Jack's Playground 29 Blu-ray
Genre: Comedy, Gonzo
Delilah Strong
Director: Robby D.
Cast: Delilah Strong, Chris Charming, Chase Dasani, Eric Masterson, Julia Ann, Nacho Vidal, Isabella Camille, Tiffany Holiday, Lee Stone, Zoe Britton, Taryn Thomas
Non-sex roles: Gianna, Scott Nails, Montel, Robby D.
Length: 108:21 minutes
Gianna with Scott
Date of Production: 5/18/2000; 3/1/2005
Extras: The extras were the same package with a photogallery, and trailers to various shows.
Condoms: Some
Chase Dasani with Eric Masterson
Audio/Video Quality: Jack's Playground 29 Blu-ray was mostly presented in 1.78:1 ratio widescreen as shot by Robby D. for Digital Playground. The scene with Julia Ann was shot in full frame 1.33:1 so many years ago, allegedly by Joone himself, and he did a decent job of it, though not the kind of stylish presentation we all expect of him these days. In general, there were the numerous flaws that Robby adds in to the scenes for the show to add contrast, depth of field, and all the other mumbo jumbo given to those of us seeking flat lighting and straightforward sex scenes. For the most part, the lighting was fine and this led to the picture being relatively free of grain, video noise, and other flaws. The composition of the scenes was handled in such a manner that the competent editing needed was minimal, almost looking like it was knocked out quickly due to the way the scenes were shown. I saw no compression artifacts and think that Robby did a good job with the visuals, this 1080i resolution, 18.3 Mbps bitrate upgrade fairly solid in most ways. The audio was presented in the usual 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English but the vocals had no separation and the music was minimal so there wasn't an effective use of the sound stage here. This is typical of porn, though some of the high end companies have experimented with providing a better aural experience and I suspect Digital Playground will do more in the future.
Julia Ann (from the Vault)
Body of Review: Robby D. is likely one of the busiest guys in porn that doesn't (thankfully) get undressed to make movies. Aside from some of his pet projects like the new Control series, he is the director of the various Jack's Playground series, lead photographer and collaborator on the Celeste movies, and often put to work on other projects as need for the popular Digital Playground production company. One of the reasons he gets used so much is due to his formal training and willingness to think "outside the box" (pun intended) when it comes to making porn. His willingness to take chances is well known and he comes ahead more often than not (some would say a lot more often than not), which is why his popular mainstay series is up to Jack's Playground 29 with this review. This one follows the Big Ass Show, and returns to providing comedy in the series (Jack's Playground 28 was light on comedy) with some cute anecdotes offered up along with commercials for nonexistent products. The surprising scene of the movie was an excellent blast from the past starring Julia Ann and Nacho Vidal but there were other bits of action worth checking out two. There were some condoms this time but they didn't really get in the way so without further ado, here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast and action:
Roxy DeVille with Eric Masterson
Scene One: Delilah Strong, a cute gal with a lean figure and blonde highlights, was up next in need of Jack to move the car so she could go to the clinic. Her partner was Chris Charming, who had been looking for "bitches and beer" (as Robby acted all sanctimonious), and after he scoped out her very nice ass, he whipped out his meaty member for her to suck. She gave him the benefit of her extensive oral experience and inhaled his rod as she simultaneously jerked him off, leaving slobber trailers as she worked him over. He then took her from behind in a laying down doggy (which I almost never see in porn though love to do in real life) vaginal, followed by the cowgirl action that proved she'd be an active participant of the penetrative sex. They went to missionary and he popped in her mouth to swallow. It was a very solid scene to begin the show with.
Isabella Camille
Scene Two: Gianna, a total babe with huge breasts, was almost up next as she traded some quality time with her breasts for a cheese burger, as Scott Nails sleazed a moment with her. It sucked that there was no sex this time but I'll admit that this was a change from the predictable porn we're all so used to watching.
