Desperate Measures Review

Distributor: Wicked Pictures Edition Details: Standard DVD MSRP: $39.95 DVD Release Date: August 2002 Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film Run Time: 98 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1998 Director: Brad Armstrong Written by: Brad Armstrong Cast: Missy, Stephanie Swift, Herschel Savage (as Hershchel Savage), Mr. Marcus, Shayla LaVeaux, Jewel De'Nyle, Brittany O'Neil, Brad Armstrong, Mickey G., Phyllisha Anne, Malitia, Kasorn Swan, Megan Matthews (as Megan Mathews), Alec Metro, Randy Spears, Steve Drake, Jonathan Morgan, Blondie Anderson Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed), Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed) Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Star Galleries, Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery, Photo Gallery, Promotional Material, Biography Selection, Wicked Awards — Winners and Nominations, Company Profile, Free Speech, Trailers DVD-ROM Special Features: Wicked Web, Wicked Casino

Synopsis:
Julie (Missy) is a streetwalker working for pimp Marcus (Mr. Marcus). Suave escort manager Herschal (Herschel Savage) lures her away from Marcus to work for him. Marcus starts a small war against Herschal to get Julie back.

Video/Audio:
Desperate Measures is presented in the full screen aspect ratio, 1.33:1, which appears to be the original aspect ratio for the film. The video is crisp and clear for the majority of the film. There are occasional grainy portions, but I think this is due to improper lighting and not due to transfer problems. The print is free from blemishes, artifacts and glitches and the color levels are perfect. Overall, this presentation looks good.

The original audio track is an English 2.0 Stereo track, which works well for the material being presented here. As nothing in the film requires a more impressive audio track, it would be wasted here. The dialog is clear and easy to hear at all times during the film. There are also dubbed French and Spanish 2.0 Stereo tracks available but no subtitle options.

Chapters/Time Code:
There are nine chapters available from the main menu for Desperate Measures, eight of them are identified with a video clip and the name of the scene that they go to and one goes to the end credits, a nice touch. There are 17 chapter stops in the film itself, given this combination decent navigation through the disc is possible. There is a time code for the feature film, so time searching is available.

Special Features:
As this is an older Wicked release, the film specific extras on the disc are limited. There are star galleries, which are photo galleries for Missy, Stephanie Swift, Shayla LaVeaux, Jewel De'Nyle, Brittany O'Neil, Kasorn Swan, Phyllisha Anne and Malitia. There is a behind the scenes photo gallery that contains still from the film production. There is the main photo gallery containing stills from the film. All the photo galleries on the disc are on a track so you don't have to flip through the photos yourself. The final film specific feature is the biography selection, which contains audio and text information with photos and a Wicked filmography, for Missy, Stephanie Swift, Shayla LaVeaux, Jewel De'Nyle, Brittany O'Neil, Brad Armstrong, Herschel Savage, Mickey G., Mr. Marcus, and Randy Spears.

Now onto the standard Wicked extras, there is the promotional material, which contains the adult convention reels from 1998 through 2001. Wicked Awards — Winners and Nominations lists Wicked films that have been nominated for and won various awards from 1994 through 2002. The company profile is a short write-up about Wicked Pictures past work. Free Speech is an advert for the Free Speech Coalition. And last, but not least, are trailers for Vengeance, Knockout, Pornogothic, The Kissing Game, Double Feature, The Bride of Double Feature, Working Girl, Satyr, Flashpoint, Sex Safari, Hell on Heels, and Dream Quest.

DVD-ROM Special Features:
Wicked has added their standard DVD-ROM features and has enhanced the disc with PC Friendly features. Wicked's standard DVD-ROM features are the Wicked Web, which provides a gateway link to Wicked's website and the Wicked Casino, which is a free casino program that you have to install on your computer that allows you to play casino style games online against opponents for Wicked Cash or just by yourself for fun. The available casino games are Black Jack, Roulette, Baccarat, Slots and Poker.

Review:
This film is a nicely done film that is enjoyable at all levels. The plot for Desperate Measures is great for a modern adult film. There is enough substance in it that it should keep viewers interested throughout the film requiring no fast forwarding. Viewers who don't like a plot will probably end up fast forwarding through it anyway and may find it obstructive to their getting off. The story may be darker than some viewers may like though as it isn't always light hearted fare.

The cast is attractive, unfortunately though, one of the actresses is sporting way too enlarged tits. That's my only complaint about the cast though. They have great chemistry in their scenes which lead to some nice hot sex acts. There is several blowjob only scenes, so fans of bj's will have a lot to like in this film. The scenes are tame enough that most couples audiences shouldn't have any problems with them, but have more than enough variety to them so that they don't get monotonous. The sexual themes in the film are oral, vaginal and anal sex with lesbianism, toys, anal fingering and rimming (male to female). For viewers who care about such things, condoms are used in all of the scenes.

The sets used in the film are excellent especially the police station one are well done and look realistic. The locations picked for the film were well chosen as well. As with many modern adult films, there are several house locations instead of real sets, but they work just well for the film.

The Money Shot:
Desperate Measures is an excellent plot-based adult film that has hot sex guaranteed to keep your blood flowing and this disc returning to your DVD player. Viewers who like porn with a plot and tamer sex should find much to enjoy here whereas viewers that require nastier sex or hate porno with a plot will probably be disappointed with this film.

Screenshots:

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