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Justine

Justine

Released Feb 01st, 2003
Running Time 90
Director Andrew Blake
Company Studio A Entertainment
Cast Justine (I), Elle Williams, Aria Giovanni
Critical Rating Not Yet Rated
Genre Film

Rating

Synopsis

Not his most exciting work to date, but visually stunning nonetheless, so it should please Blake fans.

Reviews

Even on autopilot Andrew Blake is better than most at making stylistic, high-art porn. What his films sometimes lack in genuine heat is compensated with stunning women, gorgeous locations and beautiful cinematography. Say what you will about him (and this genre as a whole), the man's films look great and are as professional as any mainstream flick in almost every regard.

With that in mind, Blake seems to have hit a creative wall. Rather than the surreal, trippy odysseys he once took the viewer on that blended sex, fetish and hot chicks (Night Trips, Hidden Obsessions), we now get Playboy-style vignettes that feature only girls and mostly foreplay.

The look of the film is still top-notch but without any steamy sex or any men at all, it's gets a bit tedious after a while. Don't get me wrong, Justine, Aria Giovanni, Elle Williams, Erica Campbell and Emily Marilyn are all striking and make for splendid eye candy as they pour paint on each other, participate in bondage-lite fantasies, and make out in all their color coordinated glory. But there is a key element missing throughout all of his recent g/g endeavors: sparks. Everything and everyone looks amazing, but no one appears to be having any genuine fun or really getting off on each other.

Shot entirely in New York, Justine makes use of the loft settings the city is famous for as well as other Big Apple-looking sets. The costumes and outfits all look straight out of Vogue magazine and every scene plays like a Penthouse pictorial come to life. Lead super vixen Justine, Blake's current muse who inspired the film, looks especially fetching in her black vinyl, leather and high fashion duds. If only the film matched her beauty, and that of all the other ladies on exhibit here too, with the appropriate amount of chemistry and hot sex.

All the parts are on display here but they don't add up to anything superior when assembled, i.e. - this tape plays more like a sexy series of music videos than an actual film.

The New Age-y music gives things an appropriate dreamy quality, but also adds to the slow pace of the action. At times, the pacing works, like the jazzy jungle music in the foot fetish sequence. Other times it takes an already slow scene and practically grinds it to a halt, such as the leather fetish sequence.

One thing Blake is still a master at though is flesh. He has a way of finding beautiful girls with very distinct skin tones (either very pale and white or flawlessly tan and golden) and shooting them against the perfectly colored background. He uses filters and lighting to enhance this effect. Check out the apartment window masturbation scene for a perfect example.

A fine example of Blake's good taste in women can also be found in the bonus bondage featurette starring Blake mainstay Dahlia Grey. Dahlia In Bondage is a behind-the-scenes peak at the gorgeous starlet as she prepares for a bondage-themed photo shoot. It's not the most exciting documentary ever seen, but she looks smashing all tied up in rope and rubber. In addition, the DVD comes with a cool, full color foldout booklet featuring pictures from the shoot.



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