pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - May 17 2017 : 5:31AM
It is a stone cold classic.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 18 2017 : 9:52PM
Been catching up on some Vinegar Syndrome releases recently: Trashy Lady (1985) - One of the best classics I've seen. Ginger Lynn is gorgeous and the 20s/mobster setting is surprisingly well done with a damn good lead performance by Harry Reems. Eat at the Blue Fox (1983) - One of the rare adult comedies I found both genuinely funny and sexy. Ron Jeremy was ideal for these kinds of roles, and the women were quite hot, even though I was only familiar with Desiree Lane. Titillation (1982) - Also on the Blue Fox disc, but not nearly as good. Basically a Private Eye/Noir spoof that's neither that funny nor sexy. Taboo 2 & 3 (1982 & 1984) - Both really solid films, I think I even liked 2 better than the first; perhaps because I find the father/daughter & brother/sister pairing hotter than the mother/son. Kay Parker continues to make a great lead in both. China Girl (1987) - Almost equal mix spy film and porn with only a handful of hardcore scenes. Unfortunately, the spy plot is bland as fuck; it's only worth it for the killer Annette Haven sex scene around the 1-hour mark where she has basically two group scenes: first all girls then all guys. Babyface (1977) - Alex De Renzy has really become a favorite of mine. Tough to pick between this and Pretty Peaches: both among the very best of the classic era. A Place Beyond Shame (1980) - Really only worth it for Seka, but even at that I didn't find it terribly interesting. Love Slaves (1976) - I may just have to concede I'm not a Bob Chinn fan; haven't liked anything I've seen yet including this one. I just thought it profoundly dull. *** Also been watching Fallen (2008), which I'll probably finish tomorrow. Quite a good film with some nice emotional undercurrents. Though Jessica Drake isn't really my type I do think she's one of the better actresses out there. Strangely enough, I find her sexier in these later films than in her early stuff. Edited by - solrage on 5/18/2017 9:55:25 PM
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - May 20 2017 : 6:20PM
I still haven't seen Trashy Lady. Just starting a new fulltime job so I'll have the cash to order it soon.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 24 2017 : 7:26PM
Fished Fallen (2008). The non-ending (four different ones were offered on the blu-ray) really sucked. Seriously Brad: pick one and stick with it. Other than that, a really solid feature with some nice acting, strong emotional content, and some of the hottest sex scenes I've seen from Wicked. Started Starmaker (2015). Asa's a pretty darn good actress and I'm liking the nice shifts of tone and character development. Sex scenes are OK, but Asa is really outclassing all of her co-stars on this front. On a side note, and maybe it's just me, but it really seems like nobody pays attention to features anymore. It's a shame as I think the last 7 years has been some of the strongest since the very best of the golden age, maybe even better. In fact, Wasteland is really my gold standard for how genuinely great feature porn can be. I fear it may end up becoming a lost art, or something only for nostalgia geeks.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - May 24 2017 : 9:56PM
I find so many modern features disappointing that it is hard to make yourself continue to check them out through a sense of duty. Good to hear there are some gems out there I'll check them out. I did like Wasteland but found those EA features a bit thin in terms of story. Lots to like though including their cinematography but I wish Graham had more opportunity to make features.
Edited by - BlackSix on 5/24/2017 9:58:03 PM
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 24 2017 : 10:15PM
Maybe it's just some subjective bias because my inner film geek is more innately drawn to features to begin with, but I still tend to get more out of them, even the mediocre ones, than the gonzo/all-sex stuff that has so saturated the market. I still think there's a lot of untapped potential in narrative-driven pornography. And I don't think you need too much story, just a good scenario with some decent character development. It doesn't take much to generate just enough emotional substance to give the sex scenes some resonance beyond just the sex. I've only a seen a few EA features beyond Wasteland (and Call Girl) and would agree they're not nearly as good. I dearly wish Travis would try to make some more features as he really had a talent for it.
There are still good ones here and there but the sex is so rarely well integrated and the scenes are sooooo long. I love features, but for me the art of the feature has understandably shifted to the short film form. The best narrative porn I have seen in the last five or so years have been 30-40min scenes. REVENGE OF THE PETITES is still the best for me. I didn't care for WASTELAND very much at all.
