The Balcony

[Mortimus]

Last night I got bored, so I went to the late showing of the movie "Crank". Starring Jason Statham, who I believe should be playing the part of Mr. 47 in the "Hitman" movie that's being made, not Vin Diesel. Don't get me wrong I like Vin Diesel, I just think that Jason Statham would make a better choice for the role of 47. Or even better than him would be Vinnie Jones, who, if you don't know his name, because I didn't and had to look it up, played the part of 'The Sphinx' in the movie Gone in Sixty Seconds as well as other movies. Sorry had to share all that. Anyway back the the movie 'Crank'.

I went to the movie unsure if I was going to like it, was kinda let down with Transporter 2 with the crappy computer effects and the way over the top tricks he managed to do with his car in the film. To be honest I haven't laughed that good during an action movie in a long time. It definately had some good dialogue as well as a creative scene, which I'm not going to spoil. All I can say is give this movie a try and you may like it.

[BloodAngel]

"An American Haunting"

This is supposed to be the true story of the Bell Witch hauntings in Red River, TN.

Looking at the summary on the back, I think first "What Bell Witch? I've never heard of that before, and I live in God-Forsaken Georgia!" but I give it a shot anyway.

First, here's what I managed to figure out from Wiki:

The best known contemporary version of the Bell witch legend is that related by paranormal researcher Pat Fitzhugh, author of The Bell Witch: the Full Account.

According to Fitzhugh, the first manifestation of the haunting occurred in 1817, when John Bell encountered a strange animal in a cornfield on his property. The animal is described as having the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit, and is said to have "vanished" when shot at.

This incident was allegedly quickly followed by a series of strange "beating" and "gnawing" noises manifesting themselves around - and eventually inside - the Bell residence. After this the Bell children then allegedly began to report that their bedclothes were being regularly pulled off and tossed onto the floor by an "invisible force."

The family then reported hearing a faint voice that sounded like a "feeble old woman crying or singing hymns." Betsy Bell, the family's youngest daughter, was later violently assaulted, her hair pulled and her face slapped.

These events are reported by Fitzhugh as continuing for over a year before John Bell reported them to his neighbour, James Johnston, who is reported as also subsequently witnessing them, along with his wife. At this point the strange events experienced by the Bell family are said to have become well known in the Red River community, especially reports of a voice conversing loudly and clearly, singing, quoting from the Bible and accurately describing events taking place miles away.

The next major development in the story, as related by Fitzhugh, is the alleged involvement of future US President Andrew Jackson, who is said to have heard of the “disturbances” and decided to observe them in person, in 1819.

On approaching the Bell property, Jackson’s entourage is reported as having encountered an invisible presence that stopped his wagon in its tracks, until he acknowledged that the “witch” was responsible, upon which the wagon was able to proceed unhindered.

One of the men in Jackson’s entourage is alleged to have declared himself to be a “witch tamer” who intended to “kill the spirit.” The man is said to have begun screaming and contorting his body immediately after making these statements. Jackson and his entourage are reported to have left the Bell property by midday the following day, and Jackson, in response to his experiences with the Bells, is quoted as later saying "I’d rather fight the entire British Army than to deal with the Bell Witch."

Betsy Bell’s engagement to a neighbour named Joshua Gardner is reported as the next focus of the invisible entity’s displeasure, and it is alleged to have followed and taunted them whenever they were alone together, leading Betsy to break off the relationship on Easter Monday in 1821.

It is reported that the encounters with the “spirit” became less frequent, although the disembodied voice continued to communicate its dislike of Jack Bell – and its intention to kill him. Bell was by then suffering frequent seizures.

John Bell died on December 20, 1820. A small vial containing an unidentified liquid apparently ingested by him was found near the body. The legend relates that when the remaining contents were fed to the family cat, the animal died immediately – at which point the voice of the “spirit” was heard to say "I gave Ol' Jack a big dose of that last night, and that fixed him." Later, at Bell’s burial, the “spirit” is reported to have laughed and sung loudly and cheerfully.

