Yes, it's that time of year again. Time when everybody looks back at the last year to celebrate the best of the year and give a few last jeers to the worst as we move into the next year. It's been a great year for porn fans, with plenty of big budget movies, directors changing homes looking for more freedom, and plenty of hot new starlets. Here's my look back at some of the best and worst that the year had to offer...

Best Feature
Corruption (Sex Z Pictures)
Most of the time Eli Cross and Sex Z Pictures fly underneath everybody's radar. Here they exploded together with a true adult feature that shows that a well written story, quality acting, nasty sex, and even a bit of artistic camera work can go together amazingly well. Hillary Scott turns in what might be her best performance ever, and is matched with a fantastic cast that does every bit as good of a job including Kylie Ireland, Alana Evans, and Eli Cross himself. Sex Z doesn't stop there, and makes this a full 3 DVD release with the movie spanning two full DVDs (complete with commentary) and another full DVD of extras.

Best All-Sex Movie
Jenna Haze Darkside (Jules Jordan Video)
While many were surprised by Jules Jordan striking out with his own company, he showed right away that things could only go up for him with a 2 DVD release of Jenna Haze Darkside . Unlike so many other studios that feature a star prominently on the cover and use their name in the title, Jordan actually features the little sexpot in each and every scene letting her go the full gambit doing guys, girls, interracial, anal, and blowbangs along with bringing in a few fetishes. When I started looking back at 2006, this was one of the titles that immediately came to mind.

Rounding Out the Top 10 Movies
As usual, I'm not going to rank these and instead just go with alphabetical order...

Credscendo (Ninn Worx)
There's been a fair amount of female talent who's moved behind the camera in recent years, but Lorraine Sisco (aka Tall Goddess) is one of the few who have stayed away from gonzo porn and instead focused on artistic features and vignette styled movies. Right from the start her style seemed a perfect match for Ninn Worx, and she showed some very nice growth from movie to movie with her first few releases. Although it seemed to fly under the radar of many, that growth really peaked with Credscendo where she blended sex and art almost as well as that mysterious guy behind the studio who released the movie.

Deeper 3 (Digital Playground)
While the general trend in porn seems to be going longer and longer, Robby D. went the opposite direction with Deeper 3 and finished it out at just barely over an hour and a quarter. Normally this would seem to mean the kiss of death, but he made every moment count here as well as having the great timing to release a porn vignette movie with the scenes revolving around horror movies right a few weeks before Halloween. Some say that timing is everything, and Robby D. shows it here.

Girls Love Girls (Evil Angel)
All girls movies are a touchy thing to do right. There's plenty of girls who don't seem completely into girls and plenty of directors who don't seem to know how to close a scene out unless somebody's spewing their population pudding over as much of the girl as possible (not that there's anything wrong with that). That makes for plenty of weak all girl movies, but Jonni Darkko avoids those problems with a great cast that seems to be really into each other with plenty of chemistry and the ability to bring toys into a scene without making it feel like a crutch. His photographer's eye is spot-on here with almost every shot looking beautiful. There's also enough variety to the movie that it never starts to get in a rut despite each scene being only two girls and all of the scenes having toys.

Hush (Digital Playground)
Celeste's style is one that's often hit or miss with people, which is no surprise with no audio from the performers and heavily artistic visuals. I'll admit that they're hit or miss with me too, but here she hit harder than she ever has for me. Part of the reason here is that the movie is significantly longer than her others which lets her build the chemistry a little better. This was one of Digital Playground's last releases of the year, and it definitely helped the year end on a high note for me.

New Whores on the Block (Evil Angel)
I'm not sure that many were surprised when Manuel Ferrara left RLD for the Evil Empire. What has seemed to surprise them, however, is how much he's improved. With a cast including Mia Rose, Amy Ried, Lorena Sanchez, Sasha Knox, and more, this one should be a no-brainer for any gonzo porn fan, and Manuel makes it all the better with some fun setups filled with teasing.

Sacred Sin (Ninn Worx)
While artistic porn can be hit or miss with most porn fans, Michael Ninn is one of the few directors who has been regularly able to turn naysayers into supporters. Here he takes things one step further to draw people in and brings in guitar legend Eddie Van Halen to do some of the music. Val Halen is far from a gimmick here as Ninn weaves together beautiful and artistic visuals with a story line that actually makes you think. He doesn't stop there, and loads up a second DVD with extras for a release that's definitely one of his best in years.

