Nolan will oversee the film’s production and is currently looking at a short-list of potential directors:

Making the list are “Unstoppable” helmer Tony Scott, “Let Me In” director Matt Reeves, “Battle: Los Angeles” helmer Jonathan Liebesman (who tapped for “Clash of the Titans 2″), Duncan Jones of “Source Code” and “Sucker Punch” guy Zack Snyder.

Expect news of a decision to come sooner rather than later because Warner Bros. and Legendary need to get the picture made by 2012 because of a rights ruling that went against the studio and favored heirs of Superman creator Jerry Siegel and takes effect in 2013.

Though we will never enter into the business of second-guessing Mr. Nolan, we are lighting candles for Zack Snyder.

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2. ‘Twas political correctness that killed “Sex.”

[Chris Noth] told New York Magazine: “It’s over. The franchise is dead. The press killed it. Your magazine f**king killed it. New York Magazine. It’s like all the critics got together and said, ‘This franchise must die.’

“They all had the exact same review. It’s like they didn’t see the movie.”

The artistically dreadful but stridently anti-American “Machete” scored a 73% at Rotten Tomatoes, the only marginally better Christian-bashing “Easy A” scored even higher with 85% – and so when Noth says the elite media killed the “Sex and the City” franchise, he’s exactly right. The sequel might not have been a perfect film, but it committed the mortal sin of having the balls to criticize and mock militant Islam. Among the Hollywood left, commandment number one is that you bow to multiculturalism, even if those you’re bowing before hold dear the most sexist, racist, homophobic, and theocratic agenda on the planet.

Worldwide, SATC2 made $288 million – more than all of those anti-American Iraq flops put together…

You know, the ones they keep making?

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3. Insufferably Precious But Still Confusing Celebrity Tweet of the Day: Deepak Chopra:

Don’t judge your life. Every life is a step toward unity with God.

Really, even Jeffrey Dahmer’s?

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4. More on Tom Selleck’s “welcome” return to network television here.

The LA Times sees a lot of potential in his new show:

If it pulls off what it seems capable of doing, “Blue Bloods” should be both a good cop show and an evocative family drama. So something for everyone, just like a good Sunday dinner.

“Blue Bloods” airs Friday nights on CBS.

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5. Lindsay goes back to jail.

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6. Just when you thought the Lindsay Lohan story couldn’t make you care less about something, along comes this.

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7. How many Emmys does William Shatner have to win, how many hit series does he have to star in before the jokes about his talent stop? How many, dammit?

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8. Send Big Hollywood money and for every dollar we receive, two cents will go to the poor — making us twice as generous and effective at ending poverty as Bono.

The movie starts off with Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) reflecting on her long-term friendship with her three best friends (Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha). The four of them all arrive at a gay wedding of a friend of theirs. The wedding is flamboyant and over-the-top but does not seem to mean much to the married couple. One of the “brooms” informs the girls that his partner is free to cheat on him in the marriage. The person overseeing the ceremony is Liza Minnelli as herself.  Liza goes on to deliver a fun, fluffy and entertaining musical performance. This, though, is the film’s highlight.

The story then goes on to focus on the lives of the four best friends in New York. Carrie is having difficulties in her marriage with Mr. Big (Chris Noth), who has settled into a routine of ordering in food and watching a lot of television, even when his wife’s talking to him. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is raising her children with the help of a babysitter, but she starts getting nervous that her husband might be attracted to the nanny. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) faces work difficulties and feels like her boss does not like or appreciate her. The over-sexualized Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is getting older and ferociously trying to prevent aging from occurring.

If these stories seem clichéd and boring, it’s because they are. For a show that was known for being fresh and new, the story-lines here are tired and old; done many times before.

After roughly half of the movie is over, the film takes off in another direction entirely. Samantha is invited on a trip to what is referred to as the “New Middle East” and she brings her three friends with her. The movie then focuses on four women who are known for their superficial lifestyles trying to fit in into a foreign land. Fortunately for the ladies, some of the women in this foreign land are just like them: obsessed with fashion, as we will find out later.

The plot spends a lot of time in Abu Dhabi where things get politically incorrect (for more on that aspect of the film, click here). Also, just to serve the storyline, thousands of miles from home Carrie improbably meets up with an old boyfriend (one obvious coincidence in a film full of them). 

