FYC Sex and the City, or How the Ladies could rock the red carpet!

FYC FRIDAYS

It's my blog and I'll FYC if I want to, FYC if I want to... 

SomeEcards, or How It's what I think... only Funnier!

How had I not come across someecards.com before? It's pretty much amazing how much time I wasted just today on it. Enjoy my fave three - and yes, it's because they hit close to home... and make it funny!

Sex and the City, or How I'll have another Cosmo please!

Sex and the City (The Movie)

Dir/Writer: Michael Patrick King

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattral, Cynthia Nixon & Kristin Davis.

As any other self-respecting SatC fan, I was hesitant about Carrie & co.'s move to the big screen. I mean, what where they gonna do: set up everything from 6 seasons, tear it apart and then re-build it? True enough, Michael Patrick King's screenplay does just this. In the first minutes we get a recap of all four of our girls and then the movie moves forward towards a wedding, a pregnancy, a breakup and separation. But, sure enough, Carrie and friends manage to elevate the material from pure fluff (which it is), rom-comm-y (which it's full of), chick-flicky (which envelops it) and campy (which it always was) and make it 'Sex and the City.' It's got everything we loved about the show: drinks, labels, Carrie's voiceover (and puns!), objectified men and a love-story plot to boot. For the first 3/4 of the movie, Ms Parker (with her expressive eyes and self-aware comedic timing), Ms Cattral (with her insouciant wit and bravado), Ms Nixon (with her spark and cynicism) and Ms Davis (with her ingenuity and lovable naivete) had me hooked. I mean, it finally gave me what I always wanted for Carrie, to be rid of Big (::ducks for cover!::) - but more importantly, it used this pivotal plot point (the wedding) as a showcase for great comedy and great tragedy; arguably the back bone of the show's 6 year run: that moment when Carrie runs to Big to hit him with the flowers - while a bit over-the-top (but who here hates that?) - was painful and heartbreaking, but then an equally heartbroken (and hysterical) Charlotte yells at Big and then zig-zags back into the car as she scolds. Moments like this fill the entire movie; where you feel and you laugh, where you go 'aw' and you laugh, and then; just like Carrie and Charlotte's incident in Mexico, sometimes you ... just laugh out loud.

One should never judge a movie by uttering such things as 'I wish the character would have just...' (cause really, they're not real people!) so instead I'll just say: I wish King and Parker would have driven Carrie towards a better and more fulfilling finale. I mean, Miranda learns to take down her guard around Steve and swallows her pride and embraces her love for him; Charlotte... well, dear Ms Charlotte had little to worry about the entire movie; Samantha learns that she comes (no pun intended) first in her life... but Carrie, I wish Carrie didn't end up on square one. But alas... the first 3/4 of the movie more than make up for it, with big laughs, great outfits, fabulous shots of New York and a big load of the L-word to throw around: Love. Oh and J-Hud, yah, she was okay. True, her character was a bit too 'Carrie' circa 20 years ago (if she had been a 'sistah') but whatevs. At least her song at the end was much better than Fergie's at the beginning of the film.

In a nutshell, it was the SaTC movie I wanted to see: one that I didn't regret watching and wished had never existed. But more than that, it was a treat to watch and hey, if in the process it gave us full frontal male nudity, well... all the better. A

And now... favourite moments [Spoilers Alert!]:

Charlotte.

Funny: Her encounter with Big when she's incredibly pregnant. "I curse the day you were born!" ::hand movement::

And of course: ALL her time in Mexico. Hah-larious.

Sweet: Tearing up while furniture shopping with Carrie over her newly found pregnancy.

Samantha.

Funny: Two words - sushi, naked. (As well as her wedding dinner party toast - mainly when she yells at the d-bag at the table)

Hot: All the hot-tub scenes with Dante. Okay, she wasn't with Dante, but they were still hot.

Miranda.

Funny: (even if racist) - Walking down Chinatown looking for an affordable place downtown ("Oh, White guy with a baby! Follow him. Wherever he's going is where we need to be...")

