Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 18

ON THE SCREEN Page 8B Statesman Journal, Salem, Friday, June 23, 1989 Offbeat characters carry 'High Hopes' Fast facts "High Hopes," produced by Simon Channing-Williams and Victor Glynn, directed and written by Mike Leigh. Now at Salem Cinema, no rating but contains drug use, profanity, adult situations. I'm Jsf Sl READ THE MOVIE AT HOME! The Batman Movie Adaptation From the dark alleyways of crime to the towering heights of Gotham City's Cathedral comes all the action and excitement of the movie. A 64-page book by Denny O'Neil, Jerry Ordway, and colorist Steve Oliff Available in June $4.9586.50 CAN I i on, subculture. Davis is a shaggy motorcyclist who makes his living delivering messages and admires Karl Marx; Sheen, who is not married to Davis but wants to have his kids, works in park maintenance.

Davis's dour mother, Edna Dore, who is on the verge of complete senility, lives alone in a neighborhood being converted to upscale living. Her neighbors, Leslie Manville and David Bamber, are yuppies with a vengeance shallow, childish name-droppers who are more hilarious than they can imagine. Just as bizarre, however, is Davis' silly sister, Heather Tobias, who is the epitome of nouveau riche stupidity. Her husband, Philip Jackson, is an unctuous and philandering car salesman taking Dore to a birthday party, he can't resist stopping for a quick one. The lives of these dissimilar By Ron Cowan The Statesman Journal The fraying edges of Margaret Thatcher's England are particularly forlorn in a diverting comedy-drama with an ironic title, High Hopes.

No one has f- especially high ReVieW hopes in this film from writer-director Mike Leigh, but there are a couple of likable dreamers at the heart of it, Philip Davis and Ruth Sheen. Leigh's film doesn't so much have a plot as a kind of train-of-consciousness series of events, which range from the awful to the hilarious. The thread is disillusion, but that is tempered by the optimism and sweet dispositions of Davis and Sheen. They demonstrate their humanity at the outset, as they befriend a young newcomer to London whom they eventually compare to E.T. characters merge on one memorable day when the absent-minded Dore forgets her keys and must rely on the kindness of the yuppies, who are memorably selfish.

The awful-funny qualities of the encounter are typical of Leigh's sense of humor. Another high point comes in Dore's birthday party. The glue for all this is Davis and Sheen, who for all their oddity show a stalwart humanity and honesty memorable amid not-so-memorable times for England. Skouras Pictures Leslie Manville and David Bamber portray yuppie neighbors in Mike Leigh's comedy, "High Hopes." he can't find his sister and he can't go home to his mother. Davis and Sheen are unmarried and committed members of the Comics Cards 3760 Market St NE (In East Salem Fred Meyer) Hours: 11am-7pm Mon-Sat 371-1320 Old Joker pans new 'Batman' Journal I 1 11 mm'lJfta I man glowers in its grim portrayal of primeval violence and urban corruption.

"This is a very serious, heavy crime drama," Romero, a robust 82-year-old, said. He attended a media screening of Batman Wednesday night. "It's not the Batman concept at all," Romero said. "And Nicholson, who is such a wonderful actor and who has done such good work, is just so violent." Still, Romero said, "The picture will probably make a bloody fortune." Indeed, entertainment industry insiders predict that Batman may gross more than $30 million in its opening weekend. It's playing in Salem at the Lancaster Theaters.

The Associated Press BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -Hollywood's new Batman is nothing like the campy television series of the 1960s, and Batman's old TV nemesis found nothing to laugh about in the new Joker. "This just hit me the wrong way," said Cesar Romero, the former Joker, played in the movie by Jack Nicholson. "This picture is dreary. The violence in it good God!" The new Batman opens in 2,100 North American theaters tonight, poised like the dark avenger himself to make a killing at the box office.

