Vortexxx

Adam & Eve/Ultimate Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Nicholas Steele

Cast: Felecia Fox, Cheyne Collins, Cytherea, Billy Glide, Sophie Evans, Randy Spears, Monica Mayhem, Evan Stone, Lauren Phoenix, Steven St. Croix

Length: 91.5 minutes

Date of Production: 3/23/2004

Extra's: The first extra on the DVD was a bonus lesbian scene from the movie Rawhide between Carmen Luvana and Kaylani Lei. While I'm not a huge fan of bonus scenes from other movies (usually, I prefer the extras to be specific to the disc I'm watching), I thought it was a passionate romp between the two cuties. There was also a bonus scene from Code Blue between Brooke and the massive Lee Stone. Each scene lasted about ten minutes and the ladies looked good. My favorite extra of the disc was not the bonus scenes, the trailers, or the photogallery; it was the 18 minute long Behind the Scenes featurette by Dan Curb. There was a lot of nudity and each of the cast seemed to get some screen time; making it fun to watch the bloopers and comments they made. I could've done without the loud soundtrack during the entire thing but I'm sure Mr. Steele had his reasons.

Condoms: Some

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in "High Definition 24p Widescreen Format", as other recent releases by Adam & Eve's director, Nicholas Steele, have been. While it didn't appear to be in anamorphic widescreen, it did look better than his other releases for the company to date. Looking more like film than video, the colors were generally solid and the fleshtones accurate with little of the compression noise in the better lit scenes. The biggest problem I had with the picture was that so many of the scenes were filmed at night in dark rooms which caused a lot of grain to appear at times (and the sexual activity to be veiled in a cloak of darkness). I know the movie was made for people exploring porn more than a jaded old reviewer like myself so you'll have to take my advice with a grain or two of salt but I have to admit I think Mr. Steele is learning to use the equipment better as time marches on. The audio appeared to be presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital English and the vocals seemed more refined than in past efforts as well. The droning soundtrack sometimes got on my nerves but if you take the scenes as individual pieces, and watched them one at a time, it wasn't bad at all.

Body of Review: Adam & Eve is one of those porn companies that caters to the so-called "couples" market. By that, I mean that you usually don't find a lot of circus act sex (double penetrations, gape shots, gang bangs, and the like) or harsh lighting on their movies. You do find a lot of condoms and stylish camera angles with the intent of the releases to be friendly to women in a way that most porn is not. While I sometimes disagree with the underlying premise of women not liking the visual medium of porn as much as men (at least as a given), I can't deny that Adam & Eve has long served as a gateway company to couples interested in exploring porn to spice up their love lives. The latest release by their contract director Nicholas Steele is Vortexxx. In the movie, a small group of adventurers break into an old house and find that it has a means to spirit people back in time for sexual liaisons. The plot is minimal and the sex is geared towards an audience wanting more romance than average so here's a breakdown of the scenes if you're still interested:

Scene One: Felecia, a very attractive brunette with a growing following, had the first scene in a bedroom with Cheyne. Like the other scenes, it was romantic and directed towards the couples market. In that vein, it succeeded where so many past releases by the company have faltered as the couple seemed very much into one another. While it had oral and straight only, it did manage to prove that a scene doesn't need circus act sex to warm me up; no small feat considering how jaded I can be after years of reviewing porn. I liked the chemistry as much as the heat but keep in mind that the sex was fairly tame by present day standards.

Scene Two: Cytherea, one of the best known brunettes in the jizz bizz today, took on Billy in a large bed. She hadn't dyed her hair that weird lighter color when this scene was made (thankfully, I might add) but she had the same lean body and sexual appetite that fuels the fires of her fans all over the world. This scene, like the others, was fairly tame, especially for her, but it was pleasant to watch. They managed to do some oral and straight with a modicum of heat so her fans may appreciate that she doesn't have to yell and scream to have fun.

Scene Three: Sophie, one of the best European imports I've seen in terms of her sexual prowess as well as curvy body and good looks, had a scene with Randy in the shower (and on the sofa). While it wasn't the best scene I've watched her in, I thought she looked good in this short sequence. Randy did a solid job within the confines of the premise as well but again, it was limited in terms of what they were allowed to do with one another and that minimized the heat for me.

Scene Four: Monica, the attractive blonde lead of the movie seen on the front DVD cover, and the mighty Evan, had a scene on a couch where he was a sailor shipping out to sea giving her a last bang before leaving her. He did a lot of oral on her and she sure seemed to like it before the boning took place. I've seen a lot of her lately in her contract scenes with Cherry Boxxx Pictures and this scene was as hot as any of them, even if it had the most noticeable condom of the movie.

Scene Five: Lauren, one of the most sought after gals in porn these days, has been blazing a trail few others could keep up with. Her curvy ass and pretty face combined with her sexual appetite to make for a great lay and Steven was the lucky guy this time. Her oral skills here were better than any of the other scenes of the movie (all were deliberately toned down for A&E's target audience) and she took to his penis like a fish to water in her tight pussy. It ended with a facial that looked like she swallowed but I enjoyed the coupling nonetheless. I guess it would be fair to say the scene was "Phoenix-lite" but she sure did a good job of it, even with the stated limitations.

Scene Six: Monica, given one last chance to shine in her showcase movie, had the inevitable scene with Randy on the winding staircase. While oral and straight only, it did manage to capture some of the chemistry that a few of the other scenes had displayed and Monica looked better here than in the previous scene.

Summary: In these days when so many critics promote the most extreme forms of circus act sex as being somehow "hotter" or "better", it was refreshing to see some solid chemistry and heat coming from what is ultimately designed as a couples movie. I think the cast was attractive, sexually skilled, and the technical values less of a hindrance than in past efforts so I'm rating this as Recommended to those of you that don't mind the nature of the oral and straight sex. If you want lots of lesbian antics, anal, and group gropes, look elsewhere but you might want to check this one out since it had a lot to offer in terms of warm scenes with cute gals going at it. If the picture quality keeps improving with Mr. Steele's future efforts, I will be pleasantly surprised some day to find he advanced while most of his peers were left behind but that's just my hopes for his future, not a given by any means.

Note: You can see recent candid shots of several of these performers by visiting: My Photo's and read about their antics at 2004 AEE Show.