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Reviews
Space Nuts (2003)
A shockingly sad attempt at comedy.
A word of warning: This is in no way related to the Krofft brothers' classic Far Out Space Nuts television series. Anyone looking for the further adventures of Junior and Barney should look elsewhere. There's no Bob Denver here.
Instead, Jonathan Morgan has given us a rather weak imitation of Grant Naylor's Red Dwarf with elements borrowed from Star Wars and Farscape. The performances range from dull to embarrassing, and all of the jokes fall painfully flat. We are treated to what is essentially the same scene over and over again: a man and a woman have sex in a bedroom. Here we find none of the adventurous nature of Michael Ninn's Perfect or the Mitchell brothers' Behind the Green Door; only safe, repetitive love scenes. The entire three hour (three friggin' hours!!!) production reeks of the mainstream.
In contrast, the commentary track is quite entertaining. Morgan, Stormy and... the other guy (Randy Spears maybe, I can't remember) seem to have pleasant rapport, and Morgan's jokes about one actor's grotesquely loose scrotum are downright hilarious (scrot-adactyl!).
If you don't have my aversion to mainstream product, you may be able to squeeze some enjoyment out of this movie. Just remember to bring your fast-forward button.
Debbie Does Dallas (1978)
An above-average (for the genre) film with good pacing and a few very impressive moments.
Obviously, Minestra's screenplay is not one of the great works of film writing, but let's take a moment to appreciate it for its virtues. The film has better pacing than almost any other film of the time in this genre, and the key scenes are well-established and strangely engrossing.
True, there are flaws in the film. A few of the actors and actresses have a kind of gross/scary look that seems to somehow be the result of the decade itself, and the score is maddeningly repetitive. Still, the good elements at least measure up to the bad ones.
I was a little disappointed (as I imagine many were) that Bambi Woods wasn't given more to work with. Even though she is given top billing and the titular character, she doesn't have any real dramatic moments until the end of the film.
I have to say that the best actress of the picture was Debbie Lewis in her small, but pivotal role as Girl in Shower.
Though I wouldn't call Debbie Does Dallas a masterpiece, I would recommend it to any fan of the genre.
The Private Gladiator II: In the City of Lust (2002)
This fine Italian remake of Ridley Scott's Gladiator lacks only ambition.
Antonio Adamo's remake of the oscar-winning film Gladiator has a lot going for it. This may be the highest budget he has ever worked with, and much of it has gone to the costumes and sets.
Unfortunately, while the script is competent, it lacks any real ambition. This is particularly evident in the interaction of the characters. The scope of this feature (produced at great cost and released in three volumes: Private Gladiator, In the City of Lust, and Sexual Conquest) demands some largesse of artistic ambition. Boundaries must be pushed; rules must be broken. Adamo's reluctance to stretch his boundaries along with his budget has prevented this project from rising above his earlier work.
Big Bottom Sadie (2002)
A halfway-decent feature that is sadly limited by its concept.
Big Bottom Sadie, the new Patrick Collins picture and the purported "Biggest Feature In Elegant Angel History," certainly succeeds on some basic level. Most of the performances are impressive, and the photography is quite good. Even the dialogue has a certain rough appeal.
However, the storyline itself (a frigid young woman goes into therapy and becomes a nymphomaniac) holds the movie to a rather limited scope, making the build-up to a few scenes seem somewhat forced and awkward. For instance: Patients in group therapy for sex addiction tell their stories, and each story becomes a sex scene, but the concepts for their exploits translate poorly to the standard porno conventions. One woman's hitch-hiking adventure is summed up in a threesome on a pool table. What does pool have to do with hitch-hiking? Wouldn't a car have worked better? It isn't that there was anything wrong with the scene itself, but it simply doesn't fit into its place in the script. The pool table is fine, but only if you leave out the whole hitch-hiking idea.
Collins and Cypher also try to fit in as much "light kink" as they can. This results in an auto-erotic asphyxiation incident, which the heroine refers to as "auto erotica." That sort of leaves out the whole choking thing, doesn't it? Misinformation is usually not something you have to worry about in a porno. The later B&D scene (referred to as "bondage class," which reminds me of the fisting jokes in The Notorious C.H.O.) seems a little out of place, and I'll be honest: I thought it was kind of gross.
Don't get me wrong. It isn't a bad movie. It's just a little flawed.
One more thing. I know it's been said before, but doesn't it seem like group therapy isn't really the right treatment for sex addiction?
Private Gold 6: Cape Town 2 (1996)
An impressive little movie that does a good job in dealing with its main themes.
I'll start out by mentioning that I haven't seen Cape Town 1. Perhaps my opinion would be different if I had. The clips from the original that were shown before the feature were certainly impressive, but I have not yet happened across a copy of it.
