Sex and the City 2 - movie review

The second "Sex and the City" movie has received A LOT of bad press. The critics have been less than kind about the film. It has been percieved as a bloated, mis-directed and empty movie experience. It has been laughed at for spending more on the costume budget than anything else. It has been called an out-dated and over-ripe fruit full of lacklustre labour. And worse of all, it has been condemned for forgetting what the series was all about. And so, with less than 2stars overall, the second film version of the seminal TV series is not getting its due at the box office. And this is a shame.

I will admit that I was not in love with the first film. And I was surprised that a second film was made at all. However, the film achieves most of what it aims to do and that makes it a success. We are entering a new age of film-adapted movies and I would suggest that the regular rules no longer apply. Elements such as 'narrative arc', 'character development', and 'essence of conflict' are not as important for these types of films. And while the critics will continue to lambast a film that does not possess them, an audience will still understand.

Yes, SATC2 is missing these things but it does not matter. The audience knows these characters and so development is not the motive. The audience is there to visit "friends" they have come to love through television. It is this very thing that removes the need for a traditional narrative arc. The audience is used to experiencing the trials of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda in an episodic fashion. So, while some might see the film as a loooong, untethered story it is, in fact, a series of five episodes put together to fulfill a larger sense of story. There is the wedding episode. The life frustration episode. The travel abroad episode. The return of the past episode. And the true love episode. Just like the television show it is Carrie's drama that propels the actions through these episodes. And for fans of the series nothing more is needed. They get to spend a couple hours with the ladies going forward on their lives. What else where we paying for?

Which brings us to the point of conflict. Much of the derision about the film rests with the relocation to Abu Dhabi for the majority of the story-telling. Director Michael Patrick King once said that New York City was the fifth central character in the show and now that quote is coming back to haunt him. If that is the case, HOW could most of the film happen somewhere else? But this is the point. NYC has become emblematic of the girls' single lives. It is the place that they searched, and fought and loved and sexed until this point and now, sadly, life is not all they hoped it would be. Miranda has made partner but work is not fulfilling and she is missing the joys in motherhood. Charlotte finally has two beautiful daughters and she is completely overwhelmed. Samantha is feeling her mojo disappear through menopause. Carrie is married and the excitement of her dating life is gone. So if the city is the fifth character then the city is in peril. It is withered. It is a testament to the past. It is everything the girls' thought they wanted until they had it. Which is why the relocation for film two is the best choice to highlight the conflicts in life and help all four ladies come to terms with it. And, for a series hell-bent on fighting the norms of women and sex in society what better location than a place that clearly represents the contrast of progress and tradition: Abu Dhabi.

The film has been scolded for poking fun at Arabian women and suggesting, inappropriately, that the American way is better. But I do not think this is the point of the film. The location is established as a mirror for the struggles of our girls who are all fighting with their own traditional challenges in the face of progress. And so, in this way, being a modern woman is evaluated in light of the long-standing roles of mother, wife and crone. New challenges for the fab four means new city. And when they return home they are able to make peace with their new roles and thus welcome the fifth character back into their hearts. And so SATC2 is not a waste of celluloid. For those women who have grown up close in age to the ladies they will be able to see what is going on with the film and they will love it. They will also love the ludicrous fashion. And the return of Aiden. And the loving moments between characters that make them cry. Really, what more do you want?

Millennium Girl

I spent the month of May in Sweden. Not literally but definately literature-ly. It all be gan with my need for a new book to read (I can't go long without a book on the go) while visiting my parents in Sudbury. The Shoppers had a paperback copy of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and I had heard good things about it. So I bought the book and I couldn't put it down. All 841 pages became my page-turning crack for the roadtrip and my succeeding commuter trips in the following weeks.

The book follows the story of Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, who gets wrapped up in a decades old murder mystery. Eventually, Blomkvist connects with private investigation researcher/hacker Lisbeth Salander who is facing her own demons while trying to help Blomkvist find the ones involved in his case. The book is a fantastic mixture of pulp fiction, social commentary and addictive mystery. It is also somewhat disturbing as the crimes of characters are revealed and the victimization of others is described. Before I even finished the first book I had picked up the second in the series knowing that I wasn't ready to abandon Blomkvist and Salander just yet.

