Sex and the City 2: A review - I didn't hate it...but I didn't love it either.

NOTE: If you haven't watched the movie yet - you might not want to read my quasi-review...

Okay, let me first say that I love Sex & the City. I have every season on dvd, I have the movie (the version that first came out and the Special Edition Wedding Box set), I have the books (including the movie books), I've even gone on the SATC tour in New York! I've watched the show since the beginning and when it was done, I felt really sad - like my friends were going away. I was so excited when the first SATC movie came out and it was so SO good. The story, the acting, the fashion. Gorgeous! I loved the whole thing. And as I've mentioned in a previous post - I thought that the first movie was "good closure" for the series. However, when the trailer for the next movie came out - I couldn't help but get swept up in the excitement! How could I not, with the strains of Alicia Keys singing the refrain of "Empire State of Mind" and the girls parading in sumptious "vacationing-in-Abu-Dhabi-all-expenses-paid" outfits?! Even if the trailer didn't really say exactly what we were in for - we knew we were in for some kind of adventure! If you were like me, you were just happy to see the girls back and couldn't wait to see what this film would bring.

Well, I took the day off on Friday to watch it with my sister-in-law Belin. We had good seats, buttery popcorn, a 1/2 fruitopia, 1/2 sprite drink each and maltesers! We settled in to watch the movie and it was...

eh.

It was aight - but I would be lying to you and myself if I didn't say that it left a little something to be desired. Don't get me wrong - I loved seeing the girls and their over the top fashion. I loved seeing them living it up! I loved seeing how their lives changed from the last movie. But...I don't know if it was the story or the dialogue, but it seemed to me, that something was missing. Like, it didn't have the substance or foundation that it usually did. The shows were delightful, insightful and funny. The last movie was thoughtful, heartbreaking and a fitting continuation/conclusion to the show that I loved. Something happened that progressed their stories and at the end of the movie, you just knew that they would all live happily every after. However, this movie did not seem to progress their stories. I mean, yes, it showed how their lives changed in the past two years, but it all seemed very....fluffy. Of course there were moments of brilliance (such as when Anthony read his wedding vows and the whole idea of Carrie and Big's decision to not have children and people's reaction to it - which I can kind of relate to and wished they explored a little bit more!) but for the most part, it all just seemed a little bit forced and excessive (and not in a good way). Even the fashion wasn't enough to sustain me. Yes, it was beautiful, but as I read somewhere else - there was so much, that you didn't even have time to fall in love with anything in particular ie. like the iconic Dior Extremes Carrie wore in the last movie. (Though I did love Carrie's J'adore Dior t-shirt ballgown outfit. But it might've been because it was perpel.)

i love these!! (circa 2008)

j'adore! (circa 2010)

I feel bad that this is how I feel about it! I really wanted to love it - like everything else SATC, but I think my first instinct (that they should have quit while they were ahead) was correct. It wasn't as awful as some of the reviews I've read, but it also wasn't the best and what we've come to expect from the Carrie-Samantha-Miranda and Charlotte franchise.

However, I will most definitely watch the movie again. I'm planning to give it a second chance. Maybe I'm being too harsh! Maybe I was concentrating too much.

If that doesn't work, I will have to give it a third chance... And if that doesn't work, then maybe they need to do one more movie: Sex and the City 3: Redemption.

Watching basketball with my husband - I need a defibrillator.

