Friday, May 8, 2009

CRY WOLF


I had delayed reviewing Cry Wolf since one of my favorite reviewers GORE-GORE GIRL had given it such a great review. I thought that if I let some time pass, my outlook on Cry Wolf might change. You should definitely read her review for a different outlook from mine. And since she goes over the plot, I won't attempt to here.



I just didn't like the movie and I really don't have any good reasons not to like Cry Wolf. Since there were a lot of good things about the movie:

1. Monique Alexander is the lead actress and she carries the movie as good as any mainstream actress. Her performance in act one is one of the best that I have ever seen in a porn movie and would hold up in a mainstream movie.

2. Mr. Marcus, the lead actor was also very capable in his acting. Actually all the actors/actresses in the movie were well qualified with their acting chops.

3. Monique Alexander has one of the best natural bodies in current porn movies.

4. Steven St. Croix is in the movie. One of the better porn actors that always seems to add something to any role he plays.

5.The sex scenes weren't overly long.

6. Cry Wolf is very well plotted. Remember a porn movie has to include sex scenes, this usually causes the plot to be weaker, since it doesn't leave as much time in a standard two hour movie. That is why you will find some of the better plotted porns running into the three hour mark. But Cry Wolf delivers on plot and sex and all in just over two hours.

7. The Direction is top rate.

But despite all of these things, the movie didn't do it for me. I know I'm looking for plots in porn movies, and as I stated this was well plotted. The only thing that threw the plot off a little bit, for me, was at the end of act one, one of the twists that is going to come later in the movie is telegraphed.

Another thing that threw me off was the juxtaposition of scenes. There would be a well developed scene with plot and sex and then it seemed that each one of these scenes would be followed by a standard porn scene. I saw some speculation on the web that Paul Anderson didn't direct this movie. However, I have no doubt that Paul Anderson (who once remarked that he wanted to be the "Orson Welles of Porn") did the direction. There could be a possibility that he left some of the weaker scenes to someone else to direct.

I don't know, I just didn't like the movie. I thought maybe it was because Mr. X-Ray usually likes a little bit of comedy in his porn....and Cry Wolf is deadly serious(Vivid calls it a psychodrama)......but I'm currently about half way through Fallen, which is primarily a drama and it is a lot more interesting.

Changing the pace from the serious to funny, I'm including the below Monique Alexander video from YouTube.


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting review, and I'm always interested in perspectives that differ from mine. Funnily enough, it sounds like you agree with a lot of what I thought of the movie, and I also agree with some of the negatives you point out. I especially agree that there were sex scenes that felt more generic than others, and I'm intrigued by the suggestion that PT didn't direct all of the movie - kinda like when a director of mainstream leaves the basic stuff to the 2nd unit. Maybe those generic sex scenes were done by someone else? Makes sense.

Anyway, nice review, and now you've said you are enjoying Fallen, I feel like I should go and give it another try. I found it overly long, and I find Brad Armstrong rather unattractive, but have since thought that maybe I was just being impatient. Looking forward to your take on that one.

Meanwhile, This Ain't Happy Days is in the mail...

X-Ray Specs said...

Thanks for your comments. They are very much appreciated.

Mrs. X-Ray agrees with you about Brad Armstrong. She says he just looks like someone's pudgy neighbor.

Really look forward to your "This Ain't Happy Days" review, since I'm a sucker for porn parody movies.

Anonymous said...

Ha! Mrs. X-Ray is right (as she always seems to be...ask her what she thinks of Manuel Ferrara). I will be using that description in future discussions.

Once I get off my lazy ass and write a post, I will be reviewing This Ain't Happy Days for sure (and a couple of others - I actually watch a *lot* of films, but then fail to muster the energy for posts. Sigh). Enjoying getting important info from your regular posts though - thanks!

X-Ray Specs said...

Mrs. X-Ray says Manuel is not her type.

Off the top of her head, she named Evan Stone, James Deen, Randy Spears and Tommy Gunn as some of her modern day favorites.

Sentimental favorites: Ron Jeremy, Jerry Butler, Harry Reems and Joey Silvera(she says he's a crazy man)

Mykal Banta said...

Good review. It sounds like perhaps the director (Anderson?) rushed things a bit, considering the choppy editing and "juxtaposition of scenes." Also I'm curious to see this for the plot, which you describe as very strong, and also I am attracted to the serious nature of the film (I think that there is too much humor in porn - which is easy to put in as space filler between sex scenes or to pad a bad script IMHO). I like a film that takes itself seriously sometimes.

The clip you include is wonderful! -- Mykal

Roger Feelbert said...

(late to the part, as usual)

re: Sentimental favorites... if you can find it, jerry butler's autobiography "raw talent" is definitely worth a read.

X-Ray Specs said...

Radiation - thanks for your comments. After you watch Cry Wolf, please let me know your thoughts.

Roger - I have a copy of Raw Talent. It is a great read and like you I would recommend it to anyone interested in porn.

Mykal Banta said...

Just ordered this movie and will get back to you as soon as I see it. Again, good review. You got me interested enough to buy it. -- Mykal

Mykal Banta said...

X-Ray: I finally got the chance to see this, and I have to pretty much agree with your assessment. I was attracted to the "serious" nature of this film, but found it a bit too somber. The drama felt extremely self-conscious and forced. Also, there was the problem of terrible editing. The movie had zero sense of flow, with scenes sort of flopping over one another, and a lot of the scenes just looked canned - maybe even stock footage.

Mr. Marcus certainly pulled his weight as an actor; but I didn't think as much of Alexander's performance as you did. She just didn't seem to have any depth or range. Steven St. Croix seemed to be forever teetering on the brink of a very good performance but could never quite take it to the next level.

All in all, nope. -- Mykal

X-Ray Specs said...

Radiation Cinema - Thanks for your comments. You have some great insights about the movie and actually helped me understand a little better why I didn't like it.

death squad said...

there is a song(background) in this movie in CD 1 in between 43:32-45:05
can anyone say me what is that song, i meant the details!!!!
its this---->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbrsQD07WxY

X-Ray Specs said...

Death Squad - I would suggest asking this question at Adult DVD Talk - The Feature Side: http://forum.adultdvdtalk.com/forum/forum.dlt/forum_id=15/cat_id=1/115.htm

OR

You might also ask Gore Gore Girl at http://www.goregoregirl.com/

BOB said...

about RAW TALENT(movie) ;you have to see the UNCUT version that some guy posted on VEF(vintage erotica forum) : it is great...

(Raw Talent (1984) - Uncut DVD edit)
fighting scenes; and sex scenes were cut