Touch Me (Blu-ray)

Vivid

Alexis Texas

Genre: Vignette

Director: B. Skow

Nadia Styles

Cast: Briana Banks, Lee Stone, Alexis Texas, Voodoo, Nadia Styles, Daisy Marie, Ramon Nomar, Erik Everhard

Briana Banks and Nadia Styles

Length: 167:08 minutes

Daisy Marie

Date of Production: 1/31/2008

Briana Banks

Extras: The best extras for most people are the bonus scenes and while I prefer my extras to be related to the movie in hand, I can't deny the appeal of getting high definition upgrades in this area so the first scene between Daisy Marie and James Deen from Foreplay was pretty cool (even though it only lasted 10:34 minutes). I described it and the 9:56 minute scene from The Sunny Experiment with Nadia Styles, Jerry, and Barry Scott below for those of you that missed them previously. There was also a set of three trailers to newer releases by the company but my favorite was the 11:19 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Graham Crack Herr (edited by Rio Jim) as it showed some clips, some goofing off, and a glimpse into the hard work needed to make a porno as good as Skow is able to do, Briana's beautiful eyes looking especially sharp. For the record, all the extras were presented in high definition, making it a pleasant change of events from some of the competition still stuck in the old ways.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Touch Me (Blu-Ray) was presented in the widescreen color presentation as shot by director B. Skow for Vivid using the VC-1 Codec with the 1080i picture looking exceptionally fine as a result. It looked like it was shot with a 1080i camera, the interlaced images converted successfully to a progressive image with ease, surpassing the more common 720p titles up converted to the format, Shylar assisting with a second camera to capture more angles than usual too, a positive development from some of the budget cutters I've seen in the past (more and more companies are moving to shooting porn with a single camera, "fixing" the footage in post production, despite warnings that it cheapens the final product in most cases). The attention to detail was clear from the very start too, the bitrate moving all around the board but often in the 14 Mbps area, on the low side for high definition but still a marked upgrade worth noting from standard definition. The detail was very nice, thanks to the lighting, the composition of the angles, and the minimal editing; all taking advantage of how much the camera responds to Skow's expert guidance. The flesh tones were accurate and the better your home theatre is, the better this one will look. The audio was presented in a 2.0 Dolby Digital English using a 192 Kbps bitrate under a 48 kHz model; decidedly on the low end for current high definition but adequate for the kind of attention it got/gets these days too. The dynamic range was better than any of the company's SD releases of late but that's a low standard so many of their peers have clung to as well and doesn't say a whole lot. I did notice a slight delay in some portions of the audio compared to what was onscreen at times (especially in scene three) but it was never bad enough to lower the rating meaningfully, and the music was soothing rather than distracting, marking another attempt by Vivid to enhance their works of late, this time crediting the score to Miles Long.

Body of Review: B. Skow might best be known these days for his series of newcomer titles at Vivid but I have found his entire body of work to be well above average when taken as a whole. Let's face it, he is not given the big budgets of PT and he doesn't go overboard in terms of using artistic effects to cover technical failings, preferring to coax solid performances out of his casts and let their abilities do the talking for them. His latest vignette release is Touch Me (Blu-Ray), a showcase piece starring Briana Banks in three full scenes, the high definition upgrade truly enhancing her physical appeal to the point it gave me fond memories of our limited time together in Las Vegas earlier this year. The cover said it like this: "When B. Skow gets together with Briana Banks, it's a very touching experience...literally. The touching, groping, and grabbing never stops, so guess what? They made a movie about it. Touch Me...it's a hands-on look at the way the hands lead to sex, and in this case, lead to four incredible facials proceeded by the tease scenes B. Skow is famous for. Go ahead...let your fingers do the walking...straight to Briana." Right away, I knew that any fan of Briana would need this one for their collection! Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Briana Banks, the lean blond featured on the front cover, was up first as she teased in her sheer black lingerie, the camera following her moves in front of a mirror before she sat down on some steps inside the house to masturbate. Her perfectly trimmed pussy and sweet ass were enhanced by the high definition approach, the lady sniffing her own aroma from the clothing she removed. This lengthy warm up and tease lasted about 13 minutes and while some would suggest it was a separate scene, I like to think of it as the perfect introduction for Briana to get physical with the massive mountain of muscle, Lee Stone. His bare chest turned her on and he lifted her to snack on her titties and cookie in such a way that the camera got a great shot of her up close. He then rested her on the couch to continue pleasing her as she moaned in her raspy voice manner fans adore, coming across as though she was truly into the action. Her perfect pucker did not escape his attention and the look on her face spoke volumes regarding how she was ready to reciprocate with a knob slobbing blowjob, her lipstick marks gracing it from stem to stern. Few ladies can effectively blow Lee so this was a particular treat, both for him and the home viewer, enough warmth between them that he went to pounding her pussy balls deep as a result. She was passive in the missionary positions but pushed back in doggy and really tore into his rod during the cowgirl variations, Lee losing his concentration a few times as if unsuspecting how active she would handle his mighty package. The ending wad of genetic juice landed on her face as she blew cum bubbles with it, a modest load to be sure but well aimed all the same. Nice opener!