Ultimately, there were a few good moments and lines that made me chuckle. However, the vast majority of what passed for jokes are pretty awful.  Also, even though she’s given little to work with, Cynthia Nixon does a fine job elevating her material in a way the others do not.                   

There are also a lot of awkward story-lines that quickly fizzled out. A bad review for Carrie’s new book; a couple questioning Carrie and Big’s decision not to have children; Miranda’s problems at work…. These subplots each gets no more than a couple of minutes air time and therefore are never fully realized or developed.

Admittedly, I’m not the primary audience for “Sex and the City 2.” Fans of the show may love this sequel and ask for a third one. (Gosh, I hope not.) However, for me, this was a disappointment that took the fun out of a group of girls who were previously known for it.

Although many politicians from both political parties can be compared to the husband, played by Chris Noth, an obvious comparison springs up in the premiere episode as the lead character, Alicia Florrick who is played by Julianna Marguiles, returns to work as a lawyer. One of her supervisors, played by Christine Baranski, bluntly says to her, “Not only are you coming back to the workplace fairly late but you have some very prominent baggage.” She then adds, pointing to a picture of current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “But hey, if she can do it, so can you.” Furthering the perception that the lead couple can be compared to President Bill Clinton and his wife, a recent article about the program from The Hill quoted one of the creators of the show offering a “suggestion” to a director about the character of the cheating husband. That suggestion was “Imagine Bill Clinton in prison.”

Admittedly , The Hill article did point out another reason for Clinton’s inclusion in the premiere. That article noted the following:

Though Secretary Clinton might seem an easy (if not overused) target, the inclusion of her image in the first episode of “The Good Wife” is more than just a tongue-in-cheek lick at old wounds; the Kings said they wanted to depict “those who broke the glass ceiling and women who came afterward”  and, of course, “still have it be entertaining.”

In the weeks since its premiere, the show has been smart in creating professional and personal realms for the main character to inhabit. At home, Alicia is trying to support her two children who have had to deal with the ramifications of their father’s actions with the assistance of her mother-in-law. At work, Alicia is trying to prove herself to her bosses while dealing with an inter-office rivalry with a young lawyer. Fortunately, for the audience, the lead character is very well-written. She is not a cold heroine bent on vengeance or driven by anger; nor is she a wronged victim trying to regain her self-esteem.  She is a strong woman who, when forced to emerge from the shadow of her husband, fights to prove herself inside the courtroom and outside of it where people often know her because of her husband’s well-publicized misdeeds. 

The program has not steered away from political discussions especially in the legal setting. In one episode, two of the top lawyers at Alicia’s firm argue over the case of a young rich kid accused of rape, which one of the lawyers compares to the Duke Lacrosse case. In the same episode that same lawyer is excited when he sees that the case is going before a judge known for his liberal tendencies — who after a hearing on the case casually asks for a moment of silence for mass killings in Darfur. The show is sharp in its ability to show how legal cases can often be viewed through a political lens by both lawyers and judges. The show can be political but it is not ideological, at least thus far, a quality that I admire about the program. 

One of the strengths of the program is also its strong cast. Julianna Marguiles is both sympathetic and engaging as the wronged spouse.  Additionally, there are several other solid television actors who play supporting roles on the series. That list includes Chris Noth (“Sex and the City”) as Alicia’s husband, Christine Baranski (“Cybill”) as one of Alicia’s supervisors, Josh Charles (“Sports Night”) as another supervisor, Mary Beth Peil (“Dawson’s Creek”) as Alicia’s mother-in-law and Matt Czuchry (“Gilmore Girls”) as Alicia’s work rival. All of those actors add to the quality of the program and it will be interesting to see how their characters develop.

It is a timely coincidence that this program started just a few weeks before The Shriver Report received a lot of attention for its analysis of the influence of women in this country. In many past political scandals about a husband cheating on his wife, the wife has often only been seen in a supporting role standing next to her husband after his flaws receive public scrutiny. In ”The Good Wife,” the wronged spouse is given a chance to prove herself apart from her husband’s political career and she fights to prove that she is more than just a victim. 

Since its premiere, the show has also been proving itself and succeeded in that task with an  engaging and entertaining program that should not be kept out of the spotlight.