Roger's Rating:

I've got a huge list of nominated movies to watch this week so why not start with one of the highly touted films of 2006. Paul Thomas is well known for doing high end features and in this movie he has something that many porn fans have been waiting a long time to see. No, not a movie about a director having a mid-life crisis and turning to porn for inspiration. I'm talking about a sex scene between legendary performers Janine and Rocco. After years of teasing us, Janine went hetero on us a few years ago. Vivid fans get to see her long after she has moved on to new things. Since this movie is so highly touted and was nominated for so many awards, I watched it all the way through rather than reviewing on the fly. I wound up feeling that this is one hell of good movie, but one where the sex seems sadly secondary. That is going to disappoint a lot of people who were hoping to see Rocco lay the wood to Janine in a way we've always wanted him to. Read on though. This movie may not be a stroker's dream, but it's impressive on a lot of other levels.

Thomas wastes no time, putting Rocco and Janine together in the first scene. It is a flash back to a time when she was a new actress and he was the head carpenter. He's also married at the time to Dasha, but tells Janine that they have an arrangement. We get teased though because she pushes him off of her before they fuck. The first real scene comes later when Rocco and Tawny Roberts get together. Though it isn't the pairing we were hoping for, it isn't a bad looking tryst. The blowjob is painfully short as Rocco moves quickly between her spread thighs to pump that pussy. They get aggressive with each other, slapping and spitting a bit as he rushes through some anal and drops a load onto her face.

Flashing back again, Janine and Rocco get a second chance and this time they go nuts. She sucks his cock for just long enough to make us hate Thomas for ending the energetic blowjob prematurely. Rocco dishes out some serious fucking here and even in the dimly lit theater, there is some hard-core heat coming from this paring. The reverse cowgirl is really great and she even teases him with some anal fingering before Rocco leaves his cum all over her boots. This scene is very hot, but it's just too short to really give us maximum strokeability.

Janine ends her cab ride, by taking the handsome cabbie on a ride in a dark alley. They get quite aggressive and she thrives on having his hands around her neck. I like the energy, especially when the throws her onto the hood of his car and pounds the hell out of her. I just can't understand why we have to rush through the sex and the facial to get to more dialog. This feels like a huge waste of talent and sexual energy.

Back at the hotel, Rocco is sharing a Euro-brunette with Albert Rey. The action here is fairly standard, so the short-changed positions don't feel quite as frustrating. (Plus we've had nearly an hour to get used to the rhythm and anything longer than about five minutes for a sex scene would feel about of place.) Things get very strange at the end of this scene and we end up taking an odd trip down the rabbit hole.

Rocco is taken to a new place to find inspiration and that kicks off with a big orgy. Considering how short the really good scenes in this movie are, this random flashing to various couples just feels like wasted time.

By this point in the movie I am more interested in the story than the sex. Is that a good thing? I'm not sure, but when Rocco ends up banging a beautiful blonde who is a potential investor in a new project, I'm almost content in the knowledge that their fucking (Not bad by the way) will be over soon so I can figure out where this thing is going.

Rocco ends up shooting a documentary about porn and is quickly convinced to shoot a scene. It is kind of a blowbang/mini-orgy that has some very hot moments thanks to the beautiful women he has doing the sucking. I like the action here and it goes on for long enough to actually make it a decent stroke scene.

Janine and Dasha get together for a little sex between the wife and the ex. We have been watching Janine light up other girls for years and she doesn't hold back with Dasha. Things build up quickly and end abruptly when Rocco shows up. There is some great dialog here and then a scene between Rocco and Dasha. With Janine just outside the door, he slams that big cock into his ex-wife's ass for deep penetration and a shot on her tits.

Extras:

Disc two is packed with extra stuff. The BTS is really interesting with great interviews from Janine and Rocco. We get five deleted sex scenes as well as more than an hour of sex that didn't make the final cut. (I think the whole project would have been better with this stuff left in.) There is also deleted dialog, a blooper reel and five bonus scenes. (Three star Janine.) I love the bonus stuff here and wonder if there might be an extended version of this film in the works.

As a purely sexual piece, this movie could be a lot better. The scenes are too short and often feel rushed. That works in some features when the energy is low. It is because the energy is often very good that I feel short changed by the sex in Emperor. Janine with Rocco, Manuel and Dasha is a beautiful sight and the intensity is incredible. It wouldn't take much effort to expand the scenes and really let them bring their best to the table. Thomas went a different route though so we'll deal with the rest of the project. Emperor is a very well acted feature with complex relationships and just a touch of odd ball stuff thrown in for fun. Janine, Dasha and Rocco play their roles very well and add some intensity to the story. I'm a sucker for a good adult feature so I did like this movie, though I found myself really wanting more from Emperor sexually. Thomas has Janine and Rocco together and their best moments come with their clothes on. That's just not the way we wanted it to go down.

Copyright © Roger T. Pipe

Posted By Roger, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/5/06 1:58 PM