Crack Her Jack 2 Review

Studio

Evil Angel

Director

John Leslie

Cast

Dana Vespoli, Cris Taliana, Katja Kassin, Katsumi, Jayna Woods, Darren James, Steve Hooper, Manuel Ferrara, Mark Sloan, Steve Holmes, and Brian Pumper.

Genre

All Sex, Gonzo

Audio/Video

Harsh lighting, sometimes frustratingly so, but good picture quality and audio.

Extras

Cast List By Scene, Extra Sex Footage, Fetish Menu, Photo Stills, Cast Videographies

Music

Jazz music--used only during titles.

DVD Format

1 Single Sided Dual Layer Disc

Condoms

None

Female Orgasms

One?

THOSE WHO MIGHT LIKE IT

Those who like John Leslie's risky visual style, with harsh sunlight and sometimes uneven visibility.  Those who like Leslie's more laid back form of hardcore with a little less circus tent, and a little more sexual expression.

THOSE WHO SHOULD STEER CLEAR

Those who think shadows and negative space don't belong in porn.  Those who like more straightforward hardcore "couch" gonzo.

IF YOU LIKED THIS TITLE, YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Crack Her Jack #1, The Voyeur series, Fresh Meat series.

PREFACE:
Evil Angel is a fascinating company.  As a unit it produces some of the most consistently high quality hardcore porn in today's market.  At the same time, however, it offers a diversity of style among its directors that is similarly almost second to none in the industry.  No one who knows anything about hardcore porn could possibly mistake the work of John Leslie with the work of John Stagliano, and yet these two legends of the porn world are, in their own unique ways, two of the best gonzo directors ever to step behind the camera.  The same could be said of Joey Silvera and Jules Jordan.  Each have their divergent tastes, but at the same time, they are both equally adept at their craft.  In short, if you're a gonzo fan, Evil Angel is truly one of the only companies that actually offers something for everyone.  When I think John Leslie, I think stylization, gorgeous women, harsh sunlight, and hardcore porn with a smooth class that no other director could possibly hope to duplicate.  In order to get the most out of Leslie's work, I definitely have to be in a form-worshipping, go with the flow state of mind.  And just like other directors with absolutely unique styles, when I'm in the mood for Leslie, nothing else will do.  It's been a while, but I've been finding myself in the mood again...

INTRODUCTION:
It also doesn't hurt that Crack Her Jack #2 features a group of some of my favorite current performers.  My anticipation runs especially high for Dana Vespoli, who I just think is wonderfully beautiful, and hypnotically expressive.  She's somewhat older than your average porn girl, but with her age comes a mature brand of sexual expression that your average porn girl lacks.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing her work again.  Katja Kassin and Cris Taliana, two other favorites of mine, are also featured here, and with those three beauties alone, the requisite eye-candy portion of this John Leslie title is well in hand.  Jayna Woods and Katsumi round out the cast, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to offer as well.

SCENE 1:
DANA VESPOLI, DARREN JAMES & STEVE HOOPER
The Girl
I think Dana is just fabulously beautiful.  She has a smile that makes me melt, and she has a mature sexuality that dwarfs most of the new girls that come into the business.  Beyond that though, she has gorgeous small breasts, a beautiful pair of legs, and an ass that won't quit.  I haven't had the opportunity to see her in many videos yet, but what I have seen has certainly prompted me to become anxious for movies like this one and Service Animals #16 to be released so I can see her under the direction of some of the best gonzo directors in the business.  Dana teased me with this release when I met her in Vegas.  At long last, I have it in my grubby hands, and I hope it's everything I anticipated.

The Action
Maddening tease (mostly in silhouette), female masturbation, pussy licking, cocksucking, reverse cowgirl, cowgirl, standing doggy, spanking, female orgasm, cowgirl, spoon, reverse cowgirl, missionary, dual facials.   

The Gist
Here's where John Leslie's style of harsh lighting becomes more frustrating than it does interesting.  Dana is a beautiful woman, but until the last third or so of the scene, it was almost impossible to actually see her.  Beyond that, Dana is extremely expressive, knows what she likes, and just seems to actually FEEL the sex she participates in, and that is a really nice change from the norm.  She even seems to have an orgasm at one point (she directs one of the guys to lick her armpit as she strokes herself and gets fucked)--very cool stuff.  Had I actually been able to see her for the whole scene, I would have enjoyed this one a lot more.  The extended tease section was especially exciting, with Dana dressed in her checkered tight shorts and playing with herself as Leslie talks to her.  It's just so frustrating not to have gotten a good view of her gorgeous face until the scene was almost over.

