Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Expected more

Brilliant and touching

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Being a young lesbian myself interested in BDSM, I have to say I enjoyed this softcore pornography piece. However, there is much room for improvement.Indie director Brion Rockwell takes a very nice approach to this film. The scenes are very crisp and clear. The sex scenes are indeed elegant and very fun to watch. The scenes have a very passionate and almost dangerous feel to them. Some of the scenes seem to cut off very quick and bounce to a whole other subject. The way the plot is carried out with the scenes is a little messy.The main actresses are of course, very attractive and seductive. The way Vera would gaze into whatever body part of Ivy's she was focusing on was fiery and lovely. Ivy's submissive role is played out very nicely. The acting that didn't involve the bedroom left something to be desired. The way they talked to each other normally seemed awkward and fake. Which is not very surprising since they must be porn actresses. The boyfriend is an unnecessary character, in my opinion. (The character is so forgetful that I forgot his name - irony) He only appears in the most chance times and his acting is pretty much atrocious. I must say that his sex scene with Ivy was well played, however.With all due respect, Rockwell's work turned out to be enjoyable if you're having a 'private moment' with yourself and/or if you're into the dom/sub scene. However, if you're looking for a softcore film that also has convincing acting and solid filmwork this probably isn't the best for you.

Sheltered and passive young aspiring artist Ivy (winningly played with touching vulnerability by luscious brunette knockout Maria Palentini) moves to the city to attend a university. While at college Ivy meets and falls under the wicked controlling spell of the more worldly and domineering Miss Vera (a pleasingly cool and sharp portrayal by attractive slender blonde Angelica Dekker). Writer/director Brion Rockwell does an expert job of ably crafting a searing and claustrophobic atmosphere of fiery passion and depraved carnality by scrupulously covering all the satisfyingly steamy soft-core bases: abundant tasty nudity from the two comely leads, masturbation, lesbianism, sadomasochism, bondage, degradation, twisted mind games and manipulation, and dominance and submission. Moreover, Dekker and Palentini both contribute sound and credible performances; their strong screen chemistry keeps the picture humming and holds everything together (the two ladies are friends in real life and decided to act in this movie strictly as a lark). Peter Pistol is effectively hateful and loutish as Ivy's crude jerk boyfriend Luke. The polished cinematography by Ryan Purcell and Jeff Barkley gives this film an impressive glossy look. Rob Williamson's spare and unobtrusive score likewise does the trick. Real hot stuff.

This softcore porn exercise from formerly talented indie director Brion Rockwell is marketed as a remake or "reimagining" (whatever the hell that means) of Nick Millard's 1972 clunker of the same name. It has no relationship whatsoever to that earlier movie or any of Nick's work -just a lame marketing gimmick used by the New Jersey video company that had previously packaged Nick films with some Misty Mundae rehashes.In fact, the three-fer DVD set containing the FIRES IN HER BEDses is only watchable for Brion's 1997 movie WHERE THE AIR IS COOL AND DARK, a cautionary tale about drug use in the Generation X days. Though I still haven't figured out how air can be "dark", I enjoyed that fledgling effort which showed signs of a rigorous talent in the Seattle-based filmmaker.Unfortunately, FIRE is a chamber piece of soft porn, which for all its lesbo-intensiveness is completely antiquated and irrelevant since it was made in an age when authentic lesbian cinema (made by women for a change!) has its own market niche. Poor Rockwell joined the Seduction Cinema team long after its boat has sailed -there just isn't any audience anymore for their once-popular junk pairing Darian Caine, Mundae, Julian Wells and other gals in soft or even hardcore couplings. The same company did handle his initial COOL AND DARK movie back when it was initially distributing worthwhile indie movies, but had long since (as admitted candidly in several producer's narration tracks by company head Michael Raso) switched to a strict diet of more lucrative horror and porn.Here Rockwell cast two attractive unknowns who (probably by design) have no other IMDb credits. One is the submissive Ivy (Maria Palentini) while the other is the sadistic dominant Vera (Angelina Dekker). Palentini projects a dreamy sensuality that reminds me of (the young) Anne Archer, while Dekker is a generic looking anorexic blonde, sort of the type cast in those Cinemax TV series of the '90s where natural, unsiliconed females was the order of the day.As attested to by the eight minutes of outtakes, which are neither better nor worse than the material included in the feature, the non-adventures of these two lesbians are simply uninteresting. Other than the masturbation potential of the duo licking/suckling/fondling each other in softcore fashion (which may or may not appeal to REAL lesbians out there), it's just another rather boring "where the boys aren't" exercise without the tongue-in-cheek (or anything remotely approaching comedy relief) approach of a Chi Chi La Rue.For those keeping a scorecard, Rockwell includes plenty of fake and strictly softcore kinkiness in a bid to keep the fans' snoring down to a minimum, including Vera penetrating Ivy with one of those blue bottles they use as decoration or fake vases in restaurants; making Ivy wear a dog collar and leading her around the apartment on all fours by a leash; raping Ivy with a strap-on dildo; taking Polaroids (extremely antiquated for a 2009 video!) of Ivy in compromising positions; and as the coup de grace, blindfolding and handcuffing a naked Ivy and leaving her by an intersection to fend for herself. Perhaps the silliest bit of degradation, though it makes a nice still for our dear New Jersey exploitation team, is occasioned by Miss Vera's outrage when Ivy has the temerity to swear, causing her to put a big bar of Ivory Soap in the poor girl's mouth.The only relief from this nonsensical "fun and games" occurs when Ivy's boy friend Luke is on the scene, but unfortunately one Peter Pistol (what's he got to hide with that stupid name?) portrays the guy in a boring, one-note fashion. When he rapes Ivy in the bathroom, angry at her turning the lesbo corner, the scene has no impact whatsoever.This weak video is best summed up by one of Vera's pithy and pretentious pronouncements in the final reel, exclaiming "The world is full of talented people who don't produce anything". She's referring to her happy-ending wish that all the sexy horsing around will help student Ivy become a successful artist. I took it as the usual Freudian Slip found in most pornography, reflecting instead on Rockwell's meager credits and obvious decline from a budding Sundance-level indie hopeful to journeyman pornographer.