UGH!!! I hope the Lakers win tonight because seriously, the stress of watching these Western Conference Finals with my husband is taking a toll on me. He's screaming and swearing (like they can hear him) and jumping up and down (and not in a "happy way"). And now I'm starting to yell too. It's getting so that I'm freaking out too when they miss a shot or screw up, because I don't want my husband to freak out! Seriously. I'm sure he's having heart palpitations right now. It would be funny if it weren't so stressful. Actually it is a little bit funny. LOL. I guess I shouldn't hate. He loves the Lakers. He's their biggest fan. He wears a different Laker jersey during each game. ( I have one too, but I don't want to wear it in case I'm bad luck.) He also does...(Yes! My boyfriend Sasha just shot a 3!!! Yay!)anyways...continuing...He also does commentaries during the game (I guess to himself, because I have no idea what he's talking about sometimes). Actually perhaps its better when he yells because if he doesn't and he just stands up and looks at the tv with his lips pressed together, that means he's REALLY mad. He's quiet right now but...oops. Spoke to soon. The lips are pressed together again. There's only 3 and a 1/2 minutes left and the Lakers are only 3 points ahead now....uh oh.

I think I'm starting to have palpitations now.

OMG. 3.5 seconds left and now they're tied!!! UGH.

They won!!! in the last second!!! by 2 points. CRAZY.

Okay. at least I can breathe now. (haha, my husband just did a big exhale).

Go Lakers! Game 6!!!!!

Time never goes this fast when I'm at work.

I love long weekends. Don't you? It's a good feeling knowing you don't have to go to work the next day! The actual day off seems to go pretty quickly. Like today we got up around 8:30am, which is not really sleeping in, but later than normal. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and I actually watched the Early Show. The Backstreet Boys were performing on 5th Avenue in New York (part of the Early Show's Summer Concert Series). Well I'm glad I caught that since I'm not going to the concert because NO ONE WANTS TO GO WITH ME. (ahem.) Anyways, we also started to watch a re-run of Three's Company, but my husband happened to find the Incredible Hulk movie (with Edward Norton as David Banner) on the movie channel, so we ended up watching that. It was actually not bad, though I laughed out loud when "the Hulk" after being shot at with bazookas, machine guns, tanks, etc...and not feeling anything, rubbed his head in pain after he accidently bumped it on the roof of a cave when he got startled. What? Anyways...then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a grilling marathon on the Food Network. Now I'm craving grilled pineapple. Before I knew it, it was 5:30pm and I figured I should get out of my pj's. So I vacuumed, showered, made spaghetti for dinner, watched the How I Met Your Mother season finale, marinated meat for dinner tomorrow and now I'm sitting here typing this out. And it's almost 10:00pm! What the deuce? Where does the time go?

I guess that "good feeling" of knowing you don't have to work the next day only lasts until...you have to work the next day. Boo.

Someone on Grey's was cray-cray!

OMG. Did you watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy?! CRAZY. I've just now started breathing again.

(If you haven't watched it yet, I'm not going to talk about it because you SERIOUSLY need to see it. If you have seen it - comments please!!!)

It's not my fault. Blame the weather!

It's so hot. Yes, I know. I shouldn't complain. We've been in a deep freeze for how long and the spring thaw and subsequent showers seemed to take forever, so I should really be happy that summer is finally here! And I am. I really am. I mean, I'm enjoying my summer outfit ensembles, with the smart little jackets or tanks, topping off cropped pants with cute sandals and skimmers, complemented by fun summer accessories and sunglasses! (A whole week without carrying my umbrelli!)

However, much as I love the sunshine, this heat makes me procrastinate. (Even more than usual, I mean.) It's totally affecting my blog-posting as you can see from my lack of posts so far this month. It seems that everytime I start one, I either get so hot that my brain feels like its going to spontaneously combust or I fall asleep, because I can't seem to stay awake in this heat. (On a side note, its not even really THAT hot yet, which stresses me out even more about Vegas because it's going to be even hotter there! I'm scurred). Anyhoo. I guess the best thing to do then is to go back to being stealth and writing it here, where there is some AC,  rather than attempting to write in a place without AC because I will inevitably write about how hot it is or fall asleep writing about how hot it is.

On another note, I hear it's supposed to rain this weekend, so perhaps I will be able to write something then.

Or I will fall asleep listening to the rhythm of the falling rain. Telling me just what a fool I've been.

GLeecap? Not this week.

