The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 16

B-6 TheCouner-Neujs Thursday, March 29, 1990 7 JT -1 wjL- j' 'r I Art 2 'J XT NewLine Cinema photo radioactively altered tortoises star in Teenage Mutant Ninja opening tomorrow at area theaters. College's planetarium will be star attraction The Hubble Space Telescope, pow- erful enough to spot a firefly in Sydney, Australia, from Washington, D.C., will be on the other end of the looking glass when it's the subject of a talk tomorrow at the opening of the Raritan Valley Community College planetarium. "First Light: Telescope Sto- WEEKEND WINNERS duced by the staff of the Davis Planetarium of Baltimore's Maryland Science Center. The program details the development of the telescope since one of the earliest astronomical observatories was built 400 years ago. Also on call tomorrow at the col-" lege is a performance of the Orchestra Philharmonique de Nice, cur-J rently on its first American tour.

Comprised of more than 100 musicians, this band from southern France will be under the direction of John Nelson. Flute soloist Alain Marion will be featured in the perfor- mance, which includes the works of Jolivet, Ibert and Dvorak. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $20 orchestra-mezzanine, $17.50 balcony. Raritan Valley Community College is on Route 28 and Islington Road in North Branch, Branchburg.

For more information on the plane-tarium, call 526-1200, ext. 395. For details or to make reservations for 1 the concert performance, call 725- 3420. April foolishness The New Kids on the Block have broken up, and Elvis really is alive and living in a Florida trailer park. April Fools.

But, now that you're in the April Fools frame of mind, "Amour and Other April Foolishness" will serve as the theme of Sunday's concert by the Philomusica Chamber Choir and friends. The concert will be held at the Unitarian Society of New Brunswick, 176 Tice's Lane, East Brunswick. Tickets for the 3:30 p.m. show are $8, $6 seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased at the Unitarian Society office, 246-3113, from 9 a.m.

to noon weekdays. Remaining tickets 1 will be at the door. Crafty matters Craft shows highlighting accesso- ries for the home are taking place this weekend in Green Brook, Passaic Township and Franklin Township. Silk flowers, stained glass and 2 quilts will be among the items at the Dunellen-Green Brook Rotary Club spring craft show Saturday. The show will be held from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. at the Green Brook High School gym. For more information, call 752-2228. St Vincent de Paul School in Pas-; saic Township also will host a spring craft show on Saturday and Sunday. The show will run from 9 a.m.

to 4 I p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The school is on Bebout Ave- nue in the township's Stirling section.

For more details, call 647-2976 or 1 647-0421. Works by 170 craft artists will be on display Saturday and Sunday at the Garden State Convention and Ex- bibit Center, 200 Atrium Drive in the Somerset section of Franklin Town- ship. Call 469-4000. Batter up in Edison The first-ever baseball card and sports memorabilia show and sale will be held Saturday and Sunday at the New Raritan Exhibition Center in Edison. Admission is $5, $8 for a two-day pass.

The show will be held from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. on both days. The Raritan Center Exhibition HaU is off exit 129 South127 North I off the Garden State Parkway and exit 10 off the New Jersey Turnpike. Compiled by Brad W. Wadlow, I Courier-News Staff Writer.

pod mm UK some time ago from cult comic book heroes to stars of an immensely popular daily animated TV series. Now they're making their feature film debut as live-action creatures courtesy of Muppet master Jim Henson's robotic puppeteers and top music-video director Steve Barron. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," the movie, is technically ambitious in its attempt to give three-dimensional life to these hard-shelled avengers they're certainly more persuasive than that man-in-a-mal-lard-suit known as Howard the Duck. But for all the sophistication of the devices animating their features, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still lack the expressiveness needed to sell the tepid comedy in Bobby Herbeck and Todd W. Lan-gen's screenplay.

The liveliest human actors couldn't save this script, which seems dull and all too familiar even if it does showcase a quartet of green reptilian crimefighters. At least "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" performs the service of providing the uninitiated with some background on how these giant ambulatory creatures got that way. The turtles, known as Raphael, Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Donatel-lo, were once household pets. Discarded by their owner, they were exposed to radioactive sludge which caused them to grow to human size and acquire the gift of speech. They learned martial arts from an equally odd specimen, a four-foot talking rat named Splinter.

