Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
#1
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Pre-release discussion is here and here.
IMDB | Metacritic
I'll have my thoughts on this later tonight or tomorrow morning.
IMDB | Metacritic
I'll have my thoughts on this later tonight or tomorrow morning.
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
I'm getting dragged to this at midnight. Ugh.
Curious to see your thoughts. I thought the original series was entertaining, but I couldn't sit through the first film. Easily one of the worst movies of 2008.
Curious to see your thoughts. I thought the original series was entertaining, but I couldn't sit through the first film. Easily one of the worst movies of 2008.
#3
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Fan of the first series. Saw most of the seasons except for the last because (at the time) the prices for the DVDs were too high.
I went into the first movie with low expectations and they were surpassed. After viewing the first season live on HBO, I saw subsequent ones on DVD, usually in long marathons. In the sense that the movies feel like a 5-part episode (or a mini-season) I do not mind the weird pacing of the movies.
What concerned me about the sequel is that the first trailer released for it showed absolutely zero conflict. I had no interest in seeing a bunch of older women traipse around showing off their clothes. Thankfully, there is conflict. But it is common, lightweight conflict: new marriages, new parents, etc. And this is all sandwiched in between fashion porn. A lot of past characters make almost cameo-length appearances. The movie tries to tackle broader themes: gay marriage, women's rights in the Middle East, the real estate crash. But it does so feebly; I don't want to say it uses a nimble touch because many times it's not natural.
However, it is relatively entertaining and the characters (mostly) stay true to themselves. If you liked the first film, you're likely to enjoy this follow-up.
I went into the first movie with low expectations and they were surpassed. After viewing the first season live on HBO, I saw subsequent ones on DVD, usually in long marathons. In the sense that the movies feel like a 5-part episode (or a mini-season) I do not mind the weird pacing of the movies.
What concerned me about the sequel is that the first trailer released for it showed absolutely zero conflict. I had no interest in seeing a bunch of older women traipse around showing off their clothes. Thankfully, there is conflict. But it is common, lightweight conflict: new marriages, new parents, etc. And this is all sandwiched in between fashion porn. A lot of past characters make almost cameo-length appearances. The movie tries to tackle broader themes: gay marriage, women's rights in the Middle East, the real estate crash. But it does so feebly; I don't want to say it uses a nimble touch because many times it's not natural.
However, it is relatively entertaining and the characters (mostly) stay true to themselves. If you liked the first film, you're likely to enjoy this follow-up.
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Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Alice Eve is in this movie
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
The Bus, does the sequel come across as too over-the-top melodramatic like the first film? That was my main problem with the original outing as it took itself way too seriously. Whereas the series was more of a comedy with drama elements, the movie was more of a drama with (very few) comedic elements.
#9
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
The Bus, does the sequel come across as too over-the-top melodramatic like the first film? That was my main problem with the original outing as it took itself way too seriously. Whereas the series was more of a comedy with drama elements, the movie was more of a drama with (very few) comedic elements.
There's even a few scenes that skew towards (but don't match) screwball comedy.
#10
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Getting terrible reviews on RT -- at 9% right now.
"An atrocious motion picture...makes The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert look like The Remains of the Day."
"It's not often a horror film reaches into the depths of my soul, grabs my heart and shatters it into a billion terrified pieces."
"The most depressing thing about Sex and the City 2 is that it seems to justify every nasty thing said and written about the series and first feature film."
"An atrocious motion picture...makes The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert look like The Remains of the Day."
"It's not often a horror film reaches into the depths of my soul, grabs my heart and shatters it into a billion terrified pieces."
"The most depressing thing about Sex and the City 2 is that it seems to justify every nasty thing said and written about the series and first feature film."
