Tag Archives: Logan Pierce

September 24, 2018 · 8:57 am

Love in the Digital Age, Part Two: Humanized Sexuality

by Rich Moreland, September 2018

In Part Two of “Love in the Digital Age,” we’ll take a look at the production side of filmmaking that makes the award-winning Jacky St. James/Eddie Powell style one of the finest in the business.

[My thanks to Jeff Koga, Jacky St. James, and New Sensations for the photos in this post.]

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“Love in the Digital Age” is another Jacky St. James feature film that reveals just how precise and demanding the writer/director can be.

Jacky is fond of saying that she’s not concerned with how popular her performers are in the fan world of adult film. Fame built on gonzo scenes and horny bodies is not what drives her casting. In fact, standards of hotness aren’t even in the equation when it comes to the on-screen expectations Jacky has for her hires.

To make a feature film come alive as an artistic statement, Jacky looks for performers who can take direction, deliver lines, and get into their characters. Some adult directors settle for line readings as benchmarks to create their characters; Jacky insists on acting ability. In this romantic comedy, she gets what she demands in spades.

Gia and Logan

Take Gia Paige. Her performance is superb.

Here’s an example. After an unsavory discovery, Sara confronts Griff (Logan Pierce) as she is walking out on him. She wants to know what category of undesirable females she falls under in his mind. “Dumb sorority girl, bad chick, crazy chick,” she growls. It’s Gia’s finest acting moment in the film. She expresses her frustration, anger, and feelings of deception.

For his part, Logan’s performance is also top-of-the-line. When Griff talks to his radio audience about screwing up “the best thing he had in his life,” he admits to being a jerk and doesn’t want his audience to be like him. The pain on Logan’s face illustrates the contrition and deep sense of loss Griff feels.

Bottom line? Expect good acting and character development in this film. The script is lively, but the actors’ energy moves the production into the fast lane.

Fit the Narrative

Eddie Powell and his filming cohort Paul Woodcrest frame the sex scenes to fit Jacky’s directing philosophy. She focuses on female pleasure and wants it evident on-screen. That requires a special commitment because extracting intimate performances from actors who are often limited to all-sex shoots is not easy. Too often spitting, deep throating, and facials limit the artistic boundaries, such as they are, in those types of scenes. On the other hand, romance scripts demand a different approach.

Jacky wants her cast to be engaged in the story but they must go a step further with the sex scenes because they must fit the narrative.

In this production, the women initiate the sex, moving the female characters from the object of sex to its subject in the eyes of the viewer. There’s lots of kissing, loving gazes, and passion.

As always, Eddie’s camera work reflects Jacky’s story telling mission. When framing the performers during their sex scenes, he focuses on both bodies equally. He and Paul build the intimacy with facial closeups as opposed to relying on genital action. In other words, the pure up-close piston shot is absent. In its place is a humanized sexuality, a Jacky St. James/Eddie Powell trait that has forged their legendary talent.

To put it another way, Jacky and Eddie step away from the traditional male gaze and rough sex that present women as merely bodies with no larger reality. It’s a departure from run-of-the-mill porn.

There is one more ingredient in the mix. Eddie’s camera is always in motion, swirling and floating in an expression of what happens in the minds of lovers who are absorbed in each other. His shooting mimics what lovers experience when passions are high, a trait that elevates his work above the best cinematographers in the business.

A Cowgirl Sexcapade

There are four sex scenes, as mentioned previously. The first is Gia and Tyler Nixon. It’s a sample of Sara’s previous relationship that is ultimately doomed because of a social media post that inflames her.

The second is Kenna James and Small Hands. Lizzie meets Jeremy at the bar. He takes her home and the sex heats up.

The third is Gia Paige again, this time with Logan Pierce in a triumph of their new-found romance.

The fourth involves Mona Wales and Marcus London. Janine is at first turned off by her coffee date with Mark, but he gets a do over and love ensues.

The favorite sex position to begin each scene is cowgirl. The female controls her pleasure and relishes the expressions of her lover as she rides to ecstasy. This is not to minimize mish (missionary), spoon, and doggie. They are there, of course, as is oral sex. Incidentally, there is a lot of that for her enjoyment, something not found in abundance in adult film unless the scene is girl/girl.

In the final analysis, porn is often in a hurry. Chuck clothes, get to the blow job, then run through the standard positions with the pop shot that is most often a facial. Jacky will have none of that. Her performers warm up to each other, a necessity in a true romantic comedy.

Once again, Jacky St. James and Eddie Powell have made a Hollywood-worthy adult film. Because of their exceptional talent, “Love in the Digital Age” belongs in every porn library in a prominent place on the feature film shelf.

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Here’s the YouTube trailer for “Love in the Digital Age.”

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September 23, 2018 · 11:47 am

Love in the Digital Age, Part One: The Old-Fashioned Way

by Rich Moreland, September 2018

Once again New Sensations teams up award-winning filmmakers Jacky St. James and Eddie Powell and the result is another Hollywood-worthy motion picture. Produced by Scott Taylor, “Love in the Digital Age” is a romantic comedy starring Gia Page, Kenna James, Mona Wales, Tyler Nixon, Logan Pierce, Small Hands, and Marcus London.

The DVD also offers a BTS, photo gallery, and trailers highlighting other New Sensations productions. It can be ordered here.

