Sex and the City 2 | Green Zone, Prague

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Sex and the City 2 | Green Zone

Cinema reviews for June 3

published 04.06.2010 | comments (0) | log in to post comments

Written by: Reviews by Jason Pirodsky

Sex and the City 2

Rating:

Directed by Michael Patrick King. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Mario Cantone, Willie Garson, Alice Eve, Jason Lewis, John Corbett, Liza Minnelli, Art Malik, Shiekh Khalid, Dhaffer L'Abidine, Penélope Cruz, Miley Cyrus. Written by Michael Patrick King, from the TV show created by Darren Star and characters from the book by Candace Bushnell.

	Showtimes
	IMDb link

Jump to Green Zone Review

As I was watching Sex and the City 2, it struck me that Carrie and company were modern day variations of the characters from Caligula or Luchino Visconti´s The Damned: their extravagance and gross indulgence has long gone unchecked, and it will eventually lead to their violent downfall. The only difference is that Sex and the City is a celebration of gross indulgence, and the payoff is not a downfall, it´s more indulgence.

Look, I don´t want to pour on the hatred, there been enough of that already (just check out some of the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes). I´m not in the target audience for this movie, I´ve never seen the show; if you´ve built up a relationship with these characters from the years on TV, then sure, you can forgive their sins. I get that.

But getting past my personal distaste for the material, Sex and the City 2 is still an awful film. It´s an endurance test at a plotless 2.5 hours, with little to engage the viewer. The characters just sit up there on the screen, bathing in their extravagance for the duration; even if you like them, I have to imagine you expect a little more here.

The film opens at a gay wedding. Ministered, of course, by Liza Minnelli, who performs Beyoncé´s Single Ladies with two lookalike dancers after performing the vows. This is the high point of the film; afterwards we have to actually confront the characters and all their “problems”.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) seems to have an issue with her ridiculously boring husband, Mr. Big (Chris Noth); she wants to, I don´t know, go out and do something, and he wants to order take out, take a load off, and watch some TV. Which is what he proceeds to do throughout the rest of the film. He seems like a nice enough guy, but he´s trapped inside this caricature of a lazy husband.

Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has a little girl who won´t stop crying. Oh, she has a full-time, live-in nanny to actually take care of the kid, but still: won´t this goddamn kid shut the hell up? Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), uh, she quits her job. Samantha (Kim Cattrall), she just wants to have sex. Of course, none of these characters will actually confront their problems or change during the course of the film. Their lifestyle won´t allow for it.

The big plot point, though, is a trip to Abu Dhabi. There, the girls surround themselves with exotic indulgence. And offend the locals with their blissful ignorance. The writer/director, Michael Patrick King, seems to be confronting the idea that Sex and the City and the way of life it promotes is the reason terrorists hate the US.

Comedy in the film is limited to bad puns. “Bedouin, Bath, and Beyond,” and “Lawrence of my Labia.” Yechh. Drama fares no better. The big climax is when Carrie briefly kisses someone, then feels really really bad about it.

As they age, with the Botox and collagen and worldly possessions, these women are actually becoming Barbie dolls. Parker fares the worst, with a waxy plastic complexion and those soulless blue eyes. They´re no more than props in their own lives; I wonder if they´ll ever wake up one day and wonder where it´s all gone, what was the point of it all.

You'd think the filmmakers might want to address the economic concerns that have hit since the last movie. Nah. It's just more shoes and designer handbags.

***

Green Zone

Rating:

Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Khalid Abdalla, Yigal Naor, Said Faraj, Nicoye Banks, Jerry Della Salla, Sean Huze, Raad Rawi, Michael O'Neill, Allen Vaught, Paul Rieckhoff. Written by Brian Helgeland, from the book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

	Showtimes
	IMDb link

Green Zone was sold to a diminished audience as Bourne in Iraq. The surface elements are there, sure: star Matt Damon, director Paul Greengrass (Supremacy and Ultimatum), and his trademark frenetic camerawork and editing and kinetic action sequences. But first and foremost this is a surprisingly dense and effective political thriller about the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in newly-liberated 2003 Iraq.

Of course, the WMDs weren´t there. After coming up empty on raid after raid and suffering casualties in the process, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) sits in on a WMD conference overseen by slimy Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), in which the intelligence sources are confirmed and a new target is given. Miller protests, having turned up nothing more significant than a toilet factory. “Sir, there´s something wrong with the intelligence.”

