Nanna would like to say a very big thank you to Vodafone for the generous sponsership deal given to her 2 years ago for her film reviews. Sadly it has now run out but it was great while it lasted.
She would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This endearing film gives credence to the popular saying that a dog is man's best friend. The dog in question is a kelpie-cross with dingo blood in his ancestry. He roams the parched outback of Western Australia, his red coat blending perfectly with the red of the iron filings. Apparently homeless, he is a nomad, but certainly not feral for he has not got an antagonistic bone in his body. In the course of his roaming he arrives at Dampier, an isolated iron mining area in Western Australia. There the lonely men vie with each other to have ownership of him, but he holds off until he meets Josh and adopts him. Josh drives a van and is reluctant to allow him on board saying: "Even if you were one of the Queen's corgis, I would not allow it." However Red Dog wins him over and Josh becomes his master for all too short a time. It says something for the dog's loyalty that he spends the rest of his life searching for his missing master. He travels from Perth to Darwin and everywhere in between. It is reminiscent of that little scotch terrier, Grey friar's Bobby. The people of Dampier erect a statue of Red Dog in his honour, which makes me wish some enterprising film maker would make a film about that other dog who has a statue in his honour. That is the dog of the notorious sheep stealer, McKenzie. The dog was shot for his actions in spite of only having done his master's bidding. This is at Tekapo, the gateway to the Mckenzie country, so called because of the audacious sheep stealer. All of which highlights the fact that dogs are intelligent and listen to their master's voice. There were red eyes at the end of the film, so take some tissues. It is great scenery and a true legend brought to the big screen with humour and pathos. Keisha Castle- Hughes plays a small part with the stars Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor Loene Carmen and Noah Taylor, though Red Dog himself steals the show.

I rate it 4 balls of wool out of 5

OOOOO

Senior Citizens and senility do not necessarily go together, though often they do. This delightful film is a small cameo of this, depicting life in a plush, exclusive Retirement Home in Remuera. When Murray {Tony Barry} moves in as a resident, he is immediately the prey of most of the women in the place. Try to avoid them as he does, he is targeted by Dorothy and Esther whose antics to entrap him do border on the ridiculous. However a situation arises and Murray is convinced that he is a Chief Inspector in the Police department, working as an undercover agent to solve the recent deaths in the home. These have occurred as they do because people grow old and ill, but he puts a more sinister interpretation on things. The fact that his longest enemy, played by John Bach, is also resident in the Home, aids and abets this theory. An endearing touch is the young man to whom he reports his findings - his 8 year old grandson, who is sworn to secrecy. It is a bitter sweet story with good acting and touching scenes. The cast includes Ian Mune, Bruce Allpress, Ilona Rodgers, Elizabeth McRae, Irene Wood and Theresa Woodham. One cannot but feel that "there by the grace of God go I". It is well worth a visit.

I rate it 4 balls of wool out of 5

OOOOO

Imagine a rogue killer virus rampaging through the world, decimating the population - that is "Contagion". And the fact that it could happen here makes it too close for comfort. It is a global pandemic from a new, cross species virus for which the medical profession has no antidote. Before the advent of antibiotics people lived and died more simply, but probably at an earlier age than in this more sophisticated era. It makes one ponder the words of Thomas Gray, who wrote "Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise" Have we in our advanced knowledge and technology introduced such incurable viruses into the Planet? The story is a thriller, riveting in its
docudrama approach to bringing the inevitable death toll to an end. First they must trace the movements of the first victim, her
contacts and subsequent journey. She contacted the virus in Hong Kong and the thing that spreads even more quickly than the disease is rumour, which must be contained. People panic, there are riots and pillaging and fleeing as the menace spreads. Eventually one brave epidemiologist from WHO is sent to China to investigate. On a cautionary note, be prepared for some grim scenes of biohazard suits and body bags, not to mention a gruesome mortuary post mortem. There is a plausible and frightening aspect to this film, starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne and Gwyneth Paltrow. It will make you think.

I rate it 4 balls of wool out of 5.

OOOOO

From Go to Whoa this film is a gripping thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat in the same way as "Day of the Jackal" did decades ago. Helen Mirren at 66 plays an incredible role as a member of the Israeli's Mossad. She is one of 3 spies who in 1966 are hunting down a Nazi criminal known as the Surgeon of Birkenau. His crime was the gruesome experiments he carried out in the concentration camps. When they eventually trace him, he is working as a gynecologist in East Berlin. Jessica Chastain, who plays Mirren in her youth, poses as a patient and visits the clinic where subsequently they overpower and kidnap the Doctor. In a series of flashbacks from the present to the Iron curtain era we see two versions of the same event when apparently the criminal is shot while attempting to escape. Rachel Singer {Helen Mirren} is given the credit for this and in later days her daughter writes a book lauding her life and exploits, but has she been living a lie? David, one of the trio, is searching for the truth and believes the Doctor is still alive. They undertake a mission to track him down. It is a story of revenge and perhaps some might say the end justifies the means. Chastain as the young Rachel does an excellent job as do the two men and their counterparts. Mirren is outstanding. It is full of suspense and at times frightening.

I rate it 4 balls of wool out of 5.

