Donny Broussard Reviews: “Lost Boys: The Tribe”

Many fanboys/girls (myself included) have been waiting a long time for a ‘Lost Boys’ sequel, and the studios have been talking about said sequel for just as long. So when the announcement that ‘The Tribe’ was actually going into production I was extremely excited. But then I heard that it was going to be a direct to DVD sequel, and also the only returning cast member was going to be Corey Feldman. WTF? Not good news at all for fans of the original flick, and the fact that the studio didn’t have enough faith in the movie to release it theatrically was also another nail in the coffin.

The flick follows Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser), siblings whose family died in an accident, as they move to the land of the ‘Lost Boys’ to rent a cheap pad from a relative. As soon as they get there they are targeted by gang of motorcycle riding, skateboarding, surfer vampires, and I’m pretty sure ‘Rain Man’ could predict where the story goes from that point on. Shane (Angus Sutherland), a vampire surfer with a terrible accent instantly falls in love with Nicole and sets out to make her his totally awesome vampire bride. And of course to keep it all in the family, her brother Chris is also invited into the fold, mainly because of his ability to ride tubular waves (joke). From there Chris must kill the head vampire and save his sister, with the help of Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) of course.

‘The Tribe’ started off with a bang, giving hardcore horror fans a cameo by non other than Tom Savini, but it doesn’t take long for the flick to move into cheap direct-to-DVD territory. The flick was full of flaws and even went against its own mythology. In this flick the bloodsuckers can’t fly, and most of them can’t act either. Angus Sutherland (Kiefer’s half brother) was the worst, his accent made him sound like he spent a few weeks studying Keanu’s accent in ‘Point Break,’ but never quite got it right, and his acting was terrible. Maybe it was the fact that they had a terrible script, but many of the actors seemed to be forcing their performances. Also, at certain times Chris and Nicole seem more like a couple than siblings, there were a few times during the flick I was waiting for the two of them to give into their incestuous impulses and become vampire surfer siblings with benefits.

The special effects weren’t near the quality of the first installment in the series, but were still pretty damn cool. There were also a few cool moments such as the films opening, as well as a cool water-balloon canon, but just not enough to win over loyal fans of the ‘Lost Boys.’ Not even Feldman could save this direct-to-DVD drivel from dying a slow and painful death, because instead of taking the Edgar Frog character and building upon it, the grown up Edgar Frog is nothing more than a carbon copy of the character from the first movie.

If the filmmakers would have taken out Feldman’s Frog, and just called the flick ‘The Tribe’ it would have been a half decent vampire flick, totally worthy of a horror fans time. But as a sequel to one of the most beloved vampire movies ever made, it’s nothing more than a time waster. I do have to give the flick props for the extremely nice T&A shots, and the buffet of extremely hot ladies that grace the flick with their presence. But unfortunately for ‘Lost Boys: The Tribe’ not even smoking ladies could save this flick, is was definitely not a killer film.

Jon Peters Reviews: “Sisters”

I met Margot Kidder a while ago and we discussed one of my favorite suspense films and one of her personal favorite jobs, Brian De Palma’s 1973 film ‘Sisters’. She commented on how much she enjoyed working on the film and felt it was one of her better acting jobs. I concurred. Then, half-heartily and a little inquisitive, she asked, ‘Aren’t they remaking it?’ I say that they were. ‘Have you heard when it’s coming out? I’m curious to see what they’ve done.’ Personally, I hope Margot forgot this remake existed. It’s a pale imitation of the minor classic, poorly conceived, and generally boring.

Granted it is a tough act to follow with at that time, De Palma was seemingly a startlingly surprise as he married tension and suspense with split-screen effects, a haunting Bernard Herrmann score, and Hitchcockian sensibilities. On paper, when I heard that they were remaking it, I got kind of excited. It started off with a good cast: Chloe Sevigny (’American Psycho’) and Stephen Rea (’V for Vendetta’) and was to be Douglas Buck’s first feature length film. I heard of Buck through his three short films dealing with the disintegration of American family values with ‘Home’, ‘Cutting Moments’, and ‘Prologue’. He seemed like a director with some ideas as they were thematically interesting. I was hoping he would bring it to this film. Unfortunately, he might’ve been overwhelmed as the film is flat and uninspired, and not at all interesting on any level. It is just one big, flat dud.