[Photos in this review are credited to photographer Jeff Koga and director Jacky St. James]

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Jacky St. James’ latest romantic comedy is all about our tech driven age and the sexual hookups it offers us. Take notice of the montage of social media images that begin the film as we hear in voice over,

“Social media is how we connect now. Everything is at our fingertips. Why should we ever feel like we need something else?”

That question sets in motion a porn film that is as much social commentary as it is “doggie” and “cowgirl.” Be prepared for a thoughtful look at today’s online dating scene and the love, authentic or otherwise, that emerges out of it.

Four superbly shot sex scenes explore the realities of modern romance Jacky St. James presents in her script. Kenna James, Gia Paige, and Mona Wales fire up the screen with female pleasure that is a far cry from gonzo’s “rough her up” sex. But more on that in the next post.

First, let’s take a look at what the film is all about.

Testing a Theory

Lizzie (Kenna James) lives with her mom Janine (Mona Wales). The household welcomes a newcomer, Lizzie’s cousin Sara (Gia Paige). Sara has just dumped her boyfriend whose insensitivity trashed her on social media.

From there the story develops around a “theory,” as Janine proposes it, that the girls can’t survive without their cell phones. In return, Lizzie and Sara insist that Janine get a smart phone and go to dating apps to find a love life. She has, after all, been a “weird single lady” since “dad left,” Lizzie says, and celibate far too long.

The adventures from there are humorous and filled with carnal desire. But there is a deeper message in Jacky’s film. As the narrative progresses, she touches on subtle examples of how modern life is consumed by social media.

Here are some highlights.

After they agree to give up their phones, Lizzie and Sara drive to a bar, not an easy task because Lizzie doesn’t know how to get there without her phone’s GPS.

Sitting at the bar, the girls are listless. Boredom quickly sets in. No phones; no fun. They’ll have to create their own.

The bartender is mixing drinks and checking out his phone at the same time, something that fascinates Lizzie. She never noticed him before, of course, because she was always engrossed in her own phone. From her perspective, Sara observes that the people in the bar remind her of zombies attached to their phones and she feels out-of-place.

To occupy her time, Lizzie wanders outside to the bar’s patio and lights up a cigarette. She meets Jeremy (Small Hands) who muses that two friends in the bar are arguing and texting at the same time. It’s a comment on multitasking with a downside.

Jeremy, who doesn’t have a mobile phone, tells Lizzie, “We have our heads down so much we miss what is right in front of us.” In other words, too often social interactions are cell phone dependent at the cost of real human expression.

Never More Connected

“Love in the Digital Age” also addresses other issues technology has brought into our lives. One is the internet’s impact on our privacy. Another is somewhat more egregious: when we worship at the altar of technology, we sacrifice our imagination.

But all is not lost. Without a cell phone, Sara must learn to negotiate a landline setup to talk with her new-found love interest, Griff.

They’ve already communicated through letter writing (the earliest form of texting, by the way) and have moved to the next step. She doesn’t know what he looks like, of course, he’s just a voice on the other end of the wire. But she draws on her imagination to picture Griff and admits she’s never felt more connected to someone than she does to him.

Sara later confesses to Janine, “You can’t get to the heart of who a person really is online.”

The older woman is on board with that conclusion, but must explore dating apps as part of their deal. She’s now learning what technology offers.

When her weekend with Griff heats up (it’s Easter, by the way, the season of renewal and rebirth), Sara is immensely happy. “I was just living my life in real-time with someone I was getting to know the old-fashioned way.” Despite her upbeat revelation, Sara’s remark is a scalding comment on what we’re losing in this modern digital age.

The Sum of the Entire Picture

There is much more to this story. We see an older couple, Janine and Mark (Marcus London) navigate their more traditional relationship and witness how Lizzie’s face-to-face meeting with Jeremy generates an immediate connection. And not surprisingly, the Sara/Griff romance takes a rocky turn that delves into how technology fosters deception and embarrassment.

The voice over that ends the film simultaneously warns and reassures the viewer about our digital world. They are Sara’s words.

“We should remember that the things we hear or read online aren’t always the sum of the entire picture. If you want to know someone, really know someone, I suggest you do it the old-fashioned way.”

Jacky St. James wants us to understand that human interaction does not differ from generation to generation regardless of the platforms we use. Technology may move us forward, but the basics remain in place. For better or worse, social media, whatever its form, reflects our maturity, compassion, and values.

Mobile phones are designed to co-exist with traditional living, not redefine or overtake it. They can enrich personal connections and, on the flip side, be used in emotionally destructive ways. But whatever our conclusions about that handheld device, it can’t and doesn’t replace real human contact and the feelings that go with it.

This is the wisdom of “Love in the Digital Age.”

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In Part Two, we’ll look at the sex scenes (this is a porn film don’t forget!) and Eddie Powell’s cinematography.

Watch the trailer compliments of New Sensations.

 

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March 20, 2015 · 5:17 pm

Why Can’t We Have It All? Part Three

by Rich Moreland, March 2015

The popularity of “Behind the Scenes” is growing in adult DVDs. The BTS humanizes the people in front of the camera, allowing the fan an inside peek at the playfulness of performers as well as their serious side.

