FIFTY SHADES DARKER (Rated R)

Just when you thought it might be safe to go back to the cinema, along comes a sequel to “Fifty Shades of Grey,” an exercise in titillation that brings the lithesome Dakota Johnson back for more gratuitous nude scenes with her control freak billionaire lover.

Consumed with the frequent mission of disrobing its female lead, “Fifty Shades Darker” has seemingly little purpose other than reuniting Johnson’s Anastasia Steele with the masochistic Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for more sex play, even if slightly tamer.

Indulge me for a minute to quote the press notes that describe the male lead as the “wounded Christian Grey” trying to entice a “cautious Anastasia Steele back into his life.” I’d say that Mr. Grey is more “troubled” for his kinky desires, which apparently he still harbors.

Ana may want a new arrangement before giving Christian another chance. If I am not mistaken, I think Ana moved away after finding that Christian’s dominant, possessive tendencies were too much to take.

Now Christian comes for Ana with promises of being a changed man. She’s working at a publishing firm which he soon buys so that he can tell her not to take a business trip to New York with her editor boss Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), who later reveals a sinister undercurrent.

There’s not much plot to this story outside of Christian’s manipulative behavior to so deeply burrow into Ana’s life that the two of them are soon living together, exploring the Red Room of Pain and talking of marriage.

Christian’s troubled past also gets more fleshed out with the appearance of his own “Mrs. Robinson,” a friend of his mother who had seduced a young Christian into the finer points of bondage and domination.

This sexual tutor is Elena Lincoln (played by Kim Basinger, who long ago was a sex symbol in the sensual thriller “9 ½ Weeks). Basinger’s Elena has no other purpose other than to create ineffective friction.

Having not read the E.L. James novels, I am guessing that enjoyment of the “Fifty Shades” movie franchise would be enhanced by familiarity with the source material. For the uninitiated, “Darker” comes across as somewhat boring.

Fans of the books, knowing the character details, are much more likely to enjoy “Fifty Shades Darker,” and so I will leave it at that.

One thing that is certain is that the third chapter is on its way. “Fifty Shades Freed” was being filmed simultaneously with “Fifty Shades Darker” so that the wait would be truncated to this time next year.

TV Corner: ‘Big Little Lies’ on HBO Network

With the benefit of having reviewed only the first two episodes of a seven-part limited series, I am unable to spoil, either intentionally or not, the essential mystery behind the storyline of “Big Little Lies.”

At the center of the tranquil seaside town of Monterey, Calif., nothing is quite as it seems. Doting moms, successful husbands, adorable children and beautiful homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean set the stage for a perfect world that could unravel at any moment.

“Big Little Lies” benefits from a star-studded cast, beginning with the female leads that dominate. Reese Witherspoon’s Madeline Mackenzie is a whirlwind of energy and good intentions, but her compulsion to set things rights has unintended consequences.

The action starts on the first day of school when Madeline befriends young single mom Jane (Shailene Woodley), a person with a mysterious past who is apparently the only person of modest means new to Monterey and its complicated social hierarchy.

Having given up a legal career for marriage to younger husband Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgard), Nicole Kidman’s Celeste is the envy of her peers, though trouble simmers on the homefront with strains of spousal abuse.

Madeline and Celeste, longtime friends and confidantes, take newcomer Jane into their inner circle, much to the chagrin of another mother, the powerful career woman Renata (Laura Dern), who becomes aggravated over an incident at the school.

Meanwhile, a murder mystery has caused a rift in the community, and though details are not revealed, thus stoking the inherent intrigue, a Greek chorus of government officials and school administrators drop snippets of clues with occasional interludes at a press conference.

Though now remarried to a stable husband (Adam Scott), Madeline resents that her ex-husband (James Tupper) has married the beautiful and much younger yoga instructor Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz).

Jealousies abound in the affluent coastal town of Monterey, and one could easily draw parallels to “Desperate Housewives” given the exposure of conflicts, secrets and betrayals that compromise relationships between husbands and wives, and friends and neighbors.

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, “Big Little Lies” turns into the small screen version of a summer beach read. That’s an inelegant way of saying that this series taps into an intriguing thriller that could be hard to resist.

Looking at “Big Little Lies” from a practical standpoint, you could get hooked on the tantalizing secrecy of the murder details such that an investment into only seven episodes may result in a decent payoff.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.