Bell's death is reported to have signaled the end of the “haunting”, but before its departure the “spirit” is said to have told Lucy Bell that it would return in 1828. It is claimed that this visit did in fact come to pass - and that during a three-week visit the entity communicated mainly with John Bell Jr, predicting such events as the American Civil War, the Great Depression and both World Wars.

According to legend, after the entity last appeared in 1828, it said it would return 107 years hence, in 1935.

Fitzhugh's relation of the Bell Witch legend concludes with a statement to the effect that many people believe that the spirit returned in 1935, took up residence on the former Bell property, and remains there to the present day. He notes that "the faint sounds of people talking and children playing can sometimes be heard in the area," and asserts that it is "very difficult to take a good picture there."

And:

The Bell Witch is, according to legend, Kate Batts, an old neighbor of Bell's who was involved with him in a dispute of the sale of a slave or piece of land (story variations tend to differ slightly). [citation needed] She swore on her deathbed to get even and, after she died, the events upon which the legend is based began. Rumor has it that the spirit once referred to itself as "Kate Batts' witch." There is no documentation of this, however. The stories of a piece-of-land or slave-sale conflict involving John Bell do have documentation, although in neither case is there any connection to Kate Batts.

The "witch" reportedly manifested herself as an invisible presence at first, gnawing on the bedposts, scratching at the walls, and jerking the blankets off of sleeping family members and guests. Two of those guests were one of Bell's closest friends and his wife. Later, those in the house heard noises similar to that of someone strangling or choking, lips smacking, and loud gulping. They then heard faint whispering, eventually rising in volume to a speaking voice. There were also reports of slapping or pinching sensations out of thin air. According to the book Our Family Trouble - Story of the Bell Witch, guests at the Bell farm reported being verbally attacked by a strange voice, which would also divulge the most secret events of their lives to onlookers

Bell's wife later said that, when she became gravely ill with pleurisy, she would hear a voice singing hymns and any requested song to her. She also said that once, when she was especially ill and others feared for her life, she heard the voice pleading with her to eat something, even offering to get her some walnuts from the nearby forest. According to the legend, a shower of walnuts appeared in her hands moments later.

The Bell Witch is said to have stopped Betsy from marrying a neighbor boy named Joshua Gardner, but for reasons unknown, allowed her to marry her schoolteacher Richard Powell.

When John Bell died on December 20, 1820, the Bell Witch was rumored to have replaced his medicine with poison. When this 'medicine' was tested on a house cat, the animal went into convulsions and died. Locals reported hearing a voice saying "I've got Old Jack this time" and "He'll never get up from that bed again" at Bell's funeral.

According to local legend, the Bell Witch still resides in Adams, Tennessee and haunts the area around the property once owned by the Bells. A cave in the area has since become known as the Bell Witch Cave. Guided tours are available to the public at certain times of the year.

Okay. Good to know. Still no idea why I've never heard of it.

I put the movie in, and surprise! It's only an hour and a half. I'm serious! 1:30:(a couple of seconds)!

The cast is Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek as far as reconizable and "bankable" actors go. Sissy, I think it's time for you to stop doing horror films. The other two on the front of the box are James D'Arcy and Rachel Hurd-Wood (She plays Betsy Bell, and honestly, I thought it was Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, Mean Girls) for the first little bit.)

It's an okay film, I suppose. The ending is a shock, but once the shock wears off, it's a case of "Wait... THAT'S it?! That's all?! She was just suffering an EXTREME case of Post-Truamatic Stress Syndrome?!"

And don't even bother with the commentary. I've sat through some lousy commentaries (The one for Sleeping Beauty leaps to mind), but never have I been tempted to turn it off! And it was a video commentary! All I can say is, if you're going to do a commentary, do a f*cking commentary! Don't drag us along to show us how you marketed the film! We don't care! Hellboy did a video one, and did a great job with it!

And how long is it? Oh, sixteen minutes, twelve seconds!

I liked the commentary on Elizabethtown better than this! Oh, wait, Liztown had NO commentary whatsoever! And it was still better than this!

The film itself could have been better if they had another half hour, I think.

Quite frankly, don't rent this unless you can get it for free. Wait for cable.