Almost Heaven by New Sensations - review by Darling Jen

Plot & Content

This wonderful film does have a plot! Unlike the other film in this month's club features, it's a romantic storyline. I don't want to give away the entire plot, which could be the reason someone purchases this porn as a first adult film, so I won't be spoiling it. But the moral of the story is to love and appreciate the people around you before it's too late. And yes, there's a happy ending.

As for content, it's all hetero pairings having vanilla sex. There are no threesomes, no same-sex couples, and no fetish play. Though that makes it rather boring for the seasoned porn viewer, I think that helps make this storybook sex movie a perfect choice for someone ready to move up from romance novels into porn. And those people will be glad to hear that the romance line is a growing genre that they can look forward to seeing more of.

Also, there condoms are used in this film, which is a positive to me. But if it’s not your thing and spoils the visual for you, you’ll be pleased to know that they’re very thin and almost transparent. So it’s very easy to ignore them. But in two of the sex scenes, the men take off the condoms so that they can ejaculate right on the women’s vulva… Do they not understand that the semen doesn’t have to be shot inside to cause pregnancy or spread STIs? I still don’t understand this.

Cinematography & Acting

Rather than depending on the camera angles alone to bring a sense of mainstream cinema to this film, soft focus, white-out lights, and internal transitions are used to give a sense of calm serenity. The music alone stands out among its porn peers for not being strip club appropriate or cheesy. It's soft, relaxing, one might say heavenly, piano music that connects each scene. With the exception of the camera angles that gave me the perfect view of the main character's garish black roots on her otherwise blonde head, I really appreciated the attention to detail.

The scenes between the sex were usually set in the other-worldly white light with the soft music playing in the background. The set up was near perfect. And for the most part everyone was decent at acting, though occasionally I was slightly jarred by an inappropriate or odd line delivery. (Or how about someone who should have been an emotional wreck from getting shocking and depressing news acting calm and contemplative? But I digress…)


~STARS & SCENES~

Opening Sequence & Intro

The opening sequence is a series of romantic (in the modern and traditional meaning of the word) still shots set to the calming music of an orchestra. It reminded me of an old black and white movie or perhaps a remake of a Jane Austen novel. It was gorgeous and perfect for most women, and the occasional man, to enjoy.





The song from the opening sequences transitions us into the first scene as it changes sound quality to corny elevator music in some unknown but very bright location. The main character stands out as the only one wearing colors (and her roots) and sets the mood as mysterious and ethereal.

1st - Brooke Lee Adams & Danny Mountain
The first sex scene starts out with soft, romantic music that isn’t cheesy or overdone but just enough to remind me tender moments in old romance films. Whether it’s the bright light or the camera used, the focus isn’t too sharp. But that could be a stylistic choice and fit the background of the scene anyway. The sex managed to stay relatively sweet and romantic, even though it ended in an external money shot. But thankfully it wasn’t a facial! All in all, it was a pretty decent, sweet vanilla scene and a great way to start the film.

2nd - Allie Haze & Xander Corvus
The second feels completely different to me than the first. We have more than a quick set-up into a romantic afternoon. This one is more or less a quickie that is unable to be categorized as romantic (mostly because it left me wondering about his sudden character change, which is explained later). The small things that bothered me in this scene were that I could clearly see the glue on her eyes from the fake lashes (it seems to glow under bright light), her very dry and possibly bruised knees, him keeping his socks and pants on, and the odd camera angles. I know, I usually appreciate the artistic and unique camera work but this time it just skewed my perspective and occasionally cast the pair in an unflattering angle. The sex wasn’t bad, but everything else had me too distracted.

3rd - Victoria White & Rocco Reed
This scene is between characters I frankly didn’t care about. For a plot-driven porn, I felt that this was rather a failing. They should have been properly characterized in the beginning or this scene should have been given to another couple. But that’s just me. It did have the same heavenly piano music that slowly faded out into silence and a more steady camera. I did really like when it got more vigorous but I felt it ended too soon after that. I suppose there’s no winning with me, is there?

4th - Kiara Diane & Chris Johnson
The final sex scene is kind of the scene that this plot was building up to, without me revealing too much. And though it started off pretty well with the acting, I felt that the sex was almost anti-climactic. Not bad, mind you, just not the victorious love making one might read in a smutty romance novel. But in general it was decent sex with plenty of tender kisses and secret smiles. The positions were appropriate for the characters and provided excellent shots.

DVD Features & Bonuses



So mostly I wanted to address the "Pick Your Pleasure" option under the extra features. It lists "Tease", "Blowjob", "Missionary", "Doggystyle", "Cowgirl", and "Popshot" when you click on it. By choosing one of the options, it plays back all those scenes from the movie from each of the four pairings and skips the plot between. Pretty useful if you've seen the movie and just want to skip to your favorite stuff to get off (i.e. men, no reason you can't enjoy this too).