Girlvana 3 HD
Genre: Lesbian
Director: Mike Quasar
Cast: Kellemarie, Nikki Benz, Puma Swede, Cassie Young, Annette Schwarz, Riley Evans, Abbey Brooks, Holly Morgan, Lena Nicole, Francesca Le, Stephanie Swift, Tory Lane, Rebeca Linares, Mikayla, Franchezca Valentina, Regan Reese, Audrey Bitoni, Zoe Britton, Amber Rayne
Special Guest Star: Heidi Mayne
Length: 251:53 minutes
Date of Production: 1/22/2007 to 1/28/2007
Extra's: Essentially two separate movies combined into one, there were two different Behind the Scenes features; one for the blondes and one for the brunettes, thanks to Nate Liquor. They lasted about 46 minutes if you combined them (the blonde version was 22:40 and included Mike’s usual question to Puma regarding Ikea) and offered some of the goofing off, extra nudity, and general production material such as the photoshoots to add some value. There were two photogalleries and four trailers (trailers repeated on each disc; further leading me to think they were shot as separate movies) with a true double sided DVD cover included. Fans will appreciate that the BTS features were in HD as well, shot in 1080i to be mastered in 1080p rather than the usual ported over SD versions that have been all over the place (down-res’ed and then brought back up).
Condoms: None
Audio/Video Quality: Girlvana 3 HD was presented in a crisp widescreen color using the 1080p resolution fans demand and the AV-1 codec needed to pull it off as director Mike Quasar worked his magic for Zero Tolerance yet again. The ample lighting helped keep the grain and video noise at bay, this proving to be one of the early HD titles that looked as crisp and clear as the video shot format could produce. I saw some aliasing with the fishnets but it was so rare and minimal that you needn’t base any decisions on that, the first disc using an almost thematic lightness to the way the movie was shot as it supporting the premise of the disc on multiple levels. The second disc employed a slightly darker approach but all the action was still easily seen and as with the first, the fleshtones came alive compared to the SD version I saw briefly at a rental outlet nearby. The movie was shot like most of Mike’s works though and if you like the straightforward approach he has employed since the last century, you will find his upgraded HD release to be more of the same but better in terms of the technical aspects like you would expect. It was not a quantum leap forward in resolution as some have suggested but it was more than a modest gain and if the company invests a few more bucks, I can see them giving industry leaders in the high definition format releases a run for their money on visuals alone. The audio was presented in a more modest improvement using the standard 2.0 Dolby Digital+ in English, the secondary Spanish track skipped for the purpose of this review since the dubs have never added any value for me and always come across as a joke. I spot checked it and found no reason to continue, those that speak the language will know what I mean when I tell the company to focus more on improving your English tracks with true surround in them before dabbling in tracks like these. That said, there was little to impress me about either track in terms of separation or dynamic range, not a huge issue on a gonzo release but one needing to be discussed by virtue of the HD upgrades. It did sound better in the sense that it was more lifelike but only barely better than typical gonzo; an area that all the companies can work on for the future.