#14
Banned by request
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Easily the best review anyone will write of this movie:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/b...nt?oid=4132715
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/b...nt?oid=4132715
We've been thinking it for two long years. All of us. Gnawing our cheeks at night, clutching at sweaty sheets, our faces hollow and gray, our once-bright eyes dimmed by the pain of too many questions. Sometimes we cry out, en masse, to a faceless god and a cold, indifferent universe that holds its secrets close. What... rasps the death rattle of our collective sanity. What is the lubrication level of Samantha Jones's 52-year-old vagina? Has the change of life dulled its sparkle? Do its aged and withered depths finally chafe from the endless pounding, pounding, pounding—cruel phallic penance demanded by the emotionally barren sexual compulsive from which it hangs? If I do not receive an update on the deep, gray caverns of Jones, I shall surely die!
Please don't die. The answer is... fine. Samantha's vagina is doing fine. She rubs yams on it, okay? She takes 48 vagina vitamins a day. It accepts unlimited male penises with the greatest of ease. Now let us never speak of it again.
Sex and the City 2 makes Phyllis Schlafly look like Andrea Dworkin. Or that super-masculine version of Cynthia Nixon that Cynthia Nixon dates. Or, like, Ralph Nader (wait, bad example—Schlafly totally does look like Ralph Nader in a granny wig). SATC2 takes everything that I hold dear as a woman and as a human—working hard, contributing to society, not being an entitled **** like it's my job—and rapes it to death with a stiletto that costs more than my car. It is 146 minutes long, which means that I entered the theater in the bloom of youth and emerged with a family of field mice living in my long, white mustache. This is an entirely inappropriate length for what is essentially a home video of gay men playing with giant Barbie dolls. But I digress. Let us start with the "plot."
Carrie Bradshaw: At the end of the first SATC movie (2008)—after eleventy decades of chasing his emotionally abusive jowls through the streets of Manhattan—Carrie finally marries Mr. Big, the man of her shallow, self-obsessed dreams. It has now been two years since their nuptials. Carrie already hates it. She hates that he sits on the couch. She hates that he eats noodles out of a take-out box. She hates that he wants to spend quality time with her in their incredibly expensive and gaudy apartment. She hates that he bought her an enormous television. When Big suggests that they spend a couple of days a week in separate apartments (they own TWO apartments, because life is hard!), Carrie screeches, "Is this because I'm a bitch wife who nags you?" Congratulations. You have answered your own question.
Miranda Redhairlawyerface: Miranda is a lawyer who has red hair. She also has a child. As a working woman, Miranda is forced to miss every single one of her child's incessant science fairs (as though children know anything of science!). Also, her lawyer boss is a cartoon dick. Miranda quits her job, and everyone is much happier. This is because women should not work. It is terrible for the children.
Charlotte Goldsteinjewyjewsomethingsomethingblatt: Life for Charlotte is unbelievably difficult. As a wealthy stay-at-home mom with two children and a live-in, full-time nanny, she sometimes has to bake cupcakes! Also, one time her little child got finger paint on a piece of vintage cloth. Therefore, Charlotte cannot stop crying. "How do the women without help do it?" Charlotte (crying) asks Miranda. "I have no fucking idea," Miranda replies. Then they toast their disgusting glasses of pink syrup. To "them." To the "women without help." "If I wasn't rich, I'd definitely just kill myself right away with a knife!" says everyone in this movie without having to actually say it. Clink!
Samantha Jones: I told you we are never to speak of this.
In order to escape their various imaginary problems, our intrepid foursome traipses off to dark, exotic Abu Dhabi ("I've always been fascinated by the Middle East—desert moons, Scheherazade, magic carpets!"). When they arrive, Carrie, because she is a professional writer, announces, "Oh, Toto—I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" Each woman is immediately assigned an extra from Disney's Aladdin to spoon-feed her warm cinnamon milk in their $22,000-per-night hotel suite. Things seem to be going great. But very quickly, the SATC brain trust notices that it's not all swarthy man-slaves and flying carpets in Abu Dhabi! In fact, Abu Dhabi is crawling with Muslim women—and not one of them is dressed like a super-liberated diamond-encrusted fucking clown!!! Oppression! OPPRESSION!!!