By now you must be used to my weekly Glee recaps where I'm gushing about how much I love this show and how I think its the greatest and how I can't live without it, etc...It was starting to border on obsessive and a wee bit compulsive. Plus you don't want to read about my praising each song arrangement or duet that happens to make its way on this gem of a show! So... I thought that perhaps this time I would give you a break on that. Plus, I wasn't able to watch it last night.

However, I did PVR it..and I watched it tonight.

But...since I said that I would give you a break on my Glee diatribes, I'm not going to talk about how wonderful this show is. I'm not going to discuss the mind-blasting presence of NPH and how AWESOME his duets with Mr. Schu were on "Piano Man" and "Dream On" (made even better by the fact that they were auditioning for Les Mis!) I won't mention how glorious that whole dance number was (viewed at some points a la "cell phone" camera, in the style of those surprise mass dance numbers in train stations) when Artie sang "Safety Dance" and how happy/sad it made me. There will be no discussion on much my heart broke on the part where Artie was singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and Quinn reached out to touch his shoulder because she could feel how sad he was that he couldn't be the one dancing with Tina. And most of all, my lips are sealed about how I unashamedly started bawling when Shelby brilliantly sang "I Dreamed a Dream" as a duet with Rachel because I was so moved by the music, the words and the feelings behind the words. I won't even say they out-do themselves on this show every week. No sir. I will spare you all of that because I think it's getting to be just a bit much.

So, what the heck am I going to talk about then? I dunno.

I guess I will go back to writing my Gleecaps next week.  

Total ECLIPSE of the Heart - “Turn around, bright eyes…”

Did you know that Eclipse was featured on Oprah yesterday? Well, one of my girlfriends at work mentioned that the cast of Eclipse would be on sometime because she saw the commercial, but she didn’t know when. Then my sister-in-law Carol texted me and told me they were on Oprah today (which was yesterday). I was resigned to the fact that I would be missing it since I wouldn’t be home on time and I didn’t PVR it either. So, I didn’t think anymore about it…(as it would just depress me even more). Anyways…last night I happened to still be up at 1:00am, flipping channels when I happened upon…Oprah!!! I only caught the last ½ hour of the show, but I was so happy/excited to see anything about Eclipse that it didn't matter! I can’t wait for it to come out!! (And oh, Edward, how I’ve missed you!!!) Okay, so as I was watching, there was a clip on “Twi-moms” which I thought was cute and sad/pathetic at the same time… (it’s because I always judge “everyone else” as either 1) not enough of a fan ie. "I’m a BIGGER and BETTER fan than you are!" or 2) too much of a crazy, obsessed, sad/pathetic, “don’t they have anything better to do with their lives?” fan. I know, I’m so mean.)

So anyways…as I was judging these Twi-moms as the latter types of fans (really? Twilight red-carpet parties?!), I realized, that wait a minute – I am just as obsessed as they are!!! And possibly, (though I hate to admit it) maybe THEY were even bigger and better fans than I was – I mean, they had chocolate covered strawberries (white choco for Edward obvi, and dark choco for Jacob), t-shirts and other crap, AND a life-size, cardboard cut-out of Edward! I don’t have a life-size cardboard cut-out of Edward! I SO need a life-size cardboard cut-out of Edward! (I think I saw one at the mall. I hope it’s still there. I have to buy it!! I too am a TRUE FAN, y'know.)

So today, as I was discussing the life-size cardboard cut-out of Edward with Carol, she asked me a very important question: If/When I got it, where would I put it ?

Let’s see…the front room would be good, so he could just be waiting for me when I got home. (“Edward! I’m home!” “Welcome home, my little lamb.”)

Or… the living room, so we could watch TV together – I’m sure he would enjoy Glee AND Gossip Girl (but we wouldn't watch Vampire Diaries).

Or… the best and most obvious place – my room, right beside my bed. So he could watch me sleep (fluttery eyes).

Although perhaps my husband wouldn’t be as down with that idea…