Today, the Ninja Turtles live in the See TURTLES on Page B-10 Mew A quartet of these man-sized, fiMM By KEVIN LALLY Courier-News Film Critic As the late Paul Lynde once said, "What's the matter with kids today?" Why are they obsessed with a bunch of man-sized, pizza-loving, martial-arts-trained, radioactively altered tortoises? The mystique of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may be lost on those of us who grew up on Rocky and Bullwinkle, but there's no denying they're here to stay. These hip reptiles graduated Ensemble presents traditions of Hungary By MURIEL FREEMAN Courier-News Writer Hungary's diverse folk traditions are based on centuries of music, dance styles, colorful costumes and unique instruments. All these traditions will be presented by the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble during its premiere engagement at the State Theatre in New Brunswick at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

One hundred performers will offer a type of vibrant singing, dancing and playing that has earned the ensemble widespread critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience response. The substantial Hungarian community of New Brunswick will find the ensemble an enlightening and fulfilling experience, says William See HUNGARIAN on Page B-8 rossroa MOVIE REVIEW 'Teenage Mutant Ninja The current kiddie favorites, reptiles that grew to human size after being exposed to radioactive ooze, make their big-screen debut as live-action creatures in this dull and uninspired comedy-adventure. ALSO OPENING "Opportunity Comedy starring Dana Carvey. See review on Page B-9. ston novel, "Their Eyes Were Watch ing God." Her play, "Buses," which won a regional award in the 1988 Playwrit-i ing Contest at the University of Southern California, will have three readings during Its first full production is set for Crossroads', 1990-91 season.

Jackson has extensive stage, screen and television credits as a per former and writer. She last appeared at Crossroads in a touring production of. "for colored girls who have con sidered suicide when the rainbow is enuf Her new play, "Bags and Moth er Tree Foot," will be performed dur-j ine "Genesis." "Genesis" also will feature three special events. A poetry reading andf book party Sunday will celebrate the! soon-to-be published worx ot poet Abena Busia, "Testimony of Exiles." Busia is an associate professor of En elish at Rutgers University. "A Celebration of the African! See CROSSROADS on Page B-8 Voices By PAUL FRANKLIN Courier-News Staff Writer The Crossroads Theatre Company is hosting an African-American theater play festival "Genesis 1990: A Celebration of New Voices at Crossroads," which began yesterday and runs through April 8.

Audiences get a glimpse of new works and works-in-progress in their raw form through a series of minimally staged performances and script-in-hand readingsPSeven works will be introduced during "Genesis." Three will be given minimally staged productions, while the others will be read. Among the playwrights featured are Denise Nicholas and Judith Jackson, who are best known as performers. Nicholas, former star of the television show "Room 222," starred in Crossroads' 1988-89 production of "To Gleam It Around, To Show My Shine," based on the Zora Neale Hur- am IT i i i mill mil 111111111 ii ii mil iiiiii imii i iijttai'mnwiilff in i in i The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble will sing and dance this weekend at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, i Lobster makes seafood buffet a very good deal at Old Mill Inn VJ0RD r.10UTII Old Mill Inn By HILARY HARDING Courier-News Restaurant Critic Inside Weekend review Big Apple B-7 B-7 Movies. TV Listings B-11 Calendar. B-12 B-13 Route 202 and North Maple, Bernardsville 221-1100 Hour: Seafood buffet 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Fridays Payment All major credit cards. Reservations: Recommended. Handicapped access: Buffet not readily wheelchair accessible. Smoking: No non-smoking area for buffet. Dress: Casual.

ATMOSPHERE: Pretty, old country Inn. SERVICE: Friendly and assertive. We saw our waiter more than is standard for a buffet VALUE: This buffet gets the award for sheer bulk per dollar. $21.95 per person Includes everything. FOOD: If you stick with the basics the raw bar, the lobster and prime rib and green salads this buffet Is a good bargain.

Avoid chafing dish Items. The restaurant critic and a guest dine anonymously at the expense of The Courier-News. If you have a restaurant to recommend and want to join her, write to: WORD OF MOUTH, The Courier-News, Box 6600, Brtdgewater, N.J. 08807. Please include your phone number.

and cheerful We felt relaxed and unhurried a good thing considering the mountains of food that lay waiting for us. We started with the raw bar, my favorite place to start. We were two oyster lovers running happily amuck. We were pleased with the pert little Bluepoint oysters and cherrystone clams on the half shell. They were fresh and came with a cocktail sauce that was properly doused with horseradish.

(A side dish of horseradish was provided for real addicts.) The boiled shrimp also were fresh, but some of them were sadly transluscent from under cooking. Since they were not peeled, you couldn't hunt for the cooked ones. The rest of what was offered buffet style rested on a huge oblong table that looked like a race track containing so many dishes that I felt like I was entering a marathon. But we dutifully set out determined to try everything. See LOBSTER on Page B-8 If you value atmosphere as much as food, the Old Mill Inn' in Bernardsville has always been a nice place to go.

The rambling old inn in its pretty setting reflects its rural, upper-middle-class surroundings. Recently, I heard that the seafood buffet, which surfaced last August, was a good deal So I decided to give it a try. I found that if you strictly discipline yourself to skip the mundane chafing dish items and cold, heavily mayon-naised salads, this buffet can be a good bargain. The staff is friendly and polite. My dining companion and I were greeted pleasantly when we arrived separately, and the host made sure we caught up with each other.

He gave us time to chat in the lounge even though we were quite late for our reservations. Our waiter was attentive 3.