^---I have always thought that the standard DVD format for xxx features should have been to make a decent 90 minute (or less) feature then include gonzo extra features with unedited sex scene footage all on one DVD. That was my solution to these movies with overly long sex scenes that made for overly long running times. Yesterday, I watched DEEP TANGO (1974) that looks terrific thanks to the folks at Vinegar Syndrome. It follows the plot of Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS but the lead character is a woman (Fifi Watson aka Mona Watson) that looks like the submissive Maria Schneider character but performs the dominant Marlon Brando role. Too bad the filmmakers have found ways to make the wig-wearing Fifi Watson uglier looking than Brando in the looks department. Annette Haven fares better as she lands another one of the male character roles from the original; a la Jean-Pierre Leaud in Bertolucci's film, she plays an energetic girlfriend, who films aspects of her relationship with, in this case, the submissive male protagonist. With so few tango dancers around at the time, the dance marathon scenes are more reminiscent of something like THEY SHOOT HORSES DON"T THEY. I would give this !!! 1/2 outta !!!!! for a good try at difficult material. Maybe !!!! outta !!!!! for those of you that can get past Fifi Watson's performance. ---tb---
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 26 2017 : 2:08PM
Integrating sex scenes well into a narrative has always been a challenge for porn, and I really don't think most classics are any better at this than newer features. I can semi-agree about the sex scenes being too long in an attempt to mimic gonzo and/or provide ample masturbatory material, and I would prefer to see a return to shorter sex scenes, but that's also what fast-forward was made for! I don't know if I'd say "best," but I do agree that the rise of "short narratives" has been a nice compromise/middle-ground between gonzo and features. However, there are two big limitations for such scenes: the first is that you quickly run out of new/original concepts and the same ones get reused (Blacked/Tushy/Vixen has repeated certain setups ad nauseam); the second is that there's no real room for development or much emotional involvement, and, in a way, that almost defeats the purpose of narrative porn. Haven't seen Revenge of the Petites (it's on my list), but if you didn't care for Wasteland then I'd probably conclude that we have vastly different tastes. I think Wasteland (and Portrait of a Call Girl) is one of the very few porn films that stands up well as a film. I've actually had success introducing it to filmgeek friends of mine that don't watch feature porn for the very reason that most of them suck as films.
^ I don't think we have vastly different tastes. Based on the stuff we like I would say we have quite similar tastes. I'm just not a fan of the brooding, too cool for school type films. I don't mean that as an insult, promise. I don't know how else to describe it and really don't want to say hipster. PETITES is a cute comedy. There's not much to dislike unless you're a misery guts. The male talent leaves something to be desired though...oof.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 26 2017 : 3:37PM
No insult taken. Coming from a filmgeek background what I really loved about both Wasteland and Portrait of a Call Girl was that they had an actual and distinct directorial/visual/aesthetic style. So much narrative porn is shot, edited, and scored in as bland, straight-forward a manner as possible and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find two films that had an actual "auteur" stamp on them. I'm not sure I'd characterize Wasteland's style as "too cool for school;" it's a long ways away from the directors and styles I associate with that phrase, like Michael Haneke or Jean-Pierre Melville. If anything, I thought Wasteland was rather warm and emotive than your standard porn feature. Brooding? Yes (I like brooding when done well). Hipster? Meh, I don't even know what that word really means/describes. You might call it pretentious, but if it's one thing I think feature porn could do with it's some artistic pretensions. You can't hit a home run when you're only swinging for a base hit.I'll check it out. :)
I wish that directors and studios took advantage of the seamless branching option to give viewers the decision to watch the tightly edited sex scene version versus the really long 25 minute sex scene version because, honestly, in features 25 minute sex scenes take you out of the movie. There are some great directors still making adult films. Paul Deeb (who sadly seems to have left), David Lord, whomever is hiding behind the new pseudonym Boomskadoom, J.P., and Kay Brandt are the first that come to mind.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 26 2017 : 5:45PM
^ I do agree that long scenes take you out of the movie, but I'm not sure if a "branching option" would be the solution (not even entirely sure what that is...). I wonder if there's a platonic ideal for sex-scene length in narrative films; I'm thinking maybe between 5-10 minutes. Anything shorter and there's not enough to get into, anything longer and it starts to become its own "thing" separate from the movie. Any movie recs from those directors?