A fun off screen moment of dueling subs. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

A fun off-screen moment of dueling subs, small in size but huge in sexiness.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

In her BTS interviews, Jacky St. James often explores how performers relate to the roles they play in her films. Here are some comments from The Submission of Emma Marx: Boundaries.

I Couldn’t Handle Any More Sex

Penny Pax and Richie Calhoun chat about alternative relationships like the one they have in the film. Though each admits they’ve experienced similar situations in their private lives, they have different takes on what it means for them personally.

Richie and Penny at work. Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Richie and Penny at work.
Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Richie has seen these types of relationships “explode” because someone cheats. “[The people] have an open relationship and somebody jumps out and does something the other person can’t handle,” he explains. The relationship can get “lopsided” because one person is doing everything for the other person. Consequently it’s “easy for resentment to build up,” Richie points out.

Penny is more conventional in her attitudes, much like Emma’s sister, Nadia.

“I’m actually not ok with [alternative arrangements]” she says. Confessing that she’s “a sucker for happy endings,” Penny finds expanding sexual exploration in real life couplings somewhat uncomfortable. Her view is a reality check, cautioning film fans against the notion that porn stars act out their private dramas on-screen.

What advice would Richie and Penny offer anyone watching Boundaries and thinking about having an open or flexible relationship?

“Respect you partner,” Richie offers. “Try to hear what they feel, what they want.”

He concedes, however, that his opinions must be taken in context. The only relationships he’s ever had have been open ones. “I’m more of the Richie show,” he muses, because anything long-term is a “tall order” and not on his agenda right now. Then, as if to clarify what he means concerning flexible arrangements, Richie points out that performing in adult film is not considered to be an open relationship in his mind.

In truth, it’s a job.

Riche and Sara Luvv look on as Jacky and Eddie set up their scene. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Richie and Sara Luvv look on as Jacky and Eddie set up their scene.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Penny agrees that the “gray areas” presented in open relationships must be discussed among everyone involved. For her, communication is not a problem because she is a talker. But like Emma, she also has a vivid imagination and tends to fall into the trap of thinking “something crazy is happening, but it’s usually not.” Penny’s caution and her awareness of how emotional reasoning can play tricks 0n her perceptions authenticates her role as Emma.

Obviously, as a porn performer Penny is in a different sexual environment than the average fan who watches her scenes. True, she has a private life, but working in adult entertainment also means having sex for a living. The native Miamian admits she is sharing her body with other people and though the sex may not be emotional, it is still physical which in her mind is just as important.

“Between porn and my personal life I couldn’t handle any more sex!’ she says.

Sexually Exploratory Cloth

Later Penny talks specifically about her role as Emma.

Boundaries was easier for her than the original film because Emma revisited is more what she, Penny, is like in her personal moments.

Remembering the first Emma. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Remembering the first Emma.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Shifting the discussion away from Emma’s character, where does Penny see Nadia’s journey going? Will she move down the road to BDSM or has she reached her limit?

As a positive thinker, Penny wants Nadia to progress and get to that final destination. But the diminutive superstar is pragmatic. “There are two types of people in the world,” she says, “those that will do different things and those who won’t.” In other words, there are risk takers and people who hold back.

“I’m hoping she [Nadia] blossoms and there will The Submission of Nadia Marx movie,” Penny says with a smile.

For those who don’t know, Penny Pax is a popular submissive for bondage-oriented studios and websites. Her profile for the highly respected Spiegler Girls agency lists fetish modeling as one of her specialties. Needless to say, Penny’s non-vanilla porn resume is solid, having shot over seventy-five times for Kink.com, the internet powerhouse of BDSM.

Asked if she has personally encountered criticism about her sexual choices similar to what Emma faces in Boundaries, Penny is honest. She has.

However, the sexy five footer counters disparaging remarks with “you guys don’t know what you’re talking about.” When people don’t understand something they “tend to shy away from it [because they have a] fear of the unknown,” she adds.

Penny claims she likes to “be the guinea pig,” the first to try something out. Commenting that she hears from old high school acquaintances who want to know if what she does is “real,” her answer is, “absolutely.” The twenty-five year old enjoys all the sensations she experiences in her shoots and hopes that she can encourage people to think about doing some of them in their lives.

Jacky St. James poses the question of what brought her into porn. Was she sexually open prior to coming into the industry?

“That’s hard to say because my definition of sexually open has changed so much.”

Penny has always maintained an open attitude toward sex, though she never had a chance to explore her desires and fetishes before porn. When she was growing up, she fooled around with her girlfriends to find out what felt good and what was “weird.” An early boyfriend did his part by introducing her to anal.

“I’m cut from that sexually exploratory cloth,” she says with that Penny Pax trademark, an upbeat demeanor.

A girl who enjoys her job! Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

A girl who enjoys her job!
Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

The discussion turns for a moment to what Penny has yet to experience in her adult entertainment career. Double vag and double anal are on the list, she says, hinting she’s open to booking those scenes.

Also, she’s not done any “large groups of people gang bangs.” Her professional history is limited to a six-person affair, which she did for Kink.com.

Gang bangs are exciting on two levels, Penny says. First is the “actual experience.” It’s “adrenaline pumping” and “really exhilarating,” an “extreme sexual act” that she likens to skydiving.

