The collected works of ScottyB

There are always little gems of films, the ones you hear about, don’t think too much of to start with, but you go see them and realise they will go down in time as one of the greats.

Comedies these days tend to be hit-and-miss type affairs. The whole ‘vile’ humour thing.. the rubbish of ‘Jackass’ and such just don’t do anything for me - I don’t find it ‘comedy’. It’s kind of like watching Funniest Home Videos and seeing a 4 year old come crashing off a bike and faceplanting into a brick wall. Apparently this is humour to some, but I find myself seeking out the comedy of old - the unexpected, the slapstick, raw, the dry wit, the pithy comebacks, the hilarious one-liners.

Adam Sandler is one who has kept these comedies alive. Classics like Bulletproof, Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy.. and the more romantic-comedy style of The Wedding Singer. Always easily enjoyable, always fun.

Jim Carrey too, with films like Ace Ventura - and later, Bruce Almighty, which maintain that clean, but awesome comedy feel.

More recently, The 40 Year-Old Virgin was one of those unexpectedly brilliant comedies. It sounded okay, Steve Carell is a classic, but I don’t think anything could have prepared the viewer for the hilarity that would ensue.

Judd Apatow’s latest, Knocked Up is no exception.

Alison Scott: I’m pregnant.
Ben Stone: You mean, with emotion?

There are constant laughs, start to finish. From the unlikely pairing of Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) and Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) all the way to the crowning, there’s always something crazy, something utterly hilarious to surprise you and have you doubling-over in laughter.

Jay: I’m going to be there to rear your child.
Jason: You hear that, Ben? Don’t let him near the kid, he wants to rear your child!

Many of the gang return for roles in Knocked Up, Paul Rudd as Pete, the disconnected husband of Debbie (Leslie Mann - which we remember from 40 Year Old Virgin as the drunk driving chick Carell takes home). Carell too has a cameo role (as himself) and even Harold Ramis is in there as Ben’s Father.

Ben Stone: Do you want to do it doggie style?
Alison Scott: You’re not going to f**k me like a dog.
Ben Stone: It’s doggie style. We don’t have to go outside or anything.

Fantastic film making at its comedy best.

Last Saturday, I purchased the DVD-series of Planet Earth, the BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Alastair Fothergill.

There are 11 episodes over 2 DVD sets and a total of 4 DVD’s. Each episode has 5 parts and includes a 10 minute ‘making-of’ at the end. Amounts to 647 minutes of footage - Almost 11 hours.

Thus far, I’ve watched “From Pole to Pole”, “Mountains”, “Fresh Water”, “Caves” and “Deserts”. The first 5 episodes.

The visionary is stunning, the camera work amazing. The facts are sensational… “During Antarctica’s winter, emperor penguins endure four months of darkness, with no food, in temperatures of –70°C”.

The first episode is basically a general overview of the series, by describing each of the environments that are looked at in more detail in later programmes.

“Mountains” takes you to Ethiopia’s Erta Ale - the longest continually erupting volcano, The Andes, The Himalayas and glaciers like the Baltoro in Pakistan. You see Panda, Grizzly bear (and cubs), Rutting Markhor, Golden Eagles that hunt migrating Demoiselle Cranes…

“Fresh Water” describes the course taken by rivers and some of the species that take advantage of such a habitat. From places such as Venezuela’s Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. Angel Falls, the world’s highest free-flowing waterfall. The Colorado River, the Amazon, the Mara River.. Piranha, Cichlids, River Dolphins, Long giant Salamander…

“Caves” was probably my favourite so far. From the opening sequence; crazy cave jumpers diving into massive open caves.. Mexico’s Cave of Swallows particularly, at 400 metres deep and is the Earth’s biggest. Diving into it is akin to jumping off the Empire State Building. Borneo’s Deer Cave and its three million wrinkle-lipped bats are featured (the making of featurette on the ensuing mound of deposited guano below - and the millions of cockroaches that blanket it is a laugh). Mexico’s Cueva de Villa Luz is featured, with its flowing stream of sulphuric acid and snottite formations made of living bacteria. The programme ends in the recently discovered (and absolutely stunning) Lechuguilla Cave where sulphuric acid had carved unusually ornate, gypsum crystal formations. Absolutely amazing - took my breath away.

“Deserts” features Mongolia’s Gobi Desert - with temperatures ranging from –40°C to +50°C. Home to the rare Bactrian Camel. Africa’s Sahara Desert is visited as well as the massive dust storms that streak across its expanse. Egypt’s White Desert and the massive Namibian dunes (at ~300m high). Areas of the Australian outback and Utah are also shown. Lions, Red Kangaroos, Nubian Ibex, nocturnal Fennec Foxes, Desert Locusts - but the acrobatic (and stunning-coloured) Flat Lizards feeding on black flies stole the show.

The series so far is a colourful and beautiful look at planet Earth, but some of the scenes involving hunting and ‘natural selection’ are quite graphic and sometimes quite upsetting. I couldn’t help but well up watching the Elephant calf get separated from its group during a dust storm and unbeknownst to direction, wander back into the desert..

It is life at its most raw. Beautiful and horrific. Divine and sadistic. Only in nature is there such a fine line between life and death.

Link: Official Website
Source: Planet Earth on Wiki