The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 103

i 1 1 i uit litis tutut 1 1 1 uiiMi i i 11! if IVVJi 1 111 Iff II 1 i llll fc.k'V I N.y Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon splash it up in a scene from The Witches of Eastwick. Nicholson! haieis It unp, in a ftie, devilish style! STARTS THURSDAY! I VILLAGE I fGEATT UMIOH I ajy. pt mcing ho MSKWoSr NEWCASTLE. 2678666 village STANMQRE CMm CENTRE 569048B1 also at: flii 64 kildare I BtVfRtYWLtS TWIN "1 h-V773 'jrrJ I PfNRUHHAYDEN ST l04M2 1489 7 WATTSt KOGARAH MECCA I It a i STEREO- to ever see better I hi- N--. AJrl.iiJi- 1UZJ mmm mmmMmmmmm 5v JJfBWWWW close friends trying to live the quiet life and failing badly.

Alexandra (Cher) is single and sculpts little stone buddhas for the local shop. Jane (Sarandon) is single and teaches music at the local school. Sukey (Pfeiffer) is single and is a journalist on the local paper. Each is resigned to the quiet life. The only time they let their hair down is at their weekly cocktail evenings.

There they talk'aboul life, kids and mainly men. Each would like a little romance, but not just with any man. Their man would have to be different. Then a filthy rich, very articulate and quite handsome out-of-towner buys the local mansion, lis name is Darjl Van Home (Nicholson) and he soon makes it clear that he would like to get to know Alexandra a little better. And Jane.

And Sukey. These close friends don't mind sharing: they're having the expensive time of their lives. Gradually, however, they realise the man of their collective dreams is just a little different from most others. The eye(brow)s have it in this movie. Witches OJ Eastwick would be unthinkable without Nicholson.

That face is tailor-made for a little (Englund) pops up to terrorise them. A fast trip to the Land Of Nod is often one ay. If these kids die in their dreams, they die in real life. For young Kristen (Arquette), the nightmares are getting worse. One night the caffeine and loud music can't keep her awake and she meets ferocious Freddy in her dreams.

When he slashes at her with one of his steel claws, she wakes up with slit wrists. Mum thinks it's a suicide attempt, and promptly packs Kris-ten off to the local psychiatric ward. Isolated and terrified of being sedated, Kristen discovers that all the other kids in the ward are hav ing exactly the same kind of nightmares. Although the doctors refuse to believe that a dream can kill, they're baffled by the number of local teenage deaths. They think it's suicide but the kids know that it's murder.

Freddy is winning hands down until a new doctor arrives at the hospital. Nancy (Langenkarnp) recognises the problem instantly because she has been through the same thing herself. Luckily for Freddy, no-one ill listen to her. I he cle crest aspect of Dream THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (M). Dir ected by George Miller.

Starring Jack N'cholson. Cher. Susan Sarandon. Michelle Pfeiffer. Village Cinema City.

Double Bav. Parrwatta. Syl BlacMon and Gosford. Avalon. Beverley Hills Twin.

CampbelltOvvn. Penrith Harden. UBBLF. bubble, toil and trouble. Jack's back and lie's having the time of his life in a romping original fantasy adventure.

Nicholson gets a chance to strut his stuff and audiences get a great time. This is pure entertainment. One of the year's most enjoyable mov ies is presented in a big. colourful package, wrapped up with good acting, lots of jokes and some vv hiz-bang special effects. The topic is witchcraft: How to get it.

how to use it. and how to abuse it. The high point of this film is director Miller's skill in setting up a seemingly normal country town background. This is the quiet town of Eastwick which is filled with quiet people, living their quiet lives. Of course, some of people are not as quiet as they look.

Alexandra. Jane and Sukey are STEVE MARTIN DARVI. HAWAII Intelligent. Romantic. Handsome? Two out of three ain't bad I 1 DOLBY today- tiffl5 CENTRE GEORGE SYDNEY 267 9877 devilish fun.

and he hams it up magnificently, veering between ferociousness, charm and high camp. This spirit of fun glosses the whole picture and is nicely contrasted by the performances of the three female leads who play it (reasonably) straight. Although Sarandon and Pfeiffer turn in solid performances. Cher is the only one to come close to stealing the show from her leading man. There's a little bit of everything in Witches, from the big budget special effects to a nicely melodramatic soundtrack and some great one-liners.

Although the ending doesn't seem to be able to match the strength of the rest of the film, it's solidly involving and highly unpredictable. The normal gives way to the abnormal and back' again and Miller effortlessly keeps us torn between laughter and tension. It's impossible to even predict what will happen next, and viewers will be constantly distracted by little bits of special effects magic along the way. It might be all screen hocus-pocus, but it makes for wickedly enjovable ROB LOWING Warriors is the suspense of never really knowing whether you're watching one of the dreams or (screen) reality. A good script plays up that suspense, talented acting sustains it, and some superb special effects cap it off.

These effects are eye-catching, scream-making and quite mind-blowing. Walls disappear, ater taps turn into steel claws, and giant monsters burst through floorboards. Nightmare l's idea of a horror story set in a dangerous dream land is not really expanded. But as the idea still has punch.and is skilfully polished, it hardly seems to matter. Writer Wes Craven and director Russell still manage to trigger instantaneous audience response the third time around.

Willi the aid of fearsome makeup and Freddy's personal raorblade accessories. Englund creates an individual villain who is vain, sarcastic and likes making bad puns. Dream Warriors won't disappoint the fans. If you're in a mood to be horrified with si vie. this is the one lo catch.

You'll enjoy yourself even while vou're screaming. ROB LOWING So Elm Street shrieks again MICHAEL EDGLEY INTERNATIONAL mmmzz fi The impossible dream NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET III: DREAM WARRIORS. Directed by Chuck Russell. Starring Robert Englund. Patricia Arquette.

Heather Langenkarnp. Hoyts Centre. Roxy Parramatta. Warringah Mall. Fairfield Forum, Village Sylvania.

Blacktown and Gosford. Penrith Hayden. Richmond, CoHaroy. riREDDY rules OK? The ijl infamous villain who loves terrorising kids on Elm Street is back again in Nightmare Mk III, which showcases all the ingredients which have made the series such a winner: a classy story, classy special effects and the classiest most memorable villain of recent screen history. Dream Warriors is fun to watch, particularly for an audience in a screaming mood.

The best news for newcomers to this screen nightmare is that you don't need to have seen the prequels in order to understand that the Elm Street kids are having a few unusual problems. The main problem is insomnia reversed. These kids would love to go to sleep, but every time they do, the psychopathic Freddy BRIEF SEASON HURRY BOOK TODAY! Lyric Theatre, Sydney Entertainment Centre Sept. 8th- 13th Tueh-Thurs. 8pm Fri.

8.30pm Sat. 2pm 8pm Sun. 1pm 5pm Book at Entertainment Centre anJ all Booking Agencies. Credit Card Bookings 266 4800 Group Concessions 267 Ml 1 108 THE SUN-HERALD, August 30, 1987.