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Reviews
Cashmere (1999)
Cashmere Not Such An Innocent Time
Michael Ninn has exchanged his dark futuristic visions to take us back to bright luscious yesteryear where everything is pure and perfect.
The film is narrated by Ninn as he is reminiscing over his first crush , an early 60's songbird played by a effervescent Kylie Ireland named Penny Lane ('is in my ears and in my eyes' ..and every other orifice for that matter),as she belts out her hit singles. Despite all the go-go boots , bouffant hair styles and chevy's , scratch at its plastic veneer and its true colors emerge , when Kylie is forced to watch her boyfriend be seduced by nuns (Anna Malle and Jeanna Fine) before being ...baptized herself.
The musical numbers are great and certainly have captured the sound of the times , Kylie look absolutely stunning and handles the lead role with ease. She starts the film going when she gets more than just 'Lipstick On Your Collar' while enjoying a duet with Brick Majors Shayla Laveaux is a cheerleader and while twisting at the local diner Colt Steele comes over and slips a dime in her jukebox and Jill Kelly looking more like a 'Earth Angel' dreams of a top of the hit parade crooner Billy Fab played by Eric Price.
The production is amazing and Ninn has shown true versatility in his subject matter by bringing to life a very different world from his Sex and Latex movies.The dialogue is cut down to a bare minimum , which personally is a little too concise , but this is it's only short coming from a film that will have you humming the tunes for days afterwards.
The DVD has a couple of trailers and a excellent commentary by Kylie and Michael
Cafe Flesh 2 (1997)
ANOTHER POOR SEQUEL
Considering the original Cafe Flesh is one of the most respected adult films by sources outside of the industry,Antonio Passolini has chosen a movie with a lot of admirers,in which to mark his return to directing. 15 years has elapsed and an epidemic has been wiping out the majority of the sex positives,those remaining humans who can still have sex. The club has passed hands to 'Violet Chinchilla' (played by Jeanna Fine) who has a male sex positive ready for work.Meanwhile Raylene has been trekking across the nuclear wastelands to cash in on her assets,and a sewage worker has stumbled upon a cryogenically stored female virgin (Stacy Valentine)called by Buffy. With the ingredients mixed and the return of the neon Cafe Flesh sign,its business as (un)usual.Rebecca Lord is the first performer,speaking in her native french tongue(and what a cunning linguist she proves to be),while 2 mime artists(Tony Tedeschi and John Decker)smear sticky white ...grease paint over her. Stacy dreams of losing her cherry to T.T.Boy,as he teaches her about what shes been missing out on and Raylene looks resplendent in a kimono/matador dress, while bullfighting with Billy Glide before she baits him to impale her. However it does not take long for the positives to realize that there is more money in performing at their own club and mutiny is at hand.
Unfortunately Passolini has failed in bringing back the magic from the original.The production is excellent,but the script fails in its potential,especially at the end which feels incomplete,with loose ends surrounding most of the cast.The first script was apparently 90 pages long,cut down to a mere 64,removing key elements such as Stacy being attacked by mutants at the end.It only makes me wonder if the end was written,just never filmed ? Another loss is the feel of the club environment,maybe there is not enough 'cutaways' to the audience,its uninspired narration before each performance or perhaps the acts themselves ar just not unorthodox enough. The worst crime though is the XXX scenes which are quite dull.Static camerawork and long takes only result in a major part of the film being lifeless. Cafe Flesh 2 is nothing short of disappointing,even cameos bu Kitten Natividad(star of Russ Meyer's films)and Veronica Hart seem wasted. All of this only proves Michael Ninn's true worth as the revolutionary adult film maker he is hailed as being. The DVD has a bio on the top stars and the transfer is of the same high quality that I have come to expect from VCA.
Shock (1996)
THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT (IN A DARK SORT OF WAY)
Michael Ninn's 'Latex' certainly must have given a lot of people a wake up call that the adult business was coming of age. He has returned with a sequel to the most anticipated XXX films in recent times,but could he really pull off a second encounter ?
'Shock' takes Ninn's dark futuristic vision of a fascist state from 'Latex' and propels us deep into the mind of Malcolm Stevens,where sex and degradation are permanent fixtures.
