Twilight the Movie, SPN 5:01

[oselle]

Someone at work loaned me the DVD of Twilight. It's 11:30 pm and I've basically been trying to watch it since I got home at 7:30. I thought it would be fun, brainless diversion for a rainy night but it can't even accomplish that much because it's so stupefyingly dull. I keep turning it off to go do more interesting things. Like load my dishwasher. I'm thinking that maybe, maybe this is actually some kind of brilliant, subversive satire. One day we'll find out that Stephenie Meyer is not a Mormon hausfrau who built a multi-million-dollar franchise off a single wet dream but is, in fact, a chain-smoking performance artist from Berlin who cooked up this whole scheme as a way to prove to her fellow bongo-playing, tiny-moustachioed bohemians that the rubes will buy anything if it's packaged the right way.

RE: SPN 5:01.

I'm glad that in the last 30 seconds Dean finally got around to saying to Sam what he (and Bobby and Anna and Castiel and anyone else I can think of) should have said to Sam all last season: You chose a demon over your own brother and you can't be trusted. PERIOD. I'd get excited about this development but I'm sure that before the Thanksgiving hiatus rolls around, at least one person, prophet or angel will give Dean his usual humiliating kick to the curb and lecture him about forgiveness and family and blabbity-blah-blah-blah and Dean will be all contrite and self-castigating and there'll be some teary roadside blabbity-blah and BLAH. Enjoy those balls while you got 'em, Deano, 'cause you'll be handing them over soon enough.

Speaking of humiliation, BOY am I glad I've stuck to my guns and never attended a con because their depiction of the "typical" fan was, shall we say, less than flattering and they've got to be getting that impression from somewhere. I want that "fourth wall" to go back up RIGHT THE FUCK NOW because they are getting way, way too off on wanking the fandom. It unsuspends the disbelief, it's not funny, it's clearly just a running inside gag for the show's writers and cast, and it makes me fucking squirm. It embarasses me. I have many, many opportunities to be humiliated by my life, I don't need to have it piled on by a goddamn TV show. YMMV LOL.

I liked the new Meg (and that actress was maddeningly familiar). She had great presence but she lasted all of two minutes so buh-bye to that.

The opening was pure Annie Wilkes cockadoodie WTFness with Sam and Dean suddenly being raptured up to an airplane that apparently crashes (?) but not before our boys get whisked off yet again to some car that is not the Impala as repeated lingering close-ups of the sleek digital dashboard more than effectively demonstrated.

I liked the way they worked Lucifer's vessel into the story as someone who's been a victim of horrible tragedy and therefore is vulnerable to such temptation. I especially liked Lucifer telling him that contrary to the stories, he always tells the truth, because I think there is something horribly apt about that. In SPNverse at least, Lucifer is certainly coming across as far more honest and honorable than any other divine entity we've yet encountered.

Since it's been canon for four years that any old guttersnipe of a demon can possess whomever he likes whenever he likes, I guess I have to fanwank that angels, even the most powerful, need permission from their vessels because they're better than demons, not less potent.

Castiel continues to kick ass and at this point he's stealing the show from his co-stars. I notice that Misha now has "above the fold" co-billing with the Js, as I'm sure you all noticed as well.

The highlight of the premiere, however, was the nape of Jensen's neck. It struck me as especially pretty last night and I look forward to seeing more of it this season.

Comments

[muffaletta.livejournal.com]

I always head over here to read your take on the episodes; it helps calm my nerves after reading some of the madness on other journals/boards. (Yeah, quite a bit of "Dean is a hypocritical, self absorbed prick" going around.) Sigh. It's simply amazing. Some fans just don't appreciate realistic character development: they just want the brothers to hurry, kiss and make up, and let everything go back to how it was in S1.

Total word on your entire post, btw. I LOVED that Dean finally told Sam how he felt and why. No high drama, just a quiet, tired resignation. I can actually understand Dean not finding it in himself to do it last season. There was the hell thing. And then there was the hell thing. And, oh yes, the hell thing that nobody seemed to give a crap about. Plus, Dean is so damn good at denial when it comes to Sam: I dont' think he could admit the magnitude of the problem even to himself. And I gotta admire all those passive agressive folks out there who were full of great "advice" about what Dean should do but couldn't open their mouths even once to talk to Sam themselves *looks pointedly at Bobby in particular* (Yeah, I know he's awesome and all that but the dude makes mistakes too.)

