Close-Ups Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  3/21/2006

The Little Details

Running Time: 118 min.

Production Date: 7 / 21 / 2004

Director: Andrew Blake

Cast: Lorraine (aka Tall Goddess), Ginger Jolie, Charlie Laine, Jacqueline, Nicole Loren, Paola Rey, Jean Val Jean,

The Short Story

Initial Expectations: Blake can do some very hot stuff, but there’s times he just gets a little too artistic or soft for me. Having Lorraine in this one tips me over to the more hopeful side for this one.

Initial Reaction: It’s pretty hot and has all the style one would expect from Andrew Blake.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody wanting style over substance

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody who’s more interested in how dirty sex can be than how beautiful women can be or who wants plenty of boy - girl sex

The Technical Stuff

Audio /Video Quality: As usual with Andrew Blake, the technical aspects are fantastic. There’s no audio other than the music, which normally annoys me, but with Blake’s style it doesn’t work too bad for me. The video is near flawless. It’s presented in anamorphic widescreen and has just a touch of grain at times to give it a slightly more artistic feel. It’s very well lit, but there are a few shadows that help the scenes get even sexier. This is a fantastic looking and sounding release.

Music: Raoul Valve provides the music, which is very well done. It’s the only audio in the movie, and it’s style varies slightly throughout the movie to fit the mood of each scene. It’s always very sexy, and is one of those porn soundtracks that makes me wish it could be purchased separately.

Menus: The menus are extremely simple. Both the main menu and the chapter menu work around a still photo with the choices given in bars with text on them. Neither are at all impressive.

The Feature

Lorraine seems to have a need, and her fingers seem to be the perfect solution. She lies back on a bed in a crotchless black and grey bodysuit and fantasizes. She slowly picks things up as she takes care of her holes, and rips apart her outfit as necessary.

Scene 1 - Nicole Loren and Jean Val Jean; Lorraine

Alluring blonde Lorraine starts things out diddling her pussy in a crotchless black and grey bodysuit while appearing to fantasize about the full color Nicole, a hot brunette with great natural tits, and Jean, a good looking long haired guy. Jean drops down to work on Nicole’s pussy with his tongue and fingers while also licking her tits and getting in some playfully passionate tongue kissing. Nicole rewards his efforts by sucking his cock before letting him fuck her from behind and riding him in both cowgirls. Nicole sucks and strokes his cock a little, and even lets Jean rub it around his armpit, before he pops across her upper arm, chest, and face. Afterwards Nicole takes a small taste.

This is a hot scene. Yes, the action is artistic and fairly soft, but it’s artistic and fairly soft in the very good way. It comes off as passionate and beautiful, and Nicole through out several smiles that made it seem like she was having a very good time. Lorraine also does a nice job, and although her scene is more framework that anything, it helps establish things quite well right away. This is a very nice start to the movie.

Scene 2 - Charlie Laine and Lorraine

Dark haired Charlie starts the next scene out in a little black lingerie worshiping at the feet of Lorraine, who’s wearing a short black wig, a short fur coat, and a little lingerie while smoking a cigarette. Lorraine blows the smoke around a bit before lying back on the ground and blowing it up on Charlie’s ass as she plays with her holes lightly. They move to the couch next, where Lorraine lets Charlie have a little smoke that she blows to her, only to blow it down at Lorraine’s pussy. Finally, the scene fades back out and goes back to Lorraine taking care of herself.

Smoking scenes are hit or miss for me, and seem to miss much more than they hit. This scene, however, really drew me in. There’s almost a touch of domination here with Lorraine doing all the smoking as Charlie worships her, and that feeling really made the scene work for me. Of course, Blake’s artistic eye didn’t hurt anything nor did both girls looking fantastic. This is one of the hottest smoking scenes I think I’ve watched.

Scene 3 - Ginger Jolie

Redheaded Ginger starts the third scene off half wearing a pink and red outfit with some animal print panties and a black hat and shoes. She grinds her hairy pussy against her panties as she pulls the ribbon from one side up with her mouth, and spreads her pussy wide repeatedly as she rubs it. Ginger never bothers to toss off any of the clothes she has on, and rolls around a bit as she gradually works her fingers from outside her pussy to inside her pussy. Finally, the scene fades out feeling like Ginger has satisfied herself.

