Never had I so excitedly anticipated a movie release as Sex and the City.  After six funny and heart-wrenching seasons I wanted more.  The girls were my friends too, their men my loves or lost loves.  So this was a real recipe for disaster.  How could this movie be anything but a disappointment?

Happily, I was wrong!  Some reviewers said it was too long.  No, for me it was not long enough.  From the moment the four friends walked down the streets of New York City to the last second of the movie I was captivated.

The movie, like the series, is a modern day fairy tale with the main characters playing multiple parts.  The four girls are, at times Cinderella, at other times the wicked stepsisters.  Some of the men are Prince Charming, but more often you will find them in the part of the Big Bad Wolf. 

The series left us with all four girls headed for “happily ever after.”  But the movie soon lets us know that only Charlotte and Harry can live the fairy tale.  The other three must deal with dragons of one kind or another.  And eventually Charlotte must deal with a little reality, ever so brief, uncomfortable and embarrassing.

Sarah Jessica Parker never disappoints me. As Carrie she completely lets the fairy tale die, on screen with no makeup.  There she is, just reality staring in the mirror at us.  What guts!  Then she allows the magic to slowly return.  I, for one, love her all the more!

Crematoriums and makers of receptacles for creamains everywhere were more than likely alarmed by scattering of Donny’s ashes in The Big Lebowski.  His two friends, the Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Walter (John Goodman), didn’t have the money for an urn, so they used a Folger’s coffee can.  But the preference for a Chock Full ‘o Nuts coffee can by Carter (Morgan Freeman), and the aversion to urns by the wealthy Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) must have greatly alarmed the industry.  Indeed, after watching the movie, I have a Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle can that would suit me perfectly.

This movie gives you a lot to contemplate.  What would you like to do before you “kick the bucket?”  Both the men find themselves in a hospital room together, and it’s not “friends at first sight.”  But they are both in the inevitable situation to seriously consider how to live the rest of their now limited life.  Edward Cole’s money allows them both to become active in checking off their “Bucket Lists.”  Carter’s amazing (and hard to believe) recall of facts enhances each experience.

Jack Nicholson, as always, plays Jack Nicholson.  And Morgan Freeman is the same unflappable character he portrayed in Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, and the movies where his character is the Almighty.  His quite insistence is more forceful than the opposition.  When he does get more demanding, he is not to be denied.

The character that seemed most convincing was Thomas (Sean Hayes).  He endured all the insults and put-downs from Edward Cole without those ever breaking his spirit.  His importance and endearment to Cole was always evident in his character’s heart.  In his scenes with Jack Nicholson he not only held his own, but often was the more memorable.

Bucket Lists become a priority to those more mature people who see this movie.  And coupled with Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture, it becomes a way of life.

The movie has a sequence that revolves around the head gangster in church; religious music is the predominant sound as scenes flash from violence involving the gang, then back to their leader in church. Is this THE GODFATHER? No, it’s AMERICAN GANGSTER, where Ridley Scott blatantly rips off this concept. Too bad, because this film has strong performances by Russell Crowe as Detective Richie Roberts, and Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas.

Other actors are impressive in small parts. Ruby Dee had an Oscar nomination for her role as Mama Lucas. Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin and Armand Assante enrich the supporting cast. Then there’s the dog, which proves that an animal lover can’t be all bad.

The story is loosely based on the true story. Detective Roberts is notoriously known as an honest cop, and he’s devoted to ending Lucas’s rule in Harlem. The surprise is who becomes his greatest asset, and the person who ends up being the gangster’s trusted and true friend. The fascinating view we are shown into Lucas’s involved drug trade, policemen on the take, and restricted lives of the players make the movie well worth watching.

Just saw a picture on CNN of Bobby Cutts, Jr. He’s the police officer who murdered his pregnant girlfriend. My first though was that he looked like an actor from AMERICAN GANGSTER. Seems to validate the authentic feel of the movie. If you don’t mind the violence, this is a movie that keeps you involved throughout. Even when you think it’s over, it continues to astonish.

The opening scene of WAITRESS is deliciously seductive. I longed to be a part of it. I wanted to dip into each pie for a taste. Jenna (Keri Russell) is a pie artist who seduces the other characters with her plucky charm and scrumptious pies, and uses her new menu creations to help tell the story.

