Entertainment

Summer movie previews used to be fun. Nowadays, they're more like Pentagon briefings. A lot of talk about winners, losers, casualties, domination, control - all backed up with plenty of statistics. Who will spend the most money? Who will make the most money? A more pertinent question: Who cares? The big "winner" last year was "Batman Returns," a huge financial success, and incidentally one of the worst movies of the year. I think hell is a multiplex with a million screens, and "Batman Returns" plays on every one of them. Bigger does not mean better, hype does not guarantee quality, and catty discussions about box-office returns (remember the "Waterworld" fixation?) and star salaries deflect attention from what's important. Will any of these movies entertain us? Will any of these movies mean something to us? Questions Hollywood can never answer.

Here's what critics around the country are saying about "Mission: Impossible:" William Arnold/Seattle Post-Intelligencer: It's still much too early to feel smug about it, but the evidence so far is that this is shaping up to be one doozy of a summer for the Hollywood thrill machine. We've barely had time to catch our breaths from the ravages of "Twister," when we have yet another eye-filling, nail-biting blockbuster: a visually deluxe and more than credible big-screen recreation of that old TV favorite, "Mission: Impossible." Granted, this latest entry in the summer movie sweepstakes may not prove to be as instantly and universally popular as its Midwestern predecessor: its plot is hopelessly convoluted (just like the TV show), and several scenes are so improbable as to be beyond absurdity. But it's amazingly true to the old series, it's an extremely well crafted movie in every filmmaking department, and - if not a total adrenaline rush - it certainly moves like a bullet, and more than delivers the goