"Les Femmes de l'ombre".



1944. An undercover agent working for the Allies, holding vital information about the future D-Day landings, is trapped in a French hospital, behind enemy lines. The agent is potentially only hours away from being discovered by the SS, and so the British Strategic Operations Executive put together a team of French speaking agents rescue him. Except for the commanding officer, the team are all women...

Oh, yes. That sounded like just the ticket. Definitely a bit of a romp. Something along the lines of a 1940's set "Mission: Impossible". Stunts, action sequences, beautiful women with serious weaponry using their womanly wiles to run rings around evil, horny Nazis.

Forget it. "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was not that film. The girls were beautiful, there was some de rigeur European nudity and also plenty of firepower and action, but "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was a much more real, bleak and thoughtful film than I expected. Bloody, nasty and sadistic, not to mention dangerous with some toe curling scenes of torture. Mix in with that meditations on fear, betrayal and ultimate self sacrifice.

Perhaps "Les Femmes de l'ombre" was uneven, but it was also a really interesting take on that old chestnut: The war movie about a team sent behind enemy lines on a vital mission. I doubt that Tarantino will make a more memorable film when and if he finally finishes "Inglorious Bastards".

"Adulthood".



"Adulthood" was the sequel to "Kidulthood". "Kidulthood" was certainly not a subtle movie and neither was "Adulthood".

"Adulthood" was low budget, rough around the edges, harsh, brutal, and totally engrossing. Sometimes the acting of the young cast was variable, but it's best performers - writer/director/lead actor Noel Clarke, Scarlet Alice Johnson (in the role obviously originally intended to be Jamie Winstone's 'Becky' character from "Kidulthood") and Adam Deacon - managed to imbue their roles with a ring of truth.

"Adulthood" got by on relevance (the debate about gang culture and gun crime is constantly in British newspapers at the moment), raw power and energy. In fact "Adulthood" had enough raw power and energy to silence an unruly audience of mobile phone carrying teenage boys, wearing baseball caps and trousers that were too big for them. At least it did in the screening that I attended. Maybe they were shocked at seeing versions of themselves up on the big screen?

I thought that "Adulthood" was as good as "Kidulthood", if not better.

There is so much more to Noel Clarke than being known as a "Doctor Who" companion. You mark my words, he is a name to watch.