I also worry that we're going to see another "smack Dean back into toeing the company line" scenario. Why not? Zach and Bobby have already done it. I wonder who Kripke will pick this time around. Maybe Lucifer? That would be ironic: Dean being straightened out by the Lord of Hell.

Still, there was some good stuff. Cas being all badass, Zach's smarmy sociopathy, Chuck being Chuck, etc. And, of course, Jensen's neck. And his face. And his chest. And....

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I have this whole theory that the "Dean's a prick" movement is nothing but a backlash against his looks and that castigating Dean is a way of proving yourself a very serious, critically minded viewer and not some swoony fangirl. I don't know about any other sites, but at TWoP, it became painfully clear to me that any defense of Dean was pretty much dismissed as little more than blind "Deangirlism" being perpetrated by shrieky bimbos who just stick up for him because he's so cute.

I, however, like to think that many of us are capable of admiring Jensen's undeniable loveliness while also objectively grasping the characters and the plot. The fact is that Dean (pretty neck and all) gave a huge free pass to Sam almost all of last season (while being constantly and often unjustifiably dressed down for his own behavior), bit his tongue throughout most of the premiere, and then finally, finally gave it to Sam straight and yet still with a degree of gentleness that has hardly ever been shown to him. Period, end of story. If people want to say that Dean's a hypocrite who's treating his blameless little brother like shit, they can, but they've got absolutely no evidence to back them up.

I wonder who Kripke will pick this time around.

I have a feeling Anna will be called upon to deliver one of this season's lectures.

[mangokulfi.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately the male recapper at TWoP set the tone for trivializing deanGIRL way back when and the pro-Sam contingent got away with using the same tactics for quite a long time because the mod was so far up his derrier. Funnily enough, neither seemed to have a problem with the increasingly hysterical shrieking from the other side of the great Sam vs. Dean divide. But all that does seem to be changing since there is a new mod who doesn't seem inclined to put up with crap from either side or from the recapper, for that matter. It will be interesting to see what happens.

I'm glad that in the last 30 seconds Dean finally got around to saying to Sam what he (and Bobby and Anna and Castiel and anyone else I can think of) should have said to Sam all last season: You chose a demon over your own brother and you can't be trusted. PERIOD. I'd get excited about this development but I'm sure that before the Thanksgiving hiatus rolls around, at least one person, prophet or angel will give Dean his usual humiliating kick to the curb and lecture him about forgiveness and family and blabbity-blah-blah-blah and Dean will be all contrite and self-castigating and there'll be some teary roadside blabbity-blah and BLAH. Enjoy those balls while you got 'em, Deano, 'cause you'll be handing them over soon enough. You know I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this because it is so, so true. I just do not get Kripke's need to constantly knock Dean down a peg or two. It's not like the guy has self-esteem issues or anything. But mostly I think it's going to be to whitewash Sam which I don't get either. I mean if he's the one you want to be the shiny perfect hero, why give him a dark arc in the first place?

Also I have to admit that I found the wincesty samgirl funny mostly because I see nothing of myself in her and there are far too many people in this fandom that seem to be just like her. Yes I am that mean and petty. ;D But I agree that they really need to stop with the fandom meta because it's already getting a little whiffy.

Anyway I always enjoy your reviews. You seem to be one of the few sane voices left on LJ. :D

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Catching up on some comments and I just noticed this one now. Interesting to hear there's a new mod for the SPN threads at TWoP -- they needed one. As you said, the old mod and the recapper were just way too buddy-buddy, or at the least, she seemed to find him amusing enough to let him get away with being openly hostile to the site's members and the show's fans (especially the "Deangirls") and breaking every one of TWoP's supposed rules on just about every thread. Since they've replaced the mod, they should find Demian another gig, too. The Season One recaps were done by someone else and they managed to be informative, witty and often insightful without resorting to the sort of nasty, humorless and ultimately boring stupidity that Demian seems to find so hilarious. The departure of both Barnes and Demian might encourage some of the more level-headed members to return and thereby restore at least a little balance to those boards.

I just do not get Kripke's need to constantly knock Dean down a peg or two.

Episode 4 airs tomorrow night and from what I've seen I think it's just about time for another of Dean's regularly scheduled knuckle-rappings. Which should make the gals over at TWoP very happy. We'll see.