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Sex and the City 2 (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

5K views 15 replies 15 participants last post by  Ralph Potts 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

79






Studio and Year: New Line/Warner - 2010
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 146 minutes
Genre: Drama/Romance

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: VC-1
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, English/Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, John Corbett
Written & Directed by: Michael Patrick King
Music by: Aaron Zigman
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: November 2, 2010







"Carrie on"



Film Synopsis:


The fun, the fashion, the friendship: Sex and the City 2 brings it all back and more as Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) come together to take another bite out of The Big Apple - and beyond - in a hilarious sequel. What happens after you say I do? Life is everything the ladies ever wished it would be, but it wouldn't be Sex in the City if life didn't hold a few more surprises. After all, sometimes you just have to get away with the girls.






My Take:


When this show was on HBO my wife loved to watch it. Occasionally I would watch episodes with her. For a show about four women living in NYC etc. I thought it wasn't bad and didn't mind catching an episode when I could. I found that all of them (perhaps with the exception of Miranda) had an appealing side that at one point or another made them likeable. Honestly, I found Charlotte to be the most appealing. Here is a genuinely nice woman and while she might be a little naive, seems to be the best judge of character and rarely has much to offer at confession. Samantha's blunt nature and uncontrollable passion for sex can be hard to tolerate but when the chips are down she generally proves to be a formidable ally. Carrie is needy, insecure and up until two years ago pretty unluckily in love. Two years ago (as seen in the first film) she landed the love of her life, aka Big, and the they have been happily married since. Miranda is smart, judgmental, and whiney which I sometimes see as her good points. To be fair though she is sometimes the glue that keeps the four of them together. The film opens with just some quick snippets on each character as described by Carrie which involves a few quick fashion flashbacks to how they each looked in the 1980's. The story centers on Carrie but there are four distinct storylines that involve each of the four women. Male interests are included for each of them and the characters from the series are reprised by the actors who portrayed them.

My wife saw the first film in the theater, and I enjoyed it when it came to Blu-ray. The trailer for this sequel didn't look promising enough to warrant serious consideration for a theater visit so we waited for its release on Blu-ray. The primary focus in the first film was Carrie/Big's wedding, with the subplots for the other three girls revolving around it. I thought it was charming, funny and a bit melodramatic while capturing the essence of what made the show fun to watch. This story takes place two years later and finds Carrie and Big (more so Carrie) struggling with the worry of becoming an old married couple who orders take out and watches too much television. Miranda is working for a law firm where her boss feels threatened by the fact that she is a strong and capable woman. Her determination to succeed at work has left her little time for son Brady and husband Steve. Charlotte and hubby Harry have recently hired a nanny to help with their two daughters, one of whom cries incessantly. Samantha is on a vitamin/topical cream kick that that not only keeps her menopause in check but prevents it from encroaching on her sex drive/life. Seeing the tension that Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda are under, Samantha invites them on an all expense paid trip to Abu Dhabi, which is 6700 miles from their troubles in New York City. While this sounds like a great way to relax the ladies quickly find out that not even the beautiful, bountiful and luxurious locations of the Middle East are enough to assuage their problems. After an insensitive remark by Samantha, Charlotte becomes concerned/insecure about leaving Harry alone with the new nanny, who is quite hot. She also suffers from feelings of guilt over enjoying her time away from the rigors of motherhood. Samantha's overt and sometimes aberrant public displays of affection toward the opposite sex gets her into trouble in a country where such behavior is illegal. Carrie bumps into an old flame and makes a poor decision. Miranda being the voice of reason just wants to have a good time but of course things slowly spiral beyond her control.

This just wasn't a very good movie. First off at nearly two and a half hours it was just too damn long. They don't leave for Abu Dhabi until over an hour in and much of what went on during that hour could have been compressed into twenty minutes. I usually find Samantha's antics, over the top language and sexual bravado barely tolerable but here it takes center stage way too often. The storylines among the four principles is old hat and the clever wit and well crafted banter that makes watching them together entertaining is missing. I won't even discuss Liza Minnelli's performance of Beyonce's Single ladies. By the way did I mention that this film was too long? When all was said and done this film lacked the polish, charm and rewarding storyline of the original and the TV series.




Parental Guide:


The rating is for some strong sexual content and language.





AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


Audio: 78


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:





Video: 80


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

Sex and the City 2comes to Blu-ray from Warner Home Video featuring 1080p VC-1 encoded video that has an average bitrate of 19 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 channel Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3 Mbps.