OOOOO

This film offers a veritable visual feast with scenery, costumes and settings. The same cannot be said of  the story content, however, as Director Woody Allen indulges in a flight of fancy with the time factor. Gil {Owen Wilson} is an American screen writer who aspires to write a novel. He is engaged to an American girl whose parents take the couple with them to Paris. It soon becomes apparent that the two are far from compatible. She {Rachel McAdams} is only interested in shops, fashion and restaurants - what the city has to offer in that department - quite shallow and materialistic. He, on the other hand is captivated by the essence of the Paris of bygone times and the people who became icons in their own fields of various artistry and he falls under their spell. This becomes a time traveling spree in which he actually comes face to face with his idols - F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Louis La Trek and others. The present day romance cannot but founder and he falls in love with another time traveler but she too is in a different period so that cannot be pursued. However all of this is not of any great importance to Gil, whose real love is for Paris. He opts to stay and live out his fantasy. It is beautifully crafted and well acted and a pleasure to watch, if whimsical.
                              

Forget Mr Bean, forget Blackadder ,and prepare to meet Johnny English, Super Sleuth. Rowan Atkinson does a very amusing, funny and entertaining spoof of a James Bond style movie. Ridiculous though it may be at times, there really is no room for boredom in this action packed story - and there really is a story. Banished in disgrace from Headquarters in London for previous misdemeanors, our intrepid hero is sent to the Boot Camp style Monks in Tibet for some corrective, toughening up discipline. The film opens with hilarious scenes of him having to tow large, then even larger rocks behind him. They are presumably attached to his nether region or private parts. This stands him in good stead when he is later kicked in that vulnerable and sensitive spot and can withstand the pain. When he is ready he is flown back to London {sitting on the plane in the Lotus position} and back into the Spy World. So successful is he at inadvertently solving crimes that he is finally honoured by Her Majesty the Queen. More improbable high jinks follow and he floats into the wide blue yonder in a parachute jump. In his own inimitable way Rowan Atkinson carries it all off and you are left wondering whatever next. It is mercifully devoid of explicit sex scenes though there is a romance blossoming, but there is violence in plenty.

I rate it 3 balls of wool out of 5

OOOOO

Watching this film is a journey back in time. A must see if you are planning to walk the Yorkshire, Dales and Lancashire, or ramble through the Lake District. Always very beautiful and scenic, it is more so in the Autumn/Winter setting of the film. However the two very opinionated main characters do not always strike the right chord. Their constant poetry spouting becomes irksome and one cannot help feeling that in this magnificent setting silence is golden. Mind you this is exactly how one of the two felt when he told his friend to shut the hell up [I am an avid poetry lover but somehow this expose of it did not appeal]. Steve Coogan is commissioned by the Observer to review Restaurants, so, in one week he visits 6 restaurants accompanied by his friend Bob Bydon. The latter is a very like-able character and a very clever voice impersonator. It is a pleasure to see where many of our great writers eg Coleridge, Beatrix Potter and the Brontes got their inspiration for their works. Shades of Master Chef in each eating place when the traditional local dishes could be deemed more appropriate. It is entertaining and funny, but tends to become tedious and so slow moving as to seem unreal.

I rate it 3 balls of wool out of 5

OOOOO

A highly improbable story, but once it gets started with an actual plot it becomes quite entertaining. However, there is an overkill of inane, teenage behaviour before it gets going, which makes one wonder why this is advertised as a thriller. It improves when the rather obscure plot develops and it is then a teenage version of a James Bond thriller. Plenty of fast action with a teenage boy and girl who seem more mature than their years. It appears that Nathan, the hero, is a very special person with a need to be guarded carefully. We are not told Why. They have a violent time eluding their pursuers, running for their lives to escape capture by his father's enemies. Their many hair raising adventures take them across a river, up a mountain area, on a swift train journey plus fast car chases. Then there is a tense moment at a vast Sports Stadium. All ends well for our two intrepid young people in spite of their brutal adversaries.

I rate it 3 balls of wool out of 5.

OOOOO

What a treat to welcome back one of our favourite classics in this screen adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's well loved "Jane Eyre". Despite the fact that there have been numerous other versions, this one does not disappoint. Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, who played Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" is a perfect Jane. She is incredibly stoic and registers little emotion on the surface, which makes her just right for the dark, brooding Rochester played by Michael Fassbender; handsome but mysterious. Judi Dench with her usual finesse, does a convincing role as the housekeeper. Rather than beginning with Jane's childhood, the screen writer opens with a heartbroken adult Jane, lost in the moors and being taken in by the Rivers family. From there, in flashbacks to her tragic childhood, the story unfolds brilliantly.There is an authenticity in the candlelight, though some of the scenes are overly dark.The moors are beautiful, solitary and gloomy. It is refreshing to see love blossom and bloom without the explicit sex to which audiences have had to become accustomed. The stars of this film leave a pleasant taste and it is a feel good movie with a worth while story line. Rochester sported an unattractive hairy beard which did not appeal, at the end, no doubt all part of his "couldn't care less" sorrow at losing Jane, She will be sure to remedy that.
                             
I rate it 4 balls of wool out of 5.

OOOOO