TV Special

As we start a new year I want to share with you the TV Series we enjoyed in 2015.

We started with:

1. The Simpsons

We often remark that one's pop culture education is seriously lacking if they haven't seen The Simpsons but we understand that it's not everyone's bag so no judgement here.  The Simpsons follows days in the life of the Simpson family with humour sometimes touching moments (the valentine's episode anyone?)  And just as everyone enjoys only some flavours of ice cream we enjoyed only certain seasons of the Simpsons; 1-9/10ish are fantastic and after about season 20ish are great too.  The seasons in the middle are a little "meh" for us.

The Simpsons are suitable for older primary age kids up because there are some more mature themes on occasion and many of the jokes are in the dialogue.

2. Malcolm in the Middle
We are almost finished following Malcolm and his family's hilarious antics which is a little sad.  We will miss them and the laugh out loud moments.  I think the parents have been enjoying this one WAY more than the kids as many of the jokes are aimed at parents but our kids have loved it too.

Again Malcolm in the Middle is suitable for older primary age kids up because there are some more mature themes and occasional violence/law breaking.

3. The Spectacular Spiderman
I have a bit of a soft spot for Spidey but I hate it when they make him too serious (a la the Tobey McGuire movies) so The Spectacular Spiderman sounded like good watching.  Witty, lighthearted dialogue, countless mutant bad guys, ongoing underlying plots and fantastic animation made this great viewing for our family.  Its just tragic this series was cut so short (only 2 seasons!!!) by company acquisitions.

Although there is heaps of violence in The Spectacular Spiderman it is Spidey vs. crazy monster and totally cartoon so none of our kids have worried about it.

4. Star Wars Rebels
We had tried hard to get into The Clone Wars but finding it too serious and political we gave up.  Then a friend told us about Rebels so we gave it a go.  If you ever saw, and enjoyed, Firefly then Rebels should deliver some good feels for you; humour, action and a rag tag group of characters trying to make a difference in this ol' galaxy are some of the treats in store for you.

Happy Gilmore

OK so Adam Sandler's humour is getting a little old these days but I feel that I must stand up for the classics; and Happy Gilmore is over the top Sandler at his best.  The adults of the family were pleased that we still laughed at a lot of it and the kid just thought it was super weird (especially the dwarf in the dream sequence.  Good times).  I somehow feel this is the appropriate response to one's first exposure to Adam Sandler. 

Rating:  It's super immature and silly but you gotta watch this at least once.

Naughty bits:  This one is strictly for the older kid.  Lingerie shots, sexual innuendos, bad language, fist fights, drinking.  Yeah, there's plenty here to be warned about but overall the story is sweet and the bad guys get their comeuppance.  Watch together at your discretion.  IMDB has a great parent's guide which gives more details and helps you make an informed decision.

Snacks:  Subway

Family In-quotes: "Somebody's closer"

Related Goodies:
Billy Madison is another Adam Sandler goodie from this era
Golf fashion through the ages

New Year's Eve - Charlie's Angels

Bill Murray is back and this time as the lovable Bosley; colleague of Charlie's Angels, three kickass gals with hot bods and detective skills.  Well some detective skills, enough to bungle them through their investigation anyhow.

The girls go through many disguises, locations and costume changes in their quest to solve the case with a twist at the end.



Rating:  We like action/comedy movies and this one was a lot of fun.  So the plot didn't make a lot of sense but it didn't matter there were heaps of cool action moments and eye candy abounded. 

Naughty bits:  I recommend this for older kids as there are heaps of sexual innuendos and more mature content violence and costume wise.

Snacks:  Blueberry muffins

Family In-quotes: "Caffeine helps us program"

Related Goodies:
The TV Show which inspired the movie

New Years Eve - We Bought a Zoo

Dads are so hot right now and the hottest of them all is Matt Damon, or so implies the first 10 minutes of We Bought a Zoo.  The story goes a little something like this: Matt's wife dies, he goes a little mad a buys a small country zoo, spends a fortune doing it up and opens it to the public again.  It's a quiet drama with some family tension but there are lots of cool animals so that was a highlight.

Rating:  We will probably only watch this one once.  It kept our interest but I suspect will be too slow upon a second viewing.

Naughty bits:  This movie is as clean as the park inspector's ute.  A kiss here, some snakes there, a couple of mild curse words, nothing to worry about.

Snacks:  Pizza

Family In-quotes: "You know, everybody here thinks you're a dick. I don't know what that means, but I don't think that"

Related Goodies:
The true story which inspired the film