become cliche' with themes of smoking buildings, hunting terrorists, quick retribution this cheapens the events of  that horrible day by using it as an entertainment context.  The antagonist is Khan played marvelously by Benedict Cumberbatch.  Khan is a genetically engineered super human fighting for his people.  After blowing up a Star Fleet building the Enterprise is dispatched to terminate him without trial.  Raising moral and ethical conflicts among the crew.  After Kirk makes the choice not to kill Khan we later learn of a bigger Star Fleet conspiracy.

I love the action and where the story seems to be going and if this is any indication of what the new Star Wars sequels could be then this is a galaxy I want to continue to explore.

Movie grade A.

Man of Steel 2013 review B-

Superman has always been a difficult comic book character to write for because he is impervious to everything.  To hurt Kal-El (Superman's kryptonian name) you needed a plot device like Kryptonite a rock that could kill him or a threat to someone he loves to heighten the drama.  When I first heard Zach Snider was directing the next cinematic outing for Kal-El I was ecstatic I suffered through allot of lackluster films. 

Snider is a director who seemingly came from nowhere. His wife is a famous producer which helps in the business but he really is a good director.   He takes on risky projects and makes them incredibly entertaining and profitable at the box office.  This is the director of Watchmen a graphic novel adaptation and 300 another graphic novel written by Frank Miller.   He doesn't necessarily have a visual style but all of his films feature some type of action element with an incredible amount of computer graphics.  

So his role as director of Man of Steel had me pumped and reminiscing on the previous films.  Anyone remember Superman 3 co-starring Richard Pryor where we literally see a drunken superman?  Followed up by that god-awful Supergirl movie and my least favorite Quest for Peace with Nuclear Man.  Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer was a missed opportunity to take the story in new direction.  Instead what we got was a continuation of the Donnor films with a hint of dead beat father thrown into the mix. 

In Man of Steel we get an origin story focusing on Clark Kent learning who he really is and where he came from.  He learns to accept his role as the symbol for hope.  Its interesting that he doesn't actually call himself Superman in the movie.  I loved this because what we get is more like a Superman Begins movie.  The script was penned by Michigan native David Goyer who gives us a story that explores the pivotal moment where Clark Kent accepts his unique abilities and assumes his role as protector of humanity.

Krypton plays a significant role in Man of Steel, heavily inspired by the matrix.  Apparently on this world people are bio engineered to fulfil a specific societal need.  Kal-El's birth is significant because he was naturally conceived and given the choice to grow up and be who he wants to be.   The enivitable destruction of Krypton is realized through cutting edge computer graphics however the movie ventures into sensory overload because most of the violence has little consequence. 

I have a problem with endless punching between two super powered beings with no indication of fatigue.  The antagonist Zod is a good villain but I would have preferred someone who hasn't been in a Superman movie before… Lobo… Darkseid maybe?  This movie grade is a solid B- because the final battle reminded me of that battle from Matrix revolutions which was way too long.  And I did not like Superman’s lack of concern for human life.  Why didn’t he take the battle to the moon away from populated cities? 

 It is good to see the S on the big screen again but I think they should find a way to show us Superman’s physical limitations to make the conflict mean something.

White House Down 2013 review C+

What started out as a well thought out political thriller ended on a low note for me.  Roland Emmerich's latest foray into the destruction genre has yielded a pretty standard piece of entertainment.  " White House Down" was viewed by MC at North Hollywood's Laemmle theater a nice venue for movies, small intimate definitely getting the MC stamp of approval.  Unfortunately the same cannot be given to this movie's main character Carl played by Channing Tatum.        

 He is the typical working parent unable to maintain a good relationship with his daughter.  Carl is interviewing for a positing in the President's secret service detail he is denied because he has a record of not finishing anything he starts.  This theme is the set up to why Carl is committed to getting his daughter back at the end.

The White House is taken over by a ruthless gang of mercenaries eager to start World War 3.  The movie reveals the President's hired help to be a bunch of bad shots and woefully unprepared for a surprise attack.  I doubt such disorganization would exist in reality but it fun to see how such an attack would play out.  It was fun seeing what all the hi-tech White House gadgetry can do.  Jamie Foxx plays a nerdy President derivative of our current Commander and Chief President Obama.

 He does a good job without getting overly political and staying inspirational but I don't think I'm going to vote Jamie Foxx for President anytime soon because he's best when he's laying flawed and broken characters not politicians.   I 'm giving this movie a C+ because of the annoying daughter Tatum is figuratively going through hell trying to rescue.  I found her antics insufferable along with the armature visual effects work dollar show this movie.