“Having five guys trying to use you at the same time was really fun for me.” Because of the “chaos” it creates, however, the act is not an everyday thing!

As for the second part, Penny enjoys reviewing her shoots. Unlike some girls who never look at their own movies, Penny comments that being “able to watch [herself having sex] on camera is deeply satisfying” because she can relive the thrill anytime she wants.

In a later BTS segment with Richie and Logan Pierce, Penny remarks about the threesome at the end of the film. “I loved it,” she glows, adding that to “get off on somebody telling me what to do” is what makes the scene good porn.

Complimenting his co-workers, Richie chimes in that on-screen sex is at its best when performers get their energy from each other. A true illustration of  what it means to be a professional.

Interviewing Sara Luvv. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Interviewing Sara Luvv.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Put Them Ahead of You

To wrap up the BTS, Jacky St. James finds a moment to sit down with Sara Luvv.

In BDSM shoots, Sara’s is a convenient fit for submissive roles. “I usually sub because I’m so small,” she laughs.

At 4’11” she can be thrown around, the native Californian admits, which makes her a perfect submissive.

But acting and personal preferences don’t always jibe with some adult film stars. St. James asks if she (Sara) likes submissive roles on-screen.

“I do. I love being a sub, actually,” the porn newcomer says. Part of the pleasure of shooting BDSM is “doing everything they [her dominants] enjoy.” In the fashion of an authentic bottom who wants to please, Sara confesses “they’re getting everything that they want out of it [the scene]. I’m there to make them happy.”

What is her number one tip on being a good sub?

“You have to feel like you genuinely want that person to get off really bad. [You] have to put them ahead of you. That’s how you find enjoyment out of it.” Concerning safe words, Sara admits she’s never had to use one because she’s not appeared in any “super hardcore stuff.”

“I haven’t done anything too rough,” she says, and that is likely by design. This rising Latina star represents the newly emerging submission porn or bondage chic genre that avoids sex acts hovering around faux abuse. Other than an all-girl gang bang, for example, her shooting history at Kink.com is practically nil.

Nevertheless, Sara Luvv’s attitude and approach to bondage scenes. . . and porn in general . . . is one of giving. “I love being used for someone else’s pleasure.”

That is the best news possible for her fans.

 

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March 14, 2015 · 1:55 pm

Why Can’t We Have It All? Part One

by Rich Moreland, March 2015

tumblr_inline_niyv8fWLMv1qkrmi0

The Submission of Emma Marx: Boundaries is Jacky St. James’ sequel to her award-winning masterpiece, The Submission of Emma Marx which I had the pleasure to review in three parts here in August 2013. With cinematic partner Eddie Powell, St. James now boldly continues Emma’s odyssey.

Before moving into the film, it’s worth mentioning that sequels are financial risks. Though supportive of her project, New Sensations President Scott Taylor was cautious. “Sequels often flop.” St. James remembers him telling her. “They don’t sell as well. They seldom find that magic of the original.”

Perhaps, but in the case of Boundaries it is every bit as good as it’s older sister and I encourage watching the first film before enjoying the second. If not, the viewer will feel like a late arriving movie goer who takes a seat half way through a story with no understanding of its origin.

Boundaries‘ success is complemented by the reassembled cast. Penny Pax reprises her role as Emma, as does Richie Calhoun as Mr. Frederick. Though porn flirts with the edges of mainstream Hollywood, both players remind us its acting can be every bit as good. Pax is learning her trade, building a resume that separates her from adult’s usual “just give me the sex and don’t ask if I can act.” No doubt St. James’ directing is a crucial factor in the diminutive model’s professional evolution.

Jacky, Penny and Richie. Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Jacky, Penny and Richie.
Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Riley Reid is perfect as Nadia and Van Wylde likewise as Ray. Their roles are not an easy sell because Reid and Wylde must come across as a vanilla “cookie cutter suburban couple” snug and homey in their conventionality.

In making the film, St. James confesses that “staying true to Emma and her sexual journey” could not be compromised. The result is Emma as a complexity that intrigues the viewer on various levels. I can imagine that her shadow seductively passes through the corridors of St. James’ mind just as she does in the film’s opening credits and its denouement.

Conceding that her “screenplays hold very deeply personal connections to experiences I’ve had or people I’ve known,” Jacky St. James faces a near impossible task with Boundaries, write a flawless script that moves Emma along bit by bit while confronting the viewer with unsettling issues. The question that captures the film’s raison d’être and St. James’ good storytelling is simple: Does sexual and emotional turbulence reach a satisfactory resolution that spells the end of the story?

Or, is there room for Emma redux, part three?

One thing is evident, Boundaries’ tightly written script is worthy of industry accolades. Indeed, it is as close to impeccable as an adult film can be.

Part of News Sensation’s Erotic Stories line, this second Emma Marx falls into the couples porn genre, yet it is sexually groundbreaking for a date night film. The carnal scenes are integral to the story; nothing is thrown together or gratuitous. Some of the action, however, directly challenges the formula for what the industry touts as comfortable for lovers. But more on that later.

Just Drawing Lines

Emma Marx and Nadia are sisters whose relationship is close considering their sexualities are anything but. In the first Emma Marx, Nadia and Ray “silently judged” Emma’s fetishes. Now they are outspoken, letting her know of “their aversion” to BDSM.

