Entertainment

One film fan's guilty pleasure is another's homage to Hitchcock. Consider the different guilty pleasures of 2003, as listed by that Godard-is-god publication Film Comment. The choices ranged from Marcus Nispel's remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ("Guilty because it's a slick, repellent, soulless work of degenerate nihilism. Pleasure because it's a slick, repellent, soulless work of degenerate nihilism.") to the Merchant-Ivory effort "Le Divorce" ("the film is actually urgently boorish").

Front yards and vacant lots across Eastern Washington are abloom with campaign signs, mostly promoting Republican candidates. Supporters of Rep. George Nethercutt's U.S. Senate run have blanketed the area with placards big and small. But the Spokane congressman's Democratic opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, has no sign visibility yet in these parts. It's not that Murray lacks support on the East Side. It's just that she's waiting until the start of the fall campaign to distribute placards. "We will have campaign signs following the primary election," promises Alex Glass, Murray's campaign communications director.

In "Gone with the Wind," her classic novel of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell modeled the story and its social-climbing heroine on "Vanity Fair," William Makepeace Thackeray's novel about British society. Director Mira Nair has located some of that "fiddle-dee-dee" spirit in Reese Witherspoon, who plays Becky Sharp in the luminous new version of "Vanity Fair." Nair's picture breathes less rarefied air than the Merchant-Ivory films about the same period.

And so, just like that, the Newport Cinemas closed its doors. With the sellout crowds that filled the lobby Monday during its final night of operation, the Newport once again seemed like the theater that, along with the Lyons Ave. Cinemas, used to be the choicest moviegoing spot in Spokane. Compared to its main competitors of the day– the East Sprague, the North Division, the Lincoln Heights, the Garland and the East Side cinemas – the Newport in particular was a palace.

In January 2003 Darol Anger's lightning-fast bowing nearly set The Met in an energy-popping improv jam with fellow fiddle masters John Blake Jr. and Johnny Frigo at Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gunther Schuller's third annual Jazz Violin Summit. It was a marvel of a show, especially with the drama behind how it came together.

Something isn't right. How is it that the Gorge Amphitheatre can finish a summer season without having even 10 concerts, and only a handful holding any inkling of relevance?

