The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 77

F-8 ClK Montreal, Tuesday, November 22, 1 988 High Spirits a slapstick horror spoof: that lacks much plot development Land Before Time a Yule treat off voting loved it. Who cares about acting? They howled at the pyrotechnics, loved the mummies, ghouls and creeps, and got a kick out of whatever flesh the intertwined relationships off ered. Yes, there are men and women in High Spirits, doing what men and women do. Sort of. Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo are Americans, and real.

Daryl Hannah and Liam are Irish ghosts, and unreal. Actually Hannah is more than un--real; she's ridiculous. I would gladly bear her children tomorrow, but if she stiffs her way through too many more movies, our on-screen romance is over. One more note. The man responsible for this 90-minutes of mind fodder is writer-director Neil Jordan.

His earlier films? The Company of Wolves and Mona Lisa, two of the more essential movies of the last decade. Very strange. Parents' Guide: some violence, coarse language, mild sexual sequences. HIGH SPIRITS Palace, Dorval Yanks with his banshee tricks to keep the financial wolf at bay. It works, but only because the resident ghost population digs in to scare the living bejesus out of the Americans with special effects only the movies could have invented.

Before everything ends happily ever after we get stuff like spooks passing through walls and each other, airborn buses, bricks and bottles of Guinness, singing fish, talking horses, walking zombies, and more wind than an election campaign. It's all good mindless fun, a slapstick horror spoof with enough witty dialogue to attract those with more than a a primary school education. The kids who caught yesterday's early show while their teachers were As for a star-rating, we asked some children in attendance to decide: Jessica, 9 "Very educational and good for all ages. Four stars." John, 11 "The graphics were good, but some of the stuff was silly. I think it's more for little kids.

Three stars." Laura, 7 "I loved it when baby Littlefoot came out of his egg upside down when he was born. Four stars." Vanessa, 10 "Very well done. Funny, yet sad and educating. Four stars." Jordanna, 7 -r- "I loved the big-mouthed Ducky (an anatosaurus). For a little guy, he had a big mouth.

Four stars." Julia, 6 "It was sweet when Littlefoot finally found his grandma. Five stars." Joanna, 7 "I liked it a little. That's because I don't really like dinosaurs a lot. Three stars." Parents' Guide: for all rV. ONEOFAKIND CHRISTMAS TWO CARAT DIAMOND SOLITAIRE 20 OFF Appraised Value This Christmas, bring her dreams to life with our extraordinary two carat diamond solitaire.

Captured here in a 14 karat gold setting, it's truly the ultimate gift Now offered at 2(n below appraised value, only at Mappms. By JOHN GRIFFIN Gazette Movie Critic The silly season has begun. It's that time of year when moviemakers slip on their party hats and clown suits and set off in search of story ideas that will somehow support the latest in celluloid special effects. Almost any story will do if the potential for mind-frying visuals is strong enough. Just ask the guys who hatched High Spirits.

Come with me to Ireland, and a rundown castle that belongs to drunken Peter Plunkett (Peter O'Toole in his wasted, elegant mode), his booze-baffled mother, and a half dozen of the local village idiots. Plunkett is the end of his substantial tether. His attempts to turn a pile of rubble, rock and fungus into a tourist hotel have failed. The creditors are at the door. In a last-ditch effort to save the ancestral manse, Plunkett advertises the dump as a haunted house, figuring he'll buffalo enough gullible j' i "saetaaV II I IU I I A I aMADAMEV ftS0USTZKA 4 I( MiHv ltM mintrr lTiA0WIB(nc TV ir tk i4 mm ivi 1 EgTZaTriiiM-M'i By BILL BROWNSTEIN of The Gazette Steven Spielberg and George 1 Lucas have joined forces to pro- duce an animated treat for youn- ger audiences, usually left out in the cold by film-makers this time of the year.

