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Published on October 21, 2007

 Cat says

Like all loyal "Sex and the City" fans, I am eagerly awaiting the much-talked about "Sex and the City" movie which is suppose to open at the end of May next year. The idea of following up a highly successful TV series with a movie seems appealing. However, if it is done badly, it could possibly taint the memory of the beloved show for all its fans. If done well, the movie could potentially, like the show, be a great study on gender relations in modern culture - how we view women and how our society reacts to women who embrace, rather than hide, their sexuality. Maybe this is being overly sophisticated but, given the right cast and a winning script, the show's followers will flock to the movie.

Having said that, it is hard to imagine the storyline for the movie since when the TV series ended, it pretty much wrapped up the tales of the four ladies, so the challenge will be seeing where else the stories of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda can go.

The entrance of "Desperate Housewives" has muddied the waters for "Sex and the City". However although I am a great fan of "Desperate Housewives", right now I can't say I would wish to see a "Desperate Housewives" movie.

It is never easy making a successful TV show into a movie. Movie making is a different kind of art than television; what works in a half-hour weekly sitcom won't necessarily work on the big screen. In the past, many popular TV shows have been made into movies, some successfully done, some not so great. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Personally I much prefer the concepts of turning great novels (modern or historical) rather than TV shows into movies. For instance, "The Da Vinci Code" was successfully turned into a good film, it followed the basic story of the book and the screen version made it visually digestible for most people as well as being great for France's tourist industry.

What makes a good film? In my opinion, an idea of a good story whether a thriller, a suspense or a comedy, will stand a good chance of turning into a great film. A good film needs to be visual (so no introspective characters) and like any good story has to have a beginning, middle and an end. One has to fully exploit the idea, so if there is a great beginning, make something else happen in the middle, and then end with a good resolution. The story and the characters have to go somewhere. The audience has to care what happens to the characters. We have to sympathise with them.

If you look at all the great films in the past, there is a foolproof formula: characters get involved in some sort of awkward situation, and getting out of trouble becomes their goal. They spend most of the film struggling to achieve this goal, just before the end it becomes make or break time and either they work out how to achieve their goal, or the goal becomes more complicated, or both. Then the story wraps itself up as the characters sort out their problems.

I am pretty certain that the books by one of my favourite authors, Robert Goddard, would make great films. All of his books follow the above formula for a good film. Furthermore, Dan Brown's other books, and books by John Grisham all have great potential in turning into first-rate films. "The Firm" was an excellent example. On the other hand, the Shopaholic series of books by Sophie Kinsella will make a great TV comedy series.

Nat says

 I know i've made much about movies having to have                                                                                      explosions in order to be worth watching. And it isn't only a guy thing. At least not with me. It's an escapist thing. I have enough stress and challenges in my life. I don't want to watch anything that will ask too much of me.

I hate watching people overcome difficulty. I don't find it uplifting nor do I find it cathartic. Movies like that only make me worry about fictional characters for a couple of hours. I have enough to worry about without having to think of more people than my family, my friends and my colleagues. Where's the fun in that?

Now I know there are people out there who must think I'm being selfish but I'm not. I support worthy causes. Sometimes I even support them financially. I just don't want to support movies that ask more of me than to have fun watching them.

So while I'm pleased for Al Gore that he won an Oscar and then the Nobel Prize, I can safely say I will never watch his movie. Instead, I'll recycle as best I can in Thailand, unplug my telephone charger when it isn't in use and buy a hybrid car as soon as I can afford one.

And I'll go see the next Harry Potter movie. So far, I've enjoyed them all, even the last one, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" - which was practically universally panned by the critics. Harry Potter movies have all the elements of good cinema: explosions, camaraderie, worthy villains and heroism. And for those who want drama, there's Harry's internal conflict about having to assume the mantle of a great hero. Furthermore, now that he's over 18, I can also say that Daniel Radcliffe has turned into quite a cutie as well.

The last movie I went to see was "Underdog", which I thought was rather clever. Since my boyfriend and I have four beagles, it was fun to envision one of them turning into a superhero.

I also like adult movies. I prefer my sex symbols to be well over the age of 18 so I will watch practically anything with Brad Pitt in it. I have a secret crush on Channing Tatum, the former Abercrombie and Fitch model who has gone on to star in "She's the Man" with Amanda Bynes and the hip-hop dance movie "Step Up". Not only that, Antonio Banderas is easy on the eyes, especially in "Original Sin" where he has love scenes with Angelina Jolie.

In general, however, sexy movies leave me cold. If I want to see naked people having sex, I'd rather go straight to porn. Why bother with legitimate movies with a requisite nude love scene? Not only are such scenes unnecessary, they often have the opposite effect from the one intended. Nothing was as gross as the love scene in "Out of Africa". Meryl Streep and Robert Redford? Yuck. Women can never be sexy if, before they get into bed, they have to take off a big hat.

So what is my favourite scene in any movie? I would have to say the one in "Total Recall" when Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is getting shot at by the villains as he's going up an escalator, grabs the corpse of an innocent bystander who has been killed by stray bullets and uses it as a shield. Now there's cinematic art. It was original, exciting and had explosions.

Want an opinion on something? Cat and Nat can be contacted at

NnaSWild@aol.com.