Movies, Mom & Me

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  none
3. Commentary:  This is another spectacular BBC series that charts the evolution of the earth. Fascinating. We watched in when it broke on TV then decided we had to have it for reviewing. We watched it, in its entirety, a couple of times before Mom died.

Labels: audio-visual, documentary, science

# posted by gail @ 14:06    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  none
3. Commentary:  This is another excellent series produced by the same people who brought us Planet Earth. I have a preference for nature shows that explore water environments and this one stacks up very well. Unlike March of the Penguins, it lives up to its hype, even if you're a regular watcher of the variety of channels that frequently host animal and geographical specials. While I have tended, over the years, to become a bit jaded in the company of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral programs, seeing as how we view so many of them, this one, like Planet Earth, engages me, every episode, every time, and, because of my sub- an unconscious veering toward water videos, adds an extra "dreamy" dimension for me.

Labels: documentary, dream, film-art, political, science, shared-favorite, TV

# posted by gail @ 12:08    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  Don't tell me you're suprised we purchased this series! Thank the gods, the version with David Attenborough was available. Although we watched the series on TV when it aired on Discovery at the beginning of April (and immediately pre-ordered it), both of us had problems with Sigourney Weaver's narration. I didn't say anything until Mom spoke up and said, "That woman sounds like an old-time school marm! Couldn't they get someone better?!?"
     Yes, they could and did.
     Even if you're a veteran of animal and nature shows, as many Ancient Ones and their caregivers are, this series is a stunner. The addition of the three episode "Planet Earth-The Future" is oddly intriguing, since it involves interviews with died in the wool Greens and those who take issue with all the propositions included in the current global warming hysteria (yes, it is an hysteria, even if it turns out to be reliable), as a well as a smattering of people who are depressed by the realities inherent in trying to get humans to cooperate across the board in changing the ways we live on our planet.
     I noticed that the script is, first, a little contradictory. In one place it mentions that glacial movement is the most devastating eroder of landscape. Then, in another episode, it states that moving water is. Granted, they both states of H₂O, but their different states and properties have vastly different impacts upon the land. I vote for glacial movement. As well, I'm not sure how long this series was in development from the very beginning, but it inaccurately states, in the forest section, that a redwood is the largest living organism on Earth. A few years ago it was discovered that a mushroom was, in fact, the largest living organism. Truth is, we'll probably discover something that's even larger, one of these days.
       Nonetheless, this series is a stunner. We watched it again tonight (which is last night, now). I know we'll watch it again. And again.

Labels: documentary, film-art, interview, mom-favorite, political, science, spectacle, TV

# posted by gail @ 02:19    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1*
3. Commentary:  I think I covered everything in the "mention" above. Despite this, I've kept it. Although we haven't seen it again, I'll bet, one of these days when Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic all have shit on them and Mom's not interested in anything but animal stuff, it'll come in handy. I think it's the only animal special we have on DVD. Well, besides The Planet of the Apes movies, which I'm sure Mom considers the best of animal specials.

Labels: animal, documentary, mom-favorite, science

# posted by gail @ 22:31    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  None
3. Commentary:  This movie is seductively misleading. Many of the ideas are tantalizing to contemplate, but there are inconsistencies and contradictioins that show that this movie is more a travelogue for New Age Meta-Physics. It is colorful, though, and provocative to watch. Much less so, though, than, say, Cosmos.
     The most glaring problem is that the movie doesn't live up to its hype and does not fulfill even the blurb promises. I bought it sight unseen (stupid move, always) on the recommendation of someone whose knowledge of me and opinion, especially in these matters, I value. Unfortunately, it is one of those recommendations that casts an uneasy light on the value of the recommender's opinions.
     The second problem lies in its hazy way of some times including what we think of as the inanimate world in on the "you create your own reality" scenario, then explicitly excludes it. Example: The narrative cites the experiment done in Japan that involved an experimenter writing descriptions of feelings on pieces of paper, using them to label jars of water, then doing what I imagine is a combination EEC/MRI on the cells of the water; the water, of course, mirrors the state written on its label. This experiment begs several questions, not the least important of which is, what about the reality of the water?
     This movie is not going to change anyone's life, I don't think, not directly, anyway, but it's fun to watch. I haven't decided, yet, whether I'm going to keep it or eventually trade it in.
       The third is that, in the end, the movie is a promo for a movement. Makes the viewer wonder about the involvement of each of the cast members. Always a bad idea, except in historical perspective.
     Mom enjoyed it, especially the sessions with the 35,000 year old basketball hustler.

Labels: fantasy, science, spiritual

# posted by gail @ 07:21    0 comments    email......this post

1. Who's watched:  M & G
2. Mentions:  *1*
3. Commentary:  This series is our church. We watch episodes of it often, reverentially and alertly. The music has a tendency to blur the experience for Mom, but the stories and cosmopolitan view snap her out of it. We have been known to lose entire afternoons and evenings to episodes of this series. In a way, I consider it the essence of the spirit that keeps Mom around.

Labels: documentary, dream, science, spectacle, TV

# posted by gail @ 01:56    0 comments    email......this post