South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 162

6 Showtime, Friday, May 23, 1986 nr? 'Poltergeist IF a ghostly image of earlier success ni 'A A I aM VA By Candice Russell Film Writer review Oliver Robins, left, and Heather O'Rourke are terrorized further in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. A bunch of skeletons buried underneath the Cuesta Verde housing development is back in Poltergeist II: The Other Side, a spooky, gross, pointless movie that is all tease and no payoff. Director Brian Gibson and writer-producers Michael Grais and Mark Victor undoubtedly hope to repeat the $80 million bounty of Poltergeist, which Steven Spielberg oversaw. Spielberg has nothing to do with this movie. Bring in an Indian chanting in the midst of the desert Bring in an old man with a bony face and too many teeth in his mouth who sings hymns and scares an adorable little girl.

Put the special effects department to work creating vapors that resemble humans, a gelatinous beastie that is thrown up out of Craig T. Nelson's mouth, and a mound of orthodontal wire that threatens to mummify father and son. Free-floating terror is the operative mechanism in Poltergeist II, which is an exercise in prolonged (NO STARS) POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE A family to bedeviled by strange spirits and waird happening In lhair own houaa. Cradita: With JoBalh William, Craig T. Nalaon.

Diractad by Brian Gibson. Writ-Ian and producad by Michaal Grata and Mark Victor. Violence, coaree language, too In-tanaa for amall children. Poor Feir Good -k-k-k-k Encollont torture. The victims once again are the innocent Freeling family, whose only mistake was to move into the wrong home.

Nelson and JoBeth Williams reprise their roles as loving parents Steve and Diane Freeling to pre-adolescent Robbie and Carol Anne. Now, one year after their house was destroyed, they're staying with Grandma (Geraldine Fitzgerald) in Phoenix. She is psychic just like 7-year-old granddaughter Carol aren't nearly enough to save Poltergeist II but they do demonstrate the pre-eminent importance of people as opposed to visual wizardry in such films. Julian Beck with his strange face brings a weird mysticism to his role as the old reverend, the very personification of the evil spirits that surround the family. He comes to the front door of the family's house, intent on entering, and has a frightening, persuasive conversation with Steve.

It's also interesting to see the comfortable intimacy between husband and wife in a cute scene with Anne, who fears the worst and is rewarded. The characters spend the movie wondering why the insurance company won't pay off and when the ghosts or whatever they are will strike again. An Indian (Will Sampson from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest moves in to protect them. A midget woman pays a visit with old photographs of dead people whose souls the Freelings stirred up. There's a lot of mumbo jumbo and a very unsatisfactory resolution to the mayhem.

A couple of well-acted scenes Williams and Nelson. The scene establishes the warmth and love that the spirits seek to destroy. One is tempted to invoke that bugaboo phrase "socially redeeming value" in application to Poltergeist II, only because it seems to have no values of any kind whatsoever. Whether or not good triumphs is almost beside the point. What this movie makes the moviegoer endure isn't worth the bother.

Actually, there are better ways to be scared than this movie. Just read the front page of the newspaper. The clay's the thing in 6 Twain' Drab review" By Roger Hurlburt Entertainment Writer A i ture. Twain aficionados will have much to ponder, too. Aspects of heaven and hell are considered in relationship to Twain's beliefs.

The author, in turn, treats us to a marvelous story about Adam and Eve and the world's first birthday party. The tale is an ambitious one, filled with many ideas more so than the charming recollection of Calaveras County and the famous frog jumping contest that inspired Twain to become a writer I haven't done a day's work since," he quips). Of course, Tom, Becky and Huck are bewildered by the trip. They want to get off the ship and devise a daring plan. Soon, however, they discover what Twain really has in mind.

They also meet face-to-face the "stranger" who appears on deck and then suddenly disappears. The kids learn about life and death. They also see that Mark Twain was not the pessimist many people perceive. He was an optimist who never arrived. TTie Adventures of Mark Twain is a superb piece of film Invention.

Everything is surprise, and the viewer can only marvel over each fluid technique and the sensitive movements of the characters. The film's only flaw is its occasional venture into storytelling that gets a bit glum and a little too morose. But the sun ultimately shines and the viewer can easily but philosdphy" aside, sit back and Ihbr imimui Films with a rating come along all too infrequently these days. When they do, you can bet they're of the garden-grown, animated-cartoon variety. There's nothing wrong with a quality cartoon feature, but the ones appearing in theaters of late are not much different from the kind a child can watch on television on any given Saturday morning.

But there is something new under the sun. It's called Claymation a fascinating process by which detailed clay figures are animated. Though surely a time-consuming method of creating a story, the finished product is stunning in both subtlety of movement and the amazing effects that can be achieved. Witness Club House Pictures' first full-length Claymation story, The Adventures of Mark Twain. Here is a family movie the likes of which you have never seen before.

Colorful, thrilling, chilling and chock-full of humor, it's a minor masterpiece of a film technique folks will want to see more and more. True to the title, famed writer Mark Twain (the voice of James Whitmore) is the lead player. We meet him in the year 1910 the last time Halley's comet streaked across the sky. Twain was born in 1835 when the crtridtrappeared as and his now dearest wish is to chase and THE ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN Tha animated clay flgura advanturaa of wrltar Mark Twain who, accompanied by Tom Sawyar and Huck Finn, chaaaa Hallay'a comat In a fantastic balloon ahip. Cradita: Animated figures of Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, Injun Joe, Homer the frog.

Featuring tha vole of James Whitmore. Diractad by Will Vinton. No objectionable material. Poor kk Felt kkk Oood kkkk Enoollut catch the comet in his fantastic paddle-wheel balloon ship. We're "two unacountable freaks," that comet and me, Twain says.

"I came in with it, and I plan to go with It." Just before takeoff, some of Twain's own characters arrive on the scene. Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn (with a frog buddy named Homer) decide to hitch a ride. They stow away, but are unprepared for the ride of their lives. They just think the author is getting old sort of crazy. "A man with an idea is called a fool," Twain remarks, "until the idea succeeds!" 1 So it's off to catch th6 comet.

Remaf k-ably, the film is not just an action adven James Whitmore is the voice of Mark Twain..