Veronica Mars

Small-town student sleuth Veronica Mars started her career in a US TV series starring Kristen Bell that ran for three seasons between 2004 and 2007. But the story of her big-screen debut is arguably as interesting as the movie itself. In 2013 Bell and series creator Rob Thomas launched an online appeal and thanks to incredibly loyal fans, they were able to raise nearly $6 million to make the feature. So does it warrant all that love and lolly? Indeed it does, because the film is a class act. Bell returns as the former teen private eye, now in her 20s and working as a lawyer in New York, who's compelled to return to her Californian home town of Neptune when an ex-boyfriend is charged with murder. Not surprisingly, she's soon back to her sleuthing ways in a bid to prove his innocence. The film is well written and nicely pitched between soft- and hard-boiled. On the debit side, the plot occasionally goes astray, and it patently resonates more if you're familiar with the original TV show, as most of the characters and actors reappear. Nonetheless, there's enough charm, wit and mystery to make it well worth watching.