Amid a summer slate of movie blockbusters already shining like gold for major studios, the Gotham world of Bat TUT JY7 Stop and smell Hemdale Releasing Corp. Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham star in "Miracle Mile." 'Miracle Mile' puts new life in old staple By Ron Cowan The Statesman Journal Miracle Mile recalls a movie staple of the 1950s and 1960s, the what-if nuclear film. This time the story is an offbeat-comedy drama about love, desperation and Review Ls An" geles-style. Written and FaSt faCtS directed by Steve natt, Miracle Mile," produced Mile benefits by John Daly and from a surreal Derek Gibson, musical score written and by Tangerine directed by Steve Dream and the DeJarnatt. Now casting of at Salem Centre Anthony Ed-Movieland, rated wards as the be- the Flowers! The sweet fragrance and bright colors of Nature's most beautiful creations awaits you.

Come out to Egan Gardens and nose around our wide variety of garden flowers. You'll find a great selection of geraniums, 4" annuals, hanging baskets, hardy perennials and more, all summer long. SUMMER HOURS: Open 9-6 for violence, profanity and adult lievable but be-leagured hero. Edwards plays a visiting Toot your tuba! Twirl your baton! Tap your toes! Whatever your special talent, it could win $250 in prize money! The Salem Downtown Association and the Statesman Journal will stage Salem's biggest amateur stage show Aug. 5, 1989 as part of in the City" Sidewalk Sale.

Amateur groups of all kinds and individual performers of all skills can join in the fun. 10-5 Sunday EGAN GARDENS, INC. GREENHOUSE GROWERS 9805 River Rd. N.E., Salem 393-2131 mSSm Just 5 miles North of Keizer Singers, dancers, musicians, any act may qualify for the competition. Selected acts will be scheduled on the downtown stage.

A judging panel will screen the applicants and select finalists. School groups also are welcome. Talent show winners will get $250 in prize money and a chance to appear at the 1989 Oregon State Fair on the Showcase Stage. It's simple to enter. Fill out the form and return it to TALENT ENTRIES, STATESMAN JOURNAL, P.O.

Box 13009, Salem Or. 97309. Don't delay! The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. July 14, 1989 Name of Act: nil iv Number in Group: Description of Act (singing, dancing, pantomine, musician who has a whirlwind romance with a waitress, Mare Winningham. They make a date to meet that night for dancing when she ends her shift at a coffee shop.

Chance, a continuing factor in DeJarnatt's story, makes Edwards nearly four hours late. When he answers a ringing pay phone outside the coffee shop, he gets a surprising wrong number: a terrified man in a Midwest missile silo is trying to warn his father that nuclear war is about to ensue, with meltdown for Los Angeles just 75 minutes away. Is this a prank or the real thing? The horrified Edwards doesn't know nor do we as the movie follows real time the 75 minutes elapse as the story unfolds to the climax. Edwards tells his story to the assorted late night characters he encounters, and one happens to have ties to Washington, D.C. Something is up, she decides, and arranges for a helicopter to take the group to the airport and thence to a safe haven out of the country.

Edwards, however, has to find Winningham he doesn't even have her phone number and runs into some predictably bizarre Los Angeles characters as the tension builds. DeJarnatt manages to make this, at turns, intense, darkly humorous and tender, although he falters by conjuring up the kind of stereotyped characters that always show up in these doomsday chronicles. DeJarnatt punches up the drama by staging a couple of spectacular sequences the explosion of a gas station and the destruction of a store by a runaway car but the emphasis is on characters, particularly on Edwards. Edwards, who can't be accused of being either handsome or charismatic, is sympathetic and believable as a kind of everyman in trouble. Winningham, who has a shorter role, is an appropriate romantic foil.

The climax, as Los Angeles dissolves into chaos amid rumors and fear, has a sardonic twist that mixes both horror and humor. Contact Person: Address: City: Evening: Telephone: Day: Brief History: ft Set-Up Time Required: Comments: luhett material I wish to perform at the 1989 SDA Festival. I understand such a performance is without compensation, I further understand if my application is not postmarked by July 14, 1989, that it will be void. Signature of artist, (parent or guardian if minor): Date: ,1989 as rovEL demand Statesman Journal, 1 Dedicate to I 1 vTsXlJ iftM 1 bit, xu ii. tur ttr iftri.

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