What's that I smell? I think it's this summer's movies

I really can't blame anybody but myself.

I haven't watched "Saturday Night Live" for more than 20 minutes or so in more than five years, and really haven't even liked a "SNL" movie since "Wayne's World." But I like going to the movies, I really like Kristen Wiig and I'm not afraid to admit that I thought Jorma Taccone's first movie, "Hot Rod" starring Andy Samberg of "SNL," was a hoot, thanks in large part to Ian McShane but also just because it was simply a big ball of goofy fun.

"MacGruber," however, doesn't come close to that spirit. It starts off thoroughly dumb and just keeps getting dumber, almost never adding a bit of funny. And just in case you're wondering, I am a big fan of dumb comedy done well. When I got home Saturday, I watched Broken Lizard's "Slammin' Salmon," and while that's far from a masterpiece by any standard, it was very funny, as the Broken Lizard guys usually are.

"MacGruber," though, is so bad that it isn't even worth any more words from me, so let's just say it's f$#%ing awful and move on. And though I didn't bother to even see the latest "Shrek," I'm really starting to notice a distinct odor to this summer's wide-release movies because, so far at least, they all kinda stink.

Think about it. The last great movie I saw in a moviehouse was "Kick-Ass." Since then, "Iron Man 2" was at best a paint-by-numbers pale imitation of the original, "Robin Hood" was as empty as it was thoroughly unnecessary, and "MacGruber," well ...

So, will there be anything worth watching before Christopher Nolan's summer-saving "Inception"? I'm looking to June 4 for a double-header of at least slight winners with "Get Him to the Greek" and "Splice." The latter has been getting enough TV exposure that I have to hope it's gonna play everywhere and be at least some kind of smart sci-fi rather than simply a creature feature with a twist. Here's five clips from that flick, starring Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody. Enjoy, and have perfectly pleasant Sunday. Peace out.

Kiki's Delivery Service still manages to cast enchanting spell

Deceptively simple and sweet, Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service has still managed to linger in the hearts of movie lovers, and now it's finally gotten the proper DVD release it deserves from Disney and Studio Ghibli.

Kiki, voiced by a young Kirsten Dunst in this Western version of the story, is a 13-year-old witch who - as is the custom - is sent to live away from her parents for a year to figure out what her talent is. Kiki eventually settles on the village of Koriko, which resembles a seaside European village in the 1950s, and sets up her titular delivery service.

One of the things that makes viewers of all ages become instantly engaged with Kiki's story is the genuine wonder with which she approaches the world, delivered in both Miyazaki's story (loosely based on the novel by Eiko Kadono) and in Dunst's voice work. He's said in interviews that he modeled Kiki's adventures on the mix of independence and reliance experienced by Japanese girls, and as he did for younger children with My Neighbor Totoro and later Ponyo, he's made a story that fits his heroine's age and outlook perfectly.

And it doesn't hurt that visually this is probably Miyazaki's best work too, and certainly his most mainstream. John Lasseter, who introduces the movie on DVD, is known to be a devoted fan, and you can see the direct link from the stunning sight of Kiki encountering her new seaside home for the first time and when Remy scurries to the rooftop and first overlooks Paris. Oh if only Pixar hadn't caught the 3-D bug ... oops, I won't digress.

As Kiki settles in Koriko and applies her talent for flying, she's always accompanied by her loyal sidekick, a black cat named Jiji, voiced in the Western version by the late Phil Hartman. Though he was never one of my favorite Saturday Night Live performers, he's restrained but seriously sarcastic here, and it's what I most like to remember him for.

Kiki also finds her first love in Tombo, a young boy who looks surely not coincidentally a heck of a lot like TinTin. Like Miyazaki, Tombo has a love of flying machines. And it's this signature Miyazaki trait that give's Kiki's Delivery Service its strongest act - the big finale.

The movie ambles along at a leisurely and breezy pace until Kiki starts to lose her two most valuable skills, flying and the ability to talk to Jiji. I don't want to give too much away, but she eventually gets them back with the help of a mysterious hippie artist named Ursula (Janeane Garofalo, yes really), just in time to come to the rescue of poor Tombo, who finds himself - among other things - hanging on to a rope attached to a crashed dirigible. It's a super action set piece that's rivaled in Miyazaki's work only by the finale of Castle in the Sky, and it's what seals the timeless quality of Kiki's Delivery Service.

In the extras, Miyazaki makes a sly dig at Western audiences who don't stick around through the credits (unlike Japanese audiences who, not surprisingly, apparently sit there dutifully until the lights come up), and there is indeed plenty of reason to stick around until the very end of Kiki's credits (which I admittedly didn't do until now.) It completes the story in a humorous and touching way, and just sums it up perfectly.

Though the real treasure among the extras are the original storyboards that allow you to see the movie coming together in Miyazaki's hands, there are also featurettes which let you hear from the man himself, and it's here that his genuine love for this movie comes through. The animation master hopefully has at least a few more movies left in him, and it's a pure joy to see the mischief in his eyes as he talks about "deceiving" Japanese viewers into thinking that Kokiro was based on actual European city, whereas it's clearly just a hodgepodge of classic European settings, rendered as beautifully as an impressionist painting.

And, most remarkable of all, producer Toshio Suzuki reveals that he pitched the idea of making a movie about an adolescent girl, and at the time Miyazaki said he knew nothing about them (having only sons.) As anyone who's seen Kiki's Delivery Service knows, that didn't keep him from making a movie that not only captures that awkward period in life perfectly but also delivers a tale that manages to cast a still lingering spell on viewers young and old more than 20 years after its original release.

Don Draper's guide to picking up women

I could use a half million-dollar bender right about now.

Not much to say this Monday morning except that the "Mad Men" finale lived up to and surpassed all my expectations. Seeing Pete finally get his proper reward was easily the TV highlight of the year, and the closing shot of Don and Bertie was just priceless.

Less successful was this spoof of Don Draper that apparently aired on Saturday's episode of "Saturday Night Live," hosted by Jon Hamm (I wouldn't know because like most "real Americans" I was watching baseball at the time [and I apologize immediately for that rather nasty Sarah Palin-esque comment].)

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that "SNL" couldn't come up with anything fall-down-funny about the most complicated and entertaining show on TV, but it's still worth wasting 90 seconds of your Monday on. Enjoy!