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In this collection of three stories, an emotionally abused
wife finds comfort in the arms of her brother-in-law, a young
dancer undertakes an erotic and redemptive pilgrimage to Rome
involving live sex shows and nude photography, and a femme
fatale looks into a mirror as she recalls a sadomasochistic
love affair...
Try
imagining an erotic version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
and you'll have some idea of what this DVD series is like.
Only less well made. Producer Tinto Brass has little direct
involvement with these short films, apart from introducing
each one while puffing away characteristically on a cigar,
and making the occasional cameo appearance.
Though
the productions claim to have been directed in the "Tinto
Brass style", there is scant evidence of it here. Only in
A Magic Mirror is there any hint of Brass's eccentricity,
in the grotesque character of a brusque layabout husband (Ronaldo
Ravello), who spends much of his screen time lounging around
in a bath, like the captain of the B-Ark in The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy. But, although this tale displays
the most humour in the entire collection, it also shows off
the least amount of bare flesh, which is surely another important
ingredient that the audience will be expecting.
Things
get sexier in Julia, the story from which this collection
takes its name, which includes some particularly explicit
and highly charged sex scenes. Unfortunately, the plot is
almost totally incomprehensible - something to do with a dancer
(Anna Biella) going to Rome, but wildly at odds with the description
on the back of the sleeve, which mentions a photographer's
three beautiful models. I counted two of them at the most.
This production is also blighted by amateurish editing, which
leaves several gaping holes in the soundtrack. Oh well, at
least this DVD is subtitled, which spares us from woeful English
dubbing of the type recently heard on Brass's Private.
The
final tale, I Am the Way You Want Me, is a very weird
and nasty little minx. In it, a naked woman (Fiorella Rubino)
sprawls around in her bathroom, mouthing various strange utterances
to camera, and doing erotic things to herself, such as shaving
with a fearsome-looking cutthroat razor (shudder). And that's
about it.
A
further disappointment is the lack of any extra features.
So, all in all, this DVD has left me feeling rather brassed
off!
Chris
Clarkson
Isexkai Maidenosawari H As You Like In Another Better Today
This paper examines the hypothetical isekai narrative "Maidenosawari: As You Like in Another, Better," analyzing its themes, worldbuilding mechanics, character dynamics, and cultural significance. The work reframes isekai conventions by foregrounding consent, moral responsibility, and the ethics of world-altering agency. I argue that the story offers a critique of escapist fantasies while exploring how autonomy and improvement intersect when one individual can reshape another world. Introduction Isekai—stories about protagonists transported to alternate worlds—have flourished in contemporary speculative fiction. "Maidenosawari: As You Like in Another, Better" (hereafter Maidenosawari) reimagines the trope by granting its protagonist not only passage to another world but the explicit ability to modify that world according to personal preferences. This premise raises questions about power, cultural relativity, and the boundary between benevolent reform and imperialistic imposition. Premise and Mechanics Maidenosawari's inciting device is the “Sawari,” a metaphysical artifact allowing its bearer to perceive and optionally alter the target world's fundamental parameters: laws of nature, social structures, and probability biases. The artifact operates under two constraints: changes require narrative-consistent justification (rooted in the protagonist’s genuine understanding of the target culture) and carry emergent, often unpredictable, systemic feedbacks. |
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£15.99
(Amazon.co.uk) |
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£15.49
(MVC.co.uk) |
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£15.49
(Streetsonline.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
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