Fave Comments - Silent edition

There's only one comment for the following movie:

JesusSavesAtCitibank

"You are the heir to an immense fortune".

I'll bet that pony express letter was the precursor to today's spam email from my friend, the Nigerian Prince.

(By the way, this is a movie by the Native American director James Young Deer, starring his Native wife Lillian St. Cyr.

My boyfriends Crabtree & Brackenreid

So one of the TV shows I can't resist sticking to is Murdoch Mysteries. They were originally a couple of TV movies based on books by Maureen Jennings, about a Toronto detective using early forensics. When it morphed into a regular TV series, with different actors, it took on a lighter tone than the books, but it's super entertaining.

They have full episodes at CityTV, and there are some uploaded on youtube. The one below (Me, Myself and Murdoch) is the one I just watched (seaons 3) and it's one of the best--as many commentors agree, the acting is great in this one.



The best part, as with most shows, is the chemistry between the core team of characters.

William Murdoch is our hero--a very tightlaced, moral Catholic. He's basically a science geek, and therefore incomprehensible to his Chief Inspector.




Brackenreid: In the beginning he was the usual old fashioned Irish policeman with no patience for Murdoch's poofty-science investigating. What I like about the series is that they grew the character, so that he appreciates Murdoch even if he doesn't get him. He's so unrepentantly Mr Tough Guy that (a) he's quite funny and (b) he's the one you want when it's time to rough up a suspect!

Crabtree: He's our #1 constable sidekick. He's a young goof, but he also looks up to Murdoch so as the series progresses you see him turning into a really good detective, picking up on Murdoch's skills. He's so cute I just loves him. He's only had a one-episode love interest, centering around his love of dogs and an animal activist. I hope he gets another.

Dr. Ogden: Julia is our chick coroner. She's very progressive--so much so that the path to romance isn't always easy between her and Murdoch. Murdoch is broadminded, but Julia's a little more freewheeling, and in no rush to marry and have children. They do a good job using her to address feminist issues of the time.

Sex and the City 2 - just too too

I rarely go out to see movies, so I doubt I would have seen Sex in the City 2 in the theater, but the reviews are pretty stinky so I don't think I'll rent it either. I'm careful about which reviews I read, because I'm not big on wholesale trashing of something that is predominately loved and consumed by women.

I enjoyed the show, and I thought the previous movie was alright. But when I saw the preview to SC2, I shuddered in apprehension of Deaded Orientalism. Sand dunes and camels and Lawrence of Arabia based fashion. But without seeing the movie I wouldn't judge whether they handle the Middle Eastern setting with sensitivity or not.

Apparently not:

OK, a bubble gum approach to reality is to be expected from "SATC2." And one could imagine a scenario in which the frothy light comedy could be used to erase mutual misunderstandings. After all, Muslim women around the world, who religiously watched the show, would love a strong, empowered Muslim female "SATC" character who could enlighten Western audiences about the complex, and at times oppressive, reality of Middle Eastern women while simultaneously rocking Ferragamos. Instead, the film exists in a wacky cultural vacuum blissfully unaware of its own arrogance and prejudices.

AO Scott, the New York Times reviewer I like, was pretty mild and cautious in his criticism:

Yes, it’s supposed to be fun. And over the years audiences have had the kind of fun that comes from easy immersion in someone else’s career, someone else’s sex life, someone else’s clothes. But “Sex and the City 2” is about someone else’s boredom, someone else’s vacation and ultimately someone else’s desire to exploit that vicarious pleasure for profit. Which isn’t much fun at all.

And a Muslim woman who loved the series and the previous woman wrote this in the comments of Scott's review:

While I understand that they are not supposed to be like the average American woman, they should still embody the care and warmth American women have! They spend the whole movie traipsing around complaining of their lavish lives replete with nannies and maids in the middle of a recession. I could not feel any connection with the lovely characters I loved so much during the run of the series.

Meh.

You can see clips here.