Entertainment

The Wild Colonials play Outback Jack's on Monday.

Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love star in "The People vs. Larry Flynt."

1. Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) left, and Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook) in "Secrets and Lies." Director Mike Leigh goes beyond the simple protrayal of a troubled vamily. 2. "Trainspotting" had a less-than-damning protrayal of heroin use. 3. "Lone Star" is one of the year's greatest films. 4. William H. Macy in the Coen brothers' "Fargo." 5. Demi Moore in "Striptease."

Does the local scene have a phobia for weeknights? Last week, I ended my column with an item spotlighting the Spokane's best no-show shows. In it I mentioned shows by bands like Buffalo's Lollipop, Berkeley's Saturn's Flea Collar and and Tokyo's Melt Banana. These were among the best shows that came to the Lilac City in '96, yet nobody felt they were important enough to spend a $3 cover.

After spending a recent week on a culinary tour of North Idaho, I can easily say Ivano's is the best restaurant in Sandpoint. Loads of other Sandpoint restaurants have come and gone in the 13 years Ivano's has been making its customers happy with flavorful, filling Italian meals. It's easy to see why they are still going strong.

Matthew McConaughey, right, and Charles S. Dutton star in "A Time to Kill."

Alex Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg star as people attempting to bring a racist murderer to justice in "Ghosts of Mississippi."

(Photo of John Travolta)

When they start selling side orders of wings at the concession stand, then you'll know this thing the movies have for angels has gotten out of hand. For now, they're content to settle for just two angel movies at once. The near-simultaneous arrival of "The Preacher's Wife" and "Michael" is more a coincidence than a fad. The interest is nothing new. "The Preacher's Wife," starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, is Penny Marshall's jazzed-up remake of a chestnut from the 1940s, "The Bishop's Wife." And the title character played by John Travolta in Nora Ephron's "Michael" is none less than the archangel bearing that good name - protector of Daniel in the lions' den, Joan of Arc on the battlefield and, according to the Vatican, all policemen under siege.

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The exhibit "Treasure of Antiquities: Greek and Roman Art, From the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" continues through December at Cheney Cowles Museum, 2316 W. First. Admission: $4, $3 seniors, $2.50 for students and children age 6-16, $10 family.

For a second-straight year, defunct Spokane punk combo Mother Load is reuniting for one show, at Ichabod's North on Saturday. Mother Load reconvened for a sold-out show last year on New Year's Eve.

Outback Steakhouse is the first restaurant in Spokane with an Australian attitude. The menu is full of "clever" descriptions like "Our steaks are fair dinkum ... It was one of those choice dishes that Mad Max was so mad about" or "No worries mate. Have a bo-peep at these treats and ava go!" Munchies are called aussie-tizers and, of course, there's a section dedicated to meats "grilled on the barbie."

As unpredictable as a calendar year may be, there are certain days during the year the we know exactly what will transpire. On Valentine's Day, people buy flowers. On Halloween, they don costumes. On Christmas, they exchange gifts. And on New Year's Eve, they party down.

Overweight yes, but Brando is still brilliant in "The island of Dr. Moreau."

Glen Berry as Jamie (left) and Scott Neal as Ste develop a loving relationship in "Beautiful Thing."

Shirley MacLaine reprises her Oscar-winning "Terms of Endearment" role of Aurora Greenway.

Although Michael chain-smokes cigarettes and swills beer, everyone says he smells like cookies. You're inclined to excuse him if he molts on your carpet because his mission - should you choose to accept it - is to restore cynics their hearts. Our feathered friend is an arch archangel (or is it an earth angel?), the title character of the new movie "Michael." As played by John Travolta in an almost perfect transition from his last screen role as a good ol' boy struck by celestial lightning, you might call his new film "Phenomenon" with wings.

(Scene from film)