Entertainment

Ben Kingsley played nonviolent in "Gandhi," but he's all over it in "Suspect Zero." Kingsley is a vicious murderer who roams the country, dispatching victims and listening to thrill-kill motivational tapes in "Zero," which fits into the broad category of "but" movies. It's involving but illogical. It's creepy but derivative. It's not as carefully plotted as "Seven" or "The Silence of the Lambs," but it's sharper than, say, "Taking Lives."

Q: My husband and I have been married for 20 years and he's never strayed. Recently a mutual woman friend of ours needed a place to stay the night, and he allowed her to stay at our house. I was at our vacation home at the time. He had stayed behind to finish some work.

"Madden NFL 2005" •••• (out of four).

When the baby alien burst from the chest of the Italian guy, I thought, "Cool special effects." Which shows you how interested I was in "Alien Vs. Predator."

The members of Belt of Vapor weren't expecting to place high in the battle of the bands at The B-Side this spring. In fact, they weren't even planning on entering the sprawling band competition that stretched from weeks to months.

"Bon Voyage" •••1/2

Q: I usually try to let the guy take the lead and plan the first date, which means it's invariably in the dinner or drinks department. And I'm so bored with cocktail bars, I could scream. Is there a way to ask a guy to be more creative without emasculating him? Mia: What is this, a Jane Austen novel? Plan the dates yourself if you're so bored! Tell him you want to go hang gliding, to the opera, to Las Vegas. His reactions probably will show whether he's your kind of guy.

I'm going to be part of the infamous migration out of Spokane. I'm moving to Seattle at the end of this month. But I am not moving because I dislike this town. I've actually grown to like it quite a bit. I am moving to try my luck at a career in art gallery management in a larger city.

Maybe it's best to let the rappin' cowboy speak for himself. As you read a section of the intro to Sandman's new album – a hip-hopera titled "A Year in the Life of ... Slippery Goodstuff" – do so in the voice of a sullen Huckleberry Hound while a Casio keyboard and banjo rendition of "Home on the Range" plays in the background:

Unless she enlists in "Dems for Dubya," Sen. Patty Murray has sewn up her political base for a third term. Democrats of all flavors – enough to overflow a Baskin-Robbins freezer – are united behind two goals: defeating President Bush and retaking the U.S. Senate. With Washington basking in its swing-state status, Murray seems set to benefit from above-average progressive turnout as well. But that's still no reason to muddle her TV outreach to moderates. After all, a new poll finds Rep. George Nethercutt closing to within single digits of Murray. And Republican turnout – stoked by visits from national party sharks who know blood when they smell it – likely will be high statewide as well. That gives the doggedly disciplined Nethercutt an outside shot at proving he's not just a flash on the Palouse. And if the giant-killer manages to surprise Murray the same way he slipped past slumbering Speaker of the House Tom Foley in 1994, his political rise will go down as one of the most opportunistic in U.S. history.

Considering its source – Steven Brill, the director of the Adam Sandler flicks "Little Nicky" and "Mr. Deeds" – "Without a Paddle" is comparatively tolerable. Though short on laughs, the movie is an inoffensive piffle that benefits from the moronic camaraderie of stars Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard. The movie follows three lifelong pals who return home to Oregon for the funeral of Billy, the adventurous buddy of their youth.

What it is: Lucy Walker's 2002 documentary, "Devil's Playground," gives the public a rare glimpse into the closed world of the Amish, a strict religious sect that forbids the use of electricity, cars and most other modern conveniences. What it's all about: If you've been sucked into UPN's new fish-out-of-water reality show "Amish in the City," you're familiar with the Amish tradition of rumspringa. From the Pennsylvania Dutch word for "running around," rumspringa is a period of self-discovery given to Amish young people, beginning at age 16 and lasting until they decide to formally join the church (or reject the Amish way of life altogether). During rumspringa, Amish teenagers can indulge in normally verboten behaviors – driving cars, drinking alcohol, listening to music, watching TV. Amish youth generally stay closer to home during rumspringa, oftentimes remaining on their family farm during their "running around" period.

It could be a Hollywood first – two versions of the same horror film, done by two very different filmmakers. But don't worry about seeing double today. Only one version of Morgan Creek's "Exorcist: The Beginning" is opening. The more atmospheric and literate original version directed by Paul Schrader,is expected to go straight to DVD. It may, in fact, be bundled with the second version, also starring Stellan Skarsgaard but directed by Schrader's artistic opposite, action ace Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2").