They’re only noodles Michael! (The Lost Boys (DVD))

Name: Judgee

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Product:	The Lost Boys (DVD)
Date:	26/10/01 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, Atmospheric

Disadvantages: Not for hardcore horror fans, Good but not bad direction

The reason I like flicking through the Dooyoo categories from time to time, is that I often find inspiration. This morning was very successful, I found a film that I had long forgotten. Not a classic by any means, but definitely more than just a "rainy day" movie. You should also pay attention to the fact that you can now buy it on video for a under £6 and to me this makes it a bit of a bargain!


The story
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After a messy divorce, Lucy Emerson (Diane Weist) and her two sons, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) pack their bags and head for Santa Carla to live with Granpa (Barnard Hughes). Grandpa lives on the edge of town in an old house full of stuffed animals and his eccentric ways bring the only amusement to the teenaged boys as they try to settle in.

On a night out the two boys head for the local fair ground. Michael, the eldest wonders around aimlessly until he spies a beautiful girl Star (Jami Gertz). The The pair are instantly attracted and start to get to know eachother until they are interrupted by a group of local hooligans led by David (Kiefer Sutherland). Only they are not just any hooligans, they are vampires and Michael is about to start on a journey into the unknown.

Meanwhile Sam, a comic book fanatic finds a stall that interests him. Owned by a stoned couple, this stall is run by a force far more terrifying than vampires, this stall is run by Edgar and Alan Frog (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander respectively). The frog brothers are obsessed with horror comics and believe monsters are everywhere. In particular, that vampires run riot in Santa Carla itself.

As the story progresses, Michael gets into more and more trouble with the vampires and his hapless brother and his friends do their utmost to save him whether he wants their help or not!

While all this is going on, Lucy starts to become more involved with a video shop owner called Max (Edward Herman), seeking
comfort and an escape from her nutty father. But...is Max all that he appears to be?

As usual. I will divulge no more information on the story to enable people to watch it for themselves!


The actors
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The lead actors are really good in this film. Diane Weist is very believable as the heart broken mother trying to carry on and make the best of her recent problems. Jason Patric is cool and moody and an ideal "male" interest for the ladies. Jamie Gertz is absolutely gorgeous and will have the guys dribbling down their tops every time she fly's into shot. Keifer Sutherland oozes in and out as the bleached blonde Billy Idol lookalike. The Frog brothers stamp about like those kids that were always sent to sit in the corner for disturbing the class in school. Corey Haim plays his usual squeaky voiced and over excitable teenager. But for me the star of the film is Barnard Hughes as Grandpa. He is not in the film nearly enough for me but when he appears the screen lights up. He has the best lines in the whole film and uses them well!


Action
******

Well, not really an action film. There are a few motor bike rides and the odd chase around but most of the action stems around the vampires and their lust for blood.


Humour
******

The one area where this film stands out from the other films in this horror/comedy genre is that it concentrates on the humour side. Other films that tend to dabble in both these areas, always seem to focus on the blood and gore, a good example would be "Interview with a vampire" which had a few comedy moments but was not really meant to make you laugh. I guess the closest film to this was "From Dusk til Dawn" and even then the supposed humour was lost in the violence. The "Lost Boys" on the other hand is very much a tongue in cheek film!


The Soundtrack
**************

Two words that im
mediately spring to mind with the soundtrack to this film, absolutely awesome! With hits from the likes of INXS and Roger Daltrey, the music is incredibly atmospheric. I have the soundtrack to this movie and even if you don't like the film, I guarantee that you will love the music.


The Director
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Dinner-Dinner-Dinner-Dinner-Dinner BATMAN! Yes this film was directed by the same man that brought you the films "Batman Forever" (1995) and "Batman and Robin" (1997), Not to mention "Flatliners" (1990) and "Falling Down" (1992) amongst many others! For me this is not great director, but a very good director. The film runs along smoothly and some nice flying camera angles are used to good effect. The movie direction is not flawless by any means, with some stunts and fight scenes appearing uncannily like the old kung-fu movies! Still, not a bad effort at all!


Overall view
************

At 1 hour 33 minutes you will easily find time to fit this film in your schedule and so you should. Not a classic film by any means, it needs to be watched with the clear understanding that it is very light entertainment. Pure horror fans will probably be appalled by the lack of fear factor, but it never sets out to be anything other than light hearted. There is some blood and guts so it is not suitable for young viewers, teenagers will probably complain that it there is not enough! It is a film that you can watch over and over again. This is because the ending is easy to spot from very early on. Even so this did not detract anything from my own personal enjoyment of the film and I will be watching it again from time to time (now I have rediscovered it!). I would recommend that you rent it out first as it may not be to your taste, although the price it is now selling for, you could go mad and buy it sight unseen, there really would be very little difference in the price!

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