Tiffany Holiday
Scene Three: Chase Dasani, another cutie that could be mistaken for a coed stripper, was up next with Eric Masterson as the guys admired her 19 year old body, complete with torn skirt. She was a natural cocksucker who didn't overdo the performance, lending an air of authenticity to her oral pleasuring. Eric took her from behind on the generic red couch after that, doing all the work as she moaned & groaned with a repetitive "uh uh oh ah", finally moving her moneymaker a little once she was on top of his lap. I would've preferred that she work out his load but he jerked off a moderate load to the face to "glaze" her face like a donut (per Robby). I think she has a lot of potential but it wasn't much more than a filler scene overall.
Zoe Britton
Scene Four: Julia Ann, a long time favorite performer of mine and current contract star at Wicked Pictures (at least I think she hasn't finished with them yet), was up next in a scene from "Joone's Vaulted Treasures" with Nacho Vidal. Julia is the hotty featured on the front DVD cover's right side and I wish the scene had been an attempt to give her a shot at working with Janine again as Blondage (their former act) but it was instead a scene shot 6 years ago with her and Nacho in bed. It started already underway and she was the sexual aggressor this time, pushing him down to pleasure him, with oral and vaginal sex only. I could tell you about the sexual chemistry, the passion, and the skill that she showed, but if you've seen her having fun in the past; that'd be a standard condition if you catch my drift. I wasn't keen on the condom usage since I know that many of you hate them but this was definitely a scene her fans will want to own for the way she came across as particularly into the action. It ended when she used her feet to jerk him off. Whew!
Taryn Thomas with Chris Charming
Scene Five: Isabella Camille, a hot little stripper with a body designed to milk money out of wallets, was up next in a masturbation scene. I liked her accent more than her implants and she wasn't the youngest gal of the cast but she seemed capable of waking the dead with her act. Basically, she felt herself up and jilled herself to a supposed orgasm, though I'd have wanted to confirm it by tasting her fingers.
Scene Six: Tiffany Holiday, the brunette hotty in the middle of the front DVD cover, wore a fishnet top and tiny white shorts that gave her a pronounced cameltoe. Just before she was going to play with the uncredited cue card guy's penis, her "boyfriend" (the massive) Lee Stone walked in on them and punched Robby out (and it was a funny little bit too). This led to Lee and Tiffany having a scene together where she slobbed his knob like a champion, giving him her full attention orally. He then picked her up for his trademark standing 69 before an active vaginal screw on the couch. Having seen her ass up close and personal in the earlier footage, I knew she did anal thanks to her hemorrhoid; with her proving me correct as she sat on his dick in her tight little ass. She did ATM (ass to mouth) and they shared several positions before he rubbed out a load to her mouth (no swallowing though). She was a cutie though and I hope to see more of her in the future.
Scene Seven: Zoe Britton, the gal on the left hand side of the front DVD cover, was up next as she teased the camera to some thumping music with a Middle Eastern touch to it. There was no dialogue and the editing was good enough to cover any visual limitations.
Scene Eight: Taryn Thomas, one of the bright spots of the recent flock of porn cuties, was up next as she showed her attempt at "self tanning" with one of those lotions so popular these days. Her peach colored top clearly showed her erect nipples and her pantiless skirt reminded fans why she was more than just a pretty face. She was told to work up Chris Charming in order to earn her spot in the music video so she stepped up to his "mike" and provided an excellent blowjob to begin her scene. She then stripped off her clothes to showcase her all natural body before they screwed enthusiastically. She was verbally abusive while he spanked her, goading him on to screw her harder, and the vocals enhanced the scene more than a little bit. It ended with the usual facial though she didn't swallow.
Summary: Jack's Playground 29 Blu-ray might not have been as sexually appealing as Big Ass Show 1 but the action (and comedy) were definitely better than Jack's Playground 28, showing some nice replay value and a diversity of action often missing in formulaic porn. I can't fault the casting or amount of fuck for the buck this time since there was an attempt made at providing a decent amount of movie (all too often, the volumes are very short). I think it most respects, it was worth a rating of Recommended, with fans of Julia's in particular needing to see this one (probably keeping it too). Robbie proved his technical skill as well as the eye for capturing heated sex here, working with what he was given fairly well. I just hope the extras get some improvement in the future and a few of the contract stars make more sexual appearances as in past volumes of the show. The series has come a long way since this volume was originally released in SD but I have to admit the upgrade breathed new life into it for me, the additional resolution providing more detail to showcase the footage better than ever before, albeit at a cost.