And that´s the rub. Green Zone argues that the intelligence was wholly manufactured by Poundstone (a stand-in for Paul Bremer, US Administrator to Iraq who oversaw reconstruction from 2003-4) and company, who needed the war and used the threat of WMDs to justify it.

Proving any wrongdoing, however, isn´t an easy task. Looking into it are Wall Street Journal journalist Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan), who printed the information leaked to her by Poundstone without any verification of its credibility, and CIA official Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), whose department was kept in the dark. Brown recruits Miller to help him uncover the lies; “aren´t we fighting on the same side?” Miller asks him. “Don´t be naďve.”

It isn´t all politics, though. There´s a good deal of Bourne in Green Zone as we follow Miller and his team on the ground as they track down a high-ranking Iraqi official and a potential informant. They encounter Freddy (Khalid Abdalla), an English-speaking Iraqi who was glad to see the old regime kicked out and wants to help; he serves as Miller´s translator, and their bond forms the heart of the film.

It´s all been said before, but Greengrass is the most effective action director working in Hollywood: his shaky-cam style isn´t exactly popular, but it´s masterfully employed to give us a sense of order amongst the chaos. While everything seems to be happening at the same time and too fast for us to follow, the shots match, the editing flows, and our eyes are able to pick up the necessary information required for the scenes to work: we´re always aware of the characters and where they are in relation to their surroundings, and a natural tension arises from this basic knowledge. I wish I could say the same for all the other recent action films that have shanghaied the shaky-cam aesthetics.

Green Zone was written by Brian Helgeland and sourced from the non-fiction novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Washington Post journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. How much is fiction, I cannot say, but most of it feels authentic enough for the movie to work.

Except for my one complaint: the final scenes reek of Hollywood formula, and try to wrap everything up in a nice little package. If only things turned out so clear-cut in real life...

***

Also opening: Furry Vengeance (showtimes | IMDb), a family comedy starring Brendan Fraser that was savaged by critics and audiences in the US. Screening in a Czech-dubbed version on Prague screens.

Also: Kung Fu Cyborg (showtimes | IMDb), a sci-fi comedy from director Jeffrey Lau. Screening in Japanese with Czech subtitles.

And: Hurvínek na scéně 3D (showtimes), a Czech-produced 3D animated film starring the classic puppets Spejbl and Hurvinek. Screening in Czech.