This will not stand. Samantha, being the prostitute sexual revolutionary that she is, rages against the machine by publicly grabbing the engorged penis of a man she dubs "Lawrence of My-Labia." When the locals complain (having repeatedly asked Samantha to cover her nipples and mons pubis in the way of local custom), Samantha removes most of her clothes in the middle of the spice bazaar, throws condoms in the faces of the angry and bewildered crowd, and screams, "I AM A WOMAN! I HAVE SEX!" Thus, traditional Middle Eastern sexual mores are upended and sexism is stoned to death in the town square.
At sexism's funeral (which takes place in a mysterious, incense-shrouded chamber of international sisterhood), the women of Abu Dhabi remove their black robes and veils to reveal—this is not a joke—the same hideous, disposable, criminally expensive shreds of cloth and feathers that hang from Carrie et al.'s emaciated goblin shoulders. Muslim women: Under those craaaaaaay-zy robes, they're just as vapid and obsessed with physical beauty and meaningless material concerns as us! Feminism! Fuck yeah!
If this is what modern womanhood means, then just fucking veil me and sew up all my holes. Good night.
Please don't die. The answer is... fine. Samantha's vagina is doing fine. She rubs yams on it, okay? She takes 48 vagina vitamins a day. It accepts unlimited male penises with the greatest of ease. Now let us never speak of it again.
Sex and the City 2 makes Phyllis Schlafly look like Andrea Dworkin. Or that super-masculine version of Cynthia Nixon that Cynthia Nixon dates. Or, like, Ralph Nader (wait, bad example—Schlafly totally does look like Ralph Nader in a granny wig). SATC2 takes everything that I hold dear as a woman and as a human—working hard, contributing to society, not being an entitled **** like it's my job—and rapes it to death with a stiletto that costs more than my car. It is 146 minutes long, which means that I entered the theater in the bloom of youth and emerged with a family of field mice living in my long, white mustache. This is an entirely inappropriate length for what is essentially a home video of gay men playing with giant Barbie dolls. But I digress. Let us start with the "plot."
Carrie Bradshaw: At the end of the first SATC movie (2008)—after eleventy decades of chasing his emotionally abusive jowls through the streets of Manhattan—Carrie finally marries Mr. Big, the man of her shallow, self-obsessed dreams. It has now been two years since their nuptials. Carrie already hates it. She hates that he sits on the couch. She hates that he eats noodles out of a take-out box. She hates that he wants to spend quality time with her in their incredibly expensive and gaudy apartment. She hates that he bought her an enormous television. When Big suggests that they spend a couple of days a week in separate apartments (they own TWO apartments, because life is hard!), Carrie screeches, "Is this because I'm a bitch wife who nags you?" Congratulations. You have answered your own question.
Miranda Redhairlawyerface: Miranda is a lawyer who has red hair. She also has a child. As a working woman, Miranda is forced to miss every single one of her child's incessant science fairs (as though children know anything of science!). Also, her lawyer boss is a cartoon dick. Miranda quits her job, and everyone is much happier. This is because women should not work. It is terrible for the children.
Charlotte Goldsteinjewyjewsomethingsomethingblatt: Life for Charlotte is unbelievably difficult. As a wealthy stay-at-home mom with two children and a live-in, full-time nanny, she sometimes has to bake cupcakes! Also, one time her little child got finger paint on a piece of vintage cloth. Therefore, Charlotte cannot stop crying. "How do the women without help do it?" Charlotte (crying) asks Miranda. "I have no fucking idea," Miranda replies. Then they toast their disgusting glasses of pink syrup. To "them." To the "women without help." "If I wasn't rich, I'd definitely just kill myself right away with a knife!" says everyone in this movie without having to actually say it. Clink!
Samantha Jones: I told you we are never to speak of this.
In order to escape their various imaginary problems, our intrepid foursome traipses off to dark, exotic Abu Dhabi ("I've always been fascinated by the Middle East—desert moons, Scheherazade, magic carpets!"). When they arrive, Carrie, because she is a professional writer, announces, "Oh, Toto—I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" Each woman is immediately assigned an extra from Disney's Aladdin to spoon-feed her warm cinnamon milk in their $22,000-per-night hotel suite. Things seem to be going great. But very quickly, the SATC brain trust notices that it's not all swarthy man-slaves and flying carpets in Abu Dhabi! In fact, Abu Dhabi is crawling with Muslim women—and not one of them is dressed like a super-liberated diamond-encrusted fucking clown!!! Oppression! OPPRESSION!!!
