Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

2/5

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a fairly tame 3D adventure flick for kids. The movie is a sequel because it takes place after another movie and has the same main character, but it actually requires no knowledge of the previous film to enjoy it. (Or not enjoy it, if you want to be snarky.) The problems start with the story, which is outright silly. The problems continue with special effects that already look outdated, combined with an incessant use of 3D objects coming out of the screen at you. The story follows a self-proclaimed "Vernian," someone who believes that all of Jules Verne's novels describe real places. The titular island, which houses tiny elephants and gigantic bees, is actually a day away from submerging and becoming Atlantis, which provides the perfect impetus to turn this scientific exploration into an action adventure. The story elements, from the budding romance to the stepfather-son bonding, all felt like checkboxes that producers filled out in an attempt to sell more tickets. The movie's saving grace was Dwayne Johnson, who was able to provide both believable action and comic relief. He is the only reason to see this movie. He is able to add a star to just about any movie just by being in it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397514/

Sex and the City (2008)

3/5

Sex and the City tells the story of four NY friends and their trials and tribulations with love. Carrie (Parker) is going out with Mr. Big (Noth) and, after finding the perfect apartment to live in together, they decide to get engaged (in an extremely awkward, business-like exchange). However, on the day of their wedding, he gets cold feet and cannot manage to get out of the car and join her down the aisle. As you can imagine, she becomes quite distraught and never wants to speak with him again. The rest of the movie focuses on bringing her spirits up and enjoying time with her best friends Samantha (Cattrall), Miranda (Nixon), and Charlotte (Davis) as they live their extravagant lifestyles filled with expensive shoes, purses, and jewelry.

All the technical aspects of the movie are competent. As for the story, it's fairly predictable but entertaining throughout, even for guys. There is also a fair amount of nudity and sex, which I was not expecting (even though I should have been, considering it was HBO). The writing does a good job of letting you enjoy the movie even if you haven't seen the series. The characters are likable enough, although their seemingly excessive wealth may make you unreceptive to their plight. All in all it was a funny movie with the requisite amount of conflict and resolution to keep you engaged for its 2.5 hour runtime. (And I'm told the fashion is pretty impressive as well.)

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000774/