"The Girl who Played with Fire" is the second installment and it takes the the history of a key character one step further into a political thriller of epic proportions. The story examines the impacts of power and how the balance of it does not always equate even in a world where logic is based on equality. Once again I couldn't put the book down. It became my commuting companion and as I looked around, I saw others reading the first or second book. One day a lady stopped on the the streetcar to talk to me about the book. It feels as if the novels are reaching a Twilight-style phenomenon this season. While the books became best-sellers in Europe over 5 years ago they are finally reaching a mass audience in North America. And then it was a Sunday afternoon and I only had 50 pages left in book two. With 20 minutes left before the book store closed I was trucking down the sidewalk to buy third installment. I could not wait. I could not take my 30-minute commute with empty hands.

And so, "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" made it into my life.
And what a tale it is. The politics of book two play out in a story about a government's full-on assault against an individual's rights and a law drama to tie it all together. All three books feature Blomkvist and Salander - an odd partnership that reveals the bounds of true friendship under uber-challenging circumstances. When the last book ended I was almost at peace.

Rumour has it that the author - Stieg Larsson - had 10 books planned in the series. His death in 2004 occurred shortly after he provided the manuscripts for the three books now known as "The Millennium Trilogy". Recently, the Swedish film adaptation of the first book made it into North American cinemas. It is gritty, deliberate and a reasonably faithful portrayal of the book. While any film series will struggle to put over 2100 pages of story onto the screen, the second Swedish adaptation will be on screens in July and Hollywood is working on its own adaptation. But before the frenzy about "the Girl" takes hold, you should take time to read the series. It is the perfect trilogy for summer beach season. And it might even make you think. Long live Blomkvist and Salander!!

How Does Your Garden Grow

My thumbs have never been green. If anything, my hands distinctly hold the shade of botanical death. I have been known to actually kill cacti - and they can live in some darn inhospitable regions. I accidentally froze a jade plant to death just by putting it on a windowsill. To date, every houseplant I have transplanted has whithered away. In order to save more green lives from an undeserving demise I have held off on living plants in my home and focused my attention on already-doomed cut flowers and cheap-and-forever fake blooms.

But then I moved into my new place in Toronto and it came with both a front flower bed and an ample garden space in the backyard. I decided to give these areas some attention and have since become captivated with trying to populate these soily spaces and keep my newly acquired plants alive and thriving.


The first step was getting some help. And who better to help than my mom, who has, throughout my life always managed to grow something. I also thought it would be a nice way for us to bond since we have not shared any garden adventures since I was about 5 years old and shucking peas was my responsibility.

At the end of April my mom came down to Toronto to spend the weekend with me. Of course I know nothing about plants so when my mom asked what I would like to have in the garden my only response was: "Something blue?" We toured the Canadian Tire for supplies - my first trowel! - and dirt. We got a few small pansies and some snapdragons but the selection was not great. Our next stop at the Loblaws garden centre was more rewarding. We got some bigger pansies - Giganticos! - some daisy-looking bunches and some herbs. We also got two tomato plants to get them started. The convenience stores at the top of my street (they ALL sell flowers!) provided us with ivy and some marigolds.


We devoted the Saturday to picking, plucking and planting. In truth, my mom did alot of the transplanting and I did most of the weeding. She showed me how to dig the deep edge along the beds to keep the grass from infiltrating and I turned over the soil in the bed to mizx it with a growing mix and hummus mixture. Thankfully the sun was out all day but my back began to ache and my feet and hands were filthy. We tried to use gloves but in the end it was easier to alot of things with my bar hands.


Finally we got all the plants into their places. I got a flower box for the railing of the front porch and filled it with periwinkly, ivy and purple pansies. Then I had to water everything. I didn't have a garden hose so the old-fashioned method was employed. Trying to saturate a flower bed with a watering can takes quite a few trips. But it was worth it! The flowers really helped the yard to look lively and bring a touch of spring to the house.


A month later and things are going well. The trees are finally getting buds and I have discovered that annuals from years past are sprouting in the gardens. I am very grateful to the past tenants who planted before me because it isn't cheap to fill a garden and it is great that I didn't have to buy all the filler! I also took a number of trips down to the beach and collected rocks to line the beds. The front was done all in shades of grey and the back in mixed stones. I contructed the inukshuk from spare brick I found on the property. It was done for my boyfriend who really likes the emblem. It firmly stays that "we are here".


I look at the gardens and I have to smile. My mom was so helpful, the weather has been sunny and the flowers are blooming well. I have plans to make a herb garden and a section has been setup for vegetables which I will do later this month. It still looks sort of sparse to me but I have to remember that he earth is full of magic just waiting to grow. If the day lillies are any indication then more treasures will soon be pushing up into the air and filling up the spaces. Time to go water everything. Admittedly, the whole "gardening" thing is a bit addictive and I have to keep my thumb green while it lasts.

