Sex and the City2

Went off to see Sex and the City 2, today, with a couple of chums.  I've been told that this much anticipated sequel has had a few bad reviews but, considering I liked the series and the first movie, I thought I'd give it a go.
My expectations weren't high so, overall, I did enjoy the movie.  But...there were quite a few problems with it.  At a length of 2.5 hrs it was about 45 mins too long with overlong segments and unnecessary scenes.  A lot of the one-liners and comedy seemed forced and self-conscious.  There were also some cringeworthy scenes which I don't think were meant to be as such.  As usual, there was way too much focus on Carrie Bradshaw,who is my least favourite character, and her marriage troubles with Big.  I know she's the key character in the series/movies but cut down her airtime, she's such a painful bore.

What about the good?  The Middle Eastern (Abu Dhabi or Morocco?) scenery and hotel, the over-the-top gay wedding, a cameo by Liza Minnelli and some of Samantha Jones' antics.

Overall, I think the movie is worth seeing but maybe wait for it to appear on TV.

Overview of Animal Kingdom film

I saw the film Animal Kingdom recently. It sounds like a nature documentary but NO it's the story of a criminal family, based in Melbourne, seen through the eyes of an adolescent boy who joins the family when his mother dies.

Jacki Weaver plays the boy's grandmother and matriarch of a family of criminal sons (played by Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn and others). She does an excellent job of portraying someone who seems all motherly and caring but is also manipulative and utterly ruthless when it suits her.

Guy Pearce plays a detective who tirelessly investigates the crimes and the family and tries to take the boy under his wing.

The film appears to be based on a family from 1980s Melbourne whom I was made aware of in the news, in documentaries and a series called Janus. This film, however, is set in the present.

Most Melbournians would recognise the "key" crime in the film; a payback killing of 2 policemen. In this fictional account, the crime has the effect of unraveling the criminal family.

I thought the film was compelling but, at the same time, quite bleak. It did not "glamourise" the criminal activities as the series Underbelly tends to do. Performances all round were very good but, I must say, I found the boy rather wooden.
Have a look at the "At the movies" review of it.