‘Sisters’ focuses on obsessions and mental disorders. I never bought into the relationship with the doctor (Rea) and Angelique. Once certain details were revealed, the film had no chance of rewarding us with anything remotely interesting. In the original film, it’s unclear if Margot Kidder was one person or two (I’m trying hard not to reveal spoilers); De Palma kept a lot of mystery throughout the film, making us stay in our seats. We were generally intrigued, with the remake not so much.

The film feels too much like a television production, nothing felt theatrical. The cast does a good job, but it doesn’t matter. The film has a plot twist that is so far out of reality, I dare any reader to defend it. Buck tries hard to create an eerie atmosphere, but he just cannot keep some major flaws from sinking the entire film. It is a drab experience, one not worth the time or effort to sit down and watch. The age old argument it seems now days was if the remake was necessary or not. That’s a subjective question to be sure, but in the case of this film, there’s nothing worth noting for you to make an effort to see it. Get the original on Criterion Collection DVD. It still holds up as an interesting suspense thriller, where as this feels like a Lifetime horror film. Hopefully, Buck rebounds. He has promise, but this was a weak attempt, a dud, hell, it’s just a bad film.

New Tyrannosaurus Rex Art!

Rob Zombie is a very good at building up hype for the films he directs, posting artwork periodically to keep fans interested. And his new flick “Tyrannosaurus Rex” looks stupid awesome! New poster art has been posted on his MySpace page, so check it out and if you haven’t seen the previous artwork that he has posted, then stay a while and browse through his photos and blog for more “Tyrannosaurus Rex” goodness.

Source: Rob Zombie MySpace

Jon Peters Reviews: “The Visitor”

I never considered Robert Jenkins (’Six Feet Under’, recently ‘Step Brothers’) to be an actor I was excited to see in a new film. I have always found him to be cold and unsympathetic in a way, much like Tommy Lee Jones Don’t get me wrong I consider both of them highly skilled actors, but a lot of buzz has been swirling around Jenkins performance here in ‘The Visitor’ and I can certainly say his performance is worthy of the high praise.

Tom McCarthy’s follow-up to his debut film, ‘The Station Agent’, is a quiet film with quiet performances. Now I can understand if you think that sounds boring, but it isn’t. his film doesn’t need over-the-top acting or camera tricks, the script glides through these characters lives making sure each touch each other in some way. Anchored by a beautiful piano score McCarthy’s film tackles some deep issues a post 9/11 America has and it is unaware of.

Walter (Robert Jenkins) is an economics professor who is clearly bored within his world. He’s a cold man, saddened, but never shows it. In one scene, his piano instructor, an elderly woman, kindly recommends him to keep on practicing but Walter says she doesn’t need to come back next week. She gets the point-she’s been fired. Walter is clearly pretending to have some sort of life. Is he saddened still, years after his wife’s passing? Are he and his son estranged? Is he just an old goat unable to socialize? This is where Jenkins performance earns the praise. It’s nuanced slightly, perhaps as only a grumpy old man like Jenkins can deliver.

When he retreats back to his New York City apartment to get away, he finds his landlord has let two people live there. They’re decent people that have been taking advantage of and when they agree to leave, Walter has a second thought about kicking them out. It is his apartment after all, but something has made him change. He starts a unique friendship with the couple, particularly Tarek (Haaz Slieman), a young man who is skilled with the African drum. Walter clearly has an appreciation for music and this is where their friendship blossoms.

The film explores race, immigration and especially, American attitude towards the Muslim culture, but using these characters to show how easily one’s life can change and how respect can go along way in making us all better. The film walks a fine line up to cliché but features genuine moments that never is forced but comes naturally. Walter’s bored life is wiped away when Tarek is arrested and soon he fins meaning he has probably longed for. The ending is especially moving and touching, a rousing final scene and one great performance after another, compliment a rare, intelligent film about people and caring. The film never cheats its message, although some critics have clearly missed the point.

Some have said a white man changes for the better through colored people, but one who says that is blind to McCarthy’s messages. Walter does change and for the better, but the film isn’t just about his arc. What about Tarek’s mother, played beautifully by Haim Abbass? Wasn’t she not changed and moved by Walter’s kind acts? Didn’t Tarek’s girlfriend started out uneasy towards Walter only to warm up to him and consider him a friend? Some critics just don’t get it. This critic did and highly recommends ‘The Visitor’ for all of its sublime moments that quietly tagged together one great film.

