Tristan Taormino is the first adult film director and producer that I had an immense curiosity about. She is a woman in a typically male-dominated industry; I also dare say that the adult film industry as a whole is believed to be a boy’s club, so for a woman to make her mark on the industry is phenomenal and to do it well gives the self-professed feminist in me quite a thrill. I like seeing women making waves in an industry that is believed to be by men, for men, especially considering that one in three women watch and enjoy adult films.
I recently had the opportunity to be introduced to Tristan Taormino and her film, Rough Sex, which greatly sums up the content of the film.
What is different and also refreshing about Rough Sex is that at the beginning of every scene, you get to see interviews with the performers from the upcoming scene and hear about their own sexual fantasies, that they then get to act out completely consensually and safely in the scene. Women’s fantasies vary greatly and we often do fantasize about rough sex and the spontaneity of doing something a little dirty and a little wrong. I greatly respect Taormino for “going there” and for not being afraid to capture the same fantasies that can put some people off or even make people feel uncomfortable watching, but be incredibly hot at the same time.
Granted, this film is not for everyone, especially since it does depict (consensual) rape fantasy, home invasion fantasies and also has a scene that switches the typical dominant male/submissive woman scenario and has a woman’s fantasy of being dominant in the bedroom and her corporate business, obviously powerful husband be in the submissive role, which I liked seeing quite a bit. In my opinion, this film can be really hot for women who do fantasize about rough sex and can also be very eye-opening in the respect that you have the opportunity to open yourself up to new ideas and may discover that you do like fantasizing about something that you didn’t think would excite you.
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The ability to create adult films that are not only targeted towards women and couples, but are also widely accepted with open arms is quite an accomplishment in the adult film industry. Adult films typically cater to the stereotypical male persona due to society’s fondness of scrutinizing and shaming women who like to watch pornography. Given this fact, when I find an adult film that you can tell was truly made with women’s interests in mind, it immediately has a very special place in my collection!
Fallen is a fantastic, obviously woman and couple-targeted adult film that will excite, intrigue, and pull its audience in for a classic tale of a fallen angel. The angel, played by AVN winner for Best Actress, Jessica Drake, was once a guardian angel for humanity, although after one fate-writing momentary lapse, she tries to avoid an eternity of punishment and works to earn the forgiveness of those she has harmed. The angel careens through a series of obstacles, triumphs, and a smorgasbord of unforgettable sex.
Fallen delivers in every which way possible, from caring and compassionate love-making between two people in the midst of falling for each other, to public sex, girl-on-girl, an orgy, anal, and double penetration. Whatever you’re in the mood for, Fallen has a scene that will excite and tantalize you. However, Fallen is not merely an adult film chock-full of meaningless, stereotypical, and oftentimes confusing sexual encounters; it dares to tell a story with a genuine plot and almost-believable characters.
More than anything, Fallen shows the true, unmistakable potential of director Brad Armstrong, who should be spending more time focusing on indie dramas or something with not a little, but a lot more meat to it; no pun intended. The direction of this film is at times beautiful, dramatic, and even poetic; the fact that he is working within the adult film industry speaks volumes of the fact that either there is a lofty paycheck to be achieved at the end of the tunnel or he just truly has no idea what kind of potential he is in possession of.
The film is shot beautifully and progresses well, given the variety of scenes incorporated and would be a film that I would watch again and again, if only the main character was played by someone with a bit more substance. Fallen is a film that attempts to defy the film/adult film borders, at least most of the way in, but Jessica Drake is in dire need of freshening up on sexy monosyllabic words to utter during her scenes. In each of the sex scenes in this film she reaches for the exact same word usage that we have already heard from her in the scene before. To say the least, this redundancy can very well start to annoy you, if you’re paying attention to the dialogue, that is.
But as beautiful as the film is shot and shown to us throughout the beginning and middle of this film, the ending falls flat on its face, grasps for air, and dies before us. The ending scenes are perhaps the worst buildup I have ever seen in any movie, including B horror flicks, and leaves you staring at your television after the film has ended, wondering what just happened. Luckily, two of the sex scenes in this film are just that good to save the fact that they stopped trying and after reaching 177 minutes, had to end the story any way they could.
What is definitely worth mentioning about Fallen is the fact that it is epically packaged. Upon first opening the package in which it arrived in, I was wondering why a DVD had to be packaged in a box that is much larger than your standard DVD size. Fallen is presented in a tri-fold, soft cardboard package that is completely covered with scenes from the movie, as well as Jessica Drake, front and center. To say the least, the packaging is beautiful and very impressive!
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It’s time to get your joysticks out! Man’s Ruin is an adult DVD that plays like a video game with multi-players and multi-levels. Starring alt porn star Melodie Gore who plays a superhero on a mission filled with sexual obstacles of fetishism, bondage, medical play, all-girl threesomes, submission and domination.
The DVD is packaged impressively, to say the least, containing a temporary tattoo of the DVD’s logo and two DVDs, one of the film and another of extras. What I found ironic is that an extra on the second disc is of an anti-porn propaganda documentary from the 60’s that paints pornography to be dangerous and vile. Winkytiki, alt pin-up photographer and Man’s Ruin’s creator, is surely a man on a mission to destroy the social stigma that is still preserved in the United States by many people who still believe that pornography is obscene.
Although Man’s Ruin may put a few people off by its description, this film is done artistically and embraces kink on all of its levels. While I can appreciate the way, as well as the reason why this film was made, I found myself utterly confused while watching it. The whole video game meets porn concept is interesting and made me very eager to see the film, the main character plays several personas, some even introduced for no reason such as a cartoon-like squid. There are various different scenes in this film, also some bordering on being introduced for no reason just like it’s personas, such as Japanese Manga and a scene involving an insane Nazi scientist.
While Man’s Ruin is interesting in theory and by the description, greatly interested me in seeing the film, it was too confusing for me to follow. I would love to see a film like Man’s Ruin that was executed correctly, but Man’s Ruin should have went through a few more drafts before releasing it.
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