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Chick-flick Fridays: The Princess Diaries, Parts 1 & 2

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A day late, but what the heck – it’s still Friday in the western hemisphere! Adapted from the books by Megan Cabot, The Princess Diaries packs a nice, utterly predictable but nevertheless quite fun, flossy punch. Part 1: young LA girl Mia discovers that she’s the heir to a tiny European principality (fictional, obviously), and must learn royal ways. How she goes from ugly duckling (actually, invisible duckling) to swan, and whether she eventually chooses her title or resigns it, forms the rest of the movie. Helping her along the way are her rebellious friend Lily, and artist mom Helen. The Queen Mother, tasked with bringing to heel the flighty young princess, is helped along by her security chief (a very good Hector Elzondo) and a bevy of palace officials and suchlike. The movie never pretends to be much more than it is – a quick, easy teeny bopper flick with princess twist. Part 2: The now princess Mia is ready(ish!) to take on royal responsibilities as queen, but an o...
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The Sinner (2017-onwards)

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In a world full of who-dunnits , many of them rather predictable, this is a refreshing change. We all know who did it – the first twenty minutes has us witnessing the murder first hand , along with the murderer’s family, friends, the small town community she lives in … and she turns herself into the police immediately afterwards. What’s unfathomable is why she did it at all. The next 8 episodes, are a slow, beautifully brutal and almost impossible to make any guesses from. What happens is a subtle, deliberate unlayering of the mind, and the murderer’s past which finally reveals the reason behind the apparently random crime. A strong turn from Jessica Biel makes the first season worth watching (I haven’t begun with Season 2 yet). The rest of the cast (unknown to me, as of now) were more than adequate in their roles, with a surprisingly good performance from the husband – who goes from horrified to confused to supportive most realistically. Disclaimer – the show is more t...
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The Protector

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So far… Broad storyline: apparently-ordinary-lovable-loser Hakan finds out, through a dramatic series of events, that he is the last ‘protector’ of Istanbul and must prepare to face his nemesis the ‘immortal’. To do this he must find his weapons – a talismanic shirt, a ring and a dagger. Aiding him in the quest are his followers (the ‘loyal ones’) who have been awaiting his arrival for years. I’m not entirely thrilled with Netflix’s first Turkish original. Perhaps it was to be expected – they’ve used all the clichés in the book to try and ensure popularity. And maybe the first attempt, like a pancake, is bound to fail (Remember Brahman Naman? No? Exactly). The protector does a perfectly average job at telling a (so far) average story and has enough tropes to make things a tad obvious. There’s the lovable buffoon who must (grudgingly) turn heroic, the sacrificing parent, the female sidekick who’s friendzoned, the seductress, the brooding bad guy who’s the red herring...
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