Catalyst, The Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  6/26/2006

The Little Details

Running Time: 105 min.

Production Date: 4 / 30 / 2006 (movie) 4 / 21 / 2006 (box)

Director: Lorraine Sisco

Cast: Adriana Sage, Britney Manson, Daisy Marie, Emily Marilyn, Faith Leon, Jassie, Kimberly Kane, Marie Luv, Jerry, Marcos Leon, Mario Rossi, and Scott Nails

The Short Story

Initial Expectations: Lorraine Sisco has frequently impressed me. I'm looking forward to this one.

Initial Reaction: It was a bit hit or miss for me, but definitely showed some good care.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody wanting artistic porn

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody wanting straightforward porn

The Technical Stuff

Audio /Video Quality: The technical aspects are very well done. The audio is clear and well balanced, with the musical balance varying throughout the movie. I can't say that I noticed a single flaw in the audio. The video also shows a lot of care. It's nicely presented in the anamorphic form that a widescreen presentation deserves, with plenty of attention paid to the lighting and overall look. The video is just as good as the audio, with no unnecessary camera motion or sloppy focus problems.

Music: The music is very well done, and a big part of the presentation. It varies in balance throughout the movie, sometimes fading out completely, sometimes completely dominating the audio, and sometimes coming across with a nice balance. It often has a driving style, and doesn't shy away from vocals.

Disc Complaints: There's no time stamp, which always makes a DVD feel a little cheaper to me. The lack of a time stamp means that the viewer can't easily navigate the DVD because they're limited to chapter breaks rather than being able to punch a time into the remote control and go anywhere they want in the movie. I really thought Ninn Worx had better authoring capabilities than this...

Menus: The main menu blends the chapter menu in so you have a large still with clips of each chapter along one side of the screen. You can choose between one of the scenes or the standard menu options. There's a part of me that likes it due to it being different and nicely done, and another part that doesn't care for it because it almost feels cheap.

The Feature

Can one really look at anything with a completely open mind, or are we prisoners of our history and experiences? So begins the latest artistic excursion by Lorraine Sisco.

Scene 1 – Kimberly Kane and Scott Nails

Kimberly starts things out in a black rubber outfit complete with a hard, tall, futuristic collar that leaves her tits exposed and a skirt that leaves her undercarriage exposed strutting across a roof to Scott, dressed in a black open shirt, pants, and a hat. Kimberly rips apart and beats up mannequins and kisses Scott, as well as roughing him up a little and letting him rough her up in return. Scott pushes her back into a chair and cuts open her skirt so he can worship her pussy with his tongue before standing up so she can see how far she can take his cock into her throat with a little help. They move on with a reverse cowgirl ride before Kimberly lets Scott take her from behind. They also get in some missionary work before Scott lets go with a nice pop on Kimberly's cunt.

This is a good scene that didn't work overly well for me. I'll readily admit that much of my problem with the scene is also why it's a very well done scene. Lorraine Sisco has had a fairly standard scene with the women in control with slightly differing styles. Here she completely breaks out of that mold and goes with a style that reminded me almost of a cross between Michael Ninn and Tanya Hyde. It's very artistic and music driven, which isn't anything too new for her, but the style seemed to drive this scene more than the sex did. I'm thrilled to see Sisco grow as a director with things like this, and I think the main reason it didn't work for me as well as it might for others is because it was so different from what I expected.

Scene 2 – Faith Leon and Marcos Leon

As Marcus looks around with his spyglass out his windows, he turns it around to focus on the mannequin lying in the chair close to him. It comes to life in the form of smoking hot brunette Faith, wearing a sexy black dress, stockings, lacy gloves, and a wide hat. They look at each other a few moments before coming together halfway between the chair and spyglass where Faith seductively sucks Marcus's fingers while they look into each others eyes before kissing. Faith strips down to a see through black polka dotted dress and kisses Marcus hard on the mouth before getting on her knees to suck his cock with so much enthusiasm that you'd think his cum is the only thing able to keep her from turning back into the lifeless mannequin. Faith sits back in the chair so Marcus can warm her up with his tongue and fingers before fucking her missionary style. Marcus loses all his clothing below his waist before Faith, now wearing only her garter belt, shoes, and stockings, rides him reverse cowgirl style, and then keeps giving it to her from behind. Finally, Marcus unloads a nice load on Faith's ass.

This scene worked extremely well for me. Maybe it's part of the Kim Cattrall Mannequin fantasies brought back to life nearly twenty years later, but I loved everything about this scene. The opening had a very nice feeling that was matched by a great look with plenty of style. Faith looks gorgeous, and is only helped out by her sexy black outfit and lingerie. Best of all, there's some great chemistry between her and Marcus that helps the scene to work from the first moment of finger sucking. This scene drew me in completely, and really worked well for me.

Scene 3 – Adriana Sage, Daisy Marie, and Emily Marilyn

Smoking hot blonde Emily starts out the third scene practicing her putting wearing a classic black and white animal print dress with a veil, black stockings, and black heels. She taps the ball across a rub towards a wicker ring by fetish clad Adriana, in a creamy corset with purple stockings and shoes, Daisy, in a black and red corset with fishnets and tall turquoise boots, and a mannequin in a red fetishy outfit similar to the one Kimberly Kane started the movie in. She moves to the other side of the ring to watch as Adriana and Daisy move in so Adriana can kiss Daisy's nipples a little as well as teasing her with hisses on the mouth. She turns around so Daisy can lick around her ass before letting Daisy slap and tongue her twat. Adriana leans through the ring to tongue and finger Daisy as she presents her pussy for some pile driving before joining her in the ring as she straddles Daisy's face to get a little tongue and finger action as Emily watches and enjoys her smoke. Emily comes in to get her tits sucked by Adriana as the girls sit and diddle themselves in the ring before they finish things up with plenty of kissing.