This will not stand. Samantha, being the prostitute sexual revolutionary that she is, rages against the machine by publicly grabbing the engorged penis of a man she dubs "Lawrence of My-Labia." When the locals complain (having repeatedly asked Samantha to cover her nipples and mons pubis in the way of local custom), Samantha removes most of her clothes in the middle of the spice bazaar, throws condoms in the faces of the angry and bewildered crowd, and screams, "I AM A WOMAN! I HAVE SEX!" Thus, traditional Middle Eastern sexual mores are upended and sexism is stoned to death in the town square.
At sexism's funeral (which takes place in a mysterious, incense-shrouded chamber of international sisterhood), the women of Abu Dhabi remove their black robes and veils to reveal—this is not a joke—the same hideous, disposable, criminally expensive shreds of cloth and feathers that hang from Carrie et al.'s emaciated goblin shoulders. Muslim women: Under those craaaaaaay-zy robes, they're just as vapid and obsessed with physical beauty and meaningless material concerns as us! Feminism! Fuck yeah!
If this is what modern womanhood means, then just fucking veil me and sew up all my holes. Good night.
Last edited by Supermallet; 05-26-10 at 04:14 PM.
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#16
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
If you hated the first one, why the hell would you go check out the second one? Makes no logical sense to me.
This is getting Transformers 2 type reviews, which when placed with a chick flick premise sounds sickening. I hope girls weren't squirming as much when we took them to those films.
Last edited by Dr. DVD; 05-26-10 at 09:19 PM.
#17
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Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Cuz it seems like he's being dragged to it. Personally...if I don't want to see a movie...I don't go. Tough titty for whomever wants me to go see their awesomely shitty movie. I'm pretty cool w/ whatever but not going to a shitty movie. I'm not Alex from a Clockwork Orange, I ain't sitting through something that I have a choice of going to or not to.
If I sit thru a shitty movie it's cuz I was interested in it or I thought it was going to be "good" (This means you RE: Apocalypse and Ultraviolet....coincidentally both w/ Jovovich).
If I sit thru a shitty movie it's cuz I was interested in it or I thought it was going to be "good" (This means you RE: Apocalypse and Ultraviolet....coincidentally both w/ Jovovich).
Last edited by Solid Snake; 05-26-10 at 09:44 PM.
#18
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Yeah, i've had to trade some action flicks or dumb comedies in exchange for catching some chick flicks with the girlfriend (having seen stuff like Dear John). I don't really mind, sometimes I end up seeing some stuff I find decent. I saw the first movie because of the girlfriend and thought it was dreadful, but luckily it looks like I'll get to avoid this one. The only one of the women I find attractive now is Kristin Davis, and one of her scenes was the only one I liked in the first movie.
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#21
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Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
As a long-time fan of the show, I really enjoyed the first movie. I thought it was a great bookend to the series and loved seeing the characters on the bigscreen. Obviously when there was talk of a sequel I was worried that it would just be tacked on as an afterthought or add unnecessarily to the lives of these characters.
I enjoyed this movie, but I still think I liked the first one better. Obviously I'm biased though because I'm a fan of the franchise and the characters.
The Bad: I thought the whole Middle Eastern thing was pointless. I would have much rather focused on the four leads' lives in New York. Having half the movie in the Middle East was unnecessary and the few good jokes weren't worth it. Too little Steve and Harry. I know it's about the ladies, but I would have liked a few more scenes with those two. It was nice to see Smith Jerrod return from the series and first movie and Aidan return from the series, but both seemed a little wasted. And again, I can't stress enough just how pointless it was uprooting them to the Middle East. Other than parts with Samantha and a part with Carrie (both mentioned more below) the whole trip there seemed rather pointless. Let me rephrase that, it wasn't the trip itself, but just the setting. A lot of stuff that happened on the trip was great, but I didn't particularly enjoy the setting. The scene in the backroom with all the Arab Woman revealing New York Fashion was just stupid. Again, this setting was just bad; I enjoyed the stuff back in New York much more and the stuff that didn't involve the characters wandering about the Middle East but instead sitting in their hotel room or at a bar.