Is this progress?

Over a bland vegan dinner she believes is suitable for everyone (one size fits all, if you will), Nadia announces she doesn’t understand why being tied up and spanked is not abuse. Deprecating BDSM kinkiness with her sappy smile and haughty attitude, Nadia tacitly reinforces her normalized sexuality in a way only modern moralists can appreciate. When Emma mentions consensuality, she is ignored. In an amusing moment, Ray condemns suspension and cattle prods while disgustingly holding a fork with two pieces of the vegan mystery food hanging from it. The real torture in this scene is inflicted on Ray.

But, apparently the happily married duo is not opposed to a little experimentation.

With the superficiality of a Valley Girl who thinks a sip of wine makes her a connoisseur, Nadia announces to Emma the next morning, “Ray and I totally tried BDSM last night and I’m totally a sub.” Kudos to Emma for respecting her sister’s asinine interpretation of sexual enlightenment.

Jacky setting up the scene for Riley and Van Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Jacky setting up the scene for Riley and Van. Blurred flowers framed on the wall.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Here’s the story. In the film’s first sex scene with Nadia and Ray, a blindfold is about as deviant as they get. (She does ask him if she can call him “master” in a laughable attempt to identify with what Emma authenticates.) Having now seen the light while not being able to see, Nadia tells Emma she “completely” understands what a BDSM relationship is all about.

Incidentally, the sex is classic Riley Reid, who is an industry gem. Considering it’s a script-driven vanilla encounter–necessary to set up Emma’s future sexual experimentation–Riley’s smile, spirit, and energy carry the show. On the wall bedside the bed is a black and white photo of two flowers that lord over the sex in front of it. The flowers are blurred, an important image for this film.

Blindfold in place, ready to shoot. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Blindfold in place, ready to shoot.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Later when the sisters are in the gym, understanding suddenly vanishes. As she gives the elliptical machine a workout, Nadia is clearly irritated. “Trying BDSM was the biggest mistake of my life.” Now Ray wants a three-some, but Nadia slammed the door on that idea, proclaiming that men put women in “sexual situations solely for their benefit.”

Emma’s hint that Ray might want to expand Nadia’s horizons falls flat. “Men do that,” a fired up Nadia says. “They pretend it’s all about you and it’s really about them. They wait for the moment you say, ‘yes,’ and they push your limits.” Annoyed with Emma’s suggestion that Ray wouldn’t cheat, Nadia digs in. “I’m just drawing lines.”

But doesn’t everybody?

Open to New Experiences

Nadia’s indignation spurs Emma to confront her own crisis. Mr. Frederick has presented her with a new contract which she reads line by line in an earlier scene. It is a quest for “Why can’t we have it all?”

Preparing for an office shot. Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

Preparing for an office shot.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Koga

When she reviews the contract, equality and symmetry are visually emphasized to reflect the supposed state of their relationship. Emma is sitting on a long desk with her legs extended to a Mr. Frederick who massages her feet. The shot has perfect balance regarding the desk: two half full glasses of red wine on each end and a pair of tall plants in floor urns on either side of it. In the background, French doors halve the scene like the entrance into a Georgian manor.

As this segment progresses, brief glimpses of Emma and Mr. Frederick’s encounters are revealed as she goes through the contract.

In one, symmetry is repeated when she talks about training. It is a shot of interior French doors at the end of a hall. Framed prints are on opposite walls to balance the scene. Mr. Frederick leads Emma from left to right across the screen, moving her symbolically from an old definition of her sexuality to a new experience.

“I will not just play the role,” Emma says in reference to being a submissive, “I will become the role.”

When she is bound to pillars in the kitchen a la Fay Wray in King Kong, Emma says, “my body is his to do with as he pleases.”

The Kitchen Pillars. Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

The Kitchen Pillars with Eddie Powell in the background.
Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Incidentally, in the provision having to do with enjoying her orgasms, there is a quick flash of them having sex in a hallway that doglegs to the right, an image that is revisited later.

When Emma gets to the item that involves having sex with other people, she balks. Tense and unsure, she asks if he is bored with her, that fatal relationship blow everyone fears.

This moment sets up the rest of the film. Mr. Frederick orders her to stand up, face him, and masturbate while thinking about someone who sexually arouses her. With eyes closed, she confesses it is Shane (Logan Pierce), the new guy in the office. Emma loses her bearings in a rush of endorphins and says, “I wonder if he’d like me.” Projecting her sexual preferences into Shane, Emma says he’d be down and dirty and insist on violating her with anal.

Logan Pierce Photo courtesy of 101Modeling.

Logan Pierce
Photo courtesy of 101Modeling.

It’s the opening Frederick wants and sex scene number two begins with anal its focal point, a clear break from the couples’ porn formula. To emphasize this shift, Eddie Powell moves his camera over Richie Calhoun’s shoulder to get the standard male masturbatory gonzo shot of a kneeling Penny Pax, mouth at work and adoring eyes looking upward.

St. James and Powell have a dual purpose with this scene. For story purposes, Emma’s exploration is picking up steam, but on another level, they are forging a new path in romance porn. The bondage remains light, adhering to the submission pornography genre popular in today’s market, but the sex is edgier.

