I watched two movies over the last two days.

On Thursday I stayed up too late watching Nausicaa of Wind Valley, recieved from that most wonderful of services, Netflix. I have loved some of Miyazaki's creations in the past, namely Spirited Away, but this one was absolutely the best of his that I have seen. The landscapes in this film convey a touching loneliness, where you can feel that humanity is no longer close, that it is no longer in control of the planet. It is a little unnerving to constantly see Nausicaa's ass though. You see a glimpse of her preteen bum everytime there's a strong wind at the right angle, and, well it is called Wind Valley. One has to wonder how Miyazaki rationalized the buttcrack shots througout the production process.

"It is a story of mankind, and how we bear within us the seeds of our own destruction."
"Yes, Mr. Miyazaki, but why am I animating this young girl's buttocks?"
"It is a metaphor for her vulnerability and femininity. Also, there is no underwear in the future. Can you make the skirt go up a little higher here? Yes, like that, the curve of the ass, please."

Last night I watched Serendipity, starring the irrepressible John Cusak and Kate Beckinsale. I am a hardcore sucker for this stuff, I love following a formula all the way to its natural conclusion. I realized as I watched this utterly predictable but delicious nonsense that, as a genre, the romantic comedy is really an untapped resource. We've got Annie Hall and I guess When Harry Met Sally and such as ...Say Anything. But, I think this is it pretty much.

A straight up romantic comedy with wacky best friends and unfortunate misunderstandings, a great romantic story that isn't too hackneyed, makes you want to bone your date, but leaves you feeling like, that was a good movie and I don't feel guilty about liking the cheese. I would also like to put in scifi or fantasy aspects here. Time travel could make for a wonderfully convoluted farce, wacky misunderstandings device.

Uh oh, how did the dog end up in the wedding cake!? And then later it turns out that the sass-talking best friend's love interest is actually the dog's highly evolved form from the future?

I am only half-joking here. I think the romantic comedy is vastly underrated as a genre, and damn you all I will prove it.