Slave Dolls 2 (Elegant Angel)
I'm never sure what to expect when I watch a movie from a new director, but I can honestly say that I would have never expected Slave Dolls 2 to be even half as good as it is. Tiffany Mynx and Manuel Ferrara's scene alone is worth the price of admission, and easily better alone than many other full movies put out this year, and the rest of the movie barely misses a beat following it up. Graham Travis shows himself to be a director worth watching, and since we haven't seen anything to follow it up we can only hope that Graham Travis and Slave Dolls 2 isn't the pornographic equivalent of Dexy's Midnight Runners and Come on Eileen ...

The Visitors (Wicked)
Michael Raven is no stranger to serious big budget movies, and Wicked plays to his strengths with The Visitors . It relies as much on mood as it does plot, but weaves in enough little things throughout the movie that fans of adult features will probably need to check it out a second time to watch all the pieces fall into place knowing what's yet to come. The sex also fits into the movie nicely, giving it all a flow to make it easy to see why this is one of Wicked's biggest releases of the year. Wicked also puts plenty of extra effort into this release with another full DVD of extras.

Notable Exceptions
As always, there's some really great movies that I didn't get to that are probably solid contenders for the above list. Here, Adam & Eve's Tailgunners and O: The Power of Submission , Digital Playground's Control series, Hustler's Aphrodisiac , Mike John / Jules Jordan Video's POV Pervert 7 , Private's Sex City and Porn Wars trilogies, Wicked's Manhunters , and X-Play / Hustler's Britney Rears 3 are the first to come to mind and are titles I plan to get to.

Bottom 5 Movies
With the good must come the bad, and compared to some of the stuff I've seen reviewed I can't help but feel lucky. Once again we're going alphabetical, and although I'm sure that there's a lot worse porn than this that was released in 2006, these are the five that most disappointed me...

Ass Fantasies (Sex Z Pictures)
When I commented on the amazing Corruption I mentioned Sex Z Pictures flying under everybody's radar, and Ass Fantasies shows just why. To start with, it takes fantastic anal talents like Annie Cruz, Chelsea Zinn, Kelly Wells, and Melissa Lauren (along with a few others) and then gives them to snooze-meister Roy Karch. If that isn't enough, it makes Ass Fantasies look like a regular release instead of the compilation it is. I'm not sure how I stayed awake through this one, but it did remind me of why I've checked out so few Sex Z Pictures releases before Corruption .

Butt Blast! (Bad Seed)
With anal cream pies and butt babes like Flower Tucci, Katja Kassin, and Marie Luv this one should have been a slam dunk for me. Instead it tried to see how much I could dislike it starting with a fair amount of false advertising and picking and choosing which of the cast to list on the cover. It continued its losing streak with poor camera work and visuals along with not including anal cream pies in every scene. I know that you can still have a great movie with false and misleading advertising on the cover, but when the movie's as poorly shot, edited, and boring as Butt Blast is, it only adds insult to injury.

How to Fuck Like a Porn Star (Exquisite)
This one is actually bad enough that I winced when I came across it looking back at reviews for this list. It portrays itself as an “instructional video” to give sexual tips from pornstars, which would make former AVN Performer of the Year Phoenix a very good choice to lead it. Instead it comes off as nothing but an ego trip for Phoenix while giving away “secrets” that even most virgins have figured out. It's bad enough that I couldn't even help from wincing writing these comments about it.

Love Between the Cheeks (Suze Randall)
"Couples porn" brings certain things to mind for certain people. While some think of passion, others think of boredom and the sex being held back so that it doesn't “offend” anybody. While the boxcover shows plenty of photos from the movie to make it look like it's filled with passionate anal sex, the movie downplays the anal leaving out much of what's shown on the box while going with frantic editing and extremely weak technical aspects. If that isn't enough, the five scenes that make up the movie doesn't even last a full hour! This release made me afraid to check out anything else from Suze Randall's company.

Shut Up and Fuck My A-Hole (Hustler)
From the looks of this list, one would think it's been a bad year for anal fans. If Dale Jordan made more movies, it might have been as this one might be the worst DVD Hustler's released so far. Starting with a title that might get mildly amusing after a six pack and going through boring sex with so much camera motion you can't help but wonder if the cameraman downed a 12 pack of Schlitz before going to the set. Sadly, when one looks at the female cast here this should be an anal fan's dream with Kelly Wells, Mika Tan, and Sandra Romain leading they way. Instead it's a nightmare that makes one wonder if somebody lost a bet for Dale Jordan to get a job at Hustler.