Several questions in the film are present here. Mr. Frederick claims he is turned on by Emma’s self discovery, but is he engaging in his own fantasy of whoring out Emma and role playing Shane? In her mind, is Emma mocking her sister, knowing Nadia would never be this unconventional? Or does this exercise add to the unpredictability of Emma relationship that keeps it from getting stale?

There is a deeper question. Is Mr. Frederick gently and firmly nudging Emma forward or is he applying subtle pressure with the bet that Emma’s devotion will give him carte blanche to ratchet up his demands?

Or perhaps what Frederick tells her is straightforward and eerily true. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I just want you to be open to new experiences.”

Mr. Frederick and Emma exploring. Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

Mr. Frederick and Emma exploring.
Photo courtesy of Jacky St. James

At any rate, as Mr. Frederick anally penetrates his submissive, Emma sees and feels the new guy in her imagination. Before the pop, she begs, “Cum on me please, Shane.” Is Emma transitioning to a new experience or enjoying a healthy fantasy?

Whatever St. James’ intention, the scene explores the emotional complexities of BDSM characteristic of submission pornography, or what might be called in today’s culture, bondage chic. For raw sexuality, it steps beyond the inanity of Fifty Shades while pulling up way short of the hardcore fetish elements found on many extreme internet tube sites.

Dumbbells

Back in the gym the options posed for both Nadia and Emma are carefully defined. As the camera moves in on Emma’s treadmill next to Nadia’s elliptical, it floats past a rack of dumbbells that illustrate the choices available to each woman.

The top row contains two smaller dumbbells, both round and equal in size, with a exercise baton nestled in the juncture between them. This is Emma’s next possibility. Both weights are side by side and sexually open with the option of welcoming in a third person. In the same row, but to the far right, are two larger six-sided dumbbells of equal size representing Nadia’s view of her marriage, closed off and solid, or so she hopes.

Should either woman choose an unequal relationship, open or closed, in which her stature is diminished , the options are on the bottom row. Two round dumbbells and two six-sided ones, with the larger dominant one snuggled next to the smaller. Curiously, off to the right of the closed dumbbells is a single and smaller six-sided one, perhaps it is Ray’s suggestion that so infuriated Nadia and her no nonsense answer.

Where will all this drama leave Emma?

 

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September 30, 2013 · 6:34 pm

Try Something New

by Rich Moreland, October, 2013

This the final installment of the Bound by Desire series. In order to appreciate its contribution to the new submission pornography genre, all three films should be viewed in their entirety.

BOUNDBYDESIRE3 DVD-f

Bound by Desire: A Property of Love, is the latest in a series of BDSM romances from Smash Pictures. Part of the rising “submission pornography” genre, this film is a cornucopia of bondage in a single sitting.

The lovely and hard bodied Casey Calvert is the film’s anchor. She’s her husband’s collared slave and they have a mutual admiration society, he wants her to have fun and she wants him to play with other sluts.

Strawberries and Wedded Bliss Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Strawberries and Wedded Bliss
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Enter Casey’s old friend Natasha Nice, a fresh possibility for Casey’s mate (Richie Calhoun) to expand his domming skills.

“You’ll have fun. I want you to try something new,” Casey assures Natasha.

As the film opens, Richie is seducing Natasha over a snack of strawberries. Casey kneels in front of them, offering her back as a human table. There’s a bit of drool leaking around the ball gag in her mouth, very cool. Casey Calvert, an enthusiastic and real life submissive, is at her best at this moment. Her sensual kinkiness will grace the film throughout.

The Table and the Gag. Photo courtesy of Smash Pictures

The Table, the Gag, and the Girl on her Knees
Photo courtesy of Smash Pictures

Everything in this film is mutual and consensual, as BDSM relationships should be. But a newbie requires a little prepping. Casey tells Natasha she and Richie are open minded. She is allowed to have other men if Richie approves. And there’s fairness. Since he “officially collared” her, Richie has abandoned his other subs.

This is marriage, BDSM style.

An uncertain Natasha is interested, but needs convincing. “He beats you and ties you up, and you like it?” she asks to Casey.

It’s all about giving him pleasure, a nonchalant Casey replies. Her satisfaction is in “giving up control.” Casey likes being flogged, the sensation is intoxicating and the sex afterward is “so much more intense.” Natasha’s expression reveals all. She’s stuck in a vanilla groove and the needle needs moving. Her last boyfriend was strictly “missionary,” she laments, and the prospects of something new are enticing.

The Conversation that Convinces Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

The Conversation that Convinces
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

But there is a small problem. “Aren’t these the type of things that can end marriages?” Natasha suggests.

Casey reassures her about trust and compliments Natasha’s sexiness, all designed to persuade her buxom friend to be a sub for a day.

So while Casey becomes walk away furniture, Richie invites Natasha to participate in a self-indulgent play scenario over strawberries. The amply endowed French actress is game and so is the viewer.

From there the first sex scene of the movie is ready to go. Natasha Nice is a beauty and submits superbly. There are a string of fetishes offered: spanking, blindfolds, rope, paddles, and a brief flash of suspension. Addressing him as “Sir,” Natasha begs for the sexual  intensity Casey craves.

When Natasha is released from her bonds and the sex moves to the bed, the rope marks on her wrists become that delightful touch BDSMers know well.