Review Archive

17.5.12: The Dictator ★★★
10.5.12: Dark Shadows ★★★ | StreetDance 2 ★½
3.5.12: The Avengers ★★★½ | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ★★★
26.4.12: The Raven ★★½
19.4.12: Battleship ★★½ | The Lucky One ★★½ | This Must Be the Place ★★★ | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ★★½ | Hysteria ★★½
12.4.12: We Bought a Zoo ★★★ | The Cold Light of Day ★½ | One for the Money ★
5.4.12: American Reunion ★★★
29.3.12: Wrath of the Titans ★★ | The Vow ★★
22.3.12: The Hunger Games ★★★ | Bel Ami ★★★ | We Need to Talk About Kevin ★★★½
15.3.12: The Lorax ★★½
8.3.12: John Carter ★★★ | Haywire ★★★ | The Grey ★★★
5.3.12: The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think ★★★★
1.3.12: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance ★★ | The Iron Lady ★½ | The Devil Inside ★
23.2.12: War Horse ★★★½ | The Woman in Black ★★★ | My Week with Marilyn ★★½ | This Means War ★½
16.2.12: The Artist ★★★★ | Shame ★★★★ | Safe House ★★½
9.2.12: The Phantom Menace 3D ★★★ | Man on a Ledge ★★½ | The Ides of March ★★★½ | Jack and Jill ★
2.2.12: Hugo ★★★★ | Chronicle ★★★ | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ★★½ | Perfect Sense ★★½
26.1.12: Contraband ★★½ | A Dangerous Method ★★★ | Carnage ★★★ | The Help ★★★
19.1.12: The Descendants ★★★½ | Underworld: Awakening ★★
12.1.12: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ★★★½ | Machine Gun Preacher ★★½
8.1.12: A Separation ★★★★
5.1.12: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ★★★½
29.12.11: The Darkest Hour ★★
22.12.11: The Inbetweeners Movie ★★ | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ★½
15.12.11: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ★★★
8.12.11: New Year's Eve ★½ | The Rum Diary ★★★½ | The Thing ★★½
1.12.11: Moneyball ★★★★ | Puss in Boots ★★★
24.11.11: Immortals ★★★
17.11.11: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 ★★★½ | I Don't Know How She Does It ★
10.11.11: Real Steel ★★★ | Tower Heist ★★½ | Anonymous ★★½
3.11.11: In Time ★★½
27.10.11: Adventures of Tintin ★★★★ | The Debt ★★½ | Larry Crowne ★★½ | Cave of Forgotten Dreams ★★★½
20.10.11: Paranormal Activity 3 ★★★ | The Three Musketeers ★ | Contagion ★★★½
13.10.11: Johnny English Reborn ★★½
6.10.11: Killer Elite ★★★ | One Day ★★ | Dream House ★½
29.9.11: Friends with Benefits ★★½ | Abduction ★
27.9.11: The Skin I Live In ★★★½
22.9.11: Midnight in Paris ★★★½ | Colombiana ★★½ | Shark Night 3D ★½
15.9.11: Drive ★★★★ | Pina ★★★½ | Crazy, Stupid, Love. ★★½ | Don't Be Afraid of the Dark ★★½
8.9.11: Super 8 ★★★½ | Final Destination 5 ★★★
25.8.11: Cowboys & Aliens ★★
18.8.11: Conan the Barbarian ★★ | Green Lantern ★★½ | Win Win ★★★½ | Womb ★½
11.8.11: Rise of the Planet of the Apes ★★★ | The Lincoln Lawyer ★★★
4.8.11: Captain America: The First Avenger ★★★ | Horrible Bosses ★★★
28.7.11: Cars 2 ★★½ | Jane Eyre ★★★½ | Bad Teacher ★½ | The Resident ★★
21.7.11: The Tree of Life ★★★★ | The Mechanic ★★
14.7.11: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ★★★½ | Submarine ★★★½
7.7.11: Hanna ★★★½ | Bridesmaids ★★★½
30.6.11: Transformers: Dark of the Moon ★½
16.6.11: Your Highness ★½
9.6.11: The Hangover Part 2 ★★★ | Paul ★★½ | Skyline ★½
2.6.11: X-Men: First Class ★★★½
26.5.11: Melancholia ★★★★
19.5.11: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ★★½
12.5.11: Priest 3D ★★ | Water for Elephants ★★★ | Something Borrowed ★★ | Tetro ★★★½
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28.4.11: Thor
21.4.11: Source Code | The Eagle | Mr. Nice
14.4.11: Scream 4 | Just Go with It | Unknown | Somewhere
7.4.11: The Way Back | Love and Other Drugs | Jack Goes Boating | I Am Number Four
31.3.11: Sucker Punch | No Strings Attached | My Soul to Take
24.3.11: Limitless
17.3.11: The Dilemma | The Rite | Sanctum
10.3.11: Rango | The King's Speech
3.3.11: The Adjustment Bureau | Drive Angry 3D
24.2.11: The Fighter | Morning Glory
17.2.11: True Grit | Burlesque
10.2.11: Black Swan | London Boulevard
3.2.11: 127 Hours
27.1.11: The Tourist | Tangled | Chain Letter
20.1.11: The Next Three Days | Gulliver's Travels
13.1.11: The Green Hornet | Season of the Witch | Another Year
6.1.11: The Kids Are All Right | The Good Heart
16.12.10: TRON: Legacy | Paranormal Activity 2
9.12.10: Megamind
2.12.10: Due Date | The American
25.11.10: The Other Guys | The Switch
18.11.10: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
11.11.10: Howl | Devil
4.11.10: The Social Network | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Saw 3D
28.10.10: Red | Animal Kingdom
21.10.10: Four Lions
