Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Nancy Drew & Ratatouille


As the autumn nights are drawing in, this seems to be the perfect time to start watching movies again. I'd not been to the cinema for some time, and I'm rather pleased that I've managed to watch not one, but two films over the last week. As it's mid term there are several kiddie movies out at the moment (as well as a load of depressing adult flicks) and I could hardly avoid Ratatouille, so Ratatouille and Nancy Drew were the two I watched.

Dare I say it, I enjoyed Nancy Drew way more than Ratatouille. Aesthetically-speaking I'm not a big fan of Pixar's movies (I much prefer the classic Disney style of animation) and Ratatouille, albeit pleasant, didn't have a terribly engaging storyline. I guess if I was more susceptible to marketing tactics, I might have appreciated it a lot more. It was heart-warming and funny in places, but definitely over-hyped. Not the kind of film I'd go out of my way to watch again, enjoyable though it was first time round.

On the other hand, I was quite taken with Emma Roberts' Nancy Drew. I thought it'd be a silly film for kids, but far from it. It was engaging, witty, fast-paced, well-acted and well-directed, and certainly kept my interest throughout. As kiddy movies go, I really couldn't fault it. I loved Tate Donovan (the OC's Jimmy Cooper) as Nancy's dad, Josh Flitter was hysterical and Max Thieriot would be hot-hot-hot if only I was 20 years younger. Adam Goldberg and Bruce Willis in cameo roles were a nice touch, too.

All in all, Nancy Drew is a great all-rounder and I highly recommend it to anyone over 10 years. I'll probably buy it on DVD as I'd love to watch it again. If your kids are younger and/or you're particularly keen on cartoons, then Rataouille is the one for you, but don't expect to be amazed by the storyline, or you might just be disappointed.


Now I'm looking forward to watching Enchanted.

10 comments:

Karen said...

I felt exactly the same at Ratatouille, Tinsie. Very underwhelmed. The Monkey wants to see Nancy Drew (as long as his friends don't know he watched it!), so I'll go for the video. Thanks for the tip!

Tinsie said...

Way to go, Karen! I'm sure the Monkey will love it.

ShadowFalcon said...

can't wait to see the Rat movie, but I didn't know about Nancy Drew!!! thanks for the heads up

Bike Drool said...

mid-term.... you work in the educational system, tinsie?

Tinsie said...

@ Shadowfalcon: Hope you enjoy both!

@ Daniel: Nope, but you can't miss it over here, as most parents of schoolage kids take annual leave during mid-term. The first signs are when you're trying to arrange meetings and half your invitees decline because they're on leave. Then you get a disproportionate number of "out of office" replies to your emails, and finally all the restaurants, cinemas, museums, public transport etc. fill with parents and kids. If the penny hasn't dropped when your meetings fall apart, it certainly does when you walk inside a movie theatre ;-)

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear they finally made a movie of the Nancy Drew series. I've read most of the books as well as the Hardy Boys plus a few with all of them together.I loved them:-)
Can't wait to see it.
Ratatouille wasn't bad but more suitable for young children. Have you seen The Emperor got his groove back?It's an older cartoon but super funny. Watched it with my friend's daughters during the summer and loved it.

Tinsie said...

You have to see the Nancy Drew movie, it's really sweet :-)

I've not watched the Emperor movie, but I'll check it out. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

kalispera sas, den mporo na ta katalavo ola alla exo na po oti tin ora pou mageireyoun ta pontikia einai ligo sixamero...sta paidakia pantos arese...einai asxeto to sxolio?

Tinsie said...

Haha katholou!

Ego den sixathika ekei pou mageirevan ta pontikia, alla kathe fora pou emfanizotan i miti tou pontikarou se gros plan pano stin othoni. Pou simainei oti eixa arxisei na sixainomai apo ta prota 5 lepta tis tainias. Bliax. Nancy Drew και πάλι Nancy Drew!!

Pou xathikes?

Anonymous said...

thanks