This is a nice scene. It’s simple, but it has a very nice tempo to it that gives the masturbation a great feeling of reality. It gradually picks up as the scene goes on, and at the same time Ginger seems to get into it more and more. This is a very nicely done scene with some great heat to it.

Scene 4 - Charlie Laine, Jacqueline, and Lorraine

Brunette Jacqueline starts the next scene out on the floor underneath a table playing with her pussy as Charlie and Lorraine walk around her. Charlie gives her a couple light slaps with her crop as she walks around before Lorraine appears in a leather coat, boots, and bridle. They walk around her a few more times, and Jacqueline moves to the couch to continue pulling on her pussy as Lorraine rubs the feather in her cap across Charlie’s pussy. Charlie gets on Lorraine’s back and slaps both her and Jacqueline with her crop before playing with her pussy lightly and letting the camera move back to Lorraine’s main masturbation.

This is an okay scene. There’s a lot of things about it that I really like, such as the horse play and the costumes. At the same time, the scene didn’t work for me because it jumped around so much. I wanted to like this one, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Scene 5 - Charlie Laine, Lorraine, and Paola Rey

Charlie and Lorraine return for the next scene, both in wet outfits with sexy heels. Charlie wears a white outfit that can’t conceal her hairy pussy while Lorraine wears a fashionable black and clear wide brimmed hat with a black bikini and a bit of a net skirt. They’re joined by Paola, who sports a purple kinda almost not really bikini. The water runs down over them and they gently play with themselves with the camera first focusing on Charlie as she lies back and takes care of herself. Lorraine is next as she lies on her side followed by a couple short moments of Paola.

This scene worked okay for me. Charlie and Lorraine both look fantastic, but I was a little disappointed that Lorraine didn’t get as much screen time as Charlie in the scene. I can really see Paola fans being disappointed as well, as her part is just a little larger than Adrian Brody’s role was in Terrence Mallick’s The Thin Red Line.

Scene 6 - Charlie Laine, Ginger Jolie, Lorraine, and a woman

Things move to a bedroom next, where Lorraine spanks Ginger’s tits as they hand out of a pink bra as Ginger, who looks dang good and slightly bookish in her ponytail and glasses, rubs her pussy under a black and white polka dotted skirt. Lorraine slides a hand down to play with Ginger too before they magically move to a staircase where Charlie’s getting fingered by another woman in glasses. There’s no change in control here, and Lorraine and the other girl keep working over their partners throughout the scene.

I love this scene. Although it’s a bit simpler and more focused, I love the glasses on the girls as well as the overall style. I like the domination focus and how the camera seems to balance pretty well between the two couples. This is a very hot scene.

Scene 7 - Charlie Laine and Paola Rey

Charlie, looking hot and a touch slutty in a short black dress and one ripped up black fishnet stocking, goes after maid Paola, who’s in sexy black lace-up stockings, white and black polka dotted panties, a white maid skirt, and a black skirt with a net top, in the next scene. She pulls her panties around, twists her nipples, and turns Paola around to spank her nice round ass. She plays with Paola’s panties to give her a decent camel toe and then gets up to lick around her panties and lips. Finally she comes up to kiss her passionately, including biting her tongue gently.

This is another pretty hot scene. At times it gets a little dark with how Charlie treats Paola, but it never stays there too long. There’s a nice focus to this scene, and it worked for me quite nicely.

Scene 8 - Nicole Loren and a woman

Nicole stands up on a stairwell as a busty brunette works her pussy over gently. She bends Nicole over to spank her ass with her hand and tits, before rubbing her tits all over Nicole’s chest and face as she lies back on the floor. Finally they share a long kiss with plenty of tongue action and a little kissing and licking for the chick’s big fat titties.

This is a pretty hot scene. The kissing at the end was great, and I kinda like how the one check used her tits to work Nicole over. The kiss for the tits at the end seemed perfect, and I like how nothing went by fast in the scene. This is a nicely done scene.

