I recently signed up for the blockbuster.com movie-by-mail service. There were some movies I wanted to see, and some that had been recommended, and this seemed like a very cost-effective way to do that. So I’ve seen more movies in the last month than I’ve seen in the previous 6 months, probably.

Three of them stand out as worth mentioning.

First of all, Pulp Fiction. No, I hadn’t seen it yet. But a number of people, horrified that I hadn’t seen it, said that I absolutely had to. There was very little mention of what it was about, or why it was important that I see it. In retrospect, it seems obvious why that was the case. It’s not about anything. And there’s no reason for someone to waste their time seeing it. I was really very disappointed, since I had really expected that it would be good. But the title is appropriate. It has all the quality of a dime-store novel. I have to think that if less known, but equally talented actors had been in it, it wouldn’t have done so well. I honestly can’t understand why it was, and is, so popular.

On the brighter side, there was Babette’s Feast and Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Babette’s Feast is about a feast. It’s also about love, forgiveness, and community. It’s from a short story by Isaak Denisen (aka Karen Blixen), and was well worth the price of admission. Sorry, no guns, explosions, or blood. Brother Sun, Sister Moon is about the life of Francis of Assisi, and co-stars Alec Guinness as the pope. Ok, so it’s a really minor part, but it was an interesting ending. Also worth seeing, if you’re interested in Francis, as I am, is Francesco.

With the movies-by-mail service, I also get a coupon for one free rental in-store every week. Apparently when I go into a store and choose something spontaneously, I choose much less carefully then when I select my list online.