Beyond the Movies

Best Company: (tie) Jules Jordan Video / Evil Angel
Although Jules Jordan striking out on his own might have surprised a few people, his continued success and high quality products is a surprise to nobody. Yes, a few shipping dates have been pushed back, but that's no surprise with a new company and the most important thing is that Jordan has kept his quality up to where his fans expect. He's also been able to add a strong stable of directors including Mike John, Erik Everhard (who he brought over from his former home), and Alexander DeVoe to add a little more diversity.

While Evil Angel definitely lost by losing Jules Jordan, they haven't let it slow them down. They've put plenty of work in strengthening their stable of directors by adding Manuel Ferrara, Jazz Duro, and Jake Malone while their older directors continue to experiment a little more with the types of movies they put out. They've also released the second of three parts to Fashionistas to continue bringing out the occasional big budget high quality feature. The Evil Empire is regularly releasing double disc DVD releases to give the viewer more bang for their buck.

Best Director: Robby D.
This was one of the easiest and hardest decisions to make this year. There's a lot of amazing directors out there and plenty where I look forward to every release I see from them land on my desk. Robby D. quickly became one of those, but also distinguished himself in one more way. I'm not sure that there's a week that goes by where I don't have something with Robby D. land on my desk. Most of those times he's directing, but even when somebody else (namely Celeste or Joone) is directing, Robby's doing the camera work. I'm literally in awe of the amount of content he shoots, and the continued quality only makes me more impressed. That amount of content and quality helped to make this a very decision.

Best Performer: Hillary Scott
Over her time in the industry, Hillary Scott has made “cum bucket” a true compliment as she fucked and sucked herself through one scene after another loving every single cumshot she helped create. She continued that string this year, while also showing some acting skill and turning out some amazing scenes for Corruption that probably wouldn't have been the same with a different actress.

Best Contract Girl: Stormy Daniels
Long golden hair, good looks, Southern accent, tits and ass... its no surprise that Stormy Daniels quickly started turning heads. Wicked shows some great sense by continuing to see just how many talents Stormy has. Acting... fucking... writing... directing... it seems like this woman can do most anything, and if she can sew I wouldn't be surprised if she started making some of the costumes for her movies too!

Best Newbie: Mia Rose
One can't help but wonder why Alaska was as cold as it is when it had both Mia and her sister Ava. The two of them quickly started turning heads, with little sister Mia possibly snapping a few of them with how fast they started to turn. Her scene with Manuel Ferrara are second to none, and her scenes frequently show a love of sex that's completely natural. Add to that a fun personality that feels just as natural and you definitely have a great adult star.

Unsung Studio: Naughty America
I'm told that nobody shoots more adult content than Naughty America, and if that isn't enough that they're great people to work for. That content used to be limited to the internet but is now starting to come out on DVD week by week. Although there have been a few minor misses, their movies normally have some nice chemistry and a fun feel. People don't seem to be talking much about Naughty America, but they should be...

Unsung Director: William H.
When it comes to fetishes, few people seem to shoot it as well or as consistently as William H. does, yet one rarely seems to hear his name. What I've seen him shoot for the Big Wet Asses series has been right up there with the best of them and when it comes to female ejaculation I can't think of anybody who does it as well as he does. He also has a great eye for the visuals and is far from afraid of trying something different. William H. has shown himself to be much more than just a pretty face...

Unsung Performer: Alana Evans
After a little time away from being in front of the camera, Alana made more than a slight impression on me this year. I've been impressed with her work in the past, but the job she did in Corruption was nothing short of amazing. A very nice sexual performance and what might have been the best acting job in the movie should hopefully make Alana a much more common face in 2007.

The Fun Stuff

Best Smile: Sunny Lane (can you go wrong with those bright eyes and dimples?)
Best Star To Smoke With: Penny Flame (as if there could be another answer?)
Best Director To Go To Hooters For Wings and Beer With: Tim Von Swine (once again, as if there could be another answer?)
Best Star To Go Out Dancing With: Marie Luv (you know you want to see that booty shake!)
Best Star To Meet in a Dark Alley: Sasha Knox (remember, public holes...)
Best Star For Travel Recommendations: Devinn Lane (you did want to go to Jamaica, didn't you?)
Best Star To Cook You Supper: Jesse Jane (like you really care if she can cook!)
Best Star For a Strap-on Recommendation: Christian XXX (so Swine doesn't think he's the token white-boy on the list)
Best Star To Watch Football With: Kami Andrews (even if she is a Steelers fan)
Best Star to Take Home to Meet Your Parents: Dana DeArmond (“Mom and Dad, this is the hole-some girl I met who used to work for Disney... “)

"Vegetarianism for me is about saying ‘yes’ to things - even meat." - Coupling