A variety of visual schemes are effectively employed in this film to set the tone/setting based upon the director's intention. The seems to generally revolve around the use of color as it can vary from being sullen/inanimate to appearing vivid and warm. This tends to impact flesh tone reproduction which in many cases leaves them appearing bronzy and lacking delineation. Images onscreen are primarily detailed and sharp with strong depth of field and discernible texture. There are occasions where sharpness wavers however it appears to be innate to the photography. The video has stable contrast and deep blacks that provide excellent perceptibility during scenes shot at night or in lower lighting. I found this to be a satisfactory high definition viewing experience but not up to the quality of the first film on Blu-ray which I feel is much better.

This isn't the type of soundtrack that requires extended dynamic range, frequent surround use or deep bass but it certainly benefited from lossless audio's higher fidelity. The front loaded DTS-HD Master Audio sound mix features clearly rendered dialogue and high level detail as sound effects, music and low level audio is rendered with refining clarity and appreciable dimension. There is little call for discrete surround activity or room shaking bass however the scenes that take place at the various interior/exterior venues open up nicely as the rhythm of the music and acoustics within the large spaces has good atmospheric presence and discernible low level detail.



Bonus Features:

  • Sex and the city 2 soundtrack: Behind the scenes with Alicia Keys - 3 minutes

  • Audio commentary with writer/director Michael Patrick King

  • (HD) Behind the story:

    1. So much can happen in two years: A conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King - 26 minutes
    2. Styling Sex and the city 2 - 14 minute featurette
    3. Marry me Liza! - 7 minute featurette
    4. Revisitng the 80s - 4 minute featurette
  • (HD) The men of Sex and the city - 28 minute featurette

  • Warner Bros. BD-Live enabled

  • DVD/Digital Copy Bonus Disc of Sex and the city 2



Final Thoughts:


Sex and the city 2 fails to live up to the original film and suffers from sluggish pacing, a poorly conceived plot, and the intelligent writing that made the first film and TV series entertaining. It comes to Blu-ray from Warner Home Video in a satisfying Blu-ray package that features good high definition audio/video quality and standard fare bonus content. If you're already a fan this is worth considering otherwise a rental should more than suffice.















Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





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Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100 16x9 Screen

Anthem AVM50v THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor

Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier

Oppo BDP-83 Universal disc/Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Samsung BD-C7900 Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Philips TSU9400 Pro Series Touch Panel Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

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SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)

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Wireworld, VizionWare, Audioquest, Better Cables, Best Deal Cables - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
 
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#3 ·
I feel sorry for Ralph having to sit through this one...

My wife watches the first movie on cable in bed and it makes me crazy!


I refer to this series as "The Four Whores".
 
#5 ·
I watched it last night. I liked the series, loved the first movie... I have no idea what happened with this one. It's an enormous stink bomb on a previously untainted series.


It's really an endurance test more than anything. I wonder if die-hard fans of the series could even get behind this one...
 
#8 ·
I thought that Lee was going to review this one...

I feel your pain Ralph!


I was never a fan of the series but watched the first one in the theaters and it was a decent movie... My wife, who is a fan of the series, took me to see this one a few months ago and it was a painful ride....
 
#9 ·
Ralph,


I agree with you on this one. It's 2.5 hours of my life that's been stolen and I'll never get it back again. The movie had virtually no plot and after 1 hour and 45 minutes, my wife looked at me and apologized for wanting to watch it--OUCH!
 
#10 ·
i have to watch this movie with my wife and what horrible movie it was so painful, sorry ralph
 
#13 ·
My wife loved it. I made the mistake of telling her I would watch our two year old so she could watch it in peace in our theater room.....Little did I know how long that damn movie was......


Taking care of a fussy 2 year old for nearly 3 hours on a friday night was fun....I hate this damn series....Always have....Now I hate it even more....But, my wife loved it....
 
#15 ·
Ralph, I feel just you mentioning that you not only watched the first movie, but that you even liked it, is cause enough for you to immediatly turn in your "man card" and not be granted access to the "boys" which the wife apparantly has mounted on the mantlepiece.


I feel the only way to redeem yourself is to immediatly do a review on a "Girls Gone Wild" video release.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by UofAZ1 /forum/post/19428775


Ralph, I feel just you mentioning that you not only watched the first movie, but that you even liked it, is cause enough for you to immediatly turn in your "man card" and not be granted access to the "boys" which the wife apparantly has mounted on the mantlepiece.


I feel the only way to redeem yourself is to immediatly do a review on a "Girls Gone Wild" video release.

Greetings,




We'll see...


Regards,
 
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