Dana Vespoli Video Captures
Click for Larger Size

SCENE 2:
CRIS TALIANA, JAYNA WOODS & MANUEL FERRARA
The Girls
I have a soft spot for Cris.  She's a very cute, and happily energetic girl of Asian origin who appeals to my positivity and good natured demeanor.  She's also quite petite, with small breasts, and in case you hadn't already guessed, that kind of body type is right up my ally.  Jayna is a girl who is unfamiliar to me, but she is fantastically represented here.  She has blonde hair, beautiful small breasts, and a pair of fantastic legs that Leslie shows off to great effect in this physical form oriented, harshly lit scene.

The Action
Extensive tease, cocksucking (Cris while Jayna watches), cocksucking (Jayna), doggy (Cris), doggy (Jayna), cowgirl (Cris), P2M (Jayna), missionary (Cris), missionary (Jayna), cowgirl (Jayna), squirting (Jayna), reverse cowgirl (Cris), reverse cowgirl (Jayna), spoon (Jayna), shared facial.

The Gist
In contrast to the frustration of the first scene, this is this is exactly the kind of scene I was looking forward to seeing when I picked up this disc.  It is signature Leslie, complete with extremely source specific lighting coming from the sunlit window on one side of the room.  This has the effect of both making the girls difficult to truly see, and at the same time, bringing out the form of their bodies in a fantastic and unusual way.  Some people will absolutely hate it for its restrictive visual characteristics, but unlike Dana's scene, this one works and it works extremely well.  Jayna just looks amazing, and Cris looks pretty darn nice herself.  Manuel, as always is a force to be reckoned with, and there's some very cool tease included for good measure--not only teasing of the viewer, but teasing among the performers as well.  The downside is that the magic of the first half of the scene diminished after a while, but the pure eye-candy of Leslie's risky videography was in high gear from beginning to end.  From that standpoint, this was a fantastic scene for those who aren't afraid of a little visual negative space, but at the same time, it wasn't able to maintain the human tension and excitement that one would have hoped for for such a visually striking scene.  For me, however, Jayna's fantastic legs alone were well worth the price of admission.

Cris Taliana & Jayna Woods Video Captures
Click for Larger Size

SCENE 3:
KATJA KASSIN, MANUEL FERRARA & MARK SLOAN
The Girl
Katja is one of those girls that defies description.  She's curvy, yet petite.  She has a tight body, yet her butt is as bubbly as they come.  She's a lovely girl from Germany, and I find her very attractive in a very unique way.  She's also firmly entrenched in the "up for anything" camp and tackles one guy, or 3 guys with equal ease along with all the more extreme acts that today's gonzo climate requires.  For my part, however, I'm just happy enough to enjoy Katja's mysterious body, and John Leslie is certainly a man who can help me fulfill that desire.  Today she's dressed in a very revealing striped outfit reminiscent of a prison uniform

The Action
Tease, straight to anal (over a chair--Wow), deep throat, dual cocksucking-deep throat, doggy (anal), reverse cowgirl, reverse cowgirl (anal), DP (reverse cowgirl), cowgirl, DP (cowgirl), doggy (anal), missionary (anal), cowgirl (anal), dual facials.  

The Gist
Yep.  Katja is definitely one of those girls.  She looks plenty good on a box cover, don't get me wrong, but she really shines when she starts to have sex.  She has a quiet, expressive way about her that drives me over the edge.  John Leslie did not disappoint either; his camera showed Katja's gorgeous frame off perfectly, from her drool dripping breasts as she was deep throating, to her bubble butt rump as she repeatedly took cocks up the ass with apparent ease.  Once again, Manuel also helps by just being himself--a man who just likes to fuck--and he really brings a youthful energy to his scenes.  He has a tendency to bring out something in the women he works with that often would otherwise remain hidden--and this scene was no exception.  From the anal with no waiting, to the great dual facial finish, I was never bored watching this beautiful, gentle girl who also happens to be no stranger to the harder edge. 

Katja Kassin Video Captures
Click for Larger Size

SCENE 4:
KATSUMI, STEVE HOLMES & BRIAN PUMPER
The Girl
Katsumi is an Asian girl who I've seen before, but never really felt a burning liking for.  I don't know what my problem is.  She's got a great, petite little body, but for some reason her face and overall look has never really interested me.  Some people, on the other hand, really like Katsumi, and far be it for me call my disinterest anything other than a personal preference.  In this scene, she is dressed in some nice black stockings with a blue garter, and matching blue bra.