The Good: It was nice to see married life between Carrie and Mr. Big. I really thought they were going to go the route of them having children or adopting, but I'm sort of glad they didn't because it does seem out of character for the two to have children. As a fan of the series, it was very satisfying to see Miranda quit her job. I assume she's at the same job she's been at for a while and she never seemed happy there, so I was pleased to see her get out of there, spend some time with her family, and find a job she enjoyed. I thought the wedding between Stanford and Anthony was over-the-top, but I guess that was the point. It did produce some laughs early on...when Mr. Big kept referring to it as a "gay wedding" and then again when Miranda said that "Liza manifests whenever you have this much gay energy concentrated in one location." I also liked Carrie realizing how cheap the shoes were at the market and avoiding the fake watches like the plague. It was a nice touch that she left the guy enough money to go home and visit his wife, I really liked that part.
The Best: Kim Cattrall was a treat, as always. She's such a good sport and plays Samantha so well. The only good thing about the whole Middle Eastern setting was to see Samantha in a completely different environment where her behaviour is even more frowned upon than in the United States. She really made me laugh during this movie and it was nice that we didn't have to see her in a relationship but just enjoying life once again. Charlotte has probably always been my favourite character and I've loved watching her transform over the years. I think she was just wonderful in this movie and seeing her admit that marriage and motherhood are not always easy or perfect was great. This is a woman who had everything planned out and has had some curve balls thrown her way but has come out stronger and better for them. I loved her bonding with Miranda over raising kids and really liked her just admitting that sometimes she needs a break and her crying daughter annoys her.
Overall, I liked the movie, but as I said, not as much as the first one. I feel like the setting was unnecessary and would have rather seen them in New York City again. Did this sequel need to be made? No. But I like spending time with these characters and it's nice to see them all (except Samantha, lol) grow as human beings, particularly Charlotte and Miranda. Like the first movie, this just felt to me like a really long episode. I can't imagine anyone who didn't like the TV Series or the first Movie will like this movie, but I expect long-time fans like myself will enjoy it and be happy to get another outing with Carrie and Co.
Oh, and I'm a straight male in my early twenties and was probably the only guy in the movie theater that wasn't dragged there by a spouse or significant other, lol. I went to a 12:40 p.m. showing and the theater was surprisingly full. Most of the audience was either middle-aged women in groups or older women with their husbands. I was definitely the youngest one in attendance.
I enjoyed this movie, but I still think I liked the first one better. Obviously I'm biased though because I'm a fan of the franchise and the characters.
The Bad: I thought the whole Middle Eastern thing was pointless. I would have much rather focused on the four leads' lives in New York. Having half the movie in the Middle East was unnecessary and the few good jokes weren't worth it. Too little Steve and Harry. I know it's about the ladies, but I would have liked a few more scenes with those two. It was nice to see Smith Jerrod return from the series and first movie and Aidan return from the series, but both seemed a little wasted. And again, I can't stress enough just how pointless it was uprooting them to the Middle East. Other than parts with Samantha and a part with Carrie (both mentioned more below) the whole trip there seemed rather pointless. Let me rephrase that, it wasn't the trip itself, but just the setting. A lot of stuff that happened on the trip was great, but I didn't particularly enjoy the setting. The scene in the backroom with all the Arab Woman revealing New York Fashion was just stupid. Again, this setting was just bad; I enjoyed the stuff back in New York much more and the stuff that didn't involve the characters wandering about the Middle East but instead sitting in their hotel room or at a bar.