14.10.10: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Eat Pray Love | Machete
7.10.10: DVD Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop
30.9.10: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
23.9.10: Resident Evil: Afterlife
16.9.10: The Karate Kid | Going the Distance
9.9.10: Největší z Čechů
2.9.10: Step Up 3D | Ondine
26.8.10: Grown Ups
19.8.10: The Expendables | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | A Serious Man | When You're Strange
12.8.10: Salt
5.8.10: Get Him to the Greek
29.7.10: Knight and Day | Bunny and the Bull
22.7.10: Inception | Agora
15.7.10: Shrek Forever After | A Single Man | The Rebound | Mr. Nobody
8.7.10: Predators | Letters to Juliet
1.7.10: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
24.6.10: Killers | Solomon Kane
17.6.10: Toy Story 3 | The A-Team | From Paris with Love | The Back-up Plan
10.6.10: The Ghost Writer
3.6.10: Sex and the City 2 | Green Zone
27.5.10: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Brooklyn's Finest | Precious
20.5.10: Hot Tub Time Machine
13.5.10: Robin Hood | Whatever Works
6.5.10: Kick-Ass
29.4.10: Iron Man 2 | The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans | The Road
22.4.10: The Bounty Hunter | The Crazies
15.4.10: Clash of the Titans | An Education
1.4.10: Moon | The Men Who Stare at Goats | Everybody's Fine
25.3.10: Remember Me | Leap Year | Babylon A.D.
18.3.10: The Lovely Bones | Legion
11.3.10: Daybreakers | Dear John | Mammoth
4.3.10: Alice in Wonderland | Nine
25.2.10: Shutter Island | The Hurt Locker
18.2.10: The Wolfman | Valentine's Day | Edge of Darkness
11.2.10: The Book of Eli | In Search of a Midnight Kiss
4.2.10: Capitalism: A Love Story | Brothers | The Box | Did You Hear About the Morgans?
28.1.10: Up in the Air | The Fourth Kind | New York, I Love You
21.1.10: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | It's Complicated | Black Dynamite
14.1.10: Sherlock Holmes
7.1.10: Fame
17.12.09: Avatar | Whip It
10.12.09: Spread
3.12.09: Zombieland | A Perfect Getaway
26.11.09: The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Antichrist
19.11.09: Paranormal Activity | Law Abiding Citizen | The Time Traveller's Wife
12.11.09: 2012
5.11.09: My Life in Ruins
29.10.09: This Is It, Love Happens, Halloween II
22.10.09: Fifty Dead Men Walking, Saw VI
15.10.09: The Brothers Bloom, The Ugly Truth, The Final Destination
8.10.09: Surrogates
1.10.09: Julie & Julia, Hunger
24.9.09: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Gamer, Night of the Living Dead 3D
17.9.09: District 9
3.9.09: The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Wire
27.8.09: Inglourious Basterds, Taking Woodstock, The Proposal
20.8.09: Up, Two Lovers
13.8.09: G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
6.8.09: Brüno
30.7.09: The Boat That Rocked, Away We Go, Knowing
23.7.09: Crank: High Voltage, Bronson, The Accidental Husband
16.7.09: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Limits of Control
9.7.09: Public Enemies, The Wrestler
2.7.09: Fighting
25.6.09: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
18.6.09: The Hangover, Drag Me to Hell, Zack and Miri Make a Porno
11.6.09: Coraline, The Secret of Moonacre
4.6.09: Terminator Salvation, I Love You, Man
28.5.09: State of Play, Bottle Shock, New in Town
21.5.09: The Last House on the Left
14.5.09: Angels & Demons
7.5.09: Star Trek, Duplicity, 17 Again
30.4.09: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, My Bloody Valentine
23.4.09: Synecdoche, New York, The Reader, Friday the 13th
16.4.09: Gran Torino, Defiance, Hotel for Dogs, Confessions of a Shopaholic
9.4.09: The Visitor, Happy-Go-Lucky
2.4.09: Fast & Furious, Bride Wars
19.3.09: He's Just Not That Into You, Battle in Seattle, Sex Drive, The Unborn
12.3.09: Seven Pounds, Marley & Me
5.3.09: Watchmen, Doubt
26.2.09: Slumdog Millionaire, The Duchess, The Pink Panther 2
19.2.09: Frost/Nixon, The Spirit, Transporter 3, City of Ember, Bolt
12.2.09: Valkyrie, Milk
5.2.09: The Tale of Despereaux, Bedtime Stories
29.1.09: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road
22.1.09: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Traitor
15.1.09: Burn After Reading, Yes Man, Che: Part One, My Best Friend's Girl
8.1.09: Changeling
2.1.09: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
25.12.08: Australia
11.12.08: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Four Christmases, Paranoid Park, Make It Happen
4.12.08: Bangkok Dangerous, High School Musical 3: Senior Year
