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reviews
on Michael Ninn's Catherine |
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Catherine Content Rating: AAAAA Review: Michael Ninn shatters time and space to deliver the story of history's most sexual monarch (or is it?), assaulting the senses with sound and imagery whose sole purpose is to Turn You On - and son of a gun if he hasn't produced Art at the same time! Audrey Hollander is amazing as a woman being driven crazy by boyfriend Otto Bauer - so much that she retreats into the white-faced persona of Russian monarch Catherine the Great, imagining herself having anal sex (reverse cowgirl/horsie/doggie) on the snow-covered steps of massive buildings, helping handmaidens get it on with a strap-on in the public square, and taking two cocks up her ass and one in her mouth in the fire-lit great hall of her mansion. But simple descriptions can hardly convey the grandeur of the artistic accomplishment here. Ninn has often been criticized for shooting lackluster sex in beautiful scenery, but this part-film/part-video creation is as hot as anything on the market today. In the annals of adult video history, Catherine will be long remembered as an example of the heights that can be reached with a real director at the helm. Easy pre-noms for both of Audrey's anal scenes. And let's not forget pre-noms for Best Director, Best Video-Cinematography(?), Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Special Effects (you won't believe what isn't real), Best Music and Best Film/Video (we may have to invent a new category). Retailing:
Ninn's best work to date, so encourage all customers to check it out!
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STARS: Audrey Hollander, Nikki Blond, Victoria Swinger, Adriana Rouso, Valentina Velasques, Otto Bauer, Mike Foster, Bruno Sx, REVIEW- Making revolutionary porn is nothing new to Michael Ninn. He has been re-writing the rule book for well over a decade and could probably fill a swimming pool with all of the awards he has collected in that time. Rather than re-hash what he’s done in the past fifteen years let’s focus on Ninn’s recent moves toward high class productions (Which he always gave us) that feature spectacular sex scenes. His two Neo Pornographia movies were incredible sexually and seem to lead us right in to what he’s got with Catherine. Audrey Hollander plays the lead in this project and looks amazing in full make up. We already know that she can bring incredible heat to her sex scenes so this would seem to be a perfect combination of technical brilliance, eye candy and sexual heat. Audrey Hollander and Otto Bauer play the leads in this epic. As the movie opens with Catherine on snow covered steps being chastised by Otto. His accusations have to do with her wicked fantasies and she does nothing at all to dissuade him. She spreads her legs and gets her fingers working between her pale thighs. Her tight little ass takes four fingers as he really works her over. She wraps her bright red lips around his cock and even the glossy look and echo-chamber sound can’t slow down the rough throat fucking he gives her. The brutality is well covered, but we don’t really get a chance to see how beautiful Audrey is and how well she can suck cock. Moving quickly to anal, Otto bends her over and takes control of that ass. (Though come on, after four fingers his dick isn’t exactly going to do a lot of damage.) He finishes her off with a hot on the face. Images bombard us for several minutes as present-day Audrey is haunted by visions from the past. She and Otto watch as Bruno Sx punishes a “whore” played by Valentina Velasques. He spits on her pussy and slaps her thighs. With Audrey there to help, they force her head down around his cock. The brutality leads into a hard sex scene that is beautifully shot. We have become somewhat accustomed to this odd mix of nasty action with exceptional quality thanks to Ninn’s recent work, but it is still a rare experience. The RCA is outstanding and the more he slaps her clit, the harder Valentina fucks him back. There is some really good anal action here as Valentina gets what she “deserves” right up to a big shot on her face. Audrey’s odd odyssey continues as she teams with Nikki Blonde and Adriana Rouso for a really outstanding three-way. The girls play with each other, but break out a big black strap on when Audrey gets pulled into the mix. They fuck her tight ass with long hard strokes. In a movie this good I am shocked to find that I really just want the lesbian action to continue. As the dreams (or fantasies) continue things get lighter. Beautiful Victoria Swinger lifts her heavy dress and gives Mike Foster access to what she has hidden underneath. There is some beautifully lit footage as she works her pretty lips up and down his hard cock. The sex here is not as rough as most of what we have seen so far, but it isn’t soft either. It’s a solid scene with some great cowgirl as she bounces to take every inch of his dick. I love the way this scene looks and the mix between eye candy and heat is perfect. The climactic scene features Otto punishing Audrey for her sins. He brings in Bruno and Mike to do the deed. They give her some very rough oral sex, shoving her head back and forth and trying to split her head open with their hard rods. Moving right from blowjobs to DP, they slam her as hard as they can while Otto hovers around berating her verbally. The creepy factor is so high that it almost distracts us from the great action. With three guys now around her Audrey gets plugged n every hole, double stuffed in the ass and finally covered in hot sticky cream. Michael Ninn has written the latest chapter in his epic porn career with an amazing effort. Catherine picks up sexually where he left off with the two Neo Pornographia projects. He has taken things a step toward a fully scripted feature with blistering sex. I wouldn’t say we actually have a story or a plot here, but there is more going on than just scenes blending together. This