The branching option would allow you to pick which type of scene you want and the movie would automatically play with the short or long scene in each place without any user intervention. Deeb did Marriage 2.0, which I loved, and the short Couch Surfing. Babysitting the Baumgartners is enjoyable from Brandt, but be prepared for long sex scenes. She also did the odd but fun to watch not a feature Forked (also long sex scenes). I just saw 9 1/2 Weeks: An Erotic XXX Parody by Lord that was just amazing. Boomskadoom I suspect is someone else in the industry hiding behind an odd one time pseudonym did Lay Her Down, which is a silly and fun movie. J.P. did the absolutely amazing Deception and hopefully still has more coming.
Crap, I forgot Dee Severe and Lily Cade who did Ms. Grey and Ms. Grey 2: Darker. Ms. Grey 2: Darker was better than Ms. Grey, however, both are worth watching. They both have long sex scenes though.
^^ Thanks for all the film recs, flash. RE Branching Option: Would this even be possible via DVD/Blu-ray without having two different versions of the film on the same disc? If not, the problem with doing that would be that the movie would take up twice the disc space, and that would mean either decreasing the video quality or having two-disc sets.
No problem. No the seamless branching doesn't require two copies of the movie. All the parts that are the same only have one copy. When you reach a selected branch the player goes to the appropriate scene for you. Then when it goes back to the same footage it returns to the original. Many mainstream releases like the original release of The Abyss used this for theatrical versus director's cuts. I believe the adult release Killer Bodies utilizes it where the viewer gets scene choices in that movie.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 26 2017 : 8:22PM
^ In that case it would definitely be a viable option. Too bad I don't know of any that have tried this, and given the (seemingly) increasingly limited market for/interest in features I doubt we'll see it done.
I was fine with WASTELAND. Despite my abject hatred for Xander Corvus (even his name is nauseating) WASTELAND felt like an average, direct to video 'indie' movie. I liked the length/integration/shooting style of the sex scenes; a style that more contemporary productions ought to adhere to.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 27 2017 : 1:13PM
It sounds like damning with faint praise, but I'd say that's far better than we get in most feature porn; though I'd be inclined to say I probably liked it better than the average indie movie I see nowadays. Amen on more companies adhering to that style (or, really, any style beyond point-and-shoot would be nice). This thread actually inspired me to go back and watch Portrait of a Call Girl which I haven't seen in ages. Wasteland is definitely the better film, but you can see most of its style and narrative strategies in a rougher form in Call Girl. It's tough for any porn to involve a single character in every seen and keep it interesting, but there's enough meat on the screenplay and Jessie Andrews acts well enough to pull it off. One thing I like is how the non-sex scenes are shot and edited with a kind of lyrical impressionism: short scenes that skip around in time with a lot of editing based on emotional associations rather than linear plot progression--almost Malick-esque. This contrasts nicely with the very linear, minimally edited extended sex sequences. Reminds me almost of what Gaspar Noe did in Irreversible (kinetic motion/editing, short scenes throughout until the rape that's done all in a single, static take). It really is a function of a film having an aesthetic strategy beyond the most rudimentary aspects of filmmaking. Edited by - solrage on 5/27/2017 1:22:26 PM
I totally agree. If more companies put out titles as well made as WASTELAND, I'd actually get excited about contemporary features. And yes, while I definitely didn't love it (CALL GIRL was superior, I thought), I really appreciated the obvious effort put into WASTELAND.
Okay, so now I have to watch both of those. I have them on Blu-ray here but have never gotten a chance to view them.
