Tears, tiaras and tantrums

Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) and her gal pals Samantha (Cattrall), Charlotte (Davis) and Miranda (Nixon) return from the TV series in this first feature film.

Carrie and her paramour, Mr Big (Noth), are poised to take the next step in their relationship while Samantha pines for New York from her new base in Los Angeles with lover Smith Jerrod (Lewis).

Charlotte paints a picture of domestic bliss with her dependable husband Harry (Handler) and adopted daughter Lily, just as Miranda faces the shocking truth about her marriage to Steve (Eigenberg).

Love blossoms and withers, and Carrie hires a personal assistant, Louise (Hudson), to tend to her day-to-day affairs while she attempts to sort out the mess.

Sex And The City knows its audience and panders to them with more than two hours of fabulous couture, sassy girl talk, toned naked men and familiar New York City locations.

Michael Patrick King's film is essentially five episodes of the TV show sandwiched together. The writer-director presumes viewers have an intimate knowledge of the women and their back-stories despite a fast-paced opening credits montage, which helpfully condenses 94 episodes of tears, tiaras and tantrums into five minutes of soundbites and one-liners.

Old friends such as event planner Anthony Marentino (Cantone), Vogue Magazine editor Enid Frick (Bergen) and confidant Stanford Blatch (Garson) enjoy supporting roles, but there are no surprises here.

The blur of designer labels is ridiculous as ever (Carrie should be covered in friction burns considering how frequently she changes outfits) while Miranda and Steve's subplot relies on one of them acting out of character for dramatic effect.

DVD Extras: Director commentary; two-disc version: Extended cut of the film, director commentary, "A Conversation With Sarah Jessica Parker" featurette, "The Fabulous Fashion Of Sex And The City" featurette, additional scenes with optional director commentary, "Fergie In The Studio" featurette.

Rating: Three out of five.

Gone Baby Gone (Cert 15, 109 mins, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Thriller/Action, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £23.99) Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Edi Gathegi, Madeline O'Brien.

When little Amanda McCready (O'Brien) vanishes without trace from her bedroom in one of Boston's poorest neighbourhoods, the girl's distraught mother, Helene (Ryan), makes a television appeal for her safe return.

Captain Jack Doyle (Freeman) and the local police force fail to find any solid leads, so the girl's feisty grandmother Bea (Madigan) enlists the services of private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Monaghan) to make enquiries using their contacts.

As they gather evidence, Patrick and Angie forge an uneasy alliance with a renegade cop, Detective Remy Bressant (Harris), and his partner Detective Nick Poole (Ashton), exposing a web of deceit and lies that ensnares at least one high-ranking figure.

Adapted from Dennis Lehane's crime novel, Ben Affleck's directorial debut is a riveting tale of corruption and twisted love, which he sharply scripted with long-time friend Aaron Stockard. Gone Baby Gone holds us in a vice-like grip as the investigation twists and turns with horrific repercussions.

It's a deliberate slow burn but Affleck confidently injects pace with a couple of expertly choreographed action set-pieces including a botched night-time ransom drop and a nerve-racking shoot-out in the house of a suspected child abuser.

Performances are excellent across the board from Casey Affleck's somewhat naive and doomed hero and Monaghan's stoic sidekick to Ryan's ballsy portrayal of a foul-mouthed drug addict unfit to raise a child.

The narrative wrong-foots us right up to the closing frames, when one character faces an agonising no-win moral dilemma that will sharply divide viewers.

DVD Extras: Crew commentaries, extended ending, deleted scenes with optional director and co-writer commentary, "Going Home: Behind The Scenes With Ben Affleck" featurette, "Capturing Authenticity: Casting Gone Baby Gone" featurette.

Rating: Four out of five.