MOVIEWHAT IT'S ABOUTDETAILSTIMES AND LOCATIONSOpening Today:The CookoutAfter signing a $30 million contract to play professional basketball, Todd (Quran Pender) decides to hold a barbecue for family and friends that turns into something more crazy than he ever imagined.Running time: 1:25Rating: PG-13 (drug content, sexual references, language)NorthTown Mall: 12:40, 2:55, 5:30, 7:45, 10:20. River Park Square: 2:45, 5:15, 7:50, 10:05.PaparazziWhen a movie action star (Cole Hauser) has his life turned into hell by a group of ruthless photographers, he decides to get even.Running time: 1:25Rating: PG-13 (intense violent sequences, sexual content, language)NorthTown Mall: 12:20, 2:40, 4:55, 7:05, 9:25. River Park Square: 2:10, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:10, 4:25, 6:40, 9:25. Coeur d'Alene: 4:50, 7:10, 9:10.We Don't Live Here Anymore•••1/2When a married man (Mark Ruffalo) begins an affair with his best friend's wife (Naomi Watts), both marriages fall apart. Also starring Laura Dern and Peter Krause.Running time: 1:41Rating: R (sexual content, language)River Park Square: 1:55, 4:35, 7:20, 9:45.Wicker ParkAfter losing the woman he loves, a Chicago investment banker (Josh Hartnett) thinks he sees her – and starts an obsessive hunt.Running time: 1:55Rating: PG-13 (sexuality, language)NorthTown Mall: 12:30, 3:05, 7, 9:35. River Park Square: 2:05, 4:55, 7:35, 10:20. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:55, 7, 9:50. Post Falls: 2, 4:20, 6:35, 8:50. Showboat: 4:20, 7, 9:35.Continuing:Adrenaline Rush: The Science of RiskWriter-director Marc Fafard uses the IMAX camera to explore how sports such as base-jumping affect the human physiology.Running time: :40Rating: Not Rated (thrilling action scenes)IMAX (Riverfront Park): 12:05, 3:10.Alien Vs. Predator••A group of humans finds itself caught between two dangerous, battling alien groups in this lame rip-off of two far superior film series. The only thing less important than the question of who wins is the question of whether anyone cares.Running time: 1:27Rating: PG-13 (violence, language, horror images, slime)NorthTown Mall: 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:45, 7:15, 9:50. River Park Square: 10:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:35, 5:05, 7:40, 10:10.Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood OrchidLooking for a flower that is supposed to extend life, a group of explorers runs into some BIG HUNGRY SNAKES!Running time: 1:33Rating: PG-13 (action violence, scary images, language)NorthTown Mall: 11:55 a.m., 2:50, 5:10, 7:50, 10:10. River Park Square: 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:10. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:05, 4:30, 7:15, 9:45. Coeur d'Alene: 4:55, 7:25, 9:30. Post Falls: 2:15, 4:35, 7, 9:05.The Best Two Years••1/2Four young Mormon missionaries chart their often funny experiences on their respective two-year missions in the Netherlands. Fresh faces and touching moments can't overcome stock situations.Running time: 1:53Rating: PG (violence, vulgarity)Spokane Valley Mall: 2:40, 6:45, 9:40.Bourne Supremacy•••1/2Framed for a botched operation, trained assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is forced to reassume his killing ways to protect himself and the woman he loves (Franka Potente). Damon may not be the most obvious choice to play a superspy, but he and the chase scenes he performs feel more real than any James Bond moment.Running time: 1:48Rating: PG-13 (violence, intense action, brief language)NorthTown Mall: noon, 2:30, 5, 7:35, 10:05. River Park Square: 1:20, 4:05, 7, 9:40. Spokane Valley Mall: 2, 4:40, 7:25, 10:05. Coeur d'Alene: 4:30, 7, 9:20.Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man••1/2The famous performing troupe documents the story of humankind. Some of "Journey of Man" is amazing in an Ed Sullivan kind of way. Some of it is simply silly. Much of it is something to appreciate, respect, even honor, but not necessarily embrace.Running time: :38 Rating: GIMAX (Riverfront Park): 9:35.Collateral•••1/2Showing that his trademark smile can disguise the soul of an assassin, Tom Cruise strolls through "Collateral" like the genuine star that he has become. The surprise? Jamie Foxx is nearly his match as the frightened cab driver who must find a courage that he's never had.Running time: 1:40Rating: R (violence, language)NorthTown Mall: 12:10, 3:10, 6:50, 9:30. River Park Square: 1:05, 4:15, 7:30, 10:20. Spokane Valley Mall: 3:05, 7:05, 9:55. Showboat: 4:10, 6:50, 9:30.Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story•••1/2When its gym is threatened by a sleek corporate group managed by an airhead muscle-boy (Ben Stiller), a group of losers (headed by Vince Vaughn) enters a dodgeball tournament in the hopes of winning the cash prize. It's cleverly written, quickly paced and always irreverent.Running time: 1:32Rating: PG-13 (rude and sexual humor, language)Garland: 9:55.Exorcist: The Beginning•Long before he would stand next to Father Damien and try to save a young girl's soul, Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgaard) faces the demon Pazuzu and in doing so rediscovers his faith. And … Zzzzzzzzzz. The film is mostly a mystery, with, uh, Satan, looming around every corner. Running time: 1:54Rating: R (violence, gore, scary images, language)River Park Square: 1:15, 4:05, 6:40, 9:30.