Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 16) REVIEWS BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE Warner, Horror, $27.95 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray, Unrated. Stars Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Tom Savini, Tad Hilgenbrink, Angus Sutherland, Autumn Reeser. Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com other things, National Lampoon’s moments of intelligence, a brief foray Spring Break, which was essentially into socio-political commentary and a collage of semi-raw footage of ac- even tenderness. – David Greenberg tual college students cavorting in any number of spring break hot spots linked together by the flimsiest of plots and hosted by Nikki Ziering. Led by a bright, attractive and sometimes over-energetic cast headed by the appealing Pinkston and Lengies, Foreign Exchange involves the wacky hijinx that ensue when a group of foreign exchange students arrives at an Ohio high school. Veterans Coolidge and Armstrong shine in cameos as a Bushobsessed, pro-life, impressively foul-mouthed principal and a dirty-minded dad, respectively. But Clint Howard almost steals the show in his one scene. Unabashedly cheap and trashy, Roth’s broad new film is an undeniably amusing exercise in toilet humor, caricatures of foreigners, stoner jokes and adolescent sex comedy (starting with a masturbation scene in the first minute, followed later by a painfully hilarious genital-area shaving scene) that, believe it or not, has I FOREIGN EXCHANGE Street 9/9 Universal/Screen Media, Comedy, $24.98 DVD, ‘R’ for crude sexual content, language and drug use. Stars Jennifer Coolidge, Vanessa Lengies, Clint Howard, Tania Raymonde, Ryan Pinkston, Curtis Armstrong, Aaron Hill. W hile the original The Lost Boys has stood the test of time, Warner Premiere’s straight-to-video sequel is more suited for a rental experience. The 1987 cult hit also makes its Bluray Disc debut with a solid picture that betters previous DVD versions but doesn’t offer as sharp a picture as similar catalog titles. The disc offers the same round-up of extras from the 2001 special edition DVD, including the featurette “The Lost Boys Sequel?,” in which cast and crew discuss potential follow-ups, none of which come anything close to Lost Boys: The Tribe, which comes nowhere near the quality of the first film. The most entertaining element of the sequel is Feldman as Edgar Frog. Even though he basically repeats verbatim most of his dialogue from the original film, he livens up the movie in his few brief scenes. Making the most of its unrated tag, the blood flows freely and each vampire expires in a different — often gory — way. If the post-credit cameo by Haim does in fact lead to a third outing with Feldman back in action, I’ll watch it. More than anything, this film drove me back to the original, which I immediately watched on Blu-ray. In the extras department, The Tribe disc has a digital version of the film for anyone who wants to take this sequel on the go. Sadly, the original film’s Blu-ray does not include this feature. In the other extras, “Action Junkies” takes a look at the action sequences in the film, many of which just seemed out of place. “Edgar Frog’s Guide to Coming Back Alive” is entertaining and makes you wonder why Feldman wasn’t given a larger role in this film. I’m not sure why some of the deleted scenes were cut from the film, especially the cameo by Jamison Newlander as Alan Frog. The alternate endings are also worth checking out. – John Gaudiosi C ould it be that the realities of senior year are unavoidably present for so many viewers that a genuine portrayal of the time is the last thing they want to see when they watch a movie? Or is it simply that most people would much rather watch groups of sexy young hard-bodies get drunk, pull pranks, show some skin and get wild? Given the success of last year’s Superbad, the latest in the long line of bawdy teen sex romps that includes the “American Pie” series, the “Porky’s” franchise and even the granddaddy of them all, Animal House, the answer seems to point in the direction of the latter. None of the above is lost at all on director and co-writer Danny Roth, who has been responsible for, among which has saved his family, but he believes his sobriety may have contributed to Jackie’s death. Git, (Conroy of The Butcher Boy) Jap’s roommate and closest friend, was the last person to see Jackie alive, and what he saw may hold all the men accountable. Director and writer Tom Collins (Dead Long Enough) has fashioned an honest and bittersweet character study about missed opportunities and battling with the past, themes hammered home by the cast’s intense acting. The movie is reminiscent of other European working class films such as The Commitments and I KINGS fueled by grief, booze, and regret, Once, though with less singing. Street 9/2 the wake for their friend Jackie Kings will appeal to viewers who BFS, Drama, $24.98 DVD, NR. (screen newcomer favor introspective, Stars Colm Meaney, Brendan Conroy, Donal O’Tarpaigh) becomes gut-check character O’Kelly, Barry Barnes, Donncha Crowley, Sean an opportunity for studies regardless O’Tarpaigh. most of the men to let of continental setdown their guard. ting. The movie’s ive middle-aged men Joe (Meaney of The relatively short run— friends in Ireland who Commitments and ning time also keeps gradually lost touch af- “Star Trek: Deep Space it from lapsing into ter arriving in London in 1977 Nine”) owns a successself-flagellation. — reunite after their comrade’s ful construction busiThe DVD’s extras sudden death in Kings, a potent ness, and his success, include interviews drama based on Jimmy Murphy’s coupled with his averwith the cast and play The Kings of the Kilburn High sion to hiring Irish crew. A highlight of Road. workers, angers the unemployed which is the actors talking about The survivors are 30 years re- Jap (O’Kelly of The Van). the difficulties of learning Irish moved from their hopeful deparMáirtín (Barnes of Veronica Gaelic. ture to better opportunities. Now, Guerin) has stopped drinking, – Pete Croatto F 16 Home Media Magazine August 31–September 6, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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