New Release Tuesday

It’s another Tuesday so it’s New Release time!!! Last week was very little, but this week has some interesting titles.

Doomsday Unrated

I had high expectations for this as I enjoyed “Dog Soldiers” and think “Descent” is just amazing. This would’ve played better as part as Tarantino’s “Grindhouse”, as is, it’s just a melting pot of ideas that don’t work. All the best parts of this movie has been copied from far better movies, like “Excalibur”, “Road Warrior”, and anything by John Carpenter.

Extras:
-audio commentary
-3 featurettes

Dark City

Sweet, it’s on Blu Ray! Man, this is one great sci-fi film, unfortunately Alex Proyas followed this up with a weak one in “I, Robot”, but at least he has given us this. New special edition too, wahoo!

Extras:
-audio commentaries
-additional footage

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Stoner comedy tackles some political ideas. I skipped it, but I know Donny wanted to see it. Look for a review soon!

Extras:
- Unable to get information as of this writing

Inglorious Bastards

**DVD PICK OF THE WEEK** No, this isn’t the long rumored Tarantino film he has promised, but this is the original of this rarely seen war film. Has a decent cult film cast and is jam packed with cool extras. Seek it!

Extras:
-original CD soundtrack
-audio commentary
-Quentin Tarantino interview the director
-documentary

Shine a Light

The new Marty Scorsese documentary on the Stones. Scorsese’s documentary side goes largely overlooked but he’s equally as good within this genre as he is in narrative features. Not as good as “Gimme Shelter” or anything Scorsese has done in the documentary world, but worth a look. Also on Blu Ray.

Extras:
-featurette
-4 music videos

Masters of Horror: Complete Season 2

Anchor Bay released these all separately but this gathers them all in one cool-ass packaging-a human skull!! For whatever flaws some have criticized this series, but I for one would take them over its watered-down sister on NBC, “Fear Itself”.

Look for these catalogue titles making a Blu Ray appearance: “Top Gun”, “Beowulf”, the Jack Ryan films, “Lost Boys”, the direct-to-DVD sequel “Lost Boys II: The Tribe”, “Stargate: Continuum” and the above titles on Blu. What a week for BD!

Also this week is the great documentary “Surfwise”, the highly regarded arthouse film “The Band’s Visit”, the barely seen martial arts film “Never Back Down”, and some TV. Not too bad to close out July. Come back next week for the start of August and keep it here for reviews too!!!

Jon Peters Reviews: “Lamb of God: Walk With Me in Hell”

Music styles come and go, genres change and evolve, but if that does for this current trend of so-called American Metal, at least Lamb of God has documented the state of the genre with some brilliant music films. If only other bands took note of how to craft an interesting documentary about a band’s work, life, and other events as well. Coming off a memorable DVD, ‘Killadephia’, which featured the infamous fight between lead singer Randy and guitarist Mark, what else could be interesting as a sequel? How about ‘Walk with Me in Hell’?

Capturing the band as they tour Japan, Australia, and Europe, ‘Walk with Me in Hell’, details the next important phase for the group. Coming off a platinum record, ‘The Sacrament’, LoG must now contend with their label as best American metal band in the U.S. It’s not all perfect as they come to realize. Their gear goes missing, truck woes, and power outages; all within a grueling 4 month touring schedule puts them to the test. Luckily, Randy is noticeably more light-hearted and sober, Willie and John have become closer as friends, and they still deliver the best metal live shows around.

There are plenty of highlights as they discover Japan, Willie and John’s smack-off and Randy getting cultured, all of which seems boring compared to the drama filled ‘Killadephia’ film. Not at all actually, as we see there are plenty of laughs and fun to be had. But within that fun, you’ll see how dedicated this band is to becoming and living up to the label of Best Metal Band. From their debut album which kicked off a new wave in the metal scene with ‘Black Label’ to now, with a Grammy nomination for ‘Redneck’, Lamb of God proves that while they are the most humble of dudes, they are also the best technicians of their respective craft.