Scene 9 - Lorraine and Paola Rey

Paola starts the penultimate scene out in a sexy black classy fetish outfit as Lorraine, with curly hair here, examines her hairy pussy in a sexy black outfit of her own. She picks Paola’s hands up and slaps her way around her body while occasionally lightly rubbing her pussy or licking her armpit. She bends Paola over to spank her and spreads her pussy open above her before letting her lick it. The scene moves back to Lorraine masturbating after Paola kneels in front of Lorraine looking spent.

This is a pretty hot scene. I like the domination feel of it as well as well as the elegant fetishy styles. This is a beautifully captured and nicely done scene. Scene 10 - Charlie Laine, Lorraine, Paola Rey, and another woman

The girls start out the final scene in sexy cowgirl styled outfits complete with hats. The girls slowly show off for each other and rub against each other before letting their hands wander down to work on each other gently. Charlie strips down one of the girls and plays with her before Lorraine and Paola come back in to help. They even use one of the toy guns in their sex play, and naturally include a bit of spanking.

This is a pretty hot final scene. I like how it seems to bring everything together in the movie. There’s a little show, a little play, and a little rough stuff, all combined in a stylish setting with a group of beautiful women. This seems like a very good final scene.

Close-Ups is a pretty hot movie. As usual with Andrew Blake, things are more than a little artistic and there’s a definite focus on the female form and feminine sexuality. It’s nice to see Jean Val Jean here, as Blake so rarely seems to include men in his work anymore. Jean seems like a perfect guy to include as he’s arguably one of the best looking guys in porn and almost always seems to deliver a very nice performance. His scene with Nicole Loren is a great start to the movie, and helps to provide Close-Ups with some very nice variety by actually making the movie have a bit of cock. The rest of the cast also does a good job, but Lorraine easily leads the female cast. I’ll readily admit to being a fan of her work both in front of the camera and behind it, and I love how she can play both the darker fetish stuff as well as the very classy and elegant sexy stuff. As for complaints, Blake has a style that seems to either work for people in a big way or puts them to sleep. It’s artistic and often soft, but has a definite sexuality about it that I do like. It’s nice to see a director care so much about beauty and style, and it’s easy to see how Blake has kept his following for so many years. Of course that style isn’t going to work for everybody, but it’s consistent enough that I think most people who’ve seen a couple of Blake’s movies are going to know if this one’s going to work for them. Close-Ups is a pretty typical Andrew Blake movie, and it shows that consistency can be a very good thing.

The Extra Stuff

The B-side of the DVD contains about thirty five minutes of extra footage. Paola starts things out with a few teases and a bit of light masturbation in a few different outfits, as well as in both color and black and white footage. She takes on Charlie Laine for a little light action as Charlie smokes before Charlie rubs and tongues her in return. Jacqueline is next, who gives a little show on the staircase before what appears to be the nearly uncut footage of Lorraine taking matters into her own hands.

This is a great extra. The footage is all treated just as well as the actual footage from the movie. Lorraine’s segment is easily the best in the movie, and I’m thrilled to see it here because it’s cool to see how the scene could have been if it wasn’t broken up through the movie. This is a fantastic extra that definitely helps out the overall DVD.

The Down -n- Dirty Sex Stuff

Themes: Straight, artistic, masturbation, lesbian, smoking, group, spanking, B&D (light), and anal (fingers)

Raincoat Factor: Very high if you don’t mind things getting a bit artistic

Condom Usage: None

The Bottom Line:

Currently, many of Studio A’s DVDs can be found online for between about $18 and $28 with very few stores offering them for under $20. If you haven’t seen an Andrew Blake movie before, rent this one. It’s very nicely done and will give you a good feel for his work. If you’re a fan of Blake’s work, this is one you can easily spend the money on as it has all the beauty and care one expects from Blake along with a little cock. The technical aspects are very well done and there’s some great effort put into the extras. This is a very well done DVD.

Note to Studio A / Andrew Blake: Thank you for putting the care into your DVDs and movies that you do. At first I was a little disappointed with the overall DVD, but it didn’t take long for me to see that it was done with the same amount of care as the movie.

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

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