This early Yuletide offering even has a palatable social mes-I sage that is certain to appease ac- companying parents. Director Don Bluth, the master I animator behind The Secret ol -Nimh and An American Tale, takes viewers back to prehistoric times when dinosaurs were fight-. ing for their survival. 'l Five young dinosaurs, led by the gallant Littlefoot, a brontosaurus, have been separated from their parents after a major "earth- shake," and this odd-looking gang attempts to get to the Great Val-' ley where there are lots of green leaves to gobble and buckets of fresh water to slurp. WHAT' Music The McGill Faculty of Music Student soloists with pianists and double bass, in works by Chopin, Prokofiev and Eocles at 5 p.m.

at PoHack Hall, 555 Sherbrooke St. W. Free. L'Opera da Montreal presents Fidelio by Beethoven with conductor Alexander Sander, opens at 8 p.m. at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier, Place des Arts.

Tickets $15 to $60. Sung in German with English and French surtitles. 842-2112. Tha Kuijken Quartet from Belgium performs Mozart's Flute Quartets at 8:30 p.m. at Salle Claude Champagne, 220 Vincent d'lndy Ave.

355-1825. Flutial Tim Malloch and pianist Nathalie Steinberg perform works by Mozart, Doppler, Bozza and Burton at 8 p.m. at Loyola Chapel, 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. Free admission.

Alcan Muaic Sariee presents a piano recital by Hope Tetrault at noon at Maison Alcan, 1188 Sherbrooke St. W. Free. Theatre Or. Jeckyll and Mr.

Hyde by Leonard H. Caddy at 7:30 p.m. at Herzliah High School, 4850 St. Kevin St. Presented by Herzliah Thespians.

Tickets $7. 739-2291. Tha Importance of Being Earneet by Oscar Wilde at 8 p.m. at Salle Emile Legault, 613 Ste. Croix Blvd.

845-9810. La Polygraph (in French) at 8 p.m. at Theatre de Quat SouS, 100 Pine Ave. E. 845-7277.

La Dortoir by Gilles Maheu (In French), presented by Carbon 14, at 8:30 p.m. at Espace Libre. 1945 Fullum St. 521-4191. La Dapoaltlon by Helen Pedneault (in French) at Espace Go, 5068 Clark St.

271-5381. Lee Cria du eoaur by Beth Henley (In French) at 8 p.m. at Theatre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts. 842-21 1 2. Duo pour una eofiete by Tom Kempinski (in French) at 8 p.m.

at Cafe de la Place, Place des Arts. 842-2112. The Oigll Concert by Thomas Murphy at 8 p.m. at Centaur Theatre, 453 St. Francois Xi-vier St.

288-3161. The Ball by Isaac Bashevls Singer at the Saidy Bronfman Centre. 5170 Cote Ste. Catherine Rd. 739-7944.

Decile du deatln by Larry Tremblay (In French) at 8 30 pm. at Eskabel. 1237 Sanguine! St. 849-7164. A Quelle hewr on meurtf by flian Du-charm at 7 m.

at Espac Go, 5068 Clark St 271-5381. La Beieer de la femrn ereignee by Manuel PuK) (in French) at La licome, 2075 St. Laurent Blvd 843-4166. Nuneenee at 8 30 m. at Stage Dinner Theatre.

La Diligence. 7385 Decern Blvd. Dvwr packages avaiabi. 731-7771. Clubs Baker Street.

1238 ihop St. Private Eye 861-5274. Club Belettou, 4372 St. Laurent Blvd. Mflhty Sam McGem.

Tickets HO 845-5447. Btfdlee Jmtt end Mibe. 2060 Aylmer St. Th Johnny Scott and Geoffrey Lapp Quartet from 5pm 642 8658. Cheer, 1260 Meckay SL See Spot Run.

932-3138. Cheer. 957 St John Blvd In Pcil Clair. The Bg City Band 694-9414 La CaT Cane. Chateau Champlain.

Au-dac and CaroM Fane 86 9000. La Crotaert. Centr Siweton Montreal. Me Mwo from 5pm 8 '6 2000. Del Beweer and Blue Pub.

