Ratings & Reviews
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All the reviews and ratings from this user. |
| Type |
Site - Score |
Feedback / Review |
Date |
Review
1
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X-Art
(0)
95.0
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| Status: |
Current Member for over 2 months (at the time of review).
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| Pros: |
-some of the best and most intimate cinematography I've ever seen
-the most genuine-seeming passion I've seen in professional porn to date
-content is in general very classy and not degrading
-video quality is excellent and plays back smoothly on various devices
-download managers work, no bandwidth limitations
-daily updates (either photoset or video)
-videos are just about the right length without a lot of mechanical filler |
| Cons: |
-no real search function
-behind the scenes section is not a useful bonus |
| Bottom Line: |
This is the second time I've had a subscription to x-art. The first time I tried it for a month, and, after trying a few other sites, returned to get a year's subscription as I was hard-pressed to find any other site that measured up to what it had to offer.
It should be noted that I much prefer the "heartcore" genre of porn, as I find that style much more appealing than some of the more traditional hardcore approaches. x-art both epitomizes this style and does it perhaps the most successfully. About the roughest you will see on this site are occasional scenes where the sex is quicker and more vigorous than normal, but I can't think of a scene that was degrading (that in and of itself is a plus, at least for me).
The site's navigation is very straightforward: a chronological list of updates (also sorted by name and popularity), with the option to filter b/g, g/g, solo, and group. While it's a clean interface that doesn't get in the way and is great for checking a few times a week, it would be nice to have a search feature (for example, when I want to grab a different size of a video I have on hand, the fastest way is usually to look up the model, find the model page, and then find the video link from there - manageable, but could be better).
The videos are available in multiple formats and sizes (1080 and 720 HD, SD, and mobile), and all play back smoothly on most devices (I was even able to get them to play respectably on the tiny video screen of a classic iPod). The file sizes are smaller than those from comparable sites, although to me they seem to offer a clearer picture and smoother playback than most. The photosets are generally good too, come in multiple resolutions, and seem to be hand-picked without much in the way of repeated shots (which can also mean that you may not like the particular angles or frames they chose to include, but I like that I'm not having to sort through dozens of samey pictures for each set). There are several hundred photosets and videos available, all of consistent quality (although the earliest part of the archives are mostly artful, solo photosets, and videos show up later on, but there is plenty of video content at this point).
What I like most about the site, though, is the quality of the content. I have seen a fair number of sites in this genre, at least in terms of trial videos, and this one seems to get it the most right. The very basic requirement of this type of site, "not so gross I can't show it to my girlfriend," is met by most of them, but this site goes a cut above in providing videos that, through their cinematography and directing, present an actual chemistry and passion that is sadly lacking on many other sites.
Cinematography-wise, the shots work well to highlight things, never linger too long, and provide a good mix of close-ups, mids, and overview shots. The lighting is superb, the location shots generally beautiful, and the editing is clean (although the title fadeouts are a little irksome). The camera work is also good regardless of the subject, and on some of the solo intros, frame the female body in an incredibly beautiful way.
Speaking of the models, it's rare to see one that looks "porn-y", and to my eye at least are all quite stunningly beautiful. It's true that they stay on the "slimly european" side of things (I think I saw maybe one asian and one black model on the site), but they do not disappoint. The male actors are generally quite good too, and with the exception of one I don't like as much, tend to avoid the skeezy look and perform quite well.
What sets them apart even more, though, is that they actually attempt to achieve, or at least reasonably simulate, passionate encounters. The chemistry between the performers is generally excellent, and the passion in the sex feels believable. There's much less of the fake moaning than the norm, to the point where I can listen to the audio without it detracting from the experience, and there are orgasms presented on camera that for a professional site seemed amazingly believable.
Overall, aside from a few quibbles about the site design, this site does everything "heartcore" pretty much right. It is with this site alone, so far, that I come away from watching the videos and feel not just sexually satisfied, but actually happy to see sex presented with a seeming kindness and emotional authenticity that is too often absent elsewhere in porn. Perhaps, despite the title, it's not exactly art per se, but it's the best I've seen so far at managing to be both hardcore and truly erotic. |
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08-20-13 04:47pm
Replies (2)
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Review
2
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Passion HD
(0)
72.0
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| Status: |
Current Member for less than 1 month (at the time of review).
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| Pros: |
-Video quality is good and plays back smoothly
-Some scenes are very nicely done and passionate
-Downloads work well and run at max speed |
| Cons: |
-Preview images and trailers don't always accurately portray content
-A lot of the content feels very similar
-A lot of the performances feel boring/mechanical
-No individual file names
-Picture sets are quantity over quality |
| Bottom Line: |
This site is... well, just okay. It pretty much does what it says on the tin, and the preview allows you to see pretty much what's on it (although video previews are somewhat limited). It seems to have about 3 to 4 updates a week, each on about 25-40 minutes in length. Current videos are in 1920x1080, although about half from the back catalog are 1280x720. Each video page has a selection of features, including the trailer, streaming video, screencaps from the video for a quick preview, and a photoset for the shoot. Content is boy-girl, with some three- and foursomes, and girl/girl only as an intro to a threesome+ scene.
Overall, the quality and fidelity of the photos and videos seems quite good, although it seems like they take a bunch of rapid-fire photos to get the perfect shot - and then just dump them all in to the archive, leaving you to sort out the decent ones. Cinematography on the videos is about average, with static shots that sometimes linger for too long.
The general quality is better than most, with decent locations and okay lighting. Male models are okay to dubious, with a couple of decent-looking (albeit heavily tatted) ones. Female models range from moderately attractive to not so much, and plenty of fake tits to go along with the real ones. At no point will you be under the illusion that you are watching anything other than career porn actors trying to shoot a "softer hardcore" version of porn.
I suppose the main problem is that for a site called Passion-HD, the passion itself is somewhat lacking. You don't get a real sense of passion or connection between the actors at all, and the camera-work doesn't help that much, giving you a lot of static scenes that go on for just a bit too long. The sex itself is very mechanical and doesn't feel spontaneous or dynamic at all, just people going through the motions. There are a few videos where things "click" and the passion shines through, but unfortunately they are few and far between. And as the site is pretty much boy-girl scenes shot in similar locations with similar models, there's no real variety to change things up, with the result being scenes that look fine in short clips, but come across as very boring overall. Intro, oral, handful of positions, creampie/facial, done. Yes, it's classier than most (there's not much anal at all, mostly oral/vaginal without anything more extreme than very light bondage or sex that's a little rough), but it feels very much like a traditional hardcore production trying to make the transition to "glamcore" or whatever you want to call it without really understanding what people are actually attracted to in the genre and changing their models, direction and production methods to match.
So, if you want to watch a bunch of people who look very much like porn-stars have very staid (but fairly classy and not gross) porn-star sex, with an occasional standout performance, you might enjoy it. However, if you're looking for anything with an even passing resemblance to passion, you may want to look elsewhere. |
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08-12-13 05:22pm
Replies (4)
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