Scene Two: Alexis Texas, the curvy blond hotty that has been featured in scores of titles due to her large but sweet ass, was up next as she provided a lengthy bout of tease in her black & white striped bikini undies. Her makeup looked a lot better than average and her sex kitten routine was anything but a routine, her sensual side coming out as the cameras caught her warming up very nicely indeed. Her facial freckles, her patch of pubic hair, and her round ass enhanced by high definition all served to make her look better than ever, the solo work leading to Voodoo coming up behind her to feel her up. He savored the experience of going down on her ass and cookie too, getting her moist as needed to take his pecker deep inside her pussy. For all her positive traits, Alexis is not known for her advanced oral skills but she gave a decent hummer to the guy as well, focusing her efforts on the top few inches with her mouth as her hand gave the shaft some additional friction before they fucked vaginally (her first anal scene is about to come out on another title from what I hear). Alexis was most active during the cowgirl variations but managed to push back to meet the thrusts during the doggy too, leaving the spooning and missionary positions to be the passive fuck doll some fans prefer. Watching her ass cheeks ripple as she rode was a very inspirational moment for me and the length of time spent on this portion of the scene (in each scene in fact) gave the title some serious legs as far as I was concerned when evaluating replay value for future use. While Alexis will probably never be as good a performer as Briana, this scene was another example of how Skow brings out the best in his people, her ass taking the stream of population pudding before she kissed the air to signify she was done. Yum!

Scene Three: Nadia Styles, a curvy cutie with newly darkened hair, was up next as she followed the dynamic by masturbating in sexy lingerie on a large black leather couch. The stockings and garters, half cup bra and thong all enhanced her look and the manner in which she smiled made it all too clear that she has been underutilized of late, the gal almost always adding some extra "fun factor" to her work. I really liked how sexy Briana Banks looked in her latex bikini as she walked in on the gal too, their natural chemistry even higher than that seen in the opening scene with Lee, the kissing followed by Briana ripping off some of Nadia's lingerie to gain better access to her goodies. Briana bent Nadia over and spanked her ass a little, a slight delay in the audio noticed but nothing to fuss loudly about. Briana tasted her pal coyly, feeding Nadia some of her own juices before going deep where Nadia held Briana tightly as if getting off. For her part, Briana gave the distinctive impression that she was having a blast, getting off by giving pleasure as much as showing her ambidextrous love of sexual fulfillment. It was cute to see her nod knowingly at the camera a couple times, but only a couple of times, as if Skow were in on the joke ("I'm getting paid for this...yow!") and Nadia did a capable job of reciprocating when it was her turn to go down on lovely Briana. The toys eventually came out too, a double headed dong that the used in turns and then together to close things out. Sweet!

Scene Four: Daisy Marie, a busty Latina wearing a one piece negligee, was up next as she teased in the bedroom by the four poster bed. She also took her time as she moved about the room, removing clothing sparingly rather than jump out like she was in a rush to meet someone. Her thick labia and well trimmed pubes were inviting and while I would have wished she did not get implants, at least they did not have huge scars on the undersides as so in the jizz biz are stuck with. Daisy was looking moist but pulled out a vibrator to get even wetter, soon joined by Ramon Nomar who found his cock in her mouth with not a word between them. Daisy is another that has the basic skills of blowing men down pat but rarely offers anything out of the ordinary, this case being slightly better than average for her but not on par with Briana or Alexis here, still looking enticing as she slobbed his knob though. Ramon felt her up as she worked him to the bone, the guy unable to hold off unleashing his seed nearly as long as the other men in the show as he drenched her during the spooning where Daisy provided a stream of aural excitement. Surprisingly though, he got right back in the saddle and started hammering her biscuit again, even going down on her (finally!) before both of them showed how active they could be during the penetrative sex. Daisy used a vibrator to enhance the experience for her too, begging for more semen as he pummeled her tight box, most of his seed landing on her chest but Daisy doing some post coital sucking as well. Solid Save!

