ALL MOUTH, NO TROUSERS

Well, so far the box office this summer seems to be right on, rewarding Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Sex and the City the status of hits, and sending Speed Racer to the scrap heap. I'm a little surprised the only mail I've gotten on Sex and the City was one nice note pointing out that I had gotten an actor's name wrong. My review isn't at all contentious, but seeing as how personal a lot of men are taking the fact that there is a movie in the Cineplex that doesn't actually care whether they spend their money on it or not, I expected a few fellows to write and accuse me of betraying my gender. (I'll do it every time, guys, don't tempt me. Show me a river, and I'll sell you down it without a second thought.) I find it fascinating how vitriolic people seem to get when it comes to this series. I notice some try to hide under a dubious claim of higher thinking by complaining that the movie is too materialistic and the product placement is out of control. Really? How come no one ever talks about the classism of a James Bond movie, how it glorifies the rich and encourages the need for bigger, better toys? Or, in general, how most summer blockbusters, product placement or no, are really just big commercials for ancillary products? If it's based on a toy line, a video game, or nostalgia, trust me, the intention isn't art, and it shouldn't get a pass just because the main characters have penises. Just because most guys I know wouldn't know a wardrobe from a lion or a witch, doesn't mean they aren't materialistic. Maybe if more of them cared about their appearances, they wouldn't need things like video games to pass the lonely hours.

'm just saying.

One thing I did notice is that there is a lot of interest in the scene in the movie where one of the characters has an accident in her pants. We can see how people find our reviews on DVD Talk, including what they type into search engines. Quite a few people have searched on "sex and the city poop" or "sex and the city poop themselves" and the like. I am not sure what they are hoping to find. An explanation? The only similar phenomena I can think of are people searching for the meaning of the dollar bill in The Good Shepherd or the fate of Iggy in Flags of Our Fathers. Does a woman messing herself cause the same kind of confusion? The plot becomes just one big diaper of confusion as a result!

THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...

* The Promotion, a well meaning but underwhelming comedy with John C. Reilly, Seann William Scott (each of his names has a double consonant), and Jenna Fischer.


THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Avatar, the Last Airbender - Book 3: Fire, vol. 2 and Vol. 3, the most recent installments of the best action serial on television.

* The Bridges of Madison County, an undervalued directorial effort from Clint Eastwood showing his softer side.

* Classe tous risques - Criterion Collection, with Lino Ventura and Jean-Paul Belmondo looking at the downside of being a criminal. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)

* Diva - Meridian Collection, the influential French thriller from the early '80s. Seems to me it mainly skates by on reputation, the actual product leaves something to be desired.

* So I Married an Axe Murderer: Special Edition, a misfired cash-in on a Mike Myers misfire.

I was going to close with an image from Avatar, but my Google search turned up these sites, and now I hate the internet. Very much NOT SAFE FOR WORK! Seriously, the first link has the #3 image you see when you search "Avatar Last Airbender" in Google Images.

And, of course, this completely confirms for me what I feared people wanted when they search "sex and the city character poop herself."

Current Soundtrack: misc. Gallon Drunk tracks; King Black Acid, "Behind Blue Eyes;" Paul Weller, "Rip the Pages Up (Brendan Lynch Mix);" Morrissey, "Children in Pieces"

Current Mood: disgusted