The main advantage that this picture has is its use of natural lighting and simple-yet-effective cinematography. Woodman's style brings out the best aspects of shot-on-video cinema, realism and intimacy. That is not to say that the camerawork is on the same level as Julien Donkey-Boy, Session 9, or any of the more advanced DV productions, but it captures the spirit of video in the same way that Islas did in Plenilunio, only more polished.
The movie touches on a few dark themes, murder, rape, suicide, but it deals with them in much the same way that they are approached in many popular Indian musicals. The dark subject matter is kept distant from the events of the movie, but still holds a grip on the story. The main theme seems to be the importance of community. In particular, the script focuses on group sex, even to the point that the few instances of one-on-one sex come across as almost perverse.
The performances are quite good for the most part. The copy that I saw was not subtitled or even dubbed, but instead a voice-over was added to explain the events from the point of view of the villain's daughter. This made sense, as the actress who played the part was one of the more noteworthy performers, and the character was central to the plot. Still, I can't help but wonder if understanding the dialogue would have made the viewing more or less enjoyable. Also worth mentioning is a supporting role by a short-haired brunette actress whose name I can't remember. She only had one notable scene, which seemed almost entirely unconnected to the main story, but she did a surprisingly good job with the material she was given.
In a genre that is plagued by repetitive themes and mediocre performances, it's refreshing to see that a simple and aesthetically pleasing feature such as this can exist.
Blue Movie (1995)
Why can't these people figure out the mysteries of lighting and cinematography?
This is Zen's attempt at the "movie within a movie" theme that has been handled better (Terror Firmer) and worse (Rented Lips) by more respectable filmmakers. The result is a surprisingly coherent storyline in a none-the-less boring and sloppy production.
Zen's experience in gay porn shows in his treatment of the subject. Men are given entirely too much attention on the screen, while the actresses are treated unkindly by the lighting and camerawork. Scenes that could have been exciting in the hands of another director come across as dull and lifeless.
Jameson gives the movie's only redeeming performance, but despite her top billing, she isn't given much serious work to keep her busy. The supporting roles are played without any conviction, and many of the picture's key scenes suffer for it. Fine's part is especially frustrating because she has been known to do good work in the past.
On top of this, the script is filled with long and uninspired dialogue scenes that do little to move the plot forward. Still, even this could have been fixed with a bit of editing. In the end, the failure of this movie all comes down to the cinematography.
The Devil in Miss Jones Part II (1982)
An improvement on the original, which isn't saying much.
The sequel to the revolting Devil in Miss Jones really isn't all that bad. Many scenes work quite well, and the more unpleasant elements of the first film are nowhere to be found.
Though Pachard's visual style isn't anything terribly special, it's on a level with many respectable films of the same period. The use of special effects is unusually well-handled for a pornographic film from 1982, and the makeup is a noticeable improvement over the original.
As it turns out, Georgina Spelvin isn't nearly as ugly as she looked in the first movie. The performances in this film are average for the most part. Their are no really aggravating moments, but not many truly inspired moments either. Joanna Storm's small role as a young soldier is impressive, but no other actors stand out.
Even though the film gets points for not being as bad as its predecessor, it's still a very limited picture with no real ambition.
The Devil in Miss Jones (1973)
An ugly little movie.
The original Devil in Miss Jones in no way deserves its status as a "classic" of the porn genre. Although the story is advanced for a movie of this type, the technical aspects of the film are handled so poorly that even the most fleeting excitement is hard to muster.
Damiano, who also directed the slightly-better Deep Throat, seems to revel in the ugliness of his work. The cinematography, lighting, makeup, and even the lead actress herself contribute to the overriding visual unpleasantness of this film.
The script offers only one notable moment, at the beginning and repeated at the end. This is the vision of hell itself: two people in a small room, essentially tormenting each other through their own insanities. The scene is disturbing, but it seems at odds with the pornography that surrounds it.
When the best a film like this has to offer is a vague sense of unease, you have to wonder what the filmmakers were even going for. Perhaps Damiano missed his calling as a horror director.
Deep Throat (1972)
Another dull overrated film, falsely labeled as a classic.
If this is a porn classic, then the genre is in trouble. Not only are the acting, direction, and script unfortunately dismal, but even the theme and editing are poor. Gerard Damiano's style seems to lack even the most basic sense of eroticism.
Lovelace's ability to swallow the male sex organ is impressive, but certainly not unheard of, and while she is okay to look at, the film's refusal to focus on any other female character is a little frustrating. For instance, I was rather impressed with Carol Connors' performance as the nurse, but I would have liked to see her character developed more.
In the film's credit, I have to say that the music is just strange and intrusive enough to be entertaining. Also, Lovelace has the only line that has ever made me laugh in a porno movie. After she finds out that has a strange mutation (one of the worse elements of the script), and the doctor is laughing at her, she says, "How would you like it if your balls were in your ears?" The follow-up line from Reems is cringe-inducingly bad, but that one simple and honest line managed to surprise a chuckle out of me.
The rest of the humor in the movie is sadly lacking, and combined with the poor lighting and lazy cinematography, the result is a little gross.