Dr Hellstrom(Ona Zee)is attempting to cure our patient(played once again by Jon Dough)via shock treatment,when her assistant Shayla Laveaux,becomes drawn into a world of decadence, a place what most of us would consider heaven,but to Shayla(who attempts to convince us 'I dont like pain')it is a catalyst to be ravished by 2 gargoyles played by T.T.Boy and Vince Vouyer.
Enter Dr Mangroves(Tyffany Million)return from her first ordeal in 'Latex',however this time it's Million who will be quite literally inside Mr Stevens head,when she agrees to go into his subconscious and rescue the imprisoned Shayla.
The whole production is far superior to the original and Antonio Passolini's script is superb.Don't worry if it sounds like the plot overtakes any action.The film starts off with Jeanna Fine and Jon Dough together for a 15 minute XXX opener,Tyffany Million upon checking in at Stevens frontal lobe gets together with Peter North and John Decker. Shayla Laveaux not only gets her just rewards at the hands of Jon Dough but also succumbs to the patented 'Megasplash' sequence,executed by Jill Kelly,Juli Ashton,Misty Rain and Felecia.
If you are looking for sunburnt babes,in brightly lit palaces with happy endings,this may not be the film for you.But if Marilyn Manson's wet dreams are more of interest then 'Shock' will keep you enthralled. Quality of the DVD is excellent,the only drawback is the lack of extras but with movie production of this calibre who needs extras.
Essential.
Insatiable (1980)
MARILYN-BRIGHTEST STAR IN A GOLDEN ERA
This movie will seem like a breath of fresh air for those of you which have grown up in the modern video generation.Its high production values not only allowed shooting in both L.A. and London, but was also filmed in glorious technicolor.Its use of outdoor locations will make you believe you are watching a mainstream movie(just wait till you see the overhead shot of Marilyn driving her Ferrari in the country)and a certain way of filming intimate sequences without encroaching on the performers enjoying themselves.
Sandra Chase,top model/actress is preparing for her latest production to begin,shes rich,beautiful and owns a mansion,in fact more than likely she lives Marilyns true life.While the plot is nearly non-existent,it is quite unlike the current video fodder that is shuffled out as quick as possible.
Godrey Daniels takes time in building up the couplings,in particular the scene with Jessie St James and John Leslie.It begins as they are finishing some after dinner conversation,while out on the patio and under the moonlight they start to kiss, giving the film both passion and realism before moving into more advanced foreplay.There is more traditional segments,my own favourite is when Arti Goldberg's (Richard Pacheco)car has run out of gas and Marilyn offers to syphon some juice out for him(this is not a metaphor created by this reviewer). John Holmes and David Morris also try to satisfy this charming woman,and if these legends fail what chance do the rest of us stand ? The only downside is the London footage which has no purpose other than padding out the running time.
The DVD is excellent with loads of extras including a commentary by Gloria Leonard,trailers,slide shows etc.
DVD finally offers the chance of seeing adult films from the golden era in top grade quality and this presentation is as good as it gets.
Flashpoint (1998)
Jenna scorches the screen
Jenna stars in Wicked pictures big budget extravaganza Flashpoint playing..um..well firefighter Jenna Jameson,in a totally unashmed adult version of Backdraft.
Brad Armstrong has chosen another movie that would not only be very expensive to shoot (his previous major project was the swashbuckling adventure Conquest), but also brings the line between mainstream and the XXX industry even closer.
As the story goes it runs strictly by the numbers,Jenna works at fire division 23,where she is currently under investigation after her I.D tag is found at a recent arson attack on a local warehouse.
Luckily for the viewer the film does not get sidetracked and moves easily from emergency call outs to the essential XXX ball-outs.Once the obligatory story and characters have been set in motion,Armstrong begins turning up the heat.Jenna and Micky G start off proceedings followed immediately by a coupling of Jill Kelly,Johnni Black and Steve Drake.
Asia Carrera and Sydnee Steele reward their 2 heros,Jonathan Morgan and Eric Price by showing them their ...gratitude.
DVD quality is good,although shows rather badly that it was shot on video.All of this is more than made up for by the amount of extras incl trailers, a making of documentary and a directors commentary,giving Flashpoint a worthy addition to any DVD collection.
Jenna's motivation in playing a fire officer is excellent,but don't give up the day job just yet (....please!).