Alone Time - 2013 - USA

Alone Time - 2013 - 6/10

Or time to unwind, return to Nature, recharge.
Overwhelmed with noisy, hectic New York, an office girl heads into the Adirondacks.

 
Soon, she is alone by the lake, with only her backpack, supplies and tent.
The contrast between the two worlds is pronounced.

 
For oppressed city dwellers, the landscape is ravishing.
Though the ending reveals an uncomfortable bleed-thru.

Orphan Black: S01 - 2013 - Canada

Orphan Black: S01 - 2013 - 4/10

 
Unfortunately, I started this directly after finishing True Detective: S01.
A quality gap separates fare aimed for adults and fare targeting the YA group.
Several female clones learn of doppelgangers.  
Their personalities are as different as individuals in the writing room.
Conspiracies surface, and the females display utter lack of common sense.   
Leaving this viewer to wonder - who cares?  Fembots.
Confession:  I succumbed to hype, and thought gushing articles were on to something edgy.
Wildly popular, aired for several seasons.  S01 was as far as I got.

The Same Sky - 2017 - Germany

The Same Sky - 2017 - 7/10
AKA - Der Gleiche Himmel

 
East Germany, mid 70's, Lars is training in elite spy craft to be a skilled Lothario.
Targets.  Females working for NATO.  Seduction followed by exploitation.
Tight series that gets the period right (music, fashions, hairstyles), also Cold War attitudes.
Secondary stories that follow an Olympic hopeful and a gay teacher are compelling.
Even tertiary stories have merit, but the meat of the series is Lars, working to make women fall for him, trying to keep his anecdotes straight, calming fears and countering feminine intuition.
Sordid, cynical, and one be forgiven rooting for the cad, although with the ending I was going,  "Is that it?"

Our Ladies - 2019 - UK

Our Ladies - 2019 - 7/10

 
The singing competition will be in Edinburgh, sin city.
Sister Condron hopes her girls to do well enough to move on to the finals in Greece.
“Screw Sister Condom,”  mutter the ladies.  They are hoping for a good shagging.
Raunchy, laugh out loud comedy, bristling with foul dialogue.
Set in 1996, before social networks and the erosion of relationships.

Venom - 1981 - UK

Venom - 1981 - 6/10

 
Decent thriller (NOT a Horror film) with a powerhouse cast.
London kidnappers set sights on a young boy while his wealthy parents are traveling.
The boy is a pet enthusiast, and the day of the snatch, he brings home a new snake.
Unfortunately, the shoppe mixes his order and he brings home a Mamba, which escapes.
At which point, the caper begins to sour.
During filming, Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed supposedly hated each other on sight.
Plot itself = bad guys, hostages, determined copper, and one pissed off snake (no CGI, it was an actual mamba, borrowed from the London zoo!).

Invisible Woman - 2013 - UK

Invisible Woman - 2013 - 06/10

 
Subdued drama of the affair between 45 year old Charles Dickens and 18 year old Nelly Ternan.
Low key acting, complemented by subdued color palette (grays, blacks, browns) and moody music (piano or quartet).
In the open-mic, audience Q & A Director / producer Fiennes was defensive when asked, what’s the point?
Questions about social norms are dodged, as are reflections on women, marriage, celebrity.
Fiennes, who is a believable Dickens, aims for the passing snapshots of life.
Richly done, yet seemed superficial.

Silent Action - 1975 - Italy

Silent Action - 1975 - 6/10
AKA - La Polizia Accusa: il Servizio Segreto Uccide

 
Opening the film, one by one, high level military brass are assassinated.
Headlines scream,  “Murder or Suicide!”
The lead inspector, on the trail of a potential witness, knows not to trust anyone outside or within the police ranks.
Very good Euro-Crime thriller.
This is not Giallo.  No hyper colors, no trendy fashion, few hyper-sexualized victims.
Here, plotting, intricate and coherent, is paramount.  Focus always stays with the investigators.
Silent Action would be a solid introduction to this genre for the curious..
If you can find it, get the version with audio commentary by Mike Malloy.

The Key To The Fields - 2014 - France

The Key To The Fields - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - La Clef des Champs

 
Mild French comedy of local who became Paris bigwig, returning to boyhood village and assorted mishaps.
His car is seized, his dog runs off, his mother and friends ridicule him.
Everyone muses on what a stiff, pompous, pain in the ass he was and remains.
In other countries, his character would soften toward sympathy.
This is French cinema, however, and sentimentality is over-rated.
Agreeable, and yet at the end, the village problem is left unresolved and likely unsolved.

Dom Hemingway - 2013 - UK

Dom Hemingway - 2013 - 7/10

 
Jude Law reboots his career, playing hardened con released after 12 years.
He took the fall for someone else and expects to be well paid for his silence.
Unfortunately, Lady Luck doesn’t always see it that way.
Definitely not the usual gangster film as Law and mate, Richard Grant, are both glib and eloquent.
Bitter funny throughout, also a touch poignant as the once-king of the block is ... well ... twelve years older.