Julia Ann: Hardcore Review

Reviewed by howie  on  1/15/2007

Director: Jonathan Morgan
Running time: 2:09
DVD format: Anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital

Julia Ann: Hardcore represents Julia Ann’s foray, though somewhat limited, into the harder edge of the porn spectrum. Being single now in her personal life, Julia Ann had a window of opportunity to tear down some of the walls that trapped her into the heavy feature material and boy, did she ever.

Julia Ann looks fantastic for a woman nearing 40. Her body and care in appearance is spectacular. Naysayers will point out that she waited too long to participate in these types of scenes and that this is a last ditch effort to cash in on her name. I, on the other hand, respect her longevity in this grind of a business and that she stayed within the niche that she was comfortable in. Thus, when she announced that she wanted her dark side to come out, it garnered nothing but excitement from her fans and it was well deserved.

Since this is a Wicked release, yes, there is condom usage in every scene except the g/g/g scene. The BJ action was condom free but as soon as penetration was involved, a jimmy was used. Julia Ann does not swallow any cum but does perform some post-cum head. Also, because it’s a Wicked release, there isn’t the rough balls-to-the-wall gonzo that you would find in a Platinum X release. There are scene cut-aways to introduce new positions and the use of a music track and light filters are done expertly and don’t detract from the action.

Each scene is set-up with a brief monologue by Julia Ann explaining the impetus behind each scene’s theme. The monologue felt a little scripted and could have been longer but still nothing to complain about. Here are the scene breakdowns:

Scene 1 – Julia Ann with Sean Michaels
"He always make you feel beautiful. That and 11 inches doesn’t hurt."
We lead off with a hot interracial scene. The use of white filters enhances the chemistry between Sean and Julia Ann as they frolic on a fancy bed. Once the mutual oral was done, Sean was filling up her pussy from all angles and positions. The doggie vag was hot and they moved to mish before Sean pulls off the rubber to cum all over her tits. This was a very good scene.

Scene 2 – Julia Ann (a) with Manuel Ferrara
"It was easy to do anal with Manuel."
Spurred by Manuel and Katsumi winning for best anal scene in 2006 AVN Awards, Julia chooses Manuel to go where no cock has gone before on film. The scene takes place on a rotating mattress in a dark room. Though there are multiple camera angles, the use of the “lazy Susan” mattress was a poor choice. The chemistry between Julia Ann and Manuel was strong and that should be no surprise for anyone who is familiar with Manuel’s work. As for the action, it was hot stuff. Manuel is in gonzo mode and his cock is in 5th gear from the start. The cowgirl vag was good as Manuel is just thrusting away. Anal starts in spoon and Manuel doesn’t slow a bit. The rest of the scene is RCA and it lasts a good while with Manuel doing most of the work while Julia Ann is rubbing her clit furiously. Manuel hops up to splatter her face with his splooge and she performs some PCH. Another great scene.

Scene 3 – Julia Ann with Eric Masterson, Jack Venice, John West & Marcus London
"The first time I saw it, I was very intimidated. By the third time, very intrigued."
Having been a make-up artist on gonzo sets, Julia Ann has seen blowbangs and here she gets to experience first-hand servicing multiple cocks. This is a 4-man blowbang scene with some sex action mixed in as Julia Ann is always sucking a cock. The guys are dressed in tuxedos and Julia Ann is wearing a sexy lingerie outfit. The blowbang is not hardcore as there is no gagging, deepthroating, or face fucking to speak of. I’m not a fan of blowbangs but at least there was some sex action though the heat factor was low. Julia Ann performed capably but this was a miss for me. One guy came on her mouth area while the 3 others shot their loads onto her chest.

Scene 4 – Julia Ann (dp) with Randy Spears & Tommy Gunn
"But now I’m single and I’m ready to try all kinds of new things."
Her preference has always been b/g/g when it came to threesomes but here she tries b/b/g with DP mixed in. Julia Ann plays a nurse wearing sexy thigh-high boots with Randy and Tommy as mental patients in a padded room . Julia Ann frees their strait jackets and we’re off and running. The sex action is pretty hot as she sucks on a cock while the other guy fucks her pussy. However, there are too many scene cut-aways as the guys have to take off and put on numerous condoms. (Remember, the BJ action is condomless but the fucking isn’t.) Anyway, it’s not until the last 2 minutes of the scene where the DP starts (no anal prior to that). The DP is hot and it is in the CG position with Randy getting balls deep into her ass. This was slightly better than average but it would’ve been hotter with some anal prior to the climactic DP.

Scene 5 – Julia Ann with Julian
"I’m taking this moment to call in a little favor from an ex-boyfriend."
This is a POV-style scene taking place in a kitchen setting. Julian holds a camera throughout and he does an admirable job. I’m not a fan of POV stuff so this scene didn’t hold much appeal to me. And the POV is a mess. The camerawork cuts between Julian’s and another camera. In other words, there is another camera guy filming the scene and the scene footage is a mix of Julian’s work and the other camera. As for the sex, it was average. I thought since Julian was an ex-boyfriend of Julia Ann’s that the chemistry would be strong. It was okay but nothing scorching. The sex was good in the beginning, especially when Julia Ann is bent over the kitchen table and Julian is fucking away in standing doggie. However, when it moved to the CG positions on the floor, it was a dud. Julia Ann strokes him to a pop as he is lying on the floor to end this below average scene.

Scene 6 – Julia Ann (a, dp) with Gia Paloma & Roxy DeVille
"I decided that I wanted to know what it was like to be on the receiving end."
The idea for this scene was from the Janine/Julia Ann/Jeanna Fine scene earlier in her career. Jeanna was DP’ed by Janine and Julia Ann by strap-ons. Now, Julia Ann gets to be on the receiving end from Gia and Roxy. This scene has some S&M overtones; Julia Ann is locked inside a cage to start the scene and the girls dominate Julia Ann throughout the scene. The toys come out right away and it’s Julia Ann that is on the receiving end. Mind you, the strap-ons are not impressive in size but that is a minor quibble. Julia Ann gets analized in doggie and we move to DP in RCG. Gia and Roxy are not the most gifted using strap-ons so the penetration is not fast-paced. They move to DP in CG and here it gets better. A pretty good scene to end this flick.

Noteworthy extra(s):
* Bonus scene – Julia Ann with Eric Masterson from Beautiful. Julia Ann plays a dom dressed in latex fetish wear and Eric services her as the sub. Eric licks her pussy and ass before donning a rubber to fuck her pussy. Eric jerks a pop onto her shoe-worn foot.
* BTS – 17 minutes of pre- and post-scene footage.

Summary:
Fans of Julia Ann will want to buy this. It’s a different Julia Ann than what you are used to seeing and it’s a revelation. If you’re not a fan of Wicked, features, or condoms, then I still recommend this as a rental for you get to watch a legend who has done it right in her porn career. My tastes don't include blowbangs and POV but this porno was still enjoyable.

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