Movies of Late

Hey, here's a post less than a week after the previous one.

I went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday. It is truly a laugh riot through and through, marred only by two things that really weren't appropriate or necessary and wouldn't show up on the tv show. But overall, lots of fun.
Spider-Pig. Spider-Pig. Does whatever a spider-pig does.

I finished watching Il Postino last night. Very enjoyable yet truly a European film. The movie is about a man, Mario, who delivers mail for the exiled (Communist) poet Pablo Narudo. The poet teaches Mario a little about poetry so that he might win the heart of local beauty Beatrice (the name sounds much more beautiful in Italian: Bay-a-treez-a). I am saddened to learn that the actor portraying Mario, Phillippe Noiret, died from an untreated heart condition the day after shooting completed, untreated so he could complete the film. Art imitates life. The film has a very poetical feel to it, quite appropriate considering its story. Beautiful scenery, beautifully shot, this is just a lovely movie to watch. Don't let its simplicity fool you; much like poetry, the surface hides a greater story, a greater attraction, a greater feeling.

Having read too many times about the greatness of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, I added it to the top of my Netflix queue. I've watched the first 20 minutes of it and will continue in a few minutes. All I can say so far is that it's interesting. I'm more than likely not smart enough to catch every subtle nuance or determine the full meaning of every symbol (or even catch most of them). We'll see how it goes.

It's not a movie, but I've been watching The Dick Van Dyke Show season one this week. It's so much fun. It is a shame that there really is nothing of this caliber out now. I do laugh at the separated twin beds for a married couple (so exactly how did Ritchie come along). But this is so smart and witty. Gilmore Girls and Will & Grace are the only recent shows that capture that style. C'est la vie.