Author Archives: Jaclyn

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About Jaclyn

Reader, writer, bookaholic for life!

Miss Marple movie – Why, Disney, why?

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So I woke up this morning and saw on Twitter that Disney will be doing a contemporary, edgy Miss Marple movie, starring Jennifer Garner as a 30-something year old Miss Marple. Would I love to see Miss Marple on the big screen? Sure, why not? I’ve always been more a Poirot fan than a Marple fan, but I’d happily pay the $12 to see any Christie story on the big screen. At least that’s what I thought until I heard about this movie. Now, I like Jennifer Garner, and I have no doubt she’ll act the part well. Here’s my problem: revamping Miss Marple into a 30-something American city girl removes all the charm from the character.

Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the quaint English town of St. Mary Mead. She’s nosy and gossipy, which is how she becomes embroiled in so many mysteries. Fortunately, she also has a memory like an elephant – she can usually remember people and events from her past that are similar in some way to something in the case, and this helps her solve the mystery. Quite frankly, I probably wouldn’t like her as a neighbour – she’ll be the little old lady staring at me with beady eyes and noticing that I’ve come home an hour later than usual, or with a rip in my skirt, or singing Backstreet Boys songs at the top of my lungs. She’ll unearth all my secrets, not because I’m connected to some mystery, but because she just enjoys knowing everything about everyone. The only reasons I might have tea with her as a neighbour, the only reasons I find her likable as a character, are that she’s a charming, elderly British lady, who delivers spunk with the tea. It’s the incongruity between her harmless, gossipy façade, and her sharp intellect that solves the crimes, and makes her so lovable.

With this movie, Disney removes that incongruity. Now, Miss Marple becomes Jane (because who on Earth in 21st century America calls anyone Miss anything?) and St. Mary Mead becomes (insert random Hollywood-ish US city here). Now young and edgy, the only characteristic remaining from Christie’s Miss Marple is her curiosity. How will that make her different from a grown-up Nancy Drew? Or a young Jessica Fletcher? Or, for that matter, Law & Order: SVU’s Detective Benson or any number of female investigators/amateur detectives already on TV? Worse, I can just imagine the Hollywood subplot: how Miss Marple becomes a lifelong spinster. She falls in love with a young Belgian detective with an egg-shaped head who, unfortunately, is too enamoured with his moustache to pay her any attention. That’s my guess anyway. Even has spin-off potential.

I am generally leery of revamps, but I have to admit, I’ve seen some really good ones. I really enjoyed Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law’s Sherlock Holmes, and I adore the BBC TV series Sherlock. I also loved J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, in some ways even preferring it to the original shows. Batman Begins was pretty good, and so was TMNT. All of them changed details from the classic perception of their characters and stories, yet they all kept whatever it was that made their characters unique. Both Sherlock Holmes adaptations for example retained Holmes’ logical mind, interest and science, and the Holmesian characteristic of bored languor immediately switching to manic energy when “the game’s afoot.”

I’d love a Miss Marple movie with Helen Mirren, or Dame Judi Dench, or even Meryl Streep. Jennifer Garner? No, thank you, Disney. And if you must go ahead with this Marple film, please, please, please, at least stay away from Poirot.

Spells, Aprilynne Pike #50BookPledge

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Spells is the second book in Aprilynne Pike’s YA series about Laurel, a sixteen year old girl who just recently discovered she is really a Fall fairy. She has a human boyfriend, David, and is very much attracted to a fellow fairy, Tamani. As a Spring fairy, Tamani is below her in the fairy social hierarchy, so there’s an interesting tension between him being her guide to the fairy world, and thus someone on whom she depends, and him having to walk behind her and having to ask her to ask him to dance. Spells has Laurel spending a summer in the fairy world and learning how to be a fairy. When she goes back to the human world, she then has to deal with trolls, and with David encouraging her to live a more fully human life.

I didn’t read Wings, the first book in the series, but it’s fairly simple enough to catch up, with Pike giving enough background to keep me in the loop without boring those who have read Wings. I did have some unanswered questions though, which I suppose must have been tackled in Wings – what’s this land that Laurel is supposed to protect, why are the trolls after it, and is there any reason (other than her being the only fairy raised as a human) that Laurel is special to the fairy world?

There are some interesting elements in the story. I like how Pike depicts Laurel’s more complicated relationship with her parents now that they know she’s a fairy; Laurel’s mom’s reaction in particular is very realistic. I also like the social hierarchy in the fairy realm, mostly because it enhances the Tamani/Laurel romance. Laurel is clearly uncomfortable with it, and there’s the hint that Laurel may some day lead a fairy revolution. I enjoyed learning about the fairy world, especially about the potions class.

That being said, Spells didn’t grab me. Possibly, there was just too much fairy school and not enough troll-fighting, but I actually liked the fairy realm parts all right. I think it’s more that with such amazing YA series in the market (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians), this one just pales in comparison. Spells has an okay story, with okay characters and some interesting elements, but it’s nothing special. If you’re an Aprilynne Pike fan, or a fan of fairies in general, and you think you’ll be interested in this story, the paperback of Spells and the hardcover of the third book in the series, Illusions, are both coming out this April.

Bitten, Kelley Armstrong #50BookPledge

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I read this book after about half a dozen people recommended it to me on Twitter. I also learned that she was doing a book signing in Indigo Yorkdale on April 3rd, so I wanted to find out if I liked her books in time to still have the opportunity to get my book signed. Final verdict: count me in on the Kelley Armstrong bandwagon.

Bitten is the story of Elena Forbes, the only female werewolf in existence, who tries to live a normal human life in Toronto (love that detail, actually, especially since Armstrong really uses Toronto landmarks and streets in her book). Her human boyfriend, Philip, is remarkably understanding of Elena’s late-night walks, where, unbeknownst to him, she turns into a werewolf and runs around the city (where was your partner last night, eh?). Pack Alpha Jeremy (my newest literary crush) summons her back to deal with a mutt crisis. Mutts are Pack-less werewolves, and in Bitten, unknown mutts are killing humans in Pack territory, putting the Pack in danger of discovery. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for Elena, reuniting with the Pack means living with Clay again, the hot werewolf who was once engaged to Elena, and who clearly still has sparks with her. While reading the book, I called the experience “good wolfy fun,” but in all seriousness, even putting hormones aside, Bitten is such an enjoyable read.

Armstrong has created some fascinating characters, and put them in difficult situations. Elena is a strong, independent woman. In a twist from the ordinary, love interest Clay uses her as bait to draw out the bad guys. While quite understandably pissed off, she admits she would’ve been more pissed off if he’d thought her too weak to take care of herself. Smaller and physically weaker than the other, all-male werewolves, Elena nevertheless gives as good as she gets, and makes for some action-packed fight scenes. Clay is also a compelling character – physically attractive, hot-tempered, total bad boy type who obviously loves Elena. He is overall a bit too aggressive to be my literary crush in this book, but towards the end, he shows a very appealing vulnerability. Jeremy as the Pack is a strong leader who commands respect, but also gets overwhelmed by the mutt attack. Even the bad guys are interesting – each has his own motivations and long-term schemes behind their actions, and just watching them interact is like watching politicians try to negotiate for the best deal.

Bitten has compelling characters and an exciting story with emotional pull. It’s the first of Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of it.