Supernatural - The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray)

Written by Pirata Hermosa

When we last left our heroes Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) in Season Four, Sam had just slain the demon Lilith, inadvertently breaking the final seal which released Lucifer and started the Apocalypse. In season five, the brothers try to find a way to save the world by either killing the Devil or sending him back to Hell.

But finding a way to vanquish Lucifer isn’t an easy task, and compounding things even more is that the angels whom you would expect to fight on their side are actually looking forward to the Apocalypse and settling things once and for all. This puts Sam and Dean in the middle of the fight between good and evil.
While there are some direct confrontations with Lucifer, the only thing that keeps the duo alive is the fact that Sam is destined to be Lucifer’s vessel on Earth and Dean is destined to be the vessel for the Archangel Michael. And even as powerful as the two beings are, they cannot possess a vessel without that vessel's permission.

With the help of the angel Castiel (Misha Collins) who turns his back on his brethren to help the two brothers, the three find themselves on a journey to find God, defeat each of the four horsemen, and risk their very souls.

There are still several self-contained episodes during season five like “Changing Channels”, where Sam and Dean find themselves trapped inside a television world by the Trickster and must find a way to escape. It’s one of the better episodes, even though we’ve seen this similar idea in films and other television shows. But it’s the main arc of the show that has become more significant.

Every episode is linked somehow to the Apocalypse. Whether it’s an episode focusing on the loss of hope as God is nowhere to be found, walking into a Supernatural convention based on their story, or running into gods of other religions, it all comes together.

The most satisfying stories deal with the four horsemen. Each of the horsemen has its own storyline and is blended into the story to fit a modern-day representation instead of a straight biblical reference.

The video is in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ration of 1.78:1 and is paired with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. The video can be equated to movie quality in its sharpness and clarity. But as with most television shows it does not use the full capability regarding its audio.There are four Blu-ray discs included in the set containing all 22 episodes. The fourth disc holds all of the Special features.

“Gag Reel” is a little better than most gag reels as it’s not all about somebody flubbing a line or just not being able to control their laughter. There’s a number of prop issues, adlibs, and general silliness that makes it better than average.

“Ghostfacers” contains 10 episodes of the web series based on characters that Sam and Dean ran into during an episode. It’s a spoof on those TV shows like Ghost Hunters where a team goes into supposed haunted building to see if they can actually find a real ghost. Entertaining, but with each webisode only being a few minutes each it doesn’t even add up to one Supernatural episode.

“Supernatural: Apocalypse Survival Guide” is an interactive walk through Bobby’s house. You can look at books and videotapes, with each item linking you to a specific feature. The videotapes are basic VHS tapes and actually look like you are watching an old tape. The features are interesting as several of them deal with historical bible references and the overall theology of the show, while others give you a behind-the-scenes look.

A lot of work and research has gone into the making of the show. For all of its dark themes and biblical references, it’s very entertaining filled with just the right amounts of suspense, action, and comic relief that make it one of the best horror shows on television.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

Written by Musgo Del Jefe

The bar for fantasy films aimed at a child audience has been set almost unattainably high by the Harry Potter films and The Chronicles of Narnia films. The Spiderwick Chronicles positioned itself to compete in that rarified air but in its execution it falls woefully short.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, like Narnia and Potter, pull from a series of young adult books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Since the Spring of 2003, there have been five books published in the main series and two ancillary titles. Not unlike the Lemony Snicket books, the producers at Nickelodeon Films needed to combine more than one book to fill a feature length film. Instead of thinking forward to future films and further time for character development, they decided to adapt all five into one film (leaving out a majority of the plot of Book Four).

As an arm of Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Films has a tradition of developing their own TV programs to film (Rugrats, Jimmy Neutron and SpongeBob SquarePants) and similar live-action family fare (Good Burger, Nacho Libre and Lemony Snicket). This fantasy film falls right into line with their previous releases.

The movie opens in a promising way. Single mother, Mrs. Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) arrives at a "haunted house" (Spiderwick Estate) with her three children - older sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger who was brilliant in In America) and twins, Jared and Simon (both played by Freddie Highmore who played Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Simon and Jared are polar opposite characters and young actor, Highmore, pulls this off pretty well through hair and posture differences and slight voice inflections. Simon is the peacekeeper of the family, avoiding conflict at all costs. Jared is our main character, our storyteller and mischievous. In the opening scenes, there are weird happenings and sounds surrounding the house. Whether it's disappearing trinkets of the family or noises in the bushes, these Amityville Horror type of touches set a good creepy mood. Jared is blamed for most of the weirdness, setting the tone for his character.