The Good: It was nice to see married life between Carrie and Mr. Big. I really thought they were going to go the route of them having children or adopting, but I'm sort of glad they didn't because it does seem out of character for the two to have children. As a fan of the series, it was very satisfying to see Miranda quit her job. I assume she's at the same job she's been at for a while and she never seemed happy there, so I was pleased to see her get out of there, spend some time with her family, and find a job she enjoyed. I thought the wedding between Stanford and Anthony was over-the-top, but I guess that was the point. It did produce some laughs early on...when Mr. Big kept referring to it as a "gay wedding" and then again when Miranda said that "Liza manifests whenever you have this much gay energy concentrated in one location." I also liked Carrie realizing how cheap the shoes were at the market and avoiding the fake watches like the plague. It was a nice touch that she left the guy enough money to go home and visit his wife, I really liked that part.
The Best: Kim Cattrall was a treat, as always. She's such a good sport and plays Samantha so well. The only good thing about the whole Middle Eastern setting was to see Samantha in a completely different environment where her behaviour is even more frowned upon than in the United States. She really made me laugh during this movie and it was nice that we didn't have to see her in a relationship but just enjoying life once again. Charlotte has probably always been my favourite character and I've loved watching her transform over the years. I think she was just wonderful in this movie and seeing her admit that marriage and motherhood are not always easy or perfect was great. This is a woman who had everything planned out and has had some curve balls thrown her way but has come out stronger and better for them. I loved her bonding with Miranda over raising kids and really liked her just admitting that sometimes she needs a break and her crying daughter annoys her.
Overall, I liked the movie, but as I said, not as much as the first one. I feel like the setting was unnecessary and would have rather seen them in New York City again. Did this sequel need to be made? No. But I like spending time with these characters and it's nice to see them all (except Samantha, lol) grow as human beings, particularly Charlotte and Miranda. Like the first movie, this just felt to me like a really long episode. I can't imagine anyone who didn't like the TV Series or the first Movie will like this movie, but I expect long-time fans like myself will enjoy it and be happy to get another outing with Carrie and Co.
Oh, and I'm a straight male in my early twenties and was probably the only guy in the movie theater that wasn't dragged there by a spouse or significant other, lol. I went to a 12:40 p.m. showing and the theater was surprisingly full. Most of the audience was either middle-aged women in groups or older women with their husbands. I was definitely the youngest one in attendance.
Last edited by kstublen; 05-27-10 at 04:05 PM.
#22
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
I don't think women like to watch movies alone in general. And they want a guy to hold on to for sappy romance films.
#23
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Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
As a long-time fan of the show, I really enjoyed the first movie. I thought it was a great bookend to the series and loved seeing the characters on the bigscreen. Obviously when there was talk of a sequel I was worried that it would just be tacked on as an afterthought or add unnecessarily to the lives of these characters.
I enjoyed this movie, but I still think I liked the first one better. Obviously I'm biased though because I'm a fan of the franchise and the characters.
The Bad: I thought the whole Middle Eastern thing was pointless. I would have much rather focused on the four leads' lives in New York. Having half the movie in the Middle East was unnecessary and the few good jokes weren't worth it. Too little Steve and Harry. I know it's about the ladies, but I would have liked a few more scenes with those two. It was nice to see Smith Jerrod return from the series and first movie and Aidan return from the series, but both seemed a little wasted. And again, I can't stress enough just how pointless it was uprooting them to the Middle East. Other than parts with Samantha and a part with Carrie (both mentioned more below) the whole trip there seemed rather pointless. Let me rephrase that, it wasn't the trip itself, but just the setting. A lot of stuff that happened on the trip was great, but I didn't particularly enjoy the setting. The scene in the backroom with all the Arab Woman revealing New York Fashion was just stupid. Again, this setting was just bad; I enjoyed the stuff back in New York much more and the stuff that didn't involve the characters wandering about the Middle East but instead sitting in their hotel room or at a bar.
The Good: It was nice to see married life between Carrie and Mr. Big. I really thought they were going to go the route of them having children or adopting, but I'm sort of glad they didn't because it does seem out of character for the two to have children. As a fan of the series, it was very satisfying to see Miranda quit her job. I assume she's at the same job she's been at for a while and she never seemed happy there, so I was pleased to see her get out of there, spend some time with her family, and find a job she enjoyed. I thought the wedding between Stanford and Anthony was over-the-top, but I guess that was the point. It did produce some laughs early on...when Mr. Big kept referring to it as a "gay wedding" and then again when Miranda said that "Liza manifests whenever you have this much gay energy concentrated in one location." I also liked Carrie realizing how cheap the shoes were at the market and avoiding the fake watches like the plague. It was a nice touch that she left the guy enough money to go home and visit his wife, I really liked that part.