Home Is Where The Start Is

So this is where it begins. My boyfriend arrives today. YAY! After three months of long distance and three weeks of moving preparation anxiety he will be finally be here. The very thought of it fills my brain with girlie giggles about our upcoming together-ness. I cannot help thinking about how his arrival marks the start of the next stage of our lives. We have left our east coast setting behind. We are embarking on new career paths. We are consolidating our lives into the little house below.


And of course I am completely freaked out. Yes, it is true. While my life has been relatively simple this past month - work, commute, eat, read, sleep, repeat - my boyfriend has been sorting and packing the elements of our life in a frenzy. We decided to take an economical approach which forced a drastic purge in our belongings. Purging is not my boyfriend's strong suit. Leaving the fate of my personal effects in the hands of others is not my forte. And so the last couple of weeks have not been the easiest on either of us.

But his three-day road trip is coming to end now and I will be able to open the little UHaul trailer and see what has made it to this part of the country. We still have things stashed away in basement corners of Nova Scotia, but we will deal with that headache later. Yes, later. One thing at a time. Today I get to welcome him HOME. Today is when it starts.

Fang-Fricken-Tastic!

The best 3 minutes of TV all season! Check out this CTV clip of last night's episode of "The Vampire Diaries". If you haven't been watching all season and don't want to spoil it then skip this entry. Ignore the mandatory ad and the opening to the scene just click the image to get the goods.


I think the performance of Paul Wesley (Stefan) is so incredible as he goes through all the emotions of the addict and vampire that he is. So amazing. Look at his face in the end. A face in shock. In pain. A face smeared and dripping with blood. A monster's face. And this is the hero! The good guy! This show rocks.

Joy Stuck

Life has taken some dramatic turns in the past few months. After my relocation for work and organizing a long-distance relationship, we have found an apartment to rent and are now madly planning his relocation back to me. This should be a time filled with joy. I have, instead, filled it with anxiety. My boyfriend, not so much. You see, we are very different people when it comes to dealing with, well, anything.

The picture to the left explains it all. If, by chance, we were held captive by a giant pre-historic slothbeast then our behaviour would be thus:

Him: hahaha! Giant slothbeast. Well this is in unfortunate. High Five to the sloth.

Me: gah! Giant slothbeast. This is the worst thing ever. I must mope about it.

Our current situation is a real-life slothbeast. And I have to admit that in the past two months I have not been the best girlfriend. I have been the mopey girlfriend and I am strangling the happy-go-lucky-high-fives from my relationship. I know that I am overwhelmed by the fast-pace of change and the ever-growing pile of unknowns in my future. The stimulating aura of 'the new' has faded away leaving me alone in a dark tunnel of 'what-ifs'. And it makes me a bad girlfriend. It makes me sulky on the phone with my boyfriend who doesn't deserve such negative vibes ALL the time. And I hate it. I hate that my JOY is stuck!

I understand that one source of my frustration is in the planning for change. When planning is involved I see the entire staircase. I see ALL the potential steps of a process as they ascend into the distance. Right now I see soooo many steps that they make the destination feel very far away. My boyfriend sees the steps as a one step after another. He tackles each step as it arrives. There is an obvious tension between people who build staircases and those who tackle steps. I have been letting this difference generate more negative feelings that it should. A good partnership has balance. It requires both. We will be successful in tackling the challenges ahead because we do it differently.

So the goal now is to unstick the joy. To release it back into the vast opportunities that are coming our way. To revel in the good fortune we have to be together. That is a positive start. One step at a time.

Magnificent!

This story is only rumor at the moment but it is such a great rumor that I can only hope it is true. Apparently, Tim Burton is in talks to re-make Disney's Sleeping Beauty tale from the evil fairy Maleficent's point of view! And ... Angelina Jolie may be playing the lead witch. The idea that one of my favourite actresses will be bringing my favourite Disney villian to life from my favourite Disney classic. Yay! Fingers crossed for this one. Read the story here!

Great to Grey

Oooops, I spoke too soon. From one great episode to a waste episode. Why? Why do we need to see Hunt relive his army time? How "ER" can you get! "Grey's Anatomy" thrives in Seattle (with the occassion trip to Oceanside Wellness) and taking its stories away from there for a flashback episode is jarring and weak.

The ceiling fan episode that introduced Hunt's PTSD storyline was excellent. Why go the obvious route and then create the most over-used drama scene EVER!!! Seriously, there was so much potential coming out of last week that they should have used that momentum rather than stop it in desert-boot tracks! At least we got some Sloan and Teddy hotness - I am a total fan of that!