Expected more

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Charlie Band Jr. has a cheap low budget science fiction and horror company called Full Moon Pictures. He thought he could keep his budget in black by producing soft core adult movies under the name Surrender Cinema- with one edit for home video, a more PG edit for video stores and an R edit for late night cable. The PG edits have all gone out of print that most reviewers are griping about. The movies have an annoying at times identical stamp of nude scenes with only music for sound and usually one glimpse of any genitals or pubic hair. Veronica 2030 in its least edited version has some promise in spite of its one-rule-fits-all format. Julia Ann is gorgeous as always, making the most of her excitement and expression in every scene of undress. Gary Graver's direction is in his usual style of cutting to the best parts of these scenes and grabbing us with wild new positions of union. The soundtrack is always right on target, giving this and other Surrender movies a minor classic quality. I must admit the only drawback is silly dialogue that makes me run to my forward button almost every time.

Looking for quality acting, a seamless plot and thrilling plot twists? Then keep looking, because this ain't it. The acting is terrible, the plot is virtually nonexistent, and the closest thing you get to a plot twist is Nikki Fritz's attempts at remembering her lines. This movie has hot chicks, T&A, and a lot of everything in between. There's no real reason why anyone does what the do and by the end you forgot what the movie was about in the first place, but that's OK. A few too many butt shots of the guys for my tastes, but not too many to kill your rhythm. The way to enjoy movies like this is to fast-forward over all the plot garbage and get to the real reason you're watching this in the first place.As far as a movie goes, it gets a 1. As far as a skin flick goes, it gets a 10. I give it the average, a 5.

As Freud once said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes that "R" rating is really an accurate appraisal from the MPAA. At an hour nineteen, this movie clearly weighed in light on the scales, which was not a good sign.The story centers around Julia (skip the last name.it worked for Cher and Madonna, right?) playing a pleasure model named Veronica from the year 2030, who, after some unauthorized late-night tests, is catapulted back into the past. Options being limited for pleasure 'droids from the future, Veronica gets a job modeling for a lingerie catalogue. Not exactly a Pulitzer Prize winning plot, but enough of a premise to satisfy late night cable audiences. That is, it would be if there were any stuffing inside this doughy, inedible confection.We do have a few glimpses of Julia, who is admittedly luscious, with her off-the-shelf breasts, her two charming little tattoos, and false eyelashes that look like twin tarantulas crawling on her eyes. But inevitably the camera gets coy at crucial moments. Exhibit A is a torrid dance scene with Julia, wearing only a net body stocking and a pair of high heels. But even if she proves that The Girl Can Dance, the scene is over in the blink of a voyeur's eye. Exhibits B and C are the few heated moments as the girls model some fetish fashions. But the leather and chains are strictly for a niche market and fail to meet even the Minimum Daily Requirements.The pneumatic Nikki Fritz plays a ruthless businesswoman doing business from the back seat of her limo: barking out orders on her cell phone; being worshipped by muscular stallions; appearing in an Academy Award parade of designer gowns. Everything, in fact, except what she does best.which is get naked and heat up the screen. There is one feeble attempt at a love scene, where Nikki appears naked for a nanosecond before the screen fades to a prim and proper black.In fact, as the Bruce Willis talking action-figure on my desk says, "This movie has more blackouts than London during the war". Every time the on-screen thermometer begins to rise above tepid, the scene fades to black.The third time I fished this undernourished specimen out of the late-night cable waters, I decided to rent the unrated version. It immediately added the heft of about fifteen minutes, correcting the single most important deficiency of the "R" version.nudity. We have boy meets girl, girl meets girl, boy meets two girls and so on - with all of the scenes providing copious amounts of naked flesh and cheap thrills. Fashions shows begin in lingerie and end in nothing but skin. (And for some odd reason, there is also a lot of licking in this film; I haven't seen that much tongue since my last trip to my local deli.) There is even an interlude where Julia and Nikki get a chance to bump bodies. Watching these two works of art roll around in a four-poster bed, I am mystified that anyone could bear to edit out that scene.All of which reminds me of the time, a few years back, when a video rental mega-store was in a quandary about a recent release. On the one hand, they couldn't ignore a new release from a major studio; but they also couldn't risk offended the Family Values crowd by renting out an "NC-17" movie. So they compromised and put an "R" version on the shelves. "Showgirls" without the nudity? Why bother?Same deal here.

This movie spends a lot of time inserting clips from other films from the production company (Surrender.) Some plot is injected at times, masking the true purpose of the picture - sex. The real treat for the viewer is, of course, the breast scenes. They're in there. And you'll wait until the middle of the movie to see those of the straight-laced, hair-in-a-bun scientist lady.Good one if you're lonely on a Friday night...