STRENGTHS:

--The packaging is different from the usual DVD case; it has a slick, colorful cardboard cover which wraps around to the inside; it is much slimmer than a typical case. There are continuations of the outside graphics on the inside, which uses clear plastic to hold the main DVD so that the pictures show through for 100% coverage of the packaging materials with attractive graphics. The bonus DVD is in a foldover cutout in the front fold of the case. A very eye-catching job with the packaging.

--I agree that the setups for the scenes were quite well done. Whether the director actually is TTT or Byron or someone else, there really does seem to be a youthful perspective in evidence here. Remember, Byron has been active in porn since the "Golden Age" when pornos actually looked like real movies, with plots, acting, etc. (I didn't say necessarily GOOD plots, acting, etc.), so he may be drawing on that experience to exert a bit of his influence in establishing the setups to the sex. It helps that in three out of the five main scenes that the guys look relatively young, so it isn't a stretch to imagine all of the performers in these scenes being (legal) high schoolers. The scene with Holly, as noted, is especially good, and manages to work up an unexpected level of excitement with both performers fondling each other with all clothes on for several minutes.

--It appears that a lot of effort went into the camera setups and shooting in good looking locations. In several instances there were very high camara angles that would have required a lot of planning for platforms, ladders, lighting requirements, etc.

--The quality of the female performers was quite good. I don't see every porno released and had only seen Jasmine Lynn of the five here, and they were all quite pleasant looking. Enthusiastic performances as well in all cases.

--I liked the several instances of wacky humor that were introduced into the scenes, especially the discussion of the soccer goalie with one arm(!?), and the "behind the scenes" feature on TTT, which presents the young porn director as a budding on-set tyrant (this is tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken seriously). The last scene on the main disk features some amusing cut-ins from another director commenting on the progress of the action.

WEAKNESSES:

--I was particularly disappointed with the washed out, near black-and-white photography in all the scenes, both on the main disk and the bonus disk. At first I thought there was something wrong with my TV or DVD player, but checking out a couple of other disks, it wasn't the equipment. The picture gallery images on the bonus disk have much higher color levels, so this was either a conscious attempt for an arty, abstract, flat look or just a bungled job of photography. I can understand that EE might want to establish a different "look" from Anabolic/Evil Angel/RLD efforts, which often feature slightly wide-angle lenses for a hyper-realistic, deep focus look, with brilliant, vibrant colors as well. If this is the case, they need to come up with something else in my opinion. In addition, there was quite a lot of pixelation and distortion evident. I was startled at one point to see one of the guys standing with their elbow at an angle and could see very prominent "stair-stepping" with the edge of their arm presenting a jagged, saw-toothed border instead of a smooth outline.

--EE is releasing all of their titles as double disk editions which has gotten a lot of notice. In this case, I don't know why they bothered. The main disk's running time was right at 1:58 on my dvd display. The bonus disk has a picture gallery, bonus scene as noted, cumshot recap, and the TTT "feature". The running time on the bonus scene was about 15 minutes, for the feature about 13. The recap was about 12. So in all, the bonus disk had less than 50 minutes of material, and that's being generous, considering that the recap was the same material as on the main disk. Given that some disks (Evil Angel for example) have the fetish menus on the main disk, it seems that EE could have gotten this material onto a single DVD. If EE is going to issue double DVD titles, they should load up the extra disks with behind the scenes footage, interviews, trailers (there were none on this disk) etc.

--I would have liked a better cast listing; for example, I don't think that the male performers were credited. The only one I recognized was Slim ShadyXXX.

--The bonus scene with Cherry Poppens looks like it might be lifted from another of EE's releases (this is speculation on my part). I don't have any problem with this per se, but the scene didn't fit in with the theme of this production (it was a very rough scene with lots of verbal, though not physical, abuse). Also, if one were to regularly view EE's pornos, and the bonus material were from another EE production, at times there would be disappointment if one had already viewed the bonus scene elsewhere. Just a suggestion - all original bonus material ... it doesn't have to be a big production; interviews and watching the girls dressing, getting made up, etc. would be appreciated.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

--It is obvious that a lot of effort went into the production of this disk, which only makes the shortcomings of the photography and the bonus materials that much more frustrating. The worst thing without doubt was the bleached out photography. I wish EE the best and will continue to check out their new releases in the hope that they can improve in these areas.

