I'm Baaacckkkk....

As eloquently pointed out by Melissa, I have officially slacked off the last 2 months. My my time flies when you are unemployed and moving into a new home! After much painting, unpacking and yes slacking I am back to writing.

Today will bring quick (because really, they require little else) film reviews of the two big recent releases - Indiana Jones and Sex in the City.

Indiana Jones (and the long title about a Skull that I never get right)

Really and truly this film can be summed up in a question. Did you ask yourself "I wonder if it is worth seeing?" If you did, don't go see it. This is a film made for fans - fans of the Indie series, fans of the genre and fans of nostalgia. I happen to like extra helpings of all three and therefore was present and accounted for at the first showing Thursday morning at 10AM. Note, there was a 12:01AM showing on Wednesday, but I have long left my days of midnight showings at the movies!

The movie treds on no new territory and obliterates some of the old. Yes George Lucas is a man who makes Oliver Stone look ego-less and his quest story is long in the teeth both in believability and interest. Yes, the CGI technology goes too far in an unrealistic jungle scene and yes Cate Blanchet (who I love and adore) is WAY over the top, she makes Laura Dern's turn in RECOUNT look subtle. My answer to that is SO WHAT? I mean really, the point of the movie is fantasy/adventure. What about either of those words asks the viewer to believe it needs to all make sense.

At the end of the day in my book it ranks somewhere in between The Last Crusade and Temple of Doom. Raider's will forever be untouched, but truth be told, this fourth installment is all it needs to be - a big budget, summer, popcorn induced, cotton candy flick with a nice dose of nostalgia on top! For me, not a bad way to spend a Thursday morning.

SEX AND THE CITY

OK, same rules apply - if you have to ask the question, don't bother. This is a film made for its fans. It too is long in the teeth. The running time of 2 1/2 hours is just WAY too many couture costume changes for me. I should pause to qualify this review. I am a fan of the original show. I loved some seasons, loathed others and could be indifferent to many episodes. However, I did admire the shows ability to explore these four women and expand their personal journeys beyond the show's title.

That said, the thing they did wonderfully well in the show and lost in the movie was the strength of the male characters. All four men (even Chris Noth) feel like they are mere accessories for the side of the ladies that aren't carrying the Prada bags. All built wonderful characters over the course of the show and all were left with less to do than I would have hoped. That said the thing the film does best is go to the emotional core of the series, the unbreakable bond of true friendship. It shows the vulnerability and stubborn will of these women's relationships with each other in a way that honors the six years of story building they did in the series.

So in the end is the movie everything it could have been, no. It is however a fitting tribute to a series that didn't always live up to its promise. Flawed and all, it was nice to return to these four women and watch them close the loop of a phase of life that many of us took a birdseye view into and sometimes related back to our own lives.