Friday, July 29, 2011


By FleetUSA. 5 stars or more for this series in terms of great acting, interesting characters, and well written plots. 0 stars in terms of realistic court situations as it would apply in the U.S. Under the American system, Deeds would be out on his ear in no time (hopefully). The fact that the Judge leads counsel on both sides asking the unasked question which might be on the jury's mind is fine in my opinion, but.. The American system wouldn't countenance the close (!) relationship between the Judge and beautiful defense attorney (probably in later episodes he will bed a prosecution counsel too). Martin Shaw, Jenny Seagrove, and Donald Sinden are great actors. Sinden is perfect as the sinecure senior judge. He was first popular in TV as the male part of Two's Company. Some have compared this to Rumpole but I think Rumpole is closer to the truth in legal terms even though Rumpole is meant as a comedy. Don't miss if you like British court mysteries. Subtitles are good too if you need them. fleetusa@gmail.com

Potiche 3 Stars

By FleetUSA. This is a wry rom-com for the nouveau AARP set - but with star actors in France. Everyone in the film gets the chance to change their character and fate at least once. So it becomes a bit like musical chairs. Catherine Deneuve shows a bit of age and class as the "potiche" (in French a fancy vase) and Gerald Depardieu reminisces as the now fat, former lover who had just one chance with the rich girl but went the natural (for his background) way of union and elected office. You might say he made the most of his chance. The American title "Trophy Wife" doesn't really apply to this picture and is not the real French translation anyway - a trophy wife would not own the company and her husband (F Luchini) is a creep - creeps don't generally have trophy wives. From the fancy vase aspect, it is clear that she starts as that but definitely changes when confronted with problems as though they are opportunities to reassert the old time charm of her dad who founded the company. We all remember Deneuve as the ingenue in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg who had ALL her lines sung by someone else. Here as an inside joke she closes the movie actually singing a French ballad -- so so. Of course, the other inside joke is the company makes umbrellas. I have a hard time giving this campy rom-com more than 3 stars. fleetusa@gmail.

Monday, June 27, 2011



Sensitive Skin: Seasons 1 & 2

5 Stars


Joanna Lumley has a knack for picking clever, excellent material. Here is a wry, mature sitcom series plumbing the depths of a talented, empty nest couple turning 60 with typical issues: money, tempers, sex, dreams to fulfill, and of course a diffident mature son. As usual for quality British TV the surrounding cast is pitch perfect to play off their dreams and fears. The format is a series of 30 minute short stories with good subtitles if you need them.

Monday, September 27, 2010

FleetUSA's Netflix lists

This is a project in its infancy. Stay with me and I'll get something going.