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solrage Deactivated User
89 Posts 3/13
Posted - May 27 2017 : 5:12PM
Interesting that you like Call Girl better! Like I said I'm rewatching it now and while I'm definitely enjoying it I think it's rougher around the edges compared to Wasteland. EG, there's some awkward scenes/transitions after the Manuel Ferrara scene: still not sure what's going on in the alley way with the thug who beats up the guy with a bat and then just stares at Elle. Then... I guess she gets robbed and goes to get a... rare baseball card she hid? One downside of the "lyrical editing" approach I mentioned is that you risk straining narrative comprehension at times. I also think it's a prime example of too-long sex scenes. Both the Manuel and DP scenes are around 20-minutes each. :/Yes! Do that and report back here with what you think about them. MOD: A reminder to people. If you request people to rip you discs you will have your account banned. This is not a site for engaging in illegal file sharing. Whether it is done in the forums or via PM it will get your account banned.
That's pretty much the cut off for me. VORACIOUS was really interesting until I realised that the sex scene I had been praising hadn't even got started yet. I think it ended up being about an hour. (I just checked and twelve scenes in the season = 382min = just over six hours).
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - May 27 2017 : 7:40PM
In Call Girl the sex scenes are good, even inspired, but the length does dilute the already sketchy storyline. Liza is crazy sexy in the tight red dress in WASTELAND. At its best a feature can be sexier than a lot of gonzo because of that moment of transition of the performer in their 'everday' clothes to the glimpse of nudity and sex. The better vignettes capture this frisson as well.
Just watched "Curse of the Catwoman" after this recommendation. I thought it was pretty stupid but I really enjoyed the early 90s vibe with the hairstyles and fashion plus the terrible acting. Pretty fun overall. Can you recommend me some more late 80s early 90s movies?
Less identical crap, more sleaze and bush! 2378 Posts 7/09
Posted - May 28 2017 : 12:29AM
QFTQFT and two things I love, one as here red hue scenes, and stage scenes in the old features. Making a good feature today is simple, keep it real, I never bothered with the emotional buildup usually just FF'd to the sex but its very simple.. no blinding white on white, no mechanical fucking.. simple, put two people in a real room having real sex, done.. mic drop!
^^---Fred, I reviewed a John Leslie disc with 4 of his films called JOHN LESLIE 4 ON 1 that has two terrific features and two lesser ones. I do quickie reviews of another 8 or 10 of his films after the main review so that might get you started on some other John Leslie features from that period. ---tb---
Aww, stupid?? You watched the whole thing and didn't find it hot? Diversity in taste never ceases to amaze me. We could all learn a thing or two about that.
Thanks I think I watched Chameleon I'll check the other three out. I found Curse of a Catwoman to be hot that's why I watched the whole thing but the story line was complete lol.
Less identical crap, more sleaze and bush! 2378 Posts 7/09
Posted - May 29 2017 : 1:35AM
Curse of the Catwoman is incredible, great sex and two epic scenes.. the outdoor alley scene and the Zara Whites circle jerk scene..with 1 addendum.. taken from my sig.. sleaze :D This kind of kinky sexy seedy sleazy stuff is what I miss most in today's homogenized shite! And not the extreme of kink.com and the like, which I do enjoy aswell, but sensual sleaze.. of which those two scenes are perfect examples.