Scene Five: Briana Banks, now dressed in an innocent white mesh outfit, was up last and with a half hour to go, I knew my predictions about Vivid adapting had again proven themselves out. Briana looked right at the camera and it is difficult to describe how fetching her eyes were, the tease and masturbation not hurting any as they followed either. Some POV titty play as well as fingering (not to mention panty sniffing/tasting) led to the stud of the day, Erik Everhard, entering the living room setting. I'm not into guys but I see it with my own eyes and hear the talk by the ladies that he is the hardest driving guy in the industry that actually loves women so it reminded me of Briana's own comments in the BTS that this was going to be an epic bout of boning. First, he warmed her up orally, fingering the juicy lass as the two maintained eye contact to show how much they wanted each other. Briana then teased him through his pants as his growing erection threatened to tear out the seam, the gal smiling at the result of her handiwork before aggressively inhaling his cock. The playful oral she provided was definitely a step up from what was expected (and her oral skills have long been established as top notch) and the resulting vaginal plowing they engaged in was even better! Briana rode him as though scratching a deep seated itch inside of herself, her reddened ass (from being smacked) looked even better than before. She yelled out about coming and despite this being a porn standard comment, her respiration rate and physiological responses supported the event as if there was no doubt, Briana bouncing on his cock some more before jerking out a large load (I love it when the lady takes the load herself rather than the guy beating off). Whew!

Bonus Scene: Foreplay: Daisy Marie, a lean little Latina with an all natural rack but expansive tattoo on her back, was up next on the porch as she sat beside James Deen. There was a montage during the beginning (I liked the music here a lot more than usual too) that showed hardcore clips but they were all over each other with little tease to show for it; her clothes coming off quickly as he fingered her. He might not have given her any significant oral but she wasn't shy about enjoying his cock in her mouth; aggressively jerking him off as she sucked the tip between bobbing her head on it. Daisy is not the most consistent rider in porn so I was pleased that her apparent chemistry with James had her pumping her ass rapidly during the vaginal sex, her dirty talk coming out between the panting she was doing. She did PTM and he got slightly rough with her, the ending mouth pop served up just as she begged for it to happen.

Bonus Scene: The Sunny Experiment: Nadia Styles, a seriously cute babe with roast beef labia, was up last as she played a prisoner in need of a cigarette from guards Jerry and Barry Scott. While Barry looked more like he'd be the one wearing the striped outfit thanks to his plethora of tattoos, the men manhandled her in a manner she found appealing, the juices running down her leg even before her panties were removed for her body cavity search they did with their tongues. The choppy editing was fitting here, showing more care to be appropriately done than usual in support of the theme; the men using her at will before she dropped down to reciprocate with some blowjob action. The energy was pretty solid most of the time here and she was a fairly active ride in both her pussy and ass as a result of her passionate love of cock. I'd have thought she'd be doing a DP if this were any other company but her lips wrapped around one cock while the other boned her like it owned her (pussy or ass) so I couldn't complain. It wasn't as seductive or chemistry filled as the previous scenes but it was still one of her best from 2007, ending in a couple loads of semen gracing her face and crotch.

Summary: Touch Me (Blu-Ray) by director B. Skow for Vivid was her second comeback movie for the company and a winner in my book. I'll admit that she is a classic beauty to me and while I wish she'd gain a few pounds to flesh out more, there is no denying her staying power in the industry known for flavor of the month performers. The high definition version of the movie was basic but hit home runs in most scenes, the appeal of Briana Banks, Alexis Texas, Nadia Styles, and Daisy Marie all contributing to significant levels of fuck for the buck, replayability, and a strokability not often found in big company titles so I rated this one as Highly Recommended. In short, Touch Me (Blu-Ray) came across to me initially as a generic title but thanks to the cast and Skow's direction, it surprised me with how much the classic "keep it simple stupid" approach worked. I don't know how the standard definition version could possibly compare to it but I do know this looked better than most such titles available at this writing, Good work!