ash magazine: beauty, music and pop culture

I saw Sex and The City over the summer and loved it, but procrastinated too much and wasn’t able to write a review about the movie. But since the DVD is out, I’m ready to share my love of the four fabulous ladies, Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, and the movie that brought the phenomena to the big screen. If you recall, I wrote about watching the trailer back in December, which gave me a few assumptions: 1) Steve cheats on Miranda, 2) Carrie and Big have one of their “off again” moments and 3) Samantha goes back to her old ways. Well, watching the movie, I was right. It played out exactly the way I thought it did, but I loved it. Seeing their lives now was great, although later in the movie Miranda and Carrie end up with some problems with their mates.

 I was happy that Charlotte had no problems throughout, her battle with trying to get pregnant and trying to adopt a baby was heartbreaking. She wanted to be a mother so badly, it was awful how she was rejected during the end of the series, she deserved to get everything she ever wanted.

Miranda was still Miranda, serious, tough love, and all business. It didn’t surprise me that she would have problems with her marriage, she is a strong willed woman, but Steve is her soul mate. Although they have their problems, he is the only one who is able to put up with her personality, breakdown her walls and make her be less serious.

Samantha moved to Los Angeles to be manage Smith as his career took off. Though it didn’t seem like she moved across the country at all, she was in practically every scene with her best gal pals. And of course she still the same Samantha, wanting sex all day everyday if she can, but she seems to be at a drought (or her version of it LOL). She finds it hard to satisfy her own sexual needs and be faithful, and later she finds a way to do so, a way that makes her feel fulfilled again.

Carrie’s reluctance towards John James Preston, a.k.a. Mr. Big seemed tolerable throughout the series, but in the movie, it was just uncalled for. The man was trying to connect with her and she sensed the night before of their wedding, that he was getting cold feet but she didn’t listen to her gut. She should of kept it simple like she was planning to but she was bitten by the wedding bug and went overboard. She and Big have that “on again, off again” relationship that seems to be increase their passion when they make-up, an fizzle out slowly when they break-up. Their history of being together only shows that they are truly meant to be, despite their sporadic problems.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I missed Sex and the City and was anticipating to see how Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha turned out after the series finale. I give 4 out of 5 stars.

HBO, one of the best cable networks in the world, has yet made another reason why HBO receives critical acclaim for its films and shows. A couple weeks ago, the network debuted its new series of documentaries, “HBO Films Presents….”, which premieres a new documentary every monday during the summer, that showcases varies from eduaction, to coming out to autism. One docuemtary that is mandatory to watch is “Resolved”. It  featured two high school debate teams: one predominately white and the other black. It focused on the art of high school debating and the process that students go through during their debate matches. “Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card”,a film focusing on how students at Frederick Douglass High school in Baltimore City are affected by the No Child Left Behind Act. If you’re a fan of the fourth season of The Wire, then this documentary is a must see. Its ironic how a high school whose most famous alumni is Thurgood Marshall turned out to be a school where most students are likely to join a gang than graduate. Hopefully this documentary will be a wake-up call for everyone: students, teachers, parents, to stop blaming each other and start working together to stop this cycle of drop-outs, low self-esteem, joining gangs, teen pregnancy, etc., and change it into a positive.

A Preview of Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card

Of Course, the movie every woman who loves Manolo’s was waiting to see was Sex and the City. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to the movie theatre this weekend, so I did not get to see it. (I know, I Know, I’m sobbing now, LOL. But this weekend, I’m all about Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha!!!!). However, one movie I did see this weekend was Blackout. Well, I saw it a couple weeks before, but I had to see it again, its that good. Blackout is an dramatization on the actual blackout of most of the east cost in August 2003. Remember the infamous blackout, where the Northeast, parts of Canada and the MidWest endured a power outage that lasted about a day and a half.

The movie has a few main characters with great story lines that’ll keep you glued to the tv: 1) Fatima (Susan Kelechi Watson), is so in love with her man, however he’s no angel, Watch to see the way they 2) C.J. ( Michael B. Jordan) is the do-gooder type, he’s a senior in high school who’s planning on going to Penn State in the fall and is an overall nice guy, but his best-friend Tyrone (Robert Brickie-Tate) isn’t following in the same path and is leaning more towards gang life. It’s a definite surprise to see how their friendship works out towards the end. 3) Claudine (Zoe Saldana) is a writer at Uptown Magazine, but is having financial troubles, providing for herself and her boyfriend James (Sean Blakemore). James seems to be experiencing depression and anxiety due to witnessing the September 11th attacks while working in NYC. This has affected their relationship negatively, and coping with the blackout together does influence where they stand with each other. 

Its been played on BET a couple of times, and is available on line to purchase. To be honest, I heard about Blackout before, but the preview on BET made it seem like  those certain kind of movies I rarely watch. But within the first 10 minutes, I was hooked. If you want to be hooked yourself, check out the video above this post, “Meet Team Blackout” as well as the trailer.

P.S., If you liked Blackout, On The Outs, another independent drama, is another movie you should check out.