Four Women

This film accomplishes its task, show BDSM sex in a way couples and women want to see it and try it. Bound by Desire Three does not play to a particular performer though Casey Calvert carries the movie on her back (pun intended) as she demonstrates in the opening scene. Rather, the film plays to the fetish.

Central to Bound‘s meaning is a look at four women, all representing a different aspect of BDSM.

First there is the romantic couple who block out the rest of the world in their own playroom. Allie Haze is trusting and comfortable with her lover Ryan Driller. In one scene she is suspended, flogged, and nailed from the rear. By far the favorite of BDSM fans in this film, the scene alone is worth the price of the DVD.

Allie and Ryan Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Allie and Ryan
Photo Courtesy of Smash PicturesAllie

Then there is Casey, of course, a slave and the kinkiest of all film’s players. Unlike the other girls, the viewer gets the feeling that if her marriage did end, Casey would find another master.

Next is Natasha, the neophyte who is discovering the fetish. We are convinced she will be a convert. Lastly, there is the older woman dominatrix and younger male sub. Julia Ann and Logan Pierce fill this niche.

Of course, any submission porn film must have a contrasting vanilla scene to give the fetish its meaning. In this case, the beautiful Alexis Ford fulfills that role in a well-shot bedroom scene with Johnny Castle.

Alexis and Johnny Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Alexis and Johnny
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Ice Cubes and Riding Crops

“I’m kinky and it takes more to get me going, to satisfy me,” Casey says early in the narrative. She’s quite different from the other girls: Allie took her time getting into the fetish and Natasha, who might one day reach that point, is still a bondage rookie.

In the dining room scene, Natasha and Casey are bound spread-eagled at opposite ends of the table, ball gags an added touch. Richie and Johnny will drink a little wine and play with the submissives using ice cubes on nipples and belly along with deftly placed strikes of riding crops.

Two on the Table Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Two on the Table
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Casey Calvert’s reactions are authentic, not scripted. She arches her back wantonly with each blow, an energy that signals her satisfaction. Natasha is more subdued. This is a vital contrast in the film; it shows the viewer the difference between a true kinkster and a girl just getting started in BDSM and maybe not sure where it will go.

Later when her turn finally comes to show her sexual skills, Casey concludes the film with its hottest sex scene. She’s a screamer and Johnny Castle will accommodate her with deep penetration. Once again Director Jim Powers gives the viewer rope marks on Casey’s ankles and wrists. He lets BDSMers know he understands their fetish and tells vanilla viewers that a few marks are expected and cherished.

The sex scenes in this film are all good. Allie Haze and Casey Calvert standout with their oral skills, Julia Ann is the perfect MILF, Natasha and Alexis are veterans who know how to frame their bodies for the camera.

But it’s the kink that’s the heart of the matter.

A Muse and a Messenger

Going over the Script: Casey, Richie, and Natasha Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Going over the Script: Casey, Richie, and Natasha
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Good fortune came my way when I had the opportunity to chat with Casey Calvert about making this film. Being a part of the Bound by Desire series was “really a treat” for her.

When I mentioned the submission porn genre, Casey enthusiastically replied, “I loved the opportunity to act out a BDSM fantasy storyline.” She went on to praise the people at Smash for producing “a great series for couples curious about BDSM.”

“As a lifestyler,” Casey added, “I feel honored to be the one to introduce new people to the fetish world.”

In this writer’s view Casey Calvert was the perfect choice for this series. She’s the real deal, a gorgeous kinky performer who doesn’t get enough rough sex and bondage for those who like red marks with their porn. Hopefully, this will change going forward because Casey’s fans want to see her in the perils of bondage having one raging orgasm after another.

She’s the muse and the messenger for the new genre.

The Muse Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

The Muse of Submission Porn
Photo Courtesy of Smash Pictures

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May 1, 2013 · 4:09 pm

Tears and Triumph: Smash Pictures’ Diary of Love

by Rich Moreland, April 2013

A young man lies comatose in a hospital bed, the victim of a car crash. A year has passed and the likelihood of his recovery is fading. Perhaps reading aloud a story of survival will conquer the dark world that imprisons his brain and his soul. Maybe he will hear. For the young woman who visits him daily, that is her desperate hope.

So goes the premise of Dairy of Love, a Smash Pictures release directed by Jim Powers and starring Presley Hart as Allie and Richie Calhoun as Noah. It’s a romantic tale of embattled love.

For porn fans, it celebrates the “couples” genre. Not gonzo, not even close. Best of all, it is superbly produced with acting that reaches beyond the norm for adult film.

From the view of this critic, Jim Powers’ work is sensational. He melds story and actor into a cohesive unit that has garnered accolades from the industry. Diary of Love received several nominations at the 2013 AVN awards this past January. Mostly recently, it was honored at the by XRCO (X Rated Critics Organization) as Best Dramatic Parody.

A Million Thoughts

When Noah and Allie first meet, he’s serious almost to a fault and she’s well-versed in flippant responses.

Allie, “a rich girl from the Bay Area,” the narrator tells us, has everything. Noah, employed at a local cement plant, struggles to make ends meet. As their relationship develops, the camera mirrors the emotional exchanges between the lovers. In an early scene, they are walking down the street, teasing and flirting. Powers’ lens is in motion with them, circling their playfulness as it whirls with seduction. The camera is in a fluid state, capturing their attempt to find their way through the stormy path they create for each other.