The Action
Dildo (pussy), Dildo (ass), dual cocksucking, standing doggy, reverse cowgirl, spoon, P2M, doggy (anal), DP (cowgirl), reverse cowgirl (anal), DP (reverse cowgirl), A2M, DP (cowgirl), cowgirl, dual facial.

The Gist
The first half of this scene has many of the visual traits of the Cris Taliana / Jayna scene, with practically none of the advantages.  Instead of negative space that allows you to see just enough, it simply obscures what you want to see.  The sun and Leslie's camera placement works to his detriment in this scene as much as it worked to his advantage in the former.  In addition, I found there to be markedly less sexual heat and tension in this scene.  It seemed to favor sexual mechanics instead, with two guys on one girl, and an apparent need on the performers' parts to "get the deeds done".  The latter half of the scene was much better visually, but I found it much less interesting sexually.  My personal preferences could be obscuring my objectivity here, what with my lack of particular interest in Katsumi, and my tendency to dislike double penetration for double penetration's sake, but for me that unique John Leslie vibe just never seemed to materialize.

Katsumi Video Captures
Click for Larger Size

PRODUCTION QUALITY:
This disc is very typical of John Leslie's fearless aesthetic style.  His visual production is as much as part of his videos as the sex is; the risks he takes sometimes pay off, and sometimes... well, they don't.  I thought this one was a bit more uneven than I'm used to seeing from John Leslie, but there was still plenty to like from my standpoint.  Every scene except Katja's was characterized by very strong contrast lighting, with a lot of sunlight halos and silhouettes.  In the case of Cris and Jayna's scene, I thought the elements were balanced just enough to really make the scene stand out as pretty special, but in the case of the others, it was just a frustrating distraction.  Katja's was the most traditional scene in terms of production, and because Leslie's style didn't get in the way, Katja was allowed to shine as only she can.  I appreciate the risks Leslie takes in the name of style and individuality, and even with a few failures, it's worth it to see that occasional grand success.  If you like your gonzo flatly lit from all sides so you don't miss a single detail, however, Katja's scene is the only one that will come close to fulfilling your requirement.

DVD QUALITY:
The DVD quality is typically excellent.  Evil Angel is consistent about clear picture and nice menus, and this was no exception.

EXTRAS:
Aside from Evil Angel's normal (and welcome) offerings of a Fetish Menu, a cast list by scene, and photo galleries, they also offer trailers of a couple other John Leslie videos (The Voyeur #27, Crack Her Jack #1, and Fresh Meat #17) as well as about 30 minutes of extra footage.  Extra goodies from all the scenes are offered, including some extra DP action from Katsumi, a little extra fucking and photo shoot footage from Dana, some really nice extra sex from Katja, and more of the same beautiful imagery from Cris and Jayna.  It's good, but not particularly fantastic stuff.

OVERALL:
Many long time porn fans will tell you that the best way to stay interested in porn is to allow yourself a little variety now and then.  I hadn't seen a Leslie video in a long while, and now I remember why I like him so much.  Parts of this disc did very little for me.  Katsumi's scene seemed like it had everything going against it as far as my tastes go, and I found it quite uninteresting.  Dana's scene had great potential, and as best as I could tell, it seemed like there was some really great sex there, but I was frustrated by my inability to see it.  On the other hand, Katja's scene was outstanding.  Not only was she visible, but she was gorgeous and she has a way about her that really kicks into high gear when she starts fucking.  "Straight to the A" minded folks will find a lot to like about Katja's scene, and I admit that I love and admire her anal abilities as well.  Finally, however, my favorite scene on the disc is Cris and Jayna's--a scene where all the risks of John Leslie's visual style paid off.  Jayna was the big surprise of the DVD for me.  She was nervous, but expressive in addition to being beautiful and beautifully shot.  I couldn't get enough of her, and this is a scene I would be happy to revisit on a regular basis.  In all, this disc wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered, but even at his worst John Leslie is certainly worth a gander now and again.  Variety is the spice of life, after all, and Evil Angel's stable of outstanding directors alone offers almost enough for even the most jaded gonzo fan.

Questions or constructive comments about this review? Email me at MLyons@my.adultdvdtalk.com


Other Adult Movie Reviews by Mike Lyons