movie is a barrage of images that create a surreal dream that sometimes borders on the nightmarish. Rather than drive a story with dialog, Ninn assaults us with the visual. Audrey Hollander is perfectly cast in the lead for this project. She looks amazing in the make up and wardrobe, but more importantly she brings amazing heat to the sex scenes. During the rough scenes Audrey shows everyone why she is such a popular gonzo girl. Not only can she take the action, but she can dish it out as well. This performance should solidify her as a finalist for every performer of the year award they can give out. Though I still root for fully scripted features with hot sex and although much of the sex here really isn’t what I’m looking for (Double anal, gagging, yawn) it is clear that this is one of the best-made features of the year. If you want to see the frontrunner for just about every major award this year, look no further than “Catherine.” |
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In-House
Review To view our reviews section click here The movie, directed by Michael Ninn, contains some of the more impressive and memorable visuals I have seen in an adult movie...yet it also contains one of the more incomprehensible storylines – so one wonders how appealing Ninn’s vision will be to the porn masses out there. Catherine stars sexy redhead Audrey Hollander in the title role...a woman living in the present who must fight off the demons going on inside her head (represented by visions that seem to take place in the past) before she is driven to do something terrible. Is she suffering from multiple personality disorder? Is she remembering a past life? Is this reviewer totally off-base on his interpretation of Ninn’s work? Who’s to say? Part of Catherine’s appeal is that much is left up to the mind of the viewer – which will likely lead to different viewers drawing different conclusions...which may be exactly what Ninn’s intentions are with his film. All of this is shown in glorious anamorphic widescreen and 2.0 Dolby sound...giving the viewer both a great-looking picture (although Ninn plays with his images – often slightly blurring or over-saturating the picture to give the movie a more dreamlike quality) and making the soundtrack all the more haunting and encompassing to the home viewer. As for the sex, there are five scenes in Catherine all of which take place “inside the mind” of the lead character...at least according to my assessment of what is happening in the movie. First up is a scene between Audrey and Otto Bauer (who also plays her boyfriend in the present). Even though Ninn has directed a number of couples-friendly adult titles in the past years, he allows Audrey and Otto to do what they do best on camera – namely aggressive and slightly vulgar sex with lots of anal play included. Scene Two takes place inside a castle and has dark-haired Valentina Velasquez being ravished by a bald Bruno Sx, with Audrey encouraging him on and occasionally rubbing Valentina’s pussy. There’s a hot lesbian three-way at the mid-point of the movie, during which Audrey joins Nikki Blond and Adriana Rouso. The scene includes Nikki donning a strap-on and Audrey riding her cowgirl...including some cowgirl riding as Audrey has a butt plug lodged firmly in her ass. The most couples-friendly scene in Catherine is a pairing between Victoria Swinger and Mike Foster, which takes place somewhere inside the castle (all these locations were actually shot in Budapest) and consists of reverse cowgirl, cowgirl, standing missionary and a scene-ending pop-shot into Victoria’s mouth. The final scene is worth waiting for, as Audrey gets into a foursome with Bruno, Mike and Otto. Not only is there plenty of double penetration in this scene, but there’s some double anal penetration too, and great oral pop-shots at the conclusion. The copy of Catherine I reviewed was a preview disc from the studio – which offered only a taste of the bonus features. The release will come with a second disc to hold all the extras, which will include a “Meet Otto & Audrey” featurette; a handful of photo galleries; a bonus scene between Audrey and Justine Joli; separate solo-masturbation bonus scenes with Nikki Blond and Adriana Rouso; and a Behind The Scenes featurette. As far as I know, no director’s commentary track is going to be a part of this release...which is a slight disappointment – if only to hear what Ninn’s vision and intention was for the more surreal parts of Catherine. A lot of adult directors like to say their work is “artistic,” but Catherine is truly a movie that can stake a claim to that term. It’s not only one of the best DVDs of 2005, but it’s one of the best movies Michael Ninn has done in years.
- Adult DVD Empire |
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Michael Ninn has put together a very surreal and compelling film with Catherine. Starring Audrey Hollander as a present day woman haunted by a Victorian era woman with unquenchable carnal lusts, Catherine takes its audience on a spell binding tour of gothic settings and amazing cinematography. Catherine features lots of cutting between present day and the Victorian era with tasteful camera tricks that elevate this film far beyond gonzo flicks or other story based porn. The film is set in winter in what appears to be an old stone manor with plenty of stone steps, columns, arched windows, and statues. The first scene starts with Catherine’s lord in a long coat with gold patterned embroidery circling her on stone steps Catherine is wearing a black mesh hair piece, black heels, and white make-up. Catherine starts the scene with some masturbation and soon receives some oral stimulation by her lord. Soon the lord has his hand up Catherine’s ass and then feeds her a little ass to mouth. Catherine returns the favor with a blow job and then hops on for some anal reverse cowboy action. This is followed up by some anal doggie style near a pillar featuring some ATM. The scene ends with a tame facial (which is recurrent throughout the film).
