Aesthetically, this tape is nearly porn perfection. It has some cool, stylistic editing that utilizes frequent quick-dissolves. Furthermore, the incidental music actually sounds good, and it fits nicely with the overall tone, which is sometimes dark and sometimes dreamily erotic. Even though the dialogue is ad-libbed, it's enjoyable and funny. Finally, the girls are all beautiful and classy, but also sexy and seductive.

True, the "porn as art thing" is hardly new. It's also hardly ever successful. But NA:COL is based on the work of a real artist - Irvin Bomb - and not some run-of-the-mill "erotic painter" (read: hack). Bomb (not his real name) has dabbled in landscapes and received a lot of training at Marvel Comics, doing both production work and art correction. He also has a painting of Teddy Roosevelt hanging in the Smithsonian.

In the opening moments, Irvin spots Ava and Natalia through the window of a caf?. He rushes in from the cold Manhattan sidewalk and asks if he can paint them. (It's actually quite a nice change of pace to see porn starlets dressed in layers, insulated against the brisk New York City winter in scarves and turtlenecks.) Once the three of them are back at Irvin's apartment/studio, Ava poses wearing nothing but long, black velvet gloves. Natalia - who is very exotic-looking - watches Irvin's canvas for a while, but eventually she, too, disrobes. The two of them entwine, elegantly writhing about on the bed. The sex is mostly on the playful and gentle side, but still very arousing.

The second (all-too-brief) scene is a flashback in which we supposedly see the first time Irvin tries his hand at painting a female nude. Actually, he gets commissioned to paint two women: A.J. Kahn (imagine a modern-day Lilith) and Katie Jordon (picture a gothed-out Ione Skye). After a MacBeth moment in front of a steaming cauldron, ("Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble..."), the two lusty ladies (who are supposed to be witches) glide their fingers and tongues softly and smoothly over each other with just a hint of nastiness. There's some great 69 happening in this scene. It's also hot when the chicks tease the dutiful artist.

Scene three (with Dee and Obsession) is no slouch, either. First there's some shiver-inducing ear-licking and finger-sucking by both of them. Dee performs some steamy oral, and then they both ride either end of a long, ornate dildo. Unfortunately, this is the final scene.

Pre-noms for Best Cinematography, Best Music, and Best Art Direction - Film.