Heartbreaking: Watching her while Steve tells her he cheated on her.

Carrie.

Funny: SJP parading her Take/Toss/Store dresses (including the credits-sequence tutu) was priceless.

Heartbreaking: when she gets Big's call at the Public Library. Gasping for air, letting the cellphone fall, screaming to be gotten out of there asap. Teared me up. (Though I did enjoy the iPhone scene right before this "Someone get me a phone! [gets iPhone] ... I don't know how to work this! Give me a real phone!").

Awesome: the bridal dresses Vogue shoot.

Oh, and to all those male critics who are hating on SatC's b.o. numbers, Vulture I think got it right: Carrie & co. are superheros!

Sex and the City Movie

2008 Watch Out For List or How Indy, Harry and others will be back

While everyone else is reveling in 'Best of 2007' I thought we could look ahead. Here at A Blog Next Door there are a couple of movies we are watching out for - and you should too! For sake of brevity I divided my list into three categories: Franchises I Love, Stars I Love and Good Premises. Here goes the first:






Franchises I Love (ie. Hyped Up Movies that I hope won't disappoint)
I know, I know... Star Wars and Lord of the Rings come only once in a blue moon. But sometimes you just have to see the 'next episode' if only to revisit characters you love, retread over premises you know by heart, and even see what the producers/writers/directors have come up with THIS time to make your money worthwhile. Here are my picks for 2008:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Release Date: May 22, 2008
Though I don't know how Indy will make the transition to the 21st Century with newest It-kid Shia LeBouf, I will still buy my ticket to go see what Harrison, Steven and Cate have in store for us this coming summer. That said I am still mourning the fact that Mr Connery will not be reprising his role as Indy's daddy as he was arguably a high point of the 80s trilogy, and the fact that the movie has such a horrible title that makes me think it came out of a dungeons and dragons Saturday night basement charade.

Sex and the City: The Movie
Release Date: May 30, 2008
Like anyone who loved the series and loves watching the reruns (albeit censored on TBS) I am weary about the promising nature of the silver screen shenanigans of Ms Bradshaw and company. That said, watching (what I can only hope will still be R-rated, though I'm sure they'll more likely skew for PG-13) sex scenes on the big screen will be worth the movie ticket - oh and yeah, I'm also excited about the romantic storylines, sure.

Bond 22
Release Date: November 7, 2008
How do you top a movie that has given us one of the most widely reproduced man-candy scenes of all cinema? (Two if you count that torture scene... if you're into that of course) It'll be hard, that's true for Mr Haggis, Mr Foster and Mr Craig to top that and the rest of what was the most thrilling 007 venture in years, but I am confident that it will be one of the must-watch events of 2008 if only to watch Mr Craig owning the 007 title for a second time and seeing Ms Dench scorch the screen as she usually does with those great exasperated sighs and sardonic remarks she has so masterfully honed over the years.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Release Date: November 21, 2008
While I am still torn over the ending of Rowling's franchise (was that subpar last chapter even necessary? I know it's a 'children's lit series' but did it need that useless '20 years later Happy Ending' epilogue?) I am excited about the second to last movie installment - Phoenix delivered and Half-Blood should too. Sure, it won't be the artistic gem that Cuarón's third installment was but it is sure to offer what will be an even greater wizarding duel and a chance for Alan Rickman to scare (new) legions of HP fans.

The Dark Knight
Release Date: July 18, 2008
Chris Nolan - like Paul Greengrass with the Bourne movies - seems to be enjoying himself in this high-profile franchise. Batman Begins was a great entry into the Batman-centered universe with an electric performance by Christian Bale, a great acting ensemble, amazing action sequences and a great reimagining of the Bat-verse (who didn't love that Bat mobile?). With the Dark Knight creating endless online buzz and the ever-presence of Heath Ledger Joker taunts this is a Must Watch indeed.
[Also kudos for knowing that Maggie > Katie]