The Best: Kim Cattrall was a treat, as always. She's such a good sport and plays Samantha so well. The only good thing about the whole Middle Eastern setting was to see Samantha in a completely different environment where her behaviour is even more frowned upon than in the United States. She really made me laugh during this movie and it was nice that we didn't have to see her in a relationship but just enjoying life once again. Charlotte has probably always been my favourite character and I've loved watching her transform over the years. I think she was just wonderful in this movie and seeing her admit that marriage and motherhood are not always easy or perfect was great. This is a woman who had everything planned out and has had some curve balls thrown her way but has come out stronger and better for them. I loved her bonding with Miranda over raising kids and really liked her just admitting that sometimes she needs a break and her crying daughter annoys her.
Overall, I liked the movie, but as I said, not as much as the first one. I feel like the setting was unnecessary and would have rather seen them in New York City again. Did this sequel need to be made? No. But I like spending time with these characters and it's nice to see them all (except Samantha, lol) grow as human beings, particularly Charlotte and Miranda. Like the first movie, this just felt to me like a really long episode. I can't imagine anyone who didn't like the TV Series or the first Movie will like this movie, but I expect long-time fans like myself will enjoy it and be happy to get another outing with Carrie and Co.
Oh, and I'm a straight male in my early twenties and was probably the only guy in the movie theater that wasn't dragged there by a spouse or significant other, lol. I went to a 12:40 p.m. showing and the theater was surprisingly full. Most of the audience was either middle-aged women in groups or older women with their husbands. I was definitely the youngest one in attendance.
I enjoyed this movie, but I still think I liked the first one better. Obviously I'm biased though because I'm a fan of the franchise and the characters.
The Bad: I thought the whole Middle Eastern thing was pointless. I would have much rather focused on the four leads' lives in New York. Having half the movie in the Middle East was unnecessary and the few good jokes weren't worth it. Too little Steve and Harry. I know it's about the ladies, but I would have liked a few more scenes with those two. It was nice to see Smith Jerrod return from the series and first movie and Aidan return from the series, but both seemed a little wasted. And again, I can't stress enough just how pointless it was uprooting them to the Middle East. Other than parts with Samantha and a part with Carrie (both mentioned more below) the whole trip there seemed rather pointless. Let me rephrase that, it wasn't the trip itself, but just the setting. A lot of stuff that happened on the trip was great, but I didn't particularly enjoy the setting. The scene in the backroom with all the Arab Woman revealing New York Fashion was just stupid. Again, this setting was just bad; I enjoyed the stuff back in New York much more and the stuff that didn't involve the characters wandering about the Middle East but instead sitting in their hotel room or at a bar.
The Good: It was nice to see married life between Carrie and Mr. Big. I really thought they were going to go the route of them having children or adopting, but I'm sort of glad they didn't because it does seem out of character for the two to have children. As a fan of the series, it was very satisfying to see Miranda quit her job. I assume she's at the same job she's been at for a while and she never seemed happy there, so I was pleased to see her get out of there, spend some time with her family, and find a job she enjoyed. I thought the wedding between Stanford and Anthony was over-the-top, but I guess that was the point. It did produce some laughs early on...when Mr. Big kept referring to it as a "gay wedding" and then again when Miranda said that "Liza manifests whenever you have this much gay energy concentrated in one location." I also liked Carrie realizing how cheap the shoes were at the market and avoiding the fake watches like the plague. It was a nice touch that she left the guy enough money to go home and visit his wife, I really liked that part.
