One-dimensional film
goes only skin-deep

Wednesday. September 12, 1990 - North Shore News - 29

RESTAURANT

oi

Genuine and California

Darkman ** (Universal) Rated 14 years (at the Park & Tilford, Gran-
ville, Station Square, Coquitlam and Clearbrook cinemas)

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is lover, Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand) turn-

ed down his marriage proposal in the morning. That

afternoon, the biochemist finds his experimental
synthetic skin decomposes after 99 minutes. Finally, to cap
a perfect day, a gang of thugs fries his hands, dips his face
in acid and blows up his lab with him in it.

TIM
BELL

film review

But you can’t keep a yood
Darkman down.

Fished out from the river and
brought back from the dead,
Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson),
once an all-round nice guy. is now
a changed man. The disfigured
scientist makes a fashion statemen*
to reflect his mood — basic black.

unfortunate dance-hall girl Ivy.
This was hefore the censors pot a
stranglehold on the industry and
her sexiness survives undiluted.
The tilm was receritly restored,
but a few jumpy sections remain,
viclims of ime and neglect.

NORTH SHORE VIEWS

Darkman, The Witches

Pack Royal: Presumed Innocent,
The Freshman, Ghost, Ducktaies
the Movie

Park & Tilford: Flatliners, Men at
Work, The Witches, Exorcist IH,
Wild at Heart, Darkman
Showtime Hotlines: Famous
Players 681-4255, Cineplex Odeon

Cordially invites you and your guest to enjoy
One Complimentary
LUNCH OR DINNER ENTREE
when a second Lunch or Dinner entree of equal or
greater value is purchased from our new menu

1200 LONSDALE (Reservations Recommended:
NORTH VANCOUVER 985-TACO

687-1515 >

A derelict warehouse is his new West Van Odeon: Die Hard 2,
lair. Surgery (oddly enough) has
left him emotionally supercharged,
resulting in eruptions of rage and
brute strength. The criminais who
ruined his life are now about to
get a dose of their own sadism.

Director Sam Raimi (The Evil
Dead ! & fh has made a live action

+ cartoon (a cross between Phantom
of the Opera and Batman) using
bizarre camera angles, stripped-
down dialogue and a feverish
pace. Raimi has wisely omitted
gore, although there is a lot of
bloodless violence. Larry Drake
(L.A. Law’s Benny) as the film’s
heavy, Robert Derrani, has the
lion’s share of ghoulish activities,
such as collecting his enemies’
fingers like butterflies.

There are some startling special
effects when Peyton disguises
himself as his enemies, wearing
look-alike masks from his synthetic
skin. .

The major liability is the limited
scope of the film. The lush
Wagner-like score, by Batman
composer Danny Elfman, doesn’t
suit the one-dimensional story.

Darkman succeeds in being a
comic book. it doesn’t get much
beyond that.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ***
(MGM/UA Home Video)

Unrated

Frederick March won an Oscar
for his dual-faced role in this elab-
orate Rouben Mamoulian produc-
tion.

The innovative techniques (for
1932) used for the transformation
sequences hold up well today.
(That’s Mamoulian’s heart you
hear pounding during the man-
to-beast scenes.)

Despite the academy award,
March's Jekyll is over the top, but
Miriam Hopkins is superb as the

Book is
overdue

From page 28

by this lack of self-knowledge?

We, as Canadians, have much of
which we can be proud. From the
landscapes that inspire travellers
the globe over to advances in
medicine, technology and a vast
number of other areas of social,
cultural and scientific endeavor,
Canadians have contributed a
great deal to the world as a whole.

But those contributions are not
likely to be enumerated or, if
mentioned, accurately portrayed
in foreign sources.

As to whether you believe The
Junior Encyclopedia ($159.95 in
hardcover with slipcase, $495 on
CD-Rom soliware for computers)
is something you should invest in
for your children, | can only sup-
gest and hope you'Ti take the time
to took atone of the sets in your
local bookstore. Fthink you TH be
impressed, too,

cket Full of Funt

Saturday, September 15, 1990
1:00 p.m.

McDonald’s Restaurant

1200 Lynn Valley Road

(across from Lynn Valley Centre)

North Vancouver, B.C.

Date:
Time:
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F000 FOLKS E& FLIN-|