Supernatural Season 4

I just finished Supernatural season four, which features the biggest story arc so far.  At the beginning of the season we are introduced to angels and the entire season focuses on the brothers trying to stop Lilith (who we met last season).  I really enjoy episodes that stand alone (or at least mostly stand alone with some reference to the ongoing arc), so this season wasn't my favourite.  But there is a tribute to the great black-and-white monster movies, a cameo from the Ghostfacers, an episode where Dean is scared of EVERYTHING (including a very small, very cute doggie with a bow - hilarious!), and a life-sized talking teddy bear with a death wish.  And there's this:

If that's not enough to make you want to watch this season, I don't know what is, and frankly, I don't know what's wrong with you. :-)

You can get Supernatural Season 4 at Mighty Ape on special right now, saving $47.  Click on the picture!

PS:  The picture for the cover of this season does not make Sam look good, am I right?  Dean, however, looks as awesome as always!

Edit:  I notice that the video isn't working, but that you can click through to youtube to watch it.  I suggest you do, it's hilarious, and this video was the only one I could find that's just as it is in the episode - most have added clips and things.

Disney Family Dvd Marathon

This week I've been sitting crocheting (this is why I haven't posted much in the last few weeks - nothing to post about, I'm just sitting, crafting, not finishing things), and to keep myself from going completely insane, I've been watching dvd after dvd.  It's a great opportunity to feel less guilty about watching some of my favourite movies for the first time in ages.

Yesterday I watched Swiss Family Robinson:

Stranded on a deserted island after an encounter with pirates, a storm, and then a rocky reef, the Robinson family settle in for what they think might be a long stay.  They build a fantastic tree house (it's worth watching the movie just for this!) with indoor plumbing and a cool box; tame animals as varied as zebras, elephants, ostriches, and even catch a tiger; and wonder what to do next.

So the two eldest boys set off in one of the boats salvaged from the shipwreck to circumnavigate the island.  On this journey they meet the pirates again, who have captured an admiral and a cabin boy to hold for ransom.  Saving the cabin boy enrages the pirates so much that they seek out the family to get the boy back and restore their honour.  However, they don't count on the initiative and resourcefulness of the family!

On Monday I watched Blackbeard's Ghost:

Blackbeard, the well-known and, in his time, universally-feared pirate is revered in the seaside university town of Godolphin and an Inn furnished with artefacts from his life, is run by his elderly descendents.  Steve, the new coach of the floundering Godolphin Track Team, arrives at the Inn to find they are holding a fund raising event to aid in the payment of their mortgage.  If this mortgage is not paid in time, the land will be sold to the local crooks who intend to open a casino there (based on an ambiguity as to which jurisdiction the land falls under).

Hoping to impress the head of the conservation committee, Steve buys an expensive bedwarmer, and taking it to his room promtly sits on it and breaks it.  Within the handle he finds the spell book of one of Blackbeard's wives, and brings Blackbeard back to life.  What follows is a very funny story about Steve's efforts to get Blackbeard off his back, save the Inn, and get the girl.  If you need more convincing, there's a great scene where Steve shoots the gangsters with his finger *pew pew*...  and it works!

Today I'm going to watch The Absent-Minded Professor:

Professor Brainard is brilliant, but completely unconnected to the real world.  The film opens with him missing his own wedding because he is so caught up in his scientific experiments, for what is obviously not the first time.  However, he has found something amazing - a substance that breaks the law of conservation of energy, which can be demonstrated by showing that a ball of the substance will bounce higher on its second bounce than its first.  The Professor uses what he calls Flubber to make his university's basketball team fly through the air, his car fly (into government controlled airspace, no less), and finally to win back the heart of his fiance.  It's a really sweet funny movie.

They don't make movies like this any more - ones that can appeal to children and parents because they are funny, full of action, and have great stories and characters.  The only place you do sometimes see this these days is in animated movies like Shrek, and some anime.  They don't talk down to children, but are still appropriate for them.  They're not afraid to have some slapstick and groan-worthy moments; they're silly.  "I like corny, I'm looking for corny in my life".  Do you have any favourite movies from when you were a kid that you still love watching?  Let me know!

Supernatural Re/Watch

Before the tv blew up last night (and by blew up, I mean it went PING and now we only get certain colours - we could see Hilary Barry's suit jacket but not her face on the news last night!), I had been watching Supernatural season one on dvd.  I have only one disk left, so I'll just watch the remaining episodes on the computer.  When Supernatural first came out, I liked it, but I'm not really good with scary stuff, so I only lasted a few episodes, and from then I've watched an episode here and there.  So this rewatch includes a lot of episodes that I've not seen.

I had hoped that in six years the stories and effects of the first season would have dated to become less scary, like old horror movies have (Boris Karloff is cool...  but so far, I've not found him scary).  However, I found that this wasn't the case, and was glad I was watching them in the daylight.  My favourite episode so far (remember I have three or four episodes left on the last disk) is also the one I found most scary - Bloody Mary.  After I watched that episode I avoided mirrors until Mum got home, which was annoying as I was getting ready to go out to dinner.  I don't think I have a least favourite episode because they all have positive aspects that outweigh any negative, and even episodes that are a little slow moving are enhanced by a focus on the brotherly relationship.

I was impressed by the lack of special effects, or that they blended in so well (especially when I looked up the season synopsis and found that the shapeshifting in Skin used makeup and prosthetics, not a computer), and for me, nothing is creepier than not seeing the bad guy coming.  Well, that and scary children.  Nothing scarier in this world than scary children (see the episode Provenance).  Lastly, I really liked that part way through the series they added a case that ended up not being supernatural at all.  I think it was refreshing, almost like I was building up a tolerance to the scary, and they made it real again.

 

If I've inspired you to buy Supernatural on DVD, click on the picture to buy it from Mighty Ape.  If you do, I get credit so I can buy more pretty things to tell you about!

World's Greenest Homes

World's Greenest Homes is a Canadian television show that somehow made it's way into the dvd collection at the library and from there onto our holds list.  The collection that the library has is a 6-disk, two-series, 39-episode mega set, which we only had a month to watch.  So we've taken it out of the library again to finish it.

This series is pretty cool; the host goes to different houses around the world (mainly in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia) and tours them focusing on the elements of the house that make it green.  Energy and water efficiency, reuse or recycle of building materials, and the use of chemical-free building materials, along with the architectural innovation required to make all of these elements work together to form a family home, are the challenges the home-owners have taken on.

We used to watch Grand Designs avidly, but have grown a bit sick of the condescending manner of the host, constantly going on and on about how a plan cannot work, until suddenly he is surprised by the finished product (it's even put me off watching Grand Designs: Australia).  There's none of that attitude here, especially as the houses are already built.  The host is constantly in awe of the innovation and creativity the home-owners have shown, and I imagine him making mental notes of things he'd love to include in his own home!  But there's no sensationalism or hype either, it's just a tasteful and respectful show, that is so rare these days.

Definitely worth a look if you're interested in architecture, environmentalism, or simply love seeing how other people live.  Also, there's an episode about the A-frame wooden house in the protected woods in England that the man who collects peat built, that, if you've watched Grand Designs forever, you'd remember (it's my favourite episode!).  It's a few years on from the Grand Designs episode, and even more recent than the Grand Designs: Revisited episode too.

If you want to buy World's Greenest Homes, click on the picture to buy it from Mighty Ape.  If you do, I get credit so I can buy more pretty things to tell you about!