DVD:

Audio/Video: Video is fine, with a nice 16×9 transfer, only a few live performances look grainy but nothing that distracting. Audio wise, the film is recorded in Dolby Pro Logic II, but don’t let that fool you. It’s a nice mix, full of bass and clarity. Very well done sound mix.

‘Sacrament Making-of’: If you own the ‘Sacrament’ album, most of which came with a DVD of them recording the album. It’s extremely thorough and well-done, showcasing a rare process of each member’s art and craft as they come up with riffs and lyrics. We see Chris take on a new exercise to get leg strength and producer Machine getting Randy to run around the block for a handful of minutes to get that right amount of windedness needed for a line of lyric. Good stuff.

‘Entire Download Festival Performance’: Nobody puts on a more intense live show, which often equals violent mosh pits, than LoG. Enjoy.

‘Live Tracks from Ozzfest, Unholy Alliance Tour, & more’: Self-explanatory.

‘Redneck Video and making-of’: Ported over from the ‘Sacrament’ CD, but worth a look. They have never come up with a better music video than ‘11th hour’, but it’s still kind of funny.

Conclusion: Over 5 hours of material here, and worth every second for fans of the scene or Lamb of God, as it’s a cliché to say, but nobody does DVD like LoG. It makes for a perfect companion to ‘Killadephia’ and a worth while peek at a band that is peaking at the height of the genre.

TRON 2!!!!!!!!!!!

The original Tron is one of the greatest films of all time, period. Never before was a film made that seamlessly blended live action with computer animated surroundings. Something unheard of and revolutionary at that time. Well, something frakkin amazing has happened at the San Diego Comic Con. A secret screening has taken place featuring light cycles, avatars doing battle, and Jeff bridges as present day Flynn and as his avatar Clu. It appears as though a sequel has secretly been in the works for Tron 2. And whenever an official trailer appears, I’ll definitely be posting it!!

the sauce

Jon Peters Reviews: “Step Brothers”

I have been down on Will Ferrell as of late. While this might be blasphemy to many, I really haven’t enjoyed much of his theatrical work since he left ‘SNL’. I’m not counting bit parts either, but full leading man vehicles. I did enjoy ‘Elf’ but that’s perhaps more the script and Favreau than Ferrell. But boy, do I love John C. Reilly. If you’ve been reading this site within the last two months, you should know that I loved a little dark comedy many critics dismissed, ‘The Promotion’. While that was a dark comedy, Reilly is no stranger to zany, goof fests like this. Essentially, that’s what ‘Step Brothers’ is.

At a board meeting, Robert (Richard Jenkins) eyes Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and soon falls in love, has sex, and realizes they have more in common that lust: they both have 40 year olds at home. Soon Brennan and Dale become step brothers and then the war is on. From here, we get plenty of gross out gags, hilarious one-liners (perhaps my favorite bits of comedy in this film are their wildly odd quips), and other typical Ferrell comedy elements. McKay has directed Farrell in two others, the over-rated ‘Anchor Man’ and ‘Talladega Nights’ so he’s familiar with Ferrell’s antics. For the most part, they highlight all of the things that made Ferrell work on ‘SNL’. He plays a boyish, vulnerable idiot; yes, it’s different than his cocky idiots he’s been playing for like five movies now, and it feels oddly refreshing to see him ‘back’.

To me, though, it’s Reilly’s show to steal. He’s a more cynical, meaner; version of Ferrell’s character, but completely lovable. He also has the funnier moments and quips, like when the two of them are called in to be interviewed for a job, he proudly proclaims ‘We’re here to f*ck shit up!’ as then, in slow motion, walk towards the office, knocking over papers and pushing the employees around.

The success of this film lives or dies by its comedy. If it’s funny, then it wins, if it isn’t then we lose. Fortunately, it’s hilarious, although, there are some ideas and jokes that don’t work. Both get love interests that seem to be pulled out of nowhere, although Dale’s is sort of funny that goes nowhere. Brennan’s brother and his family parts are uninspired as it the blind neighbor bit. When they do ‘grow’ up, it’s there to push the finale along. We don’t buy it and it seems forced. But who cares. Ferrell and Reilly are a great comedic team, they play off each other like they are best buds and we enjoy seeing them together. The film is wildly funny, but not with out some duds. Not one of the summer’s funniest, but one that is funny, and that’s enough for me.

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