Studio: Hustler, Teravision
Director: Quinn Roberts
Cast: Tera Patrick, Spyder Jonez, Jessica Jaymes, Hillary Scott, "Sammy"

Portions of this review originally appeared on Fleshbot

It's not too early to call the best interactive title of 2007; it has to be InTERActive.

With just enough humor, special guests, and plot to help out, Tera Patrick's DVD makes the interactive genre appealing as both a standalone movie (Disc 2) and as a fully functional "choose your own adventure" porn.

This movie took about two years to make. Most of it was filmed in 2004, and then a pickup scene was shot in 2006, with no noticeable difference in look or feel (or Tera).

Directed with ease by Quinn Roberts, InTERActive features Patrick as (again) the wife of an unloving criminal, in this case a scenery-chewing (but hilarious) DeNiro impersonator called Sammy. On Tera's birthday, no less, Sammy decides to spend the day at the office, so she is stuck at home to fend for herself.

You come in at several key episodes ("You", by the way, are Evan Seinfeld, aka Spyder Jonez). You help Tera with her hose issues, you help her choose a bikini, you rub - or don't rub - suntan lotion on. Then Tera runs out of lotion.

"Oh, I know where I can get some lotion," she says. "A girl's gotta keep her skin nice and moist."

You can imagine what happens next.

Later in the day, Jessica Jaymes happens by. What are You going to do - kick her out?

Then Hillary Scott comes over (this segment was shot last summer) and she has a problem with condiments.

We do see Sammy again - and he is not pleased - but what is very pleasing about this DVD is that not only is the sex fun but so is the acting (well, Jessica Jaymes is kind of a weak link here, but it is Tera's show through and through).

Cross-promoting to the gaming demographic, InTERActive can be "won" after repeated viewings with new choices. The DVD then grants the viewer a code that can be plugged in for bonus scenes and other Easter Eggs.

It's fun to see Tera in charming and sexy mode, but why does she keep hooking up with these dudes who don't appreciate her?

Labels: "tera patrick", dvd, hustler, reviews, teravision

Studio: Sinsation
Director: Dee
Cast: Brooke Banner, Marcus London, Chrs Cannon, Mika Tan, Sledge Hammer, Jeanie Marie Sullivan, Presley Maddox, Jeremy Holmes, Nikki Hilton

Portions of this review originally appeared on Fleshbot

Trudy and Mark seem to have a loveless marriage. He is bored at his job, and she wonders if he is bored with her, too (already this strains credibility, considering what she wears to pour coffee). Regardless, off he goes to work, and then the deceptions begin.

For Trudy is actually a secret agent who - believe it or not - uses sex as her calling card. Donning a black wig, she plants something on john Chris Cannon's night table, and then proceeds to fuck him (for the government). While I think she could have just left when he went into the bathroom to clean up before their coupling, she went all the way, like an American.

Meanwhile, Brothel Boss Tanaka (Mika Tan, all crinkly in leather goods), demands extra service of her manservant.

"Stop being such a lazy fuck!" she demands.

Crime Boss Palermo, a loan shark, not only demands a 50 percent interest rate on loans, but also "a piece of your tight little ass". In this case, the piece comes from Presley Maddox.

As if the rate of exchange wasn't already a little confusing, Mark's officemate needs to borrow his room for some (as his date calls it) "sweet lovin'". The date, like Trudy before her, is also a spy. Taking advantage of his freshening up, she steals a CD from Mark's desk, but then proceeds to have sex with his officemate.

"I got exackly what I needed," the second spy says at the end, come on her face.

The viewer by this point might be forgiven for wondering how these scenes are connected, other than the fact that the characters seem to be spies or criminals.

I might be going out on a limb here, but at no time does sex really need to happen in this movie. (Though I'm glad it does.)

The deception can't last forever, and by the end of the day Mark is at Boss Tanaka's bordello. She blindfolds him, saying she has a surprise, and in walks Trudy in yet another wig. Somehow the three get through most of a throwdown before Trudy realizes Mark is her husband. She doesn't even cock her head like Scooby when she figures it out.

For a movie to have a plot, it must have a budget for one. The budget of this movie was big enough so that there was no excuse for the plot holes, often dismal lighting, and sometimes lackluster acting. My argument is that if money has been paid for a script, then the execution and proofreading of that script shouldn't be an afterthought.

Otherwise, Tru Lies is chock full of leggy and juicy eye candy, and Tan, seemingly directing herself, delivers a fun performance.

Labels: dvd, reviews, sinsation