In “Sex and the City 2,” sex is still sex and the city shifts from New York to Abu Dhabi. Although it is interesting to note that the movie was actually shot in Morocco.
Picking up two years after the first installment's release, the fab four---Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis)---set off to the Middle Eastern country to “get away” from all the issues hounding their respective lives:
Carrie struggles to keep the “sparkle” in her marriage with Big (Chris Noth); Samantha tries to defy aging and to up her libido by taking pills, pills, and more pills; Miranda gets incensed with a discriminating boss; and Charlotte, now a mother of two, becomes paranoid that her hubby will leave her for their braless nanny, Erin.
“SATC 2” still has some of the fun, wit, and that sense of warm and celebratory friendship that filled its predecessor; plus more glamour and cameos Liza Minelli -- who sang and danced “Single Ladies” at the girls’ gay buds’ wedding -- Miley Cyrus, and Penelope Cruz.
However, the film fails at leaving a memorable footprint in the desert sand. The film’s unapologetic attempt at empowering women at the expense of another culture is utterly tactless. What travelers usually do is immerse themselves in a new culture, and not mock it.
Kim delivers the funniest performance but one that is cultural-insensitive sometimes. These include violating the law by kissing a guy at an Abu Dhabi beach, and lifting “the finger” and screaming “sex” like it’s a sacred chant around conservative Arab men.
With scenes like these, it’s no wonder that the Abu Dhabi government rejected the request to shoot parts of the film in their generally traditional city. The production team could've simply and directly referenced Morocco and that could’ve spared the film a little criticism at least.
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”: Breezier than sand storm
Another video game finds its way to the big screen with “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” an exciting, fun, and breezy tale about the possibilities and consequences of turning back the clock's hands.
Originally created by Jordan Mechner back in 1989, the movie version is helmed by “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” director Mike Newell, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Carribean”).
Beyond lead star Jake Gyllenhaal’s drool-worthy six-pack abs and Tigger-like bounces, leaps, and runs from one roof to another, is a story set at the heart of historical Persia. Gyllenhaal’s Prince Dastan ventures into a quest of protecting a magic dagger from falling into the hands of his power-hungry, double-crossing uncle, Nizam (Ben Kingsley). Guarding that magic dagger, which has the power of revisiting time and altering history, is the beautiful princess of Alamut, Tamina (Gemma Arterton). Oh, doesn’t the sand smell of love?
Two hours inside the theater and it certainly doesn’t feel like forever, thanks to the film’s breezy pace, vibrant and sepia-toned cinematography, and sleek visual effects. The story may not be that unusual, but the visual feast the film offers more than makes up for it.
Jake’s Dastan is heroic and, at times, larger than life, yet his eyes are filled with wonder and hunger for adventure, just like when he was that little street urchin who defended his fellows from the king’s soldiers so bravely that King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) took him in for his own son. This film gives the actor the credibility to star not just in heavy dramas like “Brokeback Mountain,” but also in a fantasy film like this one.
His pairing with Gemma works although the chemistry is not that palpable. Worth-mentioning, too, is Alfred Molina, whose Sheik Amar---a tax evader who seems to have a love affair with ostriches---provides the laughs.
And since this is a Disney film, one can expect things to eventually work out in the end, albeit not exactly as one will expect it to be particularly, in how Prince Dastan and Princess Tamina’s love story ended.
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