Jared's discovery of Spiderwick's Field Guide book sets in motion the thin plot of the film. He meets a brownie named Thimbletack (Martin Short) who becomes our exposition to the world of faeries and the plot for the remaining 70 minutes of the film. Thimbletack tells Jared that an ogre named Mulgarth (Nick Nolte) wants to steal the Field Guide to learn its lessons and take over the faeries. When Simon is accidentally mistaken for Jared and kidnapped by Mulgarth's goblins, we meet Hogsquel (Seth Rogen) a comic relief that likes to eat birds and figures prominently in the end of the story.

The adventures leading to the resolution of the story feel episodic and rushed. There are some great special effects that are not given time to live and breathe as they are in Lord Of The Rings or Chronicles Of Narnia. There seems to be a rush to keep the plot regarding the Field Guide moving forward instead of getting to know this universe of faeries or more about the Grace family.

The plot elements hint at a much larger and better story. Most fantasy aimed at young adults works well when it clearly works without its fantasy elements. The Harry Potter books and films would be interesting stories if Hogwarts was just a normal school instead of one full of magic. The addition of the fantasy elements allows the director to tell the story of the "real" world in the context of the magical world. The Grace family has gone through a divorce. Jared's deep denial of this and wish for his father to return has resonance in many of the magical plot lines. Mulgarth is a bad ogre and bad father figure. In fact, little is played of the fact that Mulgarth disguises himself as Mr. Grace but when he is discovered, Jared must stab him in the stomach.

We meet their elderly Aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright), who herself was abandoned by her father, Arthur Spiderwick (David Starthairn). Her pain should be an inspiration to the Grace children but there is not that connection. There isn't the moment of healing or hope from her to the kids. In the end, Lucinda and Arthur will find a timeless reuniting that is really more metaphorical and real. Is this symbolic of a reuniting with Mr. Grace and the kids or is their abandonment illustrated more by the stabbing of the "father" and his turning into a snake?

This movie would've been better served to break the five books into two or three films. The actors do a wonderful job and I would love to see more of the special effects. The monsters are interesting but you have to wait for the Special Features on the DVD to really appreciate them. The style is here but not the substance. This will not fall into the pantheon of the great fantasy films being released in the past ten years.

The DVD is loaded with extras and special features. "The Field Guide", "It's A Spiderwick World", "Making Spiderwick" and "Deleted Scenes" are all entertaining and hint even more at the larger world that Nickelodeon thought they were creating. It's a shame to let such timeless possibilities go to waste. There's always next time, Nick.

STARDUST

Written by Puño Estupendo

Being a comic book reader, I'm always curious about any film adaptation of the medium. Most seem to be mediocre at best but I'm usually compelled to see them nonetheless. Sometimes this curiosity can lead me to a bad place. It's quite a kick to the shins seeing a character that you're really fond of on the printed page be watered down or neutered into something that only vaguely resembles the source material. Granted, this story was also in novel form (which was also written by Gaiman) but all of my preconceptions were based on the comic book version, which is very stylish and pleasantly hearkens back to old school fairy tales and myths. Matthew Vaughn's directorial version of this handles itself pretty well.

Stardust tells a tale that begins with a young man that dares to go through to the other side of a wall that borders his village. An old guard is posted by the one place that has a break in it and he reminds him that it is forbidden to cross into the land that lies on the other side. Through a little moment of humorous trickery, Dunstan Thorn gets past the old guard and discovers a village, very unlike his own, on the other side. Carnival like and quite literally magical, Dunstan sees a beautiful girl and is immediately smitten. This quickly leads to a commencement of that passion and then Dunstan must return to his home, leaving his new love behind. Cut to months later and a newborn baby is presented to Dunstan, his son Tristan.

What follows is a tale of Tristan off on a journey that goes in his father's footsteps for reasons of the heart. As clichéd as it sounds, a fairy tale of wonderful proportions plays itself out. Stardust takes the viewer on a welcomed journey of the fantastic and all under the umbrella of classic storytelling. Evil witches, misplaced love, magic, and even a little bit of a coming of age. It's a tale of escapism and is crafted very solidly from Gaiman's well-devised source material.

Though the look of the film could have benefited from more inspired presentation, Matthew Vaughn still delivers a story well worth watching. Everything could have visually been more fitting were it in more of a Terry Gilliam-type fashion, but it still comes through because of the solid plot line. Totally ignore the Robert DeNiro plugs from all of the press; he's miscast and has one of the most poorly delivered takes on a character that I've seen in quite a while, but the film is still solid despite these weaknesses.

You can even watch this one with the kids without having to roll your eyes too much. It'll keep you more than hooked and you'll be glad you followed through with Tristan's journey.