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For once the suspense is real
Just saw this on Pay Per View. Tremendously exciting, very realistic about a prostitute's life, and -- best of all -- there's real suspense. The audience is never certain who, if anyone, will survive. Some people complain that characters in movies of this sort are not likable, but I think it's made very clear that the two lead women are in a profession that leaves them no time to be likable. Both of them do a tremendous job.

The action came a little thick and fast. I don't think I'd have accepted so many coincidences if they had all turned out in the heroines' favor. And the young prostitute was written both a little too naive and a little too generous. That's worth taking off a star, but I haven't seen such a tense movie in years, nor one that worked so well. Compared with this the typical Hollywood action flick is pure comic book.

I WANT THE ILLUSION
Holly Rowe (Viva Bianca) a call girl has saved up enough money for retirement. She is getting ready to go to Paris. Michael, one of Holly's Johns is a married man who has an unhealthy attachment for her. He wants to run away with her to Paris.

Meanwhile Shay (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) is the new girl on the block making money by giving hand jobs to old men while talking dirty (I couldn't believe that is what old men always request from young girls.) Shay doesn't have a pimp to "protect" her. She has been stepping on the other girl's territory without paying her dues.

Holly has a big score and needs a second girl. All the other girls are busy. That is when she runs into Shay (literally) in the street. She takes Shay under her wing. Of course nothing goes as planned and the working girls witness a murder. They are on the run because...? Prostitutes make for credible witnesses and always run to the cops when they see a crime. The movie becomes a game of cat and mouse...

A Gritty Australian Thriller That Starts Strong But Then Travels Down A Very Familiar Road
I decided to check out Jon Hewitt's "X" anticipating a provocative adult drama. And indeed as the film opened with a delightfully unexpected and somewhat creepy sexual escapade, I thought this Australian endeavor might be a pleasantly twisted surprise exploring the seamy underbelly of the prostitution trade. The film is structured around two working girls, one is a high end call girl on the eve of retirement (Viva Bianca) and one is a penniless girl (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) spending her first night on the streets. As the opening sequences juxtaposed their exploits, the movie is an interesting examination of contrasting lifestyles. Both actresses are quite good in their respective roles, but it is Bianca who really stole the show for me. Recently seen in the Starz original "Spartacus" series as the wily and cunning Ilithyia, it was interesting to see her in something more modern (but no less explicit). And if these two roles are any indication, I suspect she is just at the beginning of...

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