Body of Review: Mike Quasar and Zero Tolerance are synonymous with well shot gonzo porn these days thanks to years of effort and a narrow focus that doesn’t try to be more than most people consider porn should be. Today’s review is on the company’s signature series in an upgraded form, Girlvana 3 HD, my last glimpse into the show being Girlvana 2 a year or so ago. The movie is a double disc set released on HD-DVD and shows a whole lot of lesbian action with a variety of lovely ladies; the movie split into two sections where the blondes get to play together without toys on the first disc and the brunettes get to go wild with heavy toy use on the second. The back cover said it like this: “It's the age-old debate that's perplexed man before the chicken and the egg: blondes vs. brunettes! Both have juicy wet pussies, both have squeaky tight asses, and both have firm perky tits! So how do you choose between the bangin' brunette babes and the busty blonde bombshells? Don't worry cuz you don't have to... you get both hair-colored cuties uncensored and on two stroke-worthy discs! Choose your chick and save the arguments for the jury! Deep french kissing, intense hair pulling, seductive snatch licking, and sweet lesbo lovin'. Join us as we journey to the state of Girlvana.” If this sounds appealing to you, here’s a quick look at the show by cast and action, noting that no condoms were needed and no population pudding flowed thanks to the complete absence of penis play in the actual movies (though Mike and Chris were sporting wood in the making of section detailed in the extras above):
Disc One: Blonde’s: Weekend at Kellemarie’s: Kellemarie, Nikki Benz, Puma Swede, Cassie Young, Annette Schwarz, Riley Evans, Abbey Brooks, Holly Morgan, and Lena Nicole, were the players on the first disc with four basic scenes containing all the action. Initially, Puma and Riley were in bed together; each exploring what the other had to offer. Fans of foot fetish action will be overjoyed but as directed, they spent an incredible amount of time kissing seductively and feeling each other up. The “gimmick” of the first disc (each volume in the series has the quirk) is that no toys were used so they had to take their time stretching out all the usual oral and caressing; succeeding very nicely as they made me forget what it was I liked about toy use. That led to an orgy scene where the ladies paired up into small groups, coming and going as they saw fit to satiate each other with the same emphasis on oral loving. They did use fingers and got slightly heated at times in the sense of poking and prodding; rimming and face sitting getting some attention along the way. Each separate segment of this first disc lent itself to the classic approach of lesbian sex though which was more about sensual delights than aggressive pushing of limits by the ladies. My biggest issue with this section was the concept of blonds though since a good number of the ladies were far from blond, even discounting the bleached blonds that many of us enjoy watching. This disc lasted 119:16 minutes and listed Heidi Mayne as a special guest though I’d rather she be in the thick of things eating pussy and feeling up her peers like the rest of the gals. The stand out performance as far as I was concerned was courtesy of Puma Swede due to her sexually aggressive nature though some of the others looked cuter or gave off a vibe that better suited the desired dynamic of the volume.
Disc Two: Brunette’s: Weekend at Francesca Le’s: Francesca Le, Stephanie Swift, Tory Lane, Rebeca Linares, Mikayla, Franchezca Valentina, Regan Reese, Audrey Bitoni, Zoe Britton, and Amber Rayne were the select gene pool for the second disc that lasted 132:37 minutes and also broke into several relatively discrete scenes that flowed together. The “no toy zone” restriction was no only lifted here but they were actively encouraged; giving a substantially wider range to the variety of what the ladies could do. In year’s past, this section was also considered the “rough sex” part of the series since the gals were given explicit instructions to let loose with their fantasies and what they wanted to do. There appeared to be a slight nod to getting performers that wanted to interact together their due here as well which livened things up and if it were a competition for replay and strokability; the brunettes would have won hands down just as fans of more sensual lesbian antics will prefer the blonde disc of the show. Francesca Le was the focal point this time and while a few years older than most of the others, she was also the most sexually aggressive (this could be argued in favor of Tory Lane getting the nod though; my points going to Ms. Le by a small margin). It was interesting to note that the oral was still plentiful (this is a lesbian outing after all) but heavy on anal toy use too. Also of note was lovely Stephanie Swift, back from retirement to give some appreciated experience to the action in the final scene; Francesca clearly grateful at getting to work with her. If you hate toys, stick with the first disc but those wanting the gals going especially crazy might want to start off with disc two to enjoy the various fluid pairings where the ladies mingled freely but never seemed to be locked into specific sex acts or with gals they weren’t happy with.
Summary: Girlvana 3 HD by director Mike Quasar for Zero Tolerance will only appeal to those of you into lesbian action or wanting a decent HD-DVD porn title to share with friends that might not appreciate seeing huge cocks projected on your large screen but it was a title earning the rating of Recommended all the same. There was a lot of lesbian fuck for the buck thanks to the replay and stroke value, the double disc package perhaps a bit extreme considering the bitrate was on the light side for HD but still enjoyed all the same. The casting was well done and most of the ladies appeared to be there for more than a check, so you’ll want to at least consider this as a possibility should you appreciate porn diversity in your collection. In short, Girlvana 3 HD, much like Girlvana 2 last year, was a tribute to Mike’s skill with a camera as much as the cast’s skill getting each other off. The stand out performances outweighed the few I found wanting and the technical boost given thanks to the HD format was a step in the right direction so check it out.