Later, as the summer progresses and their pairing becomes more than an acquaintance, Powers adds a humorous touch for gonzo fans. Allie and Noah share an ice cream cone (vanilla, naturally) and she ends up with ice cream all over her mouth and nose (not the eyes, of course). It’s the only “facial” in the film. Pop shots are directed at tummies in this story!

Presenting the sex as a woman likes it, Diary of Love emphasizes negotiation and communication between the lovers. When she is finally ready to get physical, Allie wants inside Noah’s brain, just as she now seeks to reach him in a sterile hospital room. What is he thinking?

“I have a million thoughts in my head and you’re acting like this is an everyday thing,” she shouts at him before they get it on. Of course it isn’t, but that’s not totally clear at this point.

Allie immediately apologizes for her petulance, telling Noah she just wants this first time “to be perfect.” How many women have sought reassurance that their self-generated fantasy of the “right moment” may actually contain flashes of male sincerity?

Later when they finally make love, Presley Hart’s sensuality splashes across the screen and heats up the set. Her scene is the hottest in the movie, but only a few degrees ahead of an earlier encounter that features Lily Labeau.

This tale has its share of bumps in the road. Allie’s mom ultimately voices her disapproval and successfully squashes her daughter’s summer fling, sending Allie east to college and eventually law school. But Noah never forgets and the quest to lure Allie back into his arms is the rest of the story. But for that, you’ll have to see the film.

Boxcover Courtesy of Smash Pictures

Boxcover Courtesy of Smash Pictures

A Drama Queen?

Diary of Love insists that the story drive the sex, not the other way round.

Laborious minutes of endless sex are thankfully abandoned in this film. The intimacy that does take place is carefully choreographed to reflect the viewer’s reality. Nothing is acrobatic, there’s no anal anywhere and no oral thrusting to gag the girls. Abundant kissing, male-on-female oral, and a bit of cuddling in the afterglow, highlight each encounter. Of interest is handholding during the penetration shots, romantic and bonding.

It is sex as couples experience it, tender without being slutty, featuring natural bodies. Included, by the way, are males hired for their acting chops, not the size of their endowment. However, there’s a downer note for fans of fully shaven girls. Only Presley Hart is smooth as silk, indicative perhaps of a trend toward the well trimmed bush, albeit for better or worse.

This film has memorable sequences.

Kimberly Kane, who plays one of Noah’s lovers, reflects a woman’s need to break into a man’s emotional vault. She reminds him that a woman can look into a man’s eyes and tell if he “sees” her. Unfortunately for Kimberly, her facial expression reveals who Noah sees.

Allie’s mother, played by Nikki Charm, confronts her daughter with the mistake she is making—taking up with a man outside her social class. Allie’s protests fail to move this mountain. “Don’t be a drama queen!” mom shouts. She is determined to prevent Allie from a disastrous life-altering choice. Indeed, practicality often trumps true love in real life.

Incidentally, Kimberly and Nikki handle dialogue better than anyone in the cast, including Presley Hart who received a best actress nomination. The film is worth a look to catch the authenticity of these veteran performers.

The film’s first sexual encounter between Fin (Logan Pierce) and Sarah (Lily LaBeau) is sensational. Lily is a stunner, as porn fans already know. But it’s the scene’s park setting that produces a clever touch. Behind Lily’s reverse cowgirl sequence is a retaining wall of logs pounded into the ground. They are of different lengths, nestled one beside the other. How appropriate for the repeated “pounding” Sarah is enjoying! Match a log with each thrust and the park becomes an animated participant in the shoot.

Speaking of directorial genius, a couple of other shots should not be missed. The emphasis on male-female sexual equality is in clear focus with an overhead view of Noah and his two playmates, war widows Kimberly Kane and Lia Lor. (Noah fought in Afghanistan and is trying to adjust to life after death. Fin is killed in action, taking a little bit of Noah with him).

They are a sexual threesome. In this shot, Noah is lying between them. The trio forms a barely perceptible triangle with their bodies, signaling that they are a comfort for each other and a hint at where this relationship might go if a sequel is developed.

Jim Powers’ artistry steps to the fore once again as the movie winds down. Pay close attention to Noah and Allie’s painful talk in the home he built for her. He is on the screen’s far left, sitting in a chair with the one next to him vacant. She is on the far right, seated alone at one end of a settee, a continuous unbroken seat. Despite the chilly emotional atmosphere blanketing the room, an expansive window bathed in sunlight is the mediator reaching out to the former lovers. The implications of this moment summarize longing, separation, and the possibility of reconciliation. Allie once again has the advantage; her love life is unbroken, she has a husband-in-waiting back east. On the other hand, Noah’s is in disrepair, like the now rehabbed house once was. He fixed that, can he fix this?

At film’s end, a masterful shot frames the story’s resolution. Allie’s luggage is tucked away in the far left of the screen and she jumps into Noah’s arms, wraps her legs around his waist, elevating her head above his. The lovers are drenched in a gleaming rain.

The victorious human will is never more clearly illustrated in love’s landscape. Rain and sun, tears and triumph, are superbly displayed as the final curtain descends.

Don’t miss this movie. There is much more to see.

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