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Review:
Scene 1: Audrey Hollander and Otto Bauer
Scene 2: Valentina Velasques and Bruno
Sx Scene 3: Audrey Hollander, Adrianna Rouso
and Nikki Blonde Scene 4: Victoria Swinger and Mike Foster
Scene 5: Audrey Hollander, Bruno Sx,
Mike Foster and Otto Bauer Themes: ATM, Deep Throat, Anal, Straight Sex, Pussy Gaping, Ass Gaping, Toys, Girl/Girl, DP, Choking, Double Anal, Cum Swallowing DVD Extras: The extras here were well, I don't know how they were! The copy of this movie I got was a "for screening purposes only" so I didn't get the second disc. There was however 11 minutes of teasers from the bonus disc on this disc. Normally I would add points for this on a title, but for now, I'm just going to add nothing as I haven’t seen the extras. I do hope to see those extras though, they look good! From the looks of it, there’s interview with Otto and Audrey, solo scenes from Nikki and Adriana, some regular behind the scenes and a bonus scene with Audrey and Justine! Final Rating and Thoughts: This one gets a 9.00. Now I know it don't add up but I liked the movie outside of the sex so I added more points to put it where I thought it should be. The movie was spectacular as far as beauty and such, it was just so well shot and so neat to watch - the visuals were just amazing. Lots of mood setting and so forth. I'm not exactly sure WHAT the move was about, but I'm thinking it was more or less a decent into one woman's madness or maybe it was one big nightmare, but the flick defiantly had a surreal feel to it which added that much more to it. Although I'm going to put this down as a feature movie, I'm not totally sure it is, there's no real story but yet as I watched it I was pretty captivated and wanted to know what’s going to go on next. I can't recommend this one enough. I honestly think even the hardest of hardcore fans will dig this. As a side note, this would have been a 10 if I had the bonus material to rate as well. This is an easy recommended purchase, but I suggest getting the 2 DVD version for a few bucks more.
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Review: CATHERINE
- Ninn Worx DVD - This is definitely a true 5 star masterpeice of erotica.
From the very haunting opening, through each mesmerizing scene, you travel
back and forth in time. This exquisite production done in Budapest and
L.A., is one of the best of 2005. It will elevate Audrey Hollander to
star status and be a major pre nom for the AVN awards. Ninn has gone beyond
his own limits with this erotic excursion destined to be a classic. Do
not miss it! ***** |
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The
Review This is Ninn story telling at it’s greatest. Just within the first five minutes of watching Catherine I was saying to myself I’ve never seen visuals like this in an adult movie before and that was only the beginning. You will see things in Catherine you never could imagine seeing in any movie, let alone in an adult movie. Catherine is a story of a woman who is haunted by her sexual desires. They literally split her in two. On one hand there is a curious woman who loves her husband. On the other hand there is a wanton whore that demands to be set free. Her husband is played by Otto Bauer. Catherine is taken to dark places to see what her true desires are. Are they hers or are they some evil thing that is taking over her? You are taken to two different worlds. The Catherine that is fighting to stay alive is in a very modern world, clean, full of bright colors and light. The other side is dark and cold, full of heavy old architecture. It reminds me of Helsinki to be honest. The end is worthy of Hollywood. Audrey Hollander gives a performance that will not soon be forgotten. She literally is in almost every scene. Either acting or performing sexually. She will never look as beautiful as she does in this film. She wins AVN best actress right now without a doubt. The sex is rough and sometimes down right violent. It all fits in the storyline of a woman in a desperate battle over her sexual self. The sex scenes with Audrey are extremely rough but that is how she likes it and I have yet to see any scene with her in it that isn’t rough. Her first scene is on the snowy steps of what looks to be an old European library. The scene has some extreme anal and ends with her eating his cum. I’m not going to give too much of the movie away. The sex plays so much into the story the details of the scenes would give away too much of the story. Have no worries. Once the movie is released I will post a full review with all the nasty details. Catherine
is for presale now. BUY IT! It’s the best artcore story telling
I’ve ever seen. Combine that with sex that is out of this world
and Michael Ninn is going to have to rent a truck to tote all the AVN
awards he will win for Catherine. I am giving this a five out of five.
If I had a higher score I would give it that. Look in a couple of weeks
for an expanded review of Catherine once I get my hands on the two disc
special edition. |
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