Nancy Drew Sunday, Apr 26 2009

If you’re a girl of any age, and you’ve ever read any of the Nancy Drew books, then this movie will be hated by you. But if you love Nancy and don’t mind a reboot to the fandom, then this is a great movie.

Nancy Drew lives in the small town of River Heights and when we meet her, we see she is in the process of solving a crime. The local chief of police says she’s his guy, if she were on the force.

The town loves her and her boyfriend Ned worries that she’s going to fall in love with the guy from Smallville when she goes to LA to accompany her dad on a business trip.

Carson Drew, Nancy’s dad makes her promise not to sleuth any more while they are in LA. What Nancy didn’t tell him though was the house she picked belonged to a dead movie star who died in mysterious circumstances.

Before she knows it, Nancy is embroiled in a mystery, the very thing she promised her dad she wouldn’t do. Add in a creepy grounds keeper, a deadly car chase and mysterious phone calls who keep telling her to get off the case, and its a race against time as Nancy Drew nearly finds herself Nancy Dead.

I was a little sceptical. I read Nancy Drew as a teenager, and what struck me was that this Nancy was a lot shorter and younger than the Nancy I read about. Also Nancy’s dad wasn’t as prominently featured in the books as he is in the movie.

But, putting aside my scepticism, I decided to give this film a go and boy am I glad I did. This is not the typical kids/teenager movie. Nancy does not succumb to a makeover as you’d expect when she moves to LA. She stays true to herself and her style and that’s something I admire about her.

As for the mystery, it keeps you guessing till the last moment and you’re completely surprised by the villain and the plots twists and turns.

Its also a very funny movie, with some sweet romance and the sort of wacky universe like in Pushing Daisies, but without all the dead people coming back to life.

And best of all, it was Tate Donovan from The OC playing Nancy’s dad, so even if you don’t want to watch for the story, you can at least watch for Tate!

All in all, a cute movie for a girly night in or if you’re looking for something different to watch.

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: When Nancy is looking at the movies Dehlia Draycott had been in, several titles are names of Nancy Drew books.

Nancy Drew [DVD] [2007]

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Children of Men Sunday, Jun 22 2008

Imagine a world without children. Without pregnancy. A life of infertility.

A life without hope where the world is collapsing under the crushing weight of infertility, and refugees from all countries are coming to Britain. Yet they are treated in terrible conditions and live in slums.

Theo Farron is abducted by his former wife Julian and asked to transport a young refugee girl to the mythical Human Project which claims to have the answer to the infertility that ravages their world.

After a surprise attack where Julian is killed, Kee – the girl in question, reveals that she is pregnant. It is then up to Theo to transport this fragile but resilient girl through the refugee camps to the boat that houses the Human Project and perhaps save mankind.

Its a slow film to start with as it sets everything up. I thought I’d end up not liking it because I couldn’t identify with a world without children. It just seems like such an alien idea as the world is already overcrowded as it is. But, as the story progresses and the characters revere this pregnant girl with deity like status I started to feel the impact of a world without children.

Theo is a reluctant hero, but he doesn’t shirk his duties when he realises what’s at stake. He seems like a very real and very ordinary man thrust into this unusual situation.

The scene where the baby is crying and everyone, including the army men are stunned into silence is one of the most powerful one yet.

This is a hard film to watch, but its shot in a documentary style which makes it feel like you’re actually there.

Random fact: Kee’s name is a homophone for “chi” (also can be pronounced CHEE) which means the energy or force of life itself.

4 stars out of 5.

Children Of Men (2-disc Special Edition) [2006]

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