The plot’s main ingredients are:

-the unhappy marriage between Jenna and Earl (Jeremy Sisto), who is insecure and super-controlling

-Jenna’s unwanted pregnancy

-her new and unsuspecting doctor, Dr. Pommater (Nathan Fillion)

-and Old Joe (Andy Griffith), the pie diner’s crusty,

sour-cherry-pie owner

But the pies are the crème fraiche folded into the chocolate mousse plot poured into the whole story crust.

The story is sweetened with two other waitresses at the diner, Becky (Cherly Hines) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly), and Ogie (Eddie Jimison). They all add their problems, support, and comedy to the movie.

Keri Russell carries the movie with her amazing character. Her interaction with Andy Griffith is especially endearing. He plays the almost opposite of any other role I’ve ever seen him in, and he plays it very convincingly.

It’s a story with turns that are all worth taking. After watching it once, I immediately watched it again. Everyone should try it the first time. Just make sure you aren’t hungry.

I haven’t seen Cabin Fever or Hostel, so it might seem a little strange that the first Eli Roth film I saw was Hostel Part II.  Until now I have to admit that I was influenced by the venom that Roth provokes from some people, such as one of my favorite bloggers Nikki Finke (see here, here, here, here, and here) who personally named Roth "Enemy No. 1". So on a lazy Sunday afternoon, with no other options I reluctantly agreed to watch the recently released sequel. To my surprise, I found the film well written and well made - not the typical mind numbing horror film that’s come out during the ‘horror renaissance’ Hollywood has gone through over the past few years. Apparently Roth plans on expanding out from the horror genre and it’ll be interesting to see what this solid director and writer will produce. In the short term, though, Roth is slated to helm one more scary send-up with the Stephen King penned ‘Cell’.

Oh boy! Another video game adaptation! This time its Eidos Interactive’s Hitman, a video game franchise that produced four games in the series. While gamers have enjoyed Hitman, movie reviewers are widely panning the film - its script, its visuals, its casting. Taking a page from numerous predecessors Hitman, directed by Xavier Gens, follows an assassin known only as “agent 47″ played by the respected, but miscast, Timothy Olyphant. Agent 47 is tasked with assassinating the Russian President but is double crossed. He spends the bulk of the film trying to track down who crossed him while simultaneously being hunted down by other assassins and Interpol. Not exactly a genre shattering plot and to all accounts a poor script (penned by Skip Woods) to boot. Though its bloody violence and gratuitous boob shoots, courtesy of co-star Olga Kurylenko, will appeal to preteen boys, its R rating will keep them out of theatres. Visit the Hitman offical website.

Why didn’t I hear more about The Painted Veil?  After keeping it at the bottom of my Neflix queue, I finally moved it up, not thinking it would be anything special.  To my delight, I was mistaken! This story by W. Somerset Maugham, starts in London, then moves to China during the 1920’s.

First, the excellent photography captured the breathtaking scenery.  Second, the story keeps you fascinated, wondering what the next turn will be.  (Not surprising, since it’s based on such a wonderful author’s book.) Third, the acting is above the usual performance by all, but especially by Edward Norton.  Yes, I’m an avid fan, but he rose above my expectations.  For the first part of the movie he seems a background player, there for contrast with Naomi Watts.  But when he goes to rural China to help with a cholera epidemic his strength emerges.  Norton plays this part with such depth and sensitivity!

If you missed this one, go back and rent it.  It won several awards, but should have won more.  If only for the scenery it’s worth seeing, but its value is in the story and acting.

It was embarrassing seeing Diane Keeton in Because I Said So. Every actress seems to have her bombs, but how could this even be the same person who did Annie Hall, Reds, The Godfather, Something’s Gotta Give, etc?

The story was also so unbelievable. No mother who was that controlling would have been so close to her daughters. They would have stopped speaking to her long ago! And would an architect and a musician, who were both good looking, really need to ‘apply’ to find a woman?

Now, is there anything good I can say about this movie? It would be good to save your money and time by not renting or buying it.