Cinemax's "Hotel" Series

Popularily known as "Skinemax", these are erotic adult films of a soft-core porn quality that air on late night cable TV's Cinemax after midnight. These films and series are far superior in style to the hardcore porn films your adult video store has. The sex may be simulated and there are no shots of genitals, but the writing is good, the stories are engaging and there is plot and character, which far outshines any mindless hardcore film. Cinemax and Showtime have long aired soft-core porn after midnight and is still doing so with such series as "Sin City Diaries" starring Amber Smith and Justin Anthony Lopez. Here are some reviews of films and series episodes I've seen in the past year or so. They're highly recommended for arousing couples pre-sex and if soft core is your thing, this is definately for you.

Hotel Erotica: This series, which premiered in 2002 and appears to have been cancelled, was about a beach hotel resort or tropical resort where the owners encourage the guests to engage in sexual exploration. Although "sexual swinging" " is welcomed, many of the guests who come to the hotel are decidedly single and looking for their perfect match, bringing with them their problems and inhibitions, all of which are resolved by the end of the series. Not all are looking for love as many episodes focused on "checking in", then having a sexual encounter and then "checking out". Nonetheless, this is nothing plotless and poorly done in the least.

Episode "Extreme Sports", Director Gary Dean Orona, Screenplay by A.G. Lawrence....Starring Beverly Lynne, Evan Moore, Mara Kelle, Fernando Gaviria, Gian Keyes. In this episode, a sports-loving, physically active and adventuresome couple check into the resort and sign up for activities such as hiking and kayaking. They are engaged and are both in the mood for one last sexual encounter before they tie the knot. Hotel Erotica provides them with this but it appears to happen naturally and not in a calculated fashion. While the guy goes off to get a massage at the spa, the girl seeks out a guide to take her on a hike to the lake/woods. Before long, the masseuse is on top of the guy riding him and providing him with an intense pleasure session after the erotic massage. The girl and her male guide have a sexual encounter of their own by the lake. This having been done, they are ready to move on as a couple and not have to wonder what one last sexual encounter would have been like. This episode is pretty short, perhaps not even a half hour, and moves pretty fast but has some good acting and realistic dialogue. The couple is attractive but real-looking (they look like an actual couple) and their sex partners are very sexy. The sex scenes are well done and should get you hot and bothered.

Episode "The Fast And The Curious" Starring Lauren Hays, Rafe Urquhart, Sandra Corbo, Stephanie Hudson, Amanda Collins, Natasha Tsakos and Massimo Avidano. Jere,a sexy and popular NASCAR race driver (Rafe Urquhart) is injured after a race and comes to heal his wounds and relax at the hotel. Every female is fussing over him and vying for his attention. It's not long before he becomes the center of a threesome with girls. He has a girlfriend but their relationship clearly needs work as we don't see a single love scene between them. Alexa (Sandra Corbo) who works in the hotel has followed his career for a long time and has a crush on him. Her pursuit of him is wrought with difficulties. She has a sometime lover, a sexy olive-skinned European man Maurice (Massimo Avidano) who provides her with meaningless sex. But by the end of the episode, her fantasy comes true when she finally gets to be with Jere for one night of lovemaking. She is able to write about her experience in her diary and feels totally free. This is a well-written episode, with excellent photography/cinematography, music and pretty good sex scenes for the softcore fans.

Sex Games: Cancun/Vegas...Director Victor Dubanai, Screenplay Wolf Gardner, Artie Kemper, Bebe Credit...Starring Chloe, Daniel Anderson, Nicole Oring, Jassie, Dale DaBone, Dino Bravo, Glen Meadows, Randy Spears, Danny Pape, Angela Davies, Sarge Logan, Kris Knight, Kristen Price, Aimee Sweet, Evan Stone, Mark Weiler, Frank Mercuri, Renzo Lewis Jr, Cherokee, Frank Harper, Beverly Lynne In this series, which ran for two seasons beginning in 2005, a couple - Carl and Mona Barrish portrayed by Chloe and Daniel Anderson - own a popular beach resort in Cancun and another in Vegas - where couples and singles come for some adult fun. Far from being a place to get laid, the guests are usually seeking for an experience beyond just the physical and search for their perfect match, be it sexually or emotionally. Carl and Mona, who are swingers, have been married for years and love to play match maker with the guests. By the end of every episode, couples who have been disenchanted rekindle their passion or singles looking for love finally find it.

Episode "The Bet": Carl and Mona invite a group of long-time friends and make a bet during a party. Which of them will have the hottest sexual experience to date, be it with their spouse or someone else? This episode is typical of the series and there were many other episodes in which bets and competitions of a sexual nature was made. Erotic encounters left and right, but always in good taste. The best part of this episode is the fact that the couples are not "porno glamour" and although very sexy, look like your average Vegas party lover. It's also interesting to note that the actors are not all young "20 something" college-age, party animals. Dan Anderson who portrays Carl Barrish, is much older than 30 something Mona. The men and women engage in sinful pleasures that arouse the viewer and makes one very excited about escaping into resorts and hotels that are probably like this.

Episode "Phone Tag".....The use of texting, taking photos on the cell and constantly making calls is the focus of this episode, but with a sexy twist. A young secretary girl, sick of being treated like a dog by her sexist, imperious prick of a boss gets even when she seduces his most important client, exposes him for fraud and finds a partner who not only fulfills her sexually but romantically/soulfully. This episode was well-paced, well-written and a lot of fun to watch.

Episode "When Carl Met Mona"....A look back at how the owners of the sinful hotel met and fell in love. This is probably the best episode in the series as it focuses on the building of a relationship, and just what attracted Carl to Mona. Every scene with Chloe and Dan Anderson is good, whether it is dialogue or sex. Their lovemaking is usually superior to other guests, owing to the fact that underneath the passion and expert lovemaking is the fact these two are into each other.