1224 B'h-OO 61. The mm Oorj 866 0512. Lee Fewtounee Ileetrlqwee. 97 St. Cth-nn SI Karen fntfi MS 5464.

Oil Pub, I6J1 St. Catherin SI tWTvl Danny Clan" from 5 to pm BJJ4M3 Hotel CitedoHe, 410 Shertyook SL W. Johrt Gt Club Utt tOM 200 Oar St McO Com. to Senwet and Danrfi Thompeon. 285-0007.

BKtby Otck. yi Alean. 1 188 S4. pro SI. W.

Dot from Ipm. 281-16UJ Nwt Mttu. 22 St Paul St NjM eei 8t4A 4ioomiMsmisj E2E23 (3RI333D v- i CHESS i irr-t- i -m ru torrc SON IV p- THE LAND BEFORE TIME Le Faubourg, Decarie Square Pointe Claire, Astre Carrefour Laval The expedition doesn't go off without a hitch, however. Because the five young voyagers are from different dinosaur families, they don't initially trust one another although they soon learn the key to survival is through co-operation. But the group has a more pressing problem.

They are trying to shake off the nasty Sharp Tooth, a tyrannosaurus rex who is hungry and hot on their path. From an adult's point of view, Bluth's animation is bold and imaginative. As a further bonus, the film is short about 70 minutes and is certain to capture the attention of even the most fidgety film-goer. JOHNNY SCOTT At Biddies Poodlee, 3699 St. Laurent Blvd.

Silent Signature. Tickets $4. 844-7762. Quel Sera, 164 Ste. Ann de Bellevu.

10 P.M. Paris. 457-5961. Rising Sun, 268 St. Catherin St.

W. Motown night. 861-0657. Club Sod, 5240 Park Ave. Genevieve Pans and Sytvi Tremblay.

Ticket $14. 270-7848. Stanley Pub 1, 1428 Stanley St. Little Malcolm. 843-3362.

Station 10. 2071 St. Catherine St. Reactor. 934-0484.

Upetaire, 1429 Bishop St. Nick Janus from 8 p.m. 284-3315. Etcetera The Montreal Storyteller meet at 7:30 m. at Bimbo Cat, corner of Clark and Fairmount.

Le Cirque du SoteH at 8 p.m. In the Old Port at th foot ot Piac Jacques Cartier. 522-1245. A Dream le Alhr (En direct de reepace) at IMAX the OW Montreal. For complete detail of time, can 644-4335.

Repertory Cinema porell, 3682 St. Uurent (843-6001) Meeting 7.30. 9 30. La Cinematheque quebecolee. 355 de MaU onneuv Blvd E.

(842-968) Athalt. 8 35; Late Summer Blues. 8 35. National Film Board. 200 Dorchester Blvd.

W. (283-8229) Ckmat. Chromqu un temp nou.S. Owimetvecoo. 1204 St.

Catherine St. E. (525-8600) Easy RK)er, 7: Le clown. 7 30; En toot mnocenc. Decameron.

9 30. Le Riart. 5723 Park Ave. (274-3550) Ki Me Deadty. 9 15.

r-UHtMUNt (b) 00 HllOl IN 4 (I 1 A i.u.m, (h tonraHt kiu ir.c im ie its tnHMiiM Pu ewuvoie iki i ta litlv I4 tr nu et'Oat it inin no rrtfroucuftT IM Ht Mt, KM k.1MtiHiilni Al Mil on om I I IB I lit tit ve iaaft rt" ft 11 ft i MM if tn turn im on ftn im itt i Ask about Mappins' Budget Payment Plan or Cache, Our Exclusive Layaway CATHERINE STREET WEST, 866-7431 PLACE VERTU, 332-6320 1 1000 STE. CATHtKliNfc. Ktt jJ('vEW SHOPPING CENTRE, 694-3355 For a first look at the newest trends, turn to The Gazette's fashion pages every Tuesday tiff y. I TM I ivtt 114 I mmc iui iiuui a Ciu ll I 1 4. wi'Mout a ciut ioi ot in oo ful lia I4 bt tMt tf 0 CWI 0Y rc bhim( fate Plan.

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