27.11.08: Twilight, Body of Lies
20.11.08: Death Race, Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Strangers
13.11.08: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
6.11.08: Quantum of Solace, The Women
30.10.08: Max Payne, Nights in Rodanthe, The Other Boleyn Girl
23.10.08: Vicki Christina Barcelona, The Forbidden Kingdom
16.10.08: Nightwatching, Taken, Juno
9.10.08: Elegy, Mirrors
2.10.08: Eagle Eye, Disaster Movie
25.9.08: 2 Days in Paris
18.9.08: Tropic Thunder, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
04.9.08: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Journey to the Center of the Earth
28.8.08: You Don't Mess with the Zohan
21.8.08: Funny Games U.S.
14.8.08: WALL•E, Meet Dave, Then She Found Me, The Orphanage
7.8.08: The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!
31.7.08: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
24.7.08: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
17.7.08: The Incredible Hulk, Shine a Light, Be Kind Rewind, Nim's Island, Made of Honor
10.7.08: Get Smart
3.7.08: Kung Fu Panda, Hancock
26.6.08: Wanted
19.6.08: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
12.6.08: The Happening, My Blueberry Nights
5.6.08: Sex and the City, Penelope
29.5.08: 21, Untraceable
22.5.08: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
15.5.08: What Happens in Vegas
8.5.08: In Bruges, Speed Racer
1.5.08: Iron Man, Paris, je t'aime
24.4.08: Into the Wild, Fools Gold, Wedding Daze, Superhero Movie
17.4.08: Breath, Frontier(s)
10.4.08: Horton Hears a Who, Doomsday, Vantage Point, Sleuth
3.4.08: In the Valley of Elah, The Bucket List
27.3.08: There Will Be Blood, 27 Dresses
20.3.08: Resurrecting the Champ, Reservation Road
13.3.08: Control, 10,000 BC
6.3.08: 3:10 to Yuma, Jumper
28.2.08: No Country for Old Men, Step Up 2 the Streets
21.2.08: Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead, Rambo, The Eye
14.2.08: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Charlie Wilsons War, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7.2.08: Sweeney Todd, We Own the Night, The Kite Runner
31.1.08: Atonement
24.1.08: The Darjeeling Limited, Cloverfield
17.1.08: Michael Clayton, Lust, Caution, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.1.08: Eastern Promises, I Am Legend
3.1.08: American Gangster
20.12.07: P.S. I Love You
13.12.07: The Golden Compass, Hitman
29.11.07: Across the Universe, Beowolf, Balls of Fury, Halloween
22.11.07: Shoot Em Up, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
15.11.07: The Heartbreak Kid, Resident Evil: Extinction
8.11.07: Lions for Lambs, The Last Legion
1.11.07: 30 Days of Night, The Invasion, Sicko, The Good Shepherd
25.10.07: Once, Superbad, Feast of Love, The Seeker
18.10.07: The Brave One, A Mighty Heart
11.10.07: The Kingdom, 1408, Becoming Jane, Snow Cake
4.10.07: Knocked Up
27.9.07: Stardust, Grindhouse, Gympl
20.9.07: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Evening, Disturbia
13.9.07: Ratatouille, The Hoax, No Reservations
6.9.07: Rush Hour 3, Day Watch, Medvidek
30.8.07: The Bourne Ultimatum, Irina Palm
23.8.07: Hairspray, Planet Terror, Evan Almighty, Interview
16.8.07: Transformers
9.8.07: Mr. Brooks, Pans Labyrinth, Surfs Up
2.8.07: Fracture, Venus, Next
26.7.07: The Simpsons Movie, Angel
19.7.07: Harry Potter 5, The Good Night
12.7.07: Inland Empire, Factory Girl, The Messengers, Hostel 2
5.7.07: Death Proof, Oceans 13, Miss Potter, Fantastic Four 2
28.6.07: Live Free or Die Hard
21.6.07: Pathfinder, Curse of the Golden Flower
14.6.07: Shrek the Third
7.6.07: Hot Fuzz, Zodiac, Because I Said So
31.5.07: Premonition, Black Book
24.5.07: Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
17.5.07: The Number 23
10.5.07: Renaissance, The Painted Veil, Wild Hogs, Epic Movie
3.5.07: Spider-Man 3, Copying Beethoven, Sherrybaby
26.4.07: Shooter, The Reaping
19.4.07: Sunshine, Alpha Dog, TMNT, Perfect Stranger
12.4.07: The Hill Have Eyes II, Norbit
5.4.07: Stranger Than Fiction, Notes on a Scandal, Meet the Robinsons, Red Road, Blood & Chocolate
29.3.07: Flags of our Fathers
22.3.07: 300, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Black Christmas
15.3.07: Ghost Rider, Music and Lyrics, Feast, Employee of the Month
8.3.07: The Fountain
1.3.07: Rocky Balboa, School for Scoundrels
22.2.07: Little Children, Babel, Dreamgirls, Hannibal Rising, The Darwin Awards
15.2.07: Smokin Aces, The Queen
8.2.07: The Last King of Scotland, Pursuit of Happyness, and Crank

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