A buddy of mine was talking about CORPORATE ASSETS so I gave it a watch. I wasn't too crazy about the film, especially the action-packed ending; however, the lovely TISH AMBROSE was really terrific in it so that inspired me to dig up some more of her titles. She tends to play the sidekick in flicks like WANDA WHIPS WALL STREET where she at least gets a pretty good amount of screen time (and sex time). She has a supporting role as a French Quarter prostitute in Chuck Vincent's THE BORDELLO---HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN plus a solid encounter on the front end of a disappointing flick with characters attempting crummy accents a major hindrance. Might be interesting to watch it alongside a mainstream flick called FRENCH QUARTER. She has a terrific scene with Jerry Butler in RAW TALENT that goes bonkers for the trippy end of their encounter. She's "The Girl in Black" for an encounter with George Payne in CORRUPTION that has a solid Vinegar Syndrome restoration available. That's her in the back of a limo with Paul Thomas and a dark haired gal in ECSTASY GIRLS 2. The only Tish starring role I had around was a strange Henri Pachard flick called LILITH UNLEASHED with Tish in nearly every encounter as a devil's disciple with the ability to shrink humans at the height of sexual satisfaction. She carries around a doll house for her shrunken conquests to inhabit! A wacky outdoor encounter with the Devil (Paul Thomas) on the front end is best. Pachard does Tish and the rest of the cast a favor by uncorking CLIMAX with Tish playing the sex crazed sister of the lead character played by Cody Nicole. I've raved about this film before so check it out if you have not seen it yet. She's also in VOYEUR that is another terrific and worthy production. She has multiple sex scenes in couple of other flicks, TUNNEL OF LOVE and COSMOPOLITAN GIRLS. Anyone seen these? I have not. Anyway, Tish's performance in CORPORATE ASSETS is well-worth seeing and maybe a few of these other Tish titles might spark some interest. She's a terrific performer worth checking out! ---T0MBOne---
Sorry you didn't like Corporate Assets. The story is a bit muddled at times, but it's a well mounted and well done film, from a technical standpoint. I couldn't agree more on Tish though. She's an excellent and very underrated actress who really held her own in both comedic and dramatic roles.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Aug 20 2017 : 3:03PM
Love Tish Ambrose. Her scene in Corruption is scorching hot. I saw Sadie a while ago but don't recall that bad of acting but then I often enjoy bad acting in films. Part of the b-movie charm for me.
Haven't seen Corruption yet, but it's a Vinegar Syndrome BD release & they tend to release only truly great films on Blu-Ray so I'm looking forward to it.
Just watched Candy Goes To Hollywood, directed by Gail Palmer, from 1978. Really (pleasantly) surprised at how genuinely funny this film was! One of the problems I have with porn comedies in general (especially the terrible "parody" movies) is how awful most of them tend to be at well-written humour (saying that something in porn isn't well-written, shocking, I know). They just make a bunch of lowbrow dick jokes and call it a day. Candy, on the other hand, was actually legitimately amusing at times, and Carol Connors does a great job of portraying the heroine, who is like a live-action cartoon character, albeit a very sexy one.
I love the CANDY movies. ^^ Sad to hear you have had such crappy experiences with comedic writing im adult. I have enjoyed many laugh out loud and clever xxx comedies some of them even from the 21st C.
pornography wasn't sex but fantasies of an impossibly hospitable world 12377 Posts 9/07
Posted - Sep 16 2017 : 7:32AM
Caught THE FRIEND ZONE (2012) on late night cable. Directed by Eddie Powell and written by Jacky St. James starring Anthony Rosano, Riley Reid, Lexi Bloom, Dana DeArmond. I ended up liking this one, these New Romance comedies from Powell and James are gems of modern features too bad they didn't continue. This one is well shot, edited, decently acted, cute and amusing. It never goes for big laughs, more wry than the broad comedy more common in porn. Powell and Jacky clearly wanted to make a real movie and this works as one. The sex scenes are good, hot but not too long. Here Anthony and Riley are best friends and roommates, Rosano is in love with Riley (who wouldn't be?) but is stuck in the dreaded friend zone with her. He joins an online dating site but uses the photo of his handsome coworker and fake name ('Surly Steve'). Riley contacts his online account and they develop a relationship online. This trope go all the way back to Lubitsch's masterpiece THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. Lexi Bloom, playing Riley's sister, is a real cutie who didn't get the attention she deserved while in the industry, actually gets most of the sex scenes. Riley is often parading around the miffed Rosano in a variety of mouthwatering (but believable) skimpy outfits. Seeing performers in sexy, yet everyday getups it one of the joys of good features. Powell and Jacky are so true to their story that Riley only does one sex scene at the very end. I was impressed by Rosano's chops throughout but Riley and he do a great job in the last scene, both even managing to cry convincingly! Recommended. Edited by - BlackSix on 9/16/2017 8:15:08 PM
Recently watched this and thought it was great. One of the best classics I've seen. Last 4 scenes with Angel were excellent. Is this Angel's best movie? I also watched "Matinee Idol" which was ok. Can anyone recommend classics with Angel in them? Thanks.