REEL CRITICS:

“Sex and the City,” the movie, has to be the ultimate chick flick and living proof that 40 is indeed the new 30.

Based upon the much-beloved HBO series, it revolves around four impossibly fab New York women: their trials, their tribulations, their outfits. True fans of the show like moi will welcome the return of these characters like old friends come to visit. If you’ve never watched the show, you may feel they have overstayed their welcome.

Written and directed by Michael Patrick King (the show’s principal writer), the movie picks up five years from where the series left off. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is still with the love of her life, Mr. Big (Chris Noth); sexy Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has gone Hollywood; demure Charlotte (Kristin Davis) finds her dark side; and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is as prickly as ever.

Yes, the fashions are eye-popping, but at nearly two and a half hours, there “coulda, shoulda, woulda” been more of the show’s trademark puns and biting zingers. These girls need more spice than sugar, and while they may give (and bare) their all, the men for the most part are relegated to merely being bland and handsome. The usually brash Mario Cantone (Anthony) and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson (Louise) are seriously underused here.

Still, the formula mostly delivers the (designer) goods — even my jaded eyes got a little misty. Guess I’m just a sucker for happy endings and cute shoes.

‘Yangtze’ reveals changing culture in modern China

The growing power of China has made headlines for years. The Chinese nation is racing to an unknown future at breakneck speed.

Its rapid industrial development required the creation of giant water projects and dams. Thousands of towns have been intentionally flooded, obliterating centuries of cultural history.

“Up the Yangtze” is an enlightening and troubling look at the monumental changes flowing from the disappearing landscape of the mighty river.

The documentary follows the passengers and crew of a cruise ship that caters to wealthy Western tourists.

Teenage peasants who cannot afford higher education take jobs as the servants of the tourists on the boat. Although working at menial tasks, they share in the comforts of life on the luxury ship.

But their families endure the harsh reality of forced relocation.

They must abandon their rustic homes and way of life as ordered by the government.

The loss of the parents’ old culture stands in stark contrast to the nervous promise of a better future for their children.

With equal parts triumph and tragedy, “Yangtze” is a stunning reflection on the modern world.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.