April 27, 2010

Trailer Review: Sex and the City 2

Filed under: UncategorizedLiana Maeby @ 1:53 pm

The Sex and the City 2 trailer is a Riddle gift-wrapped in a Mystery shrouded in a Fabergé Enigma.

What creature goes on four shoes in the morning, on two shoes at noon, in the evening on three, and the more shoes it has the weaker it be? If a shoe falls in the forest and no one is there to write a column about it, does it still break a heel? Which came first, the chicken or the shoe?

The video opens on a cameo of the Chrysler Building, beautiful but notably hard to work with, as she dances seductively to Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind.” (Keys’ NYC anthem is featured on the movie’s soundtrack along with Liza Minnelli’s cover of “Single Ladies” and three songs by The Sex and the City Men’s Choir, a chorus comprised of the castrated portions of Castrati.)

Next, our high-heeled heroines are introduced, as are their walk-in closets. They’ve all got problems: Carrie and Big aren’t having enough sex, Charlotte and Miranda hate their children, the closets have moths. And Samantha is feeling old, so she’s decided to trick her body into thinking it’s younger by eating a pillbox full of little, tiny Benjamin Buttons. (more…)

April 7, 2010

Trailer Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Filed under: Film — Tags: , Liana Maeby @ 4:10 pm

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a film about a young Michael Cera type (played by Michael Cera because Jesse Eisenberg was unavailable) who must battle and defeat a cabal of evil characters. Seven evil characters to be exact, which is not quite the earth’s aggregate population, but the title Scott Pilgrim Vs. .000087% of the World was already taken by James Cameron. (It’s in development; it’s about Pocahontas again and will be in 9D, which means you can only see it if you once pretended to read A Brief History of Time to impress your college crush.) (more…)

March 16, 2010

Trailer Review: Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?

Filed under: Film — Tags: , Liana Maeby @ 3:02 pm

Well, he’s gone and done it: Tyler Perry has gotten married again. Or, also. It’s a tale as old as “Time” which is the title of that Sopranos episode where quite a similar thing happens: four couples head to a vacation home and spend the week eating, drinking, and complaining nonstop about the relationships they have all voluntarily entered into and all voluntarily choose to remain in.

The two-minute odyssey begins with a helicopter shot of a glittering island whose serene beauty is completely untarnished except by the helicopter. Our couples are introduced: four women and four men, 12% Janet Jackson and 13% Tyler Perry. One couple arrives fighting — because they can’t agree on what the title of the film should be — and the man-half is banished outside to the jet ski, which will transport him to Siberia.
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March 4, 2010

Dakota Fanning Covers “Cherry Bomb”

Filed under: Music — Tags: , Liana Maeby @ 3:03 pm

Runaways star Dakota Fanning’s performance of “Cherry Bomb” was released today, and it’s got the doe-eyed ingenue doing her best Cherie Currie.

How does the soundtrack cover compare to the original anthem? Surprisingly, there’s a sprinkling of legitimate grit over young Fannings voice; a lifetime of struggle echoed in those low growls and Tourettic clucks. (The zipper on a silk chiffon gown, a particularly tempting desert spread in Oprah’s green room, remembering not to look Tom Cruise in the eye.)

Basically, this cover is The Runaways’ version minus a few platform boots and garter belts. Perfectly enjoyable if a bit less dramatic, possible to mistake for the original if you’re listening in loud traffic on a spotty car radio.

February 11, 2010

Trailer Review: The Back-up Plan

Filed under: FilmLiana Maeby @ 9:41 pm

CBS Films’ “The Back-up Plan” recounts the story of Susan B. Anthony’s historic split with the American Equal Rights Association after the group voted in favor of an amendment that would grant suffrage to blacks but not women. Just kidding! It’s about a lady who’s super sad because she isn’t married with a bunch of babies.

This woman is played by Jennifer Lopez in a pair of very tall Christian Louboutin boots. As the three-minute saga fades up, our heroine-in-heels stands at a crossroads, ready to abandon her fruitless search for the perfect spawning mate and take matters into her own hands. (Matters = donated sperm; she gets artificially inseminated.) But what do you know, just as soon as Jenny does the dummy deed (like, mere moments after!), she ends up meeting that elusive and long-hidden Dream Man. The whole thing is very ironic, which is a word invented by Alanis Morissette to describe First World inconveniences. (more…)