This is a pretty hot scene. It's definitely heavy on the beauty, but there's some nice chemistry as well. Most of the action was between Daisy and Adriana, which left me slightly disappointed because with how hot Emily was I was definitely wanting to see her in action! That said, it was great to see Adriana back in action and she and Daisy looked like they were into each other pretty well. This scene looks great, and has some decent chemistry to back it up.

Scene 4 – Jassie, Marie Luv, and Jerry

Beautiful black babe Marie starts out the penultimate scene in a bathtub pouring milk over herself when Jerry leads knockout brunette Jassie in wearing some hot black fetishwear and a bridle with a leash attached to it. He slaps Jassie's ass with his crop and a flogger and tongues her asshole before fingering and licking her pussy as Marie rolls around in her milk bath and pours more over herself. Jassie gets down and sucks Jerry's cock in return before letting him fuck her missionary and doggie style. Marie starts to play with herself as she watches them go at it,

This is a pretty good scene. I love Jassie being set up with the horseplay fetish, and seeing her with pierced nipples is all the better. She and Jerry get it on very nicely, but I was a little disappointed once again to not see Marie get in on the action much. She does put out a nice masturbation scene, but she never has any contact with either Jerry or Jassie. The girls also played to the camera a little much for my tastes, but were nicely vocal through the scene. This is a pretty good scene with a very nice artistic eye.

Scene 5 – Britney Manson and Mario Rossi

When Mario walks to a freight elevator, he finds Britney inside dressed with bird-like stylings and a similarly dressed mannequin with a birdcage over its head. Britney gives him a show before dropping down to mouth Mario's manhood, and then lets him go right to fucking her missionary style on the floor. She gets up for a cowgirl ride next, and after riding him a bit turns around for a reverse cowgirl ride. They even get in a little doggie style fucking before Mario gives Britney a very nice facial.

I really enjoyed this scene. The bird styles piqued my interest a little at the start, and Britney's hot body, gloves, and boots definitely drew me in. She and Mario have nice chemistry with each other, and both put out some very nice energy. Britney and Mario finish The Catalyst on a high note.

The Catalyst makes it very easy to see why Ninn Worx brought Lorraine Sisco into the mix. She has a very artistic eye, and isn't afraid to try something different. Here she really shows growth as a director. Gone are the dominant females that her movies often centered around, and in their place is a fetishy style that I can't think of another female director trying. It reminded me both of Michael Ninn and Tanya Hyde at times while also bringing in the old fashioned classic outfits which permeated so much of Sisco's earlier work behind the camera. As with most anything else when one attempts change, the entire movie didn't work completely for me, partially due to my past experiences watching Sisco's work. Her questions of the ability to leave past experiences behind is very important to the movie, and ends up coming across as a great way to setup the movie where she breaks free from her past styles. I'll admit that some of the scenes didn't work for me just because I couldn't quite break free of my expectations due to my really liking her past work, but at the same time I can't get too down on the scenes that didn't work for me because I do realize that and also am thrilled to see a director with the talent Sisco has shown breaking out and growing as a director. Faith and Britney Manson's scenes are easily my favorites in the movie, but Sisco's real growth appears with scenes such as the opening one with Kimberly Kane. The Catalyst is a very stylistic and surprisingly fetishy fuck flick that shows that Lorraine Sisco bears keeping an eye on.

The Extra Stuff

The photo gallery lasts nearly eight minutes with roughly four seconds per great looking snapshot. There's also a behind the scenes featurette.

The behind the scenes featurette lasts thirty seven and a half minutes and is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. Lorraine starts things out talking with Kimberly and Scott about her vision for the scene before Kimberly poses for a few stills. It moves back to Lorraine as she enjoys a banana before going to work with Faith and Marcos letting them know how she wants the scene to go. There's also a few quick words with Faith and Marcus about them getting engaged before Daisy poses for her stills and has a little fun with the BTS camera dude. Adriana is next, who poses for a few stills and chats a bit before it moves on with Ellen and the entire group as they get a little direction on how the scene should go. Afterwards, Ellen chats a bit about herself and the internet before heading home to have sex. Marie is next, who poses for a few milky photos before they shoot a bit of the scene. Jassie chats with the camera next about birds, dogs, and squirrels. Finally, there's a bit of Britney who chats about her outfit, poses for stills, and shoots the scene.

This is a very nicely done behind the scenes featurette. It's a little heavy on shooting the scenes and the photos for my tastes, but does manage to blend in plenty of Lorraine working with the cast and interviews with the cast. There isn't a lot of the fun personalities that can make a good behind the scenes featurette a great one, but it still is a very good featurette.

The Down -n- Dirty Sex Stuff

Themes: Straight, fetishwear, lesbian, interracial, and rimming (male > female)

Raincoat Factor: High

Condom Usage: Between Mario Rossi and Britney Manson

The Bottom Line:

Currently, many Ninn Worx DVDs can be found online for between about $15 and $25 with several stores offering them for under $20. If you enjoy artistic sex, this one should be well worth the money. The sex is has plenty of style and a frequent fetish feel combined with fantastic technical aspects. There's also a very well done behind the scenes featurette that does a great job blending photos and scenes being shot with interviews with the cast. This is a nicely done DVD.

Note to Ninn Worx: I hope you keep showing Lorraine Sisco plenty of support!

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me .

Other reviews by Astroknight