Vampires. i have loved vampires in all their forms since at least 3rd grade. Probably further back, but that is when I remember becoming obsessed with them. Enough so, I managed to get myself into trouble by writing about vampires at inappropriate times. So, of course, when I heard about the Lost Boys, I knew I had to see it.
The Lost Boys: This is one of my all time favorite movies. So much so, I doubt I can be objective in reviewing it. It has the two Coreys in it, who were my favorite actors (always have loved Feldman more, though). It has vampires. It has music that really works for me in a sick 80's kind of way. It is so ridiculous in places that I should completely hate it, but I can't help but love it more for the faults. I have nothing rally to say other than this is a great movie and a classic example of what a vampire should be.
The Lost Boys: The Tribe: 20 years is too long to wait for a sequel. It is also, apparently, to long for anyone to be able to keep said sequel interesting. Instead of a follow up to the original, we get some sort of strange surfer vampire thing taking place in the same small town at the original. Feldman is back, doing the same character (though the voice is now just stupid). We get Keifer Sutherland's half-brother playing a role, so there is more of a connection to the original. Really, all this movie has going for it is that Autumn Reeser is pretty hot. Otherwise, not that great.
The Lost Boys: The Thirst: Thankfully, the last sequel (so far). this takes place, I am assuming, before the last one. Hard to tell. It seems to imply an earlier time, but also could easily be a later one. I dunno. We get raving vampires this time, with some blood-as-ecstasy drug stuff. In this movie, however, we are treated to some fun vampire-hunting equipment, a bit of back story as to why the Frog Brothers no longer hunt, and a loose attempt to open the franchise up for further expansion in non-vamp ways. I did like the sort of twist on the real villain, and the attempt to add new supernatural creatures was a decent idea (even if poorly executed). I liked this better than the last sequel, but think the idea is now dead.
Not a lot to say in summary. Great original, weaker sequels. If they had made the original sequel plan of The Lost Girls, it may have been better. If they had not waited 2 decades to do another movie, they may have been better. If they had not gone direct to video, they may have been better. As it is, the sequels tarnish the awesome of the original and that makes me sad.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Head of the Class
My introduction to a Troma movie series. I have seen Troma movies before, but never an entire franchise. Kind of sorry I did it now.
Class of Nuke 'Em High: The first movie in the series shows a school that is close to a nuclear reactor, and those prone to outbreaks of bad shit happening. Due to a leak in the reactor, the school is irradiated. Due to a cover-up, nobody figures it out. Even when the chess club become crazy punk bikers or a nerd melts in class. The hero and his girl end up getting sick as well, which causes a mutant child and a case of extreme 'roid rage. The movie has a bit of humor to it, but is mostly plaid straight for the violence and nasty gore/goo. Forgettable enough, I don't remember the ending.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown: Now we get stupid. While the first was mostly a straight up horror kind of thing, this is pure camp. We have bad puns, bad plot, and bad acting. The old high school is now a college. Nuclear and genetic experiments are still going on. We get some sort of attempt at a plot with the introduction of subhumanoids, which are pretty much people with mouths where their navels should be who also have a habit of melting down into fuzzballs with mouths. Yeah, dumb.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid: The sequel to the last, which follows up with more of the same. If anything, this is even more stupid. Now the hero from the first plays both his original character and that character's 10 year old son (who has grown up to a 20-something man in those 10 years). The "kid" falls in love with his wet nurse, who is a dumb blonde that leaks water from her mouth as a joke on the wet nurse thing. The movie is peppered with ridiculous sound effects, more bad jokes, and even less of a plot. I actually hate myself for watching this one at all.
Overall, the original isn't bad. Not a great movie, but worth watching if you have nothing better to do. Beyond that, I cannot recommend highly enough that you avoid the sequels unless you like low-brow trashy movies. Which, if you are watching Troma, you probably do.
Class of Nuke 'Em High: The first movie in the series shows a school that is close to a nuclear reactor, and those prone to outbreaks of bad shit happening. Due to a leak in the reactor, the school is irradiated. Due to a cover-up, nobody figures it out. Even when the chess club become crazy punk bikers or a nerd melts in class. The hero and his girl end up getting sick as well, which causes a mutant child and a case of extreme 'roid rage. The movie has a bit of humor to it, but is mostly plaid straight for the violence and nasty gore/goo. Forgettable enough, I don't remember the ending.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown: Now we get stupid. While the first was mostly a straight up horror kind of thing, this is pure camp. We have bad puns, bad plot, and bad acting. The old high school is now a college. Nuclear and genetic experiments are still going on. We get some sort of attempt at a plot with the introduction of subhumanoids, which are pretty much people with mouths where their navels should be who also have a habit of melting down into fuzzballs with mouths. Yeah, dumb.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid: The sequel to the last, which follows up with more of the same. If anything, this is even more stupid. Now the hero from the first plays both his original character and that character's 10 year old son (who has grown up to a 20-something man in those 10 years). The "kid" falls in love with his wet nurse, who is a dumb blonde that leaks water from her mouth as a joke on the wet nurse thing. The movie is peppered with ridiculous sound effects, more bad jokes, and even less of a plot. I actually hate myself for watching this one at all.
Overall, the original isn't bad. Not a great movie, but worth watching if you have nothing better to do. Beyond that, I cannot recommend highly enough that you avoid the sequels unless you like low-brow trashy movies. Which, if you are watching Troma, you probably do.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
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