The Best: Kim Cattrall was a treat, as always. She's such a good sport and plays Samantha so well. The only good thing about the whole Middle Eastern setting was to see Samantha in a completely different environment where her behaviour is even more frowned upon than in the United States. She really made me laugh during this movie and it was nice that we didn't have to see her in a relationship but just enjoying life once again. Charlotte has probably always been my favourite character and I've loved watching her transform over the years. I think she was just wonderful in this movie and seeing her admit that marriage and motherhood are not always easy or perfect was great. This is a woman who had everything planned out and has had some curve balls thrown her way but has come out stronger and better for them. I loved her bonding with Miranda over raising kids and really liked her just admitting that sometimes she needs a break and her crying daughter annoys her.
Overall, I liked the movie, but as I said, not as much as the first one. I feel like the setting was unnecessary and would have rather seen them in New York City again. Did this sequel need to be made? No. But I like spending time with these characters and it's nice to see them all (except Samantha, lol) grow as human beings, particularly Charlotte and Miranda. Like the first movie, this just felt to me like a really long episode. I can't imagine anyone who didn't like the TV Series or the first Movie will like this movie, but I expect long-time fans like myself will enjoy it and be happy to get another outing with Carrie and Co.
Oh, and I'm a straight male in my early twenties and was probably the only guy in the movie theater that wasn't dragged there by a spouse or significant other, lol. I went to a 12:40 p.m. showing and the theater was surprisingly full. Most of the audience was either middle-aged women in groups or older women with their husbands. I was definitely the youngest one in attendance.
I am going tomorrow but I appreciate your review with the good and bad.
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Would you openly state that after this one in the theater if that is your opinion?
If you hated the first one, why the hell would you go check out the second one? Makes no logical sense to me.
This is getting Transformers 2 type reviews, which when placed with a chick flick premise sounds sickening. I hope girls weren't squirming as much when we took them to those films.
If you hated the first one, why the hell would you go check out the second one? Makes no logical sense to me.
This is getting Transformers 2 type reviews, which when placed with a chick flick premise sounds sickening. I hope girls weren't squirming as much when we took them to those films.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the television show. I've seen all the episodes (with my mom out of all people) numerous times due to the DVD releases. Similar reasoning to why I saw Transformers 2. I tend to like Michael Bay and I was a fan of Transformers growing up as a child, but I also thought the first film was a piece of shit and I was hoping for some redemption. Usually the sequel is to fix the wrongs.
I will say that the sequel is a huge step-up from the first film. Unlike the first outing two years ago, I didn't want to end my own life forty-five minutes in (or whenever Jennifer Hudson's character showed up). As I mentioned earlier, the initial film took itself way too seriously for its own good. What should've been entertaining, and I don't fucking know, funny like its predecessor; the film was two and a half hours of mutual masturbation and self-pretentiousness with no heart or soul and a story that contained not enough beats to keep it at such a long length.
Guess what? The sequel is almost the same thing, just that Michael Patrick King makes this outing a comedy rather than a drama. I thought the story was somewhat interesting, but again, there's not a single reason this needed to be two and a half hours. Michael Patrick King needs to show self-control, because at ninety minutes, this could've been some entertaining popcorn fare. Instead, the film just drags itself to its conclusion. There's some entertaining and hilarious scenes in this outing (Liza Minnelli's cameo for starters) which is more than I could've said about the first film, but the cons outweigh the pros.
To the poster who said Kim Cattrall was the best thing about this film, I whole heartedly agree with that statement.
Granted, I've seen worse films in theaters this year. However, I'd like someone else to jump in and take the reigns for the inevitable third outing or Michael Patrick King needs to learn how to write a screenplay and not a bunch of teleplays strung together for a big screen outing. He could take some notes from say Serenity or The Simpsons Movie on how to make the jump from television to film without overstaying your welcome.
As a straight man, I will admit that I enjoyed the television show out of my own free will and I saw the first one due to that free will (and saw it with my girlfriend at the time); but honestly, I don't think I can do a third outing unless being dragged or its somehow a night-and-day improvement.
#25
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Re: Sex and the City 2 (King, 2010) — The Reviews Thread
Easily the best review anyone will write of this movie:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/b...nt?oid=4132715
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/b...nt?oid=4132715