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Edited by - red rover on 9/17/2003 6:10:23 PM

Edited by - red rover on 9/17/2003 6:12:51 PM

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"The worst thing without doubt was the bleached out photography."

I totally agree. I, too, got the sense that maybe they were trying to go for a different look than RedLight or Anabolic. I appreciated that, but it is a shame that such a strong tape is indeed tarnished by the photography. I'm sure they will get feedback on this and correct it in the future installments.

I am 20 years old and currently minoring in film. At the moment, I still know very little about the technical aspects in film, as apparent in the more detailed critique red rover contributed in that area. However, this TTT is either 18 or 19 and is directing pornos. I've got to think that he too is still learning about film, only I am doing so in a classroom setting while he is doing it on the job. Hopefully, someone from Evolution or TTT himself reads this and goes back and learns from this mistake. Once that is fixed, you will have some seriously great porn.

Furthermore-
The DVD definitely should/could have just been one disc. The extras were not extensive enough to require the second disc.

On the earliest boxcovers of "Teen Meat," I remember Cherry Poppins being in the center, where Holly Day's picture is now. Considering that one of the scenes here is supposedly contributed by Guy Capo and not directed by TTT, I had assumed that the Holly Day scene was directed by Capo and was thrown in to replace the technically flawed Poppins scene. I chalked it up to my whole "learning on the job" thing, but her scene did look similar to the one featured in the trailer for "American Gunk." So, I don't really know what the deal is with this.

Kelly

PS...By the by, in my review of the scenes I went into much more detail than I normally would simply because I was compelled to do so by the obvious effort that had been put into this tape.

Edited by - tscfan317 on 9/17/2003 5:51:41 PM

Edited by - tscfan317 on 9/17/2003 6:34:20 PM

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Are the girls barefoot in this movie or do they all wear socks. Socks are a huge turn-off for me.

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"Great review Kelly."

Thanks. I had to return the dvd so I won't be able to write reviews for either Jasmine Lynn or Kendra's scenes, but I'm sure that in a couple of days we'll see the AdultDVDTalk reviewers reviewing it so any fans of those girls will be able to read about it then.

"Are the girls barefoot in this movie or do they all wear socks. Socks are a huge turn-off for me."

You know you think about a lot of things when reviewing something, but socks was one of the things I never thought about. If memory serves, Amber wears knee socks to go along with her soccer motif, Holly wears knee socks, and Haley wears the same exact kind of socks as Holly up until the blowjob when she and the guy pull them off of her legs. I seem to remember Kendra wearing socks too, but I can't remember Jasmine's at all. Sorry.

Kelly

Edited by - tscfan317 on 9/17/2003 6:26:49 PM

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Yes, more planning and production value went into this Teen film than you will see in most lines of this nature, and even more than some feature-oriented material. Thank you for recognizing the efforts unseen by the average viewer.

The film did indeed have it's fair share of snags during production...one of which is attributable to the "washed out color" that is undeniably evident in some scenes. In Timothy's defense, I wanted to mention that this is part of the learning curve for him. Transferring raw footage to an editing suite to be cut together, then transferring edit masters to final replication masters can take a serious toll on your footage if you're not used to the equipment you're working with. It saddened Tim and I both to see the final product look visually pale, when the scenarios themselves were so vividly rich. You live and you learn...
We have identified and rectified the problem, and the difference in quality is amazing, as you will see in TEEN MEAT #2, which is well into production.

We try to help each other out in this business...There are very few trade secrets that are kept highly guarded. Most everyone learns from everybody else's mistakes, but some lessons have to be experienced in order to be overcome. As co-producer of TEEN MEAT, I thank you for not letting the desaturated moments in the film ruin the overall project. We still believe we are on the right track to make any other type of TEEN genre obsolete as this series progresses, and we are committed to accomplishing that goal with each production...and TEEN MEAT 2 is well on it's way to topping TEEN MEAT 1 in every regard.

Thanks again for your objectivity and constructive criticism, and for contributing to our mission to make better films. Look for more original adolescent antics coming soon, from Tim, Tommy, and myself, here at Evolution Erotica.

graciously,
guy capo

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