The Verdict
(
'A
Airplane II
Yes, Airplane IIis as funny as
Airplane!, even though the
jokes are getting just a bit old.
And yes, the cast that pulled
Airplane! off the ground and
established it as a major comedy
effort are back again to roam the
skies (well, its outer space this
time). But no, there isn't enough
material left uncovered to make
an Airplane III take off.
The plot of Airplane //centers
around Lt. Ted Striker's (Robert
Hays) attempts to save a passen
ger-full space shuttle flight to
the moon. Striker helped design
the craft, and he knows it is un
safe.
The financial backers of the
shuttle, however, decide the
ship should fly anyway.
We won't tell you if the shut
tle makes it back safely, because
that would spoil the ending and
The ending? What is it? It's
the time when the movie is over
and the credits roll, but that's
not important right now.
— by John Wagner
The Toy
Were it not for the antics of
Richard Pryor, The Toy could
possibly have been the flop of
the holiday season — if not of all
time.
Pryor's talents or a very lone
ly night are the only two reasons
you might want to see The Toy.
The movie's slow development
and shallow characterization do
not do justice to a very experi
enced and talented cast that, be
sides Pryor, also includes Jackie
Gleason.
The Toy is too outlandish, too
E redictable and too slapstick to
eep an audience's attention for
any length of time. The movie
even goes so far as to have a
pie-in-the-face scene could have
come directly from the annals of
a Laurel and Hardy film.
Pryor should be applauded
for the first-class job he did with
what is clearly a second-class
film. He carries the film with his
wit and versatility as an actor.
Because of the job Pryor does in
The Toy, the mildly-
entertaining movie might be
worth seeing at a matinee per
formance or in a year or two
when it hits the pay-television
circuit.
— by John P. Lopez
Sidney Lumet of Twelve
Angry Men continues his bril
liant directing in The Verdict.
Paul Newman convincingly
portrays a once-great, ambu
lance-chasing lawyer who tries
to regain his reputation in a mal
practice suit. He represents a
woman left comatose by negli
gent doctors. Newman takes the
case to court against the advice
of fellow lawyers and against
the wishes of the defendant.
Dark
The movie Dark Crystal is
being touted as a future and
great hit, unfortunately, the
magic of Jim Henson's puppets
is the only thing that makes the
movie worth seeing.
Although the movie will
probably win an Oscar for spe
cial effects, the plot is slow-
moving and the characters are
dull.
Jen, a cross between an elf
and a human, is the hero of the
story. He is also the only charac
ter that even faintly resembles a
"real" person.
Jen lives with 10 wise — uh, I
guess you could call them moles
— who adopted him after his
parents were killed. When the
wisest of these "moles" dies, he
gives Jen a mission — to find the
shard of the dark crystal and re
place it before evil can take over.
The plot is pretty predictable af
ter that intro. You know, Jen
runs from evil, evil catches Jen,
Jen triumphs over evil. Predict
able.
What makes the movie semi
worth seeing are the characters
of the Skeezix and of a little dog-
After years of playing the
blue-eyed, rough he-man in
movies like Cool Hand Luke,
The Sting, and Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid, New
man finally gets to use his acting
ability in a role which could win
him an Academy Award — or at
least a nomination for best actor.
James Mason plays New
man's antagonist — a devious,
cunning defense attorney
whose antics behind the court
scene must be seen to be be
lieved.
Newman's character runs
into another obstacle in the form
of the presiding judge, who tries
his best to ensure Newman of
losing the suit.
When not in court, Newman
becomes involved with a dark
haired stranger who is the driv
ing force behind Newman's de
sire to win the case.
With the superior perform
ances by Newman and Mason,
along with Lumet's effective use
of space and silence, this movie
has proven to be one of the
finest offerings of 1982.
— by Frank L. Christlieb
Crystal
gish-catlike character named
Fizzgig.
The Skeezix are more mole
like creatures, except instead of
being very wise, they are very
wrinkled and have terrible table
manners. The poor little mice
that they munch on for dessert
will probably never recover.
Fizzgig is a scene-stealing ball
of fur with a 2-foot-wide mouth.
He/she/it has more emotion
and character than any of the
other major muppet stars com
bined. And what a character!
That fuzz ball with the double
row of teeth can stir an other
wise totally bored and listless
audience to laughter after an
hour of silence.
So, if you're into muppets and
special effects, the Dark Crystal
is worth seeing. In fact, its prob
ably worth seeing anyway be
cause the effects are really good.
But don't go if your under 12,
you'll lose interest. And don't
go if you are easily bored, be
cause its not the plot that's en
tertaining, it's the magic of Jim
Hensen.
— by Diane Yount