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas••1/2Johnny Depp portrays gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson in this Terry Gilliam adaptation of Thompson's best-selling book about his drug-addled alter-ego – Raoul Duke – covering a motorcycle race and a convention of district attorneys.Running time: 1:55Rating: R (pervasive extreme drug use, bizarre behavior, language, brief nudity)Garland: midnight.Forces of Nature•••Natural disasters are the focus, namely volcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoes. Never has the power of a volcanic eruption seemed more in-your-face awesome.Running time: 1:44 Rating: Not RatedDaily at IMAX (Riverfront) beginning Tuesday.Garden State•••1/2When he returns home to attend his mother's funeral, a young L.A. actor (Zach Braff) is forced to face his past. As a result, he gradually emerges from a lifelong trance. "Garden State" is one of the most intriguing films ever about the struggle to grow up.Running time: 1:49 Rating: R (language, drug use, sexuality)River Park Square: 2, 4:45, 7:15, 9:50.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban• 1/2The transition from Chris Columbus to Alfonso Cuaron has propelled J.K. Rowling's child hero into the difficult teen years. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is 13 and back for his third year at Hogwarts. Like any kid approaching maturity, he acts with impatience, impetuousness and the occasional temper tantrum. Running time: 2:16Rating: PG (scary moments, creature violence, language)Garland: 2:05, 7:05. Coeur d'Alene Discount: 1:45, 4:45, 7:30.Hero•••1/2Long before China is united, three assassins target a warlord for execution. Only the bravery of a single warrior (Jet Li) can save the day. Or is it that simple? In true "Rashomon" fashion, director Zhang Yimou has created a stirring tribute to honor, to sacrifice and to the hope of a lasting peace.Running time: 1:36Rating: PG-13 (stylized martial arts violence, sensuality)NorthTown Mall: 12:35, 3, 5:20, 7:40, 10. River Park Square: 1:40, 4:15, 6:50, 9:20. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:15, 4:50, 7:30, 10. Post Falls: 2:30, 4:45, 6:50, 9. Showboat: 4:25, 7:10, 9:40.The Human Body•••"The Human Body" will keep you so busy ogling at the screen that you won't even realize you're learning. In following a family of four, this product of an award-winning BBC Television and The Learning Channel series ("Intimate Universe: The Human Body") shows body parts and functions, including a birth.Running time: :43Rating: Not Rated (brief scene of childbirth)IMAX (Riverfront Park): 11 a.m.I, Robot••1/2When the designer (James Cromwell) of a new line of robots is murdered, a homicide detective (Will Smith) suspects that a businessman (Bruce Greenwood) is manufacturing dangerously defective machines. Guess what he finds? Big bangs and lots of formulaic booms.Running time: 1:54Rating: PG-13 (intense stylized action, partial nudity)Coeur d'Alene Discount: 2:15, 5, 7:10, 9:25.Island of the Sharks•••1/2IMAX cameras travel to Cocos Island, 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and film the sea life – especially the sharks. Watching these vacuum cleaners of the sea dine on anything they can is enough to make you swear off water forever.Running time: :40Rating: GDaily at IMAX (Riverfront) beginning Tuesday.Lewis & Clark: Great Journey WestThis big-screen IMAX movie condenses the three-year Lewis and Clark expedition into 42 minutes, but what the film does, it does beautifully. – Jim Kershner, The Spokesman-Review.Running time: :42Rating: Not RatedIMAX (Riverfront Park): 1:10, 4:10.Little Black BookConcerned that her boyfriend (Ron Livingston) is keeping secrets from her, an associate producer for a television talk show (Brittany Murphy) checks out his PDA and then decides to meet the many women whose addresses she finds there.Running time: 1:45Rating: PG-13 (sexual content, language)River Park Square: 9:50.Manchurian Candidate•••Haunted by persistent dreams, a Persian Gulf War veteran (Denzel Washington) tries to convince others that he and his fellow former prisoners of war, including vice presidential candidate Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), have been brainwashed. Running time: 2:10Rating: R (violence, language)River Park Square: 1:25, 4:20, 7:10, 10. Coeur d'Alene Discount: 1:30, 4, 6:30, 9.Napoleon Dynamite•••1/2Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is the supreme geek of his Preston, Idaho, high school. But he's determined to survive, help his friend win a school election and make it to the big dance. Both uncomfortably real and hilariously absurd, "Napoleon Dynamite" will either make you laugh or wonder why anyone would make such a film.Running time: 1:26Rating: PG (thematic elements, language)NorthTown Mall: 12:25, 2:45, 5:15, 7:30, 9:40. River Park Square: 1:50, 4:40, 7:05, 9:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:50, 6:35, 9:20. Post Falls: 2:30, 5, 7:05, 9:10. Showboat: 4:30, 7:05, 9:15.Nascar 2D: The IMAX ExperienceBig-time NASCAR racing comes to the BIG screen.Running time: :40Rating: PG (crash scenes)IMAX (Riverfront Park): 2:10.The Notebook••Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel, "The Notebook" tells the story of young lovers (Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams) separated by World War II and their backgrounds (she's rich, he's not). The story is told in flashbacks by a man (James Garner) reading from a notebook to a woman (Gena Rowlands) in a rest home. Running time: 2:10Rating: PG-13 (scenes of sexuality)Coeur d'Alene Discount: 1:55, 9:05.Ocean Men: Extreme DiveRecord-holding free-divers Pippin Ferreras and Umberto Pelizzari compete to see who can dive deeper, without air, and the IMAX cameras are there to catch the drama.Running time: :40Rating: Not RatedIMAX (Riverfront Park): 5:15, 7:25.Open Water•••1/2Work-obsessed Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are on what is supposed to be a relationship-saving vacation when they are left stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but scuba gear between themselves and the elements (not to mention sharks). What happens next is as blisteringly intense as it is low budget.Running time: 1:17Rating: R (language, nudity)River Park Square: 1:05, 3:40, 6:05, 8:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 9:30.Princess Diaries 2: Royal EngagementPrincess Mia (Anne Hathaway), now sitting on the Genovian throne, discovers that she must marry within 30 days or be forced to renounce her crown. Shut up!Running time: 1:45Rating: PG (mild language)NorthTown Mall: 11:45 a.m., 2:15, 4:50, 7:20, 9:55. River Park Square: 1:30, 4:10, 7:20, 9:55. Spokane Valley Mall: 3, 6:50, 9:35. Coeur d'Alene: 4:20, 6:50, 9:15. Post Falls: 2:10, 4:25, 6:40, 8:50.Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters UnleashedThe world doesn't need a second scoop of Scooby and the gang any more than it needed the first, but here it is. Neither film has managed to recapture the trippy, laid-back vibe of the original cartoon. Both seem more interested in distraction through cacophony and pandemonium. — Christy Lemire, Associated PressRunning time: 1:31Rating: PG (scary action, rude humor, language)Free showing today only at Garland: 9:30 a.m.Shrek 2• 1/2Shrek (voice by Mike Myers) comes home to meet the in-laws. But the parents of his wife, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), are horrified that he is an ogre. Soon, Shrek is threatened not only by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) but by the feline hitman Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas). Running time: 1:45Rating: PG (rude humor, substance reference, suggestive content)Garland: noon, 5. Coeur d'Alene Discount: 1:35, 3:30, 5:20, 7:15, 9:10.SolarmaxThe IMAX cameras explore humankind's never-dying obsession with understanding the nature of the sun.Running time: :38Rating: GIMAX (Riverfront Park): 6:20, 8:30.Spider-Man 2•••1/2Still torn between his personal life and his self-imposed obligations as a superhero crimefighter, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) faces his most powerful foe yet in the octopuslike Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). Following a clever credits sequence, which tells the entire first movie in mere images, this well-made sequel plays out as a character study. Running time: 2:02Rating: PG-13 (stylized action violence)River Park Square: 1:35, 4:25, 7:25. Coeur d'Alene Discount: 2, 4:30, 6:55, 9:20.Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2This sequel to 1999's "Baby Geniuses" has a band of superbabies taking on a villain (Jon Voight) and his henchmen.Running time: 1:30Rating: PG (action violence, rude humor)River Park Square: 1, 3:15, 5:25, 7:30. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:25, 4:45, 7:10.Suspect ZeroTrained to hunt serial killers by the FBI, an agency tool (Ben Kingsley) becomes the target of an investigation by a suspicious agent (Aaron Eckhart).Running time: 1:39 Rating: R (violence, language, nudity)NorthTown Mall: 12:15, 2:35, 5:25, 7:55, 10:15. River Park Square: 2:20, 4:50, 7:40, 10:05. Showboat: 4:15, 6:55, 9:20.The Terminal••1/2Because of war in his tiny Eastern European country, a man (Tom Hanks) gets stranded in a New York City terminal. With no national affiliation, he can't leave. So he settles in and gets by with the help of an airport employee (Diego Luna) while falling for a friendly flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Running time: 2:08 Rating: PG-13 (brief language, drug reference)Coeur d'Alene Discount: 4:20, 9:05.Vanity FairDirector Mira Nair adapts William Makepeace Thackery's 1847 novel about a young woman (Reese Witherspoon) who strives to rise above her working-class roots to achieve a place in British society.Running time: 2:17Rating: PG-13 (sensuality/partial nudity, violent image)River Park Square: 1, 4, 7:05, 10:10.The Village•••1/2A young man (Joaquin Phoenix) walks into the dark woods, breaking the long-held truce between his fellow villagers and the creatures who live among the trees. Suspenseful, eerie and boasting a star-making performance by Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Village" is everything that we've come to expect from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.Running time: 1:47Rating: PG-13 (violence, frightening situations)River Park Square: 1:15, 3:50, 7:45, 10:15.Without a PaddleThree city friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard) go on a canoe trip to find D.B. Cooper's treasure but end up enduring a series of comic misadventures instead.Running time: 1:35Rating: PG-13 (drug content, sexual material, language, crude humor, violence)NorthTown Mall: 12:05, 2:25, 5:05, 7:25, 9:45. River Park Square: 1:10, 4, 7, 9:35. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:30, 5, 7:35, 10:15. Coeur d'Alene: 4:40, 7:20, 9:25. Post Falls: 2:05, 4:15, 6:55, 9:05.

"The Passion of the Christ" ••1/2

Mel Gibson so despises paparazzi that he dreamed up a movie about killing them – and hired his former hairdresser to direct it. "Paparazzi," which opens today, is financed by Gibson's Icon Entertainment (the same company that produced "The Passion of the Christ").

"Wicker Park" is a piece of entertainment as tired and throwaway as a discount Harlequin paperback, but it comes sheathed in the flashiest of book covers. A remake of the French import "L'Appartement," the film is your typical boy-stalks-girl yarn.

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow" •••• (out of four).

What? You're kidding. There's another season of MTV's "The Real World" premiering Tuesday? And it's taking place in Philadelphia? Pause.

It's time to construct a commercial in your head. Adopt an intense monster truck show-announcer voice, back it with a mental rendition of Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do" (we all know you can), and read the following:

Q: I began a relationship a month ago with a woman. I told her that before I met her I was listed on a couple of Internet dating sites. After meeting her, I closed my accounts. Recently, I discovered that she had made a profile on one of these services. When I mentioned this, she responded by saying I didn't trust her.