Sex And The City--The Movie.

I did not have high hopes for this little piece of highly anticipated cinema. I wrote a blog post a while ago about how I was just so over all the bickering over whether or not they would make a movie. I went to the theater with an open mind, but left with an empty heart. I know that is way over dramatic, but roll with me here.

My friend Pat is a die hard Sex And The City fan- just like me, and we have always had discussions on our love of the show....plus Pat is a movie blogger, so who more befitting to go see the movie with? Pat did an amazingly insightful and thorough review on her well written blog -DOODAD KIND OF TOWN . I cannot even begin to write a review anywhere near her genius, but I will share a few of my random thoughts.

If you have not seen the movie yet, then stop reading here, as some of what I say could be considered spoilers.

First off, WTF with this belt?

Carrie wore this belt in a few different scenes with a few different outfits. When a black studded belt gets more screen time than Stanford...well we all know we are in trouble.

One of my favorite moments of the movie was ...well of course when Big says "I can build you a bigger closet". I loved him at that moment, but that is pretty much where my love for him ended. Anyway, another favorite moment was when Carrie was going to move -I KNOW LEAVING HER ICONIC APARTMENT- so she had to get rid of some things. She did a little impromptu fashion show in her closet for Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte and one of the things she put on was her tutu dress from the show intro. It was funny and nostalgic and it made me think I was going to love the movie.

Ahem.

My favorite storyline was the one of Miranda and Steve. It seemed real and touching and surprisingly way more rich and meaty than any other story line. I felt more invested in their story than anyone else's. I considered Miranda the star--well her and that effing black studded belt.

Pat and I both felt that the writers of this movie did not stay true to the characters. We all KNOW these characters, and we do not believe their personalities changed so much in the last 3 years. I think the writers underestimated us as fans and intelligent people. When one of Charlotte's major moments in the movie is a poop joke--A POOP JOKE -- I do not know whether to roll my eyes or be insulted. Women are buying these movie tickets Michael Patrick King, NOT twelve year old boys. Come on. That is just a cheap laugh.

Jennifer Hudson--well she was warm enough, but meh, weak storyline, and PLEASE do not get me started on that Louis Vuitton bag.

I loved Carrie's Vogue shoot and the cameo by Andre Leon Talley (who almost got more screen time than Harry and Stanford), but her actual wedding ensemble left me less than impressed. The dress was gorgeous, but Carrie should know that she should not wear red lipstick with blue undertones. NO NO NO.

I must say that I did love most of the fashion, and I do believe Patricia Fields is a genius. I met her once a LaGuardia and she was very nice.

Samantha and Smith bored me to tears. Smith acted stiff (no pun intended) and almost zombie like. Oh and Samantha's dog, although it was funny-it was still twelve year old boy humor.

Pat said it perfectly when she said that Charlotte was mostly there for her Pollyanna reactions. YAWN. I also agree with Pat when she said that Kristen Davis should be miffed at the writers for her weak role in the movie. I love Charlotte.

I loved these characters and I wanted MORE. I also missed their proclaimed fifth character--NEW YORK CITY. She was not really showcased or featured in this movie. Whenever I used to watch the show , I would be swooning over the city and I could not wait till my next trip there. I missed New York in the movie. A lot. After the movie, I just thought about Mexico and falling into a "Mexicoma"-groan. Seriously, I do not even really like Mexico, and seriously I was not crazy about this movie.....which does not surprise me, but somehow makes me sad none the less. I will see it again with friends and hopefully I will pick up on some nuances that maybe I missed the first time around.

I am looking forward to reading everyone else's thoughts and reviews.

Lovely day to all!

Wonderful and Wacky Land of Oz

Something very unsettling about Australia is how very similar it is to the United States in many ways. Australia has KFC, Aldi grocery stores, Target, Pottery Barn (but they call it Domayne), 7-11, ETC. Sometimes we would be walking along and forget we were half way around the world from home. Their TV shows are mostly all American too. American Idol, most daytime soaps, Deal or No Deal, ETC. They do have some of their own shows, but primarily they watch American T.V. . Do not get me wrong, Australia is still very different in many ways, but there were moments that were almost eerie, and I had to take a step back to realize where I was.

One major difference betwixt the US and Oz are the prices of things. Australia is EXPENSIVE. My husband who always complains about prices in Paris, said he would never complain about Paris again because Australia is just THAT EXPENSIVE. A MAC lipstick that is $14.00 dollars at your local Nordstrom was $40.00 in OZ. Granted, prices were in Australian dollars (the AUD), but while we were there the difference between the US dollar and the AUD was about 6 cents. That is insane. Also at 7-11, a 12 oz Diet Coke was around $4.00. Damn. I never even found out what gas/petrol was there a gallon, but everyone drives.

The Australians have parental warnings before every show except cartoons. They warn of the tone, language, content, etc. What I find strange is their commercials. Some of them are QUITE naughty, and they have no warnings. There was one commercial in particular that played over and over. It took my husband and I a few minutes to get it, but once we did, he thought it was the funniest thing ever in the whole world. It is the video at the top of the screen. I am sometimes not successful at imbedding videos into posts so I hope it works. It is quite funny, but naughty none the less. Those crazy Aussies.

Have a wonderful day!

Taronga Zoo -Sydney

I tried to sit down to blog all last week, but this weekend was our neighborhood wide garage sale, so my week was full of cleaning and sorting and all sorts of torturous suburban neighborhood stuff. I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Now....Back to Australia-

One of the best days in Sydney was spent at Taronga Zoo. It is said to be the best zoo in Australia-and it did not disappoint. We signed up for a private tour so our guide could educate us on all the animals indigineous to Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. I was surprised to know that there are hundreds and hundreds of animals from Australia- a lot of which I had never even heard of. Akidnas-which are like porcupines, Bilbys-which are like bunny rabbits, etc. Of course there are koalas and kangaroos and Tasmanian Devils which we have all heard of . One thing I learned is that the Tasmanian Devil population is declining very quickly due to a strange and unexplainable occurance of facial tumors. Apparently these tumors are affecting the Devils and causing horrible pain. The tumors grow so big that they impair the Devil from eating and they die. There is a lot of research being done to try to find out about and prevent these tumors but it is expensive. You can find out more about it here: SAVE THE TASSIES .

Here are some lazy kangaroos. Kangaroos are like wild mules in that they move about mostly during dusk and dawn--so the rest of the day is just for relaxing. Their legs look so long all sprawled out. These are Red Kangaroos -as opposed to Gray Kangaroos.
Gorgeous Koala! We got to be right up close and personal with the Koala Bears and that was very exciting. They are so docile and so calm. They have very little energy due to the fact that they only eat eucalyptus leaves--but our guide was very adamant that the eucalyptus leaves do not make them drowsy or "high" or impair them in any way, which is what a lot of people think.
Here I am with a little Koala butt on my head. Awwwww!

The Taronga Zoo has one of the largest populations of Chimpanzees in captivity in the world. We learned so much about their social structures and the role of dominant males and how they treat young chimps. We also learned about the sad state of their fate in the wild due to logging espeically in Africa. It is very sad, but it was all so enlightening. Be aware of where your wood products come from.

Giraffes are my favorite animals (along with monkeys.....and my Finley) so we spent a lot of time at the giraffe exhibit. You could see the Sydney skyline across the harbor and it was simply beautiful.
Real Australian Dingos. They were so majestic and they moved almost like a tiger. We were told that wild dingos in the bush are very dangerous to livestock as well as humans-but they sure are handsome. I am sure if I came across one in the wild I would try to pet it, then probably get my lips bit off.

Another interesting thing about our day at the zoo was that a family from Chicago who now lives in Singapore were on our zoo tour. They were so nice and interesting to talk to and now my husband and I are quasi planning a trip to Singapore. We have thought about going there for a while, but after talking to that family, we are all about it.

This is me with the handsy koala at the exit of the zoo. Kim Kardashian was there the same day as us, but I never saw her. If you ever go to Sydney, and you have time, I suggest the Taronga Zoo.

Have a wild day.

(all photos property of MonkeyPosh LLC)

Back Over from Down Under

Hello Friends! I am back from my adventures in Oz, and various adventures since Oz.

Australia is a lovely and odd place. It is like being in a kinder, gentler version of the United States only they do not have Diet Pepsi, it is on the opposite side of the world, and everything is SO EXPENSIVE!!! Seriously--a Loreal lipstick was $29.00 USD. It was odd because they were going into their Fall and all the ads were for Winter coats and such. That can mess with your head when you are just coming from a Winter like we had here in the Chicago area this year.

We spent quite a bit of time in Sydney. I had a great time and I saw a lot and learned a lot.

The flight was unreal. The longest plane ride I had ever been on was about 9 hours. This plane ride was: 3 1/2 hours to Los Angeles, then 14 1/2 hours to Sydney. That is 18 hours in the air. EIGHTEEN HOURS. Thank goodness Qantas Airlines is awesome and every seat had a private movie screen to watch new movies. Oh and Toni Collette was on our flight from LA to Sydney with her new baby in tow. Toni was very petite and cute. I was excited.

We arrived in Sydney very early in the morning and our room was not ready, so we went and walked around the Harbor. It is beautiful during the early morning hours.This is a beautiful shot of the Sydney Opera House. It looks different all during the day as the light hits it and shadows are cast from all different angles. We stayed in an area of Sydney called "The Rocks". It is by the Harbor and it is full of restaurants and shopping and it is very busy.The gorgeous Sydney Harbor Bridge. This was taken at a little park type area right by the wharf.
This is another morning shot of the Opera House. So beautiful.It was Fashion Week in Sydney and it was very busy and exciting.

This is a shot of the Bowie show filling up. BOWIE WONG is a very popular fashion and costume designer in Australia and Europe. His show was beautiful.

These 3 people seemed to be more popular than Bowie himself. I still do not know who they are, but the dark haired girl's shoes are unreal. The press took tons of photos and interviewed these people a lot. I asked who they were and I was told their names, but nothing rang a bell. I was on the other side of the world though. I guess they are allowed to have celebrities I have never heard before .

I have more reports on the Zoo, Northern Oz, swimming with sharks, etc. ,for later. As for now, I can say I am glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed, however I am looking forward to traveling to that side of the world again soon.

Have a lovely day.

(all photos property of MonkeyPosh L.L.C)