So what do men and what do women want?

|PIC1|It's not every month that two films premier with characters who are already pop culture phenomena. But the past month has seen one for the girls and one (primarily) for the boys.

Four years after the last small-screen episode was made, Sex and the City: The Movie (Cert 15) has arrived on the big screens. And after a mere 24 years, Indiana Jones returns to the cinema in the snappily titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Cert 12A).

Rather aptly, my local cinema ran the Daily Mail's current 'two tribes' ad before both of them. So what, according to these two big box office draws, do the two tribes of men and women want?

Every year thousands of twenty-somethings flock to New York in search of 'the two L's - labels and love', Carrie (Sarah Jessicah Parker) tells her audience at the opening of Sex and the City: The Movie. The labels are certainly here in abundance, although I was relieved that the torrent of costume changes, jewellery and designer handbags weren't met with the 'oohs' and 'aahs' I hear came from some audiences.

OK, so Carrie is a writer at Vogue magazine and the costumes did look great, but even these glossy high fliers are actually seeking fulfilment in their loves and relationships.

Story lines revolve around the pressures concerning Carrie's impending marriage, issues of unfaithfulness, developments in Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry's (Evan Handler's) family, the stagnating relationship between Samantha (Kim Catrall) and Smith (Jason Lewis). Morally, despite doing more than enough to justify its 15 certificate, the film offers recurring lessons around forgiveness and two-way communication.

So how does the latest Indie movie compare? Clearly, the old writer-director team of George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg relished rolling the characters out again, this time in McCarthy-era 1957. And it's great to see that a more grizzled Harrison Ford plays Dr Jones with his usual wry conviction.

Instead of designer labels, we are given the most sartorial car chase ever, all classic 50s cars, agleam with chrome and lacquer. Added style is provided by Indie's new sidekick, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), modelled on The Wild One era Marlon Brando.

Beyond that, the story offers the old Indie mix of the two A's - action and adventure - plus lots of laughs and a heady dose of mystery as good guys and bad uncover the secrets of ancient civilisations and dangerous psychic-religious powers.

There are a few biblical references too. A glimpse of the ark of the covenant reminds us of Raiders of the Lost Ark, while Indie's Soviet nemesis, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), meets her demise in an episode reminiscent of the biblical Fall.

Ultimately, though, it turns out that what men want is not so different from women. Alongside the buccaneering adventure and fun, friendship and romance is still at the core. We see it in the cross-generational sparring and bonding of Indiana and Mutt, and in Indiana's rediscovery of his old flame, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).

So Carrie was right: love is the only label that lasts. Now didn't a well-known book say that somewhere?

Lindsay Shaw is editor of Reel Issues, Bible Society's online film and faith discussion service. Visit www.reelissues.org.uk either to download and road-test a recent film discussion or to sign up and receive a new outline every month and access a full library of archived discussions. Each outline offers a full programme for a discussion based on one of the latest popular films, helping Christians and their friends to discuss spiritual, moral and lifestyle issues.