Firebush

Platinum X Pictures

Genre: Gonzo

Director: Jewel De'Nyle

Cast: Cherry Poppens, Juan Cuba, Amber Simpson, Kris Slater, Dani Woodward, Lena Juliet, Michael Stefano, Keiko, Joey Ray, Anthony Hardwood, Kylie Ireland, John Strong
Special Guest Star: Ginger Lynn Allen

Length: 133 minutes

Dates of Production: 4/5/2004, 4/6/2004, 4/14/2004, 5/3/2004, 5/24/2004

Extra's: The best extra, by far, was the 28.5 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by John Nystrom and Juan Cuba. The gals all got a chance to show their silly side and there was some sex footage for those who demand it too. In all, it was one of the better BTS features I've seen lately and I only wish Jewel had more screen time on this one. The other extras included 4 minutes of photoshoot material, a pop shot compilation from the scenes, some trailers and a photogallery.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as originally shot. The lighting was good and this helped keep the grain and video noise to a minimum. I thought the colors were accurate and the camera angles usually complimentary although this was not always the case. On average, I think the picture was very solid with little of the edge enhancement a few people complained about in earlier Platinum X Picture releases. As far as the DVD mastering goes, the show had no compression artifacts and only a touch of visual break up on some of the fishnets worn by the cast. The audio was presented in the usual stereo 2.0 English and for the most part, the vocals were very clear as the gals moaned, groaned and begged for more. It wasn't the most lavish mix I've come across lately but it was certainly clean enough to get the message across handily (pun intended).

Body of Review: Now that Platinum X Pictures has surpassed the magic 100th title mark with Lusty Legs 3, a number of fans are wondering if the company will rest on its laurels or continue to make cutting edge (some would say bleeding edge) porn for them to enjoy. With some many directors and a such a capable pack of performers regularly joining in on the fun, I think most of us know the answer but it's important to keep an eye out on them to make sure. I know, it's a tough job but someone's got to do it and it usually falls on honest reviewers to keep companies from taking consumers too much for granted. Luckily, Platinum X Pictures is also home to director Jewel De'Nyle, one of the more popular performers porn had the pleasure of seeing through the late 1990's and early 2000's, and everyone that's met her knows she'd rather smack the staff silly than release crappy porn. Her latest effort is the 104th release of the company, Firebush. The general theme of the show is to showcase redheads as they have sex with some of the more interesting studs in porn although not all of the gals had bushes (preferring the clean shaven look) or even red hair. This was not a problem for the most part since Kylie Ireland was the lead of the movie in her first gonzo scene for the company and Cherry had enough hair for all of them. That said, here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast and action, noting that the scenes seemed to favor anal antics more often than not:

Scene One: Cherry, a gal that looks a lot like Chelsea Clinton, started off the show wearing some bondage gear and hitting herself with a whip on her fleshy ass. She had the most pubic hair I've seen in porn since sometime in the early 1980's and fans of hairy bushes will enjoy her a lot. She gave some tease footage in the open room while sitting on a couch until she was joined by Juan, a guy with more tattoos on his arms than almost any of the other usual porn parolees. He fed her his cock and she did an okay job blowing him but it sure wasn't anything special if you catch my drift. I've long been a fan of putting the best scene at the front of the DVD but secretly hoped this wasn't it as I watched it. Juan then went down on her for a few moments and the couple boned after that. The sex wasn't bad but it was fairly average, even when she did some PTM (pussy to mouth) in order to clean him off a bit. They did several positions and he ended it by popping in her mouth but it wasn't much of a load. The energy levels were about what I'd usually expect from a movie made for couples, surprising me since Platinum X Pictures is definitely not geared to that type of show.

Scene Two: Amber, a far more attractive cutie with kinky ringlets of brown hair, was up next. Her tease included a bit more self gratification and it looked better in terms of her actually starting to get off. She was more toned and used a large glass dildo to spread herself open a bit with PTM for the freaky crowd to enjoy. Kris was her partner and she subbed from the top as she demanded he slap her ass harder and harder while jerking him off. Her oral was much more energetic too as she readied him for the action but he also seemed more into getting her wet enough for his throbbing member. She was very vocal in what she wanted as she rubbed herself silly as he slammed his penis into her and the resulting scene was very warm because of it. The scene was going along just fine until it jumped the shark by having her all wrapped up in cellophane for him to jerk off on (this was shown in the BTS feature too). If she can be this hot elsewhere, I think her potential will carry her far in the jizz bizz.

Scene Three: Dani, a lean redhead wearing a blue corset, and Latina Lena, wearing a black version of the outfit as she played with her new toy (whipping Dani a little to warm her up), rubbed and played with one another until porn legend Ginger Lynn joined them on the couch. Ginger took over the domination duties and prepared Dani for an anal balling with a large strap on dildo and toy. I wish Ginger stuck around (I've long been a fan of hers) but she traded out spots with Michael who took care of the gals in his own unique manner. Dani was first up on giving him some energetic oral but Lena was no slacker either and the two double teamed him in a very appealing manner before he started taking turns with them. Each gal was well versed in providing pleasure and Lena's anal was a sight to behold. There was some taste testing but the scene ended with him jerking off to their faces and them swapping the semen a bit. Whew!

Scene Four: Keiko, a thin gal with an all natural body (covered by a layer of baby fat) and a Gothic look to her, did her tease on a bed as well. The black and purple PVC dress was accentuated by fishnet stockings, a couple of slave wrist restraints, and a large paddle that complimented her look nicely. She warmed up with a large black dildo and some purple anal beads but the performance was somewhat lacking until she was joined by Joey and Anthony. They offered up their meat and she willingly proved that she had some talent that went beyond her limited fetish appeal; blowing them with a lot of gusto as she jerked them off. She took vaginal and anal with a lot of DP (double penetration) action and was among the most vocal of the entire cast as they really pushed her limits. In all, the scene had a lot of energy and passion that transcended my general ambivalence about her look. Fans may be disappointed that she didn't swallow though so the scene gets mixed marks for heat.

Scene Five: Kylie, the super babe with the curves fans have long appreciated, was the final performer here. She wore a great fetish outfit that complimented her body nicely and the large black dildo looked menacing as she sucked on it. This being her first scene for Platinum X Pictures, I think she was prepared to do anything it took to shed her nice girl image and "go gonzo" once and for all. After a brief bit of tease that included some PTM (pussy to mouth) and anal with the dildo, she took care of John and Michael on a large couch. Her oral showed that experience wins out over the flavor of the month newbies in porn and her enthusiasm was nothing short of great as she inhaled them like her life depended on it. The throat gagging action alone was worth the price of admission and the way the guys took turns on her pussy and ass was also extremely sweet. Her dirty talk helped make the scene even better and she easily surpassed the others to make this the highlight of the movie. I could now see why the weaker scenes came first; if this was first, no one would've seen the other ones! In any case, she cleaned their dicks off orally after they plunged inside her and while she didn't do a DP, she provided more heat than I'm used to in a porno. It ended with a large facial that she partially swallowed. Wow!

Summary: Firebush was worth a rating of Recommended for the cast, the heat levels of the scenes, the decent production values and solid extras. If there had been a bit more chemistry in a few of the scenes or if the entire cast matched the advertised qualities of the movie, I'd have tilted it up a notch but keep in mind that Kylie's scene alone was worth checking this one out for. In a world where age is a curse and experience disregarded as though it were a bad thing, I was pleased to see Kylie prove the critics wrong yet again; and show that she had more heat than any three 18 year olds (Kylie rocks!). Otherwise, the movie was pretty entertaining and there was a lot to enjoy; even a few surprises by performers I'm not into (making me wonder if I need to take a fresh look at some of their past work). That said, I hope Platinum X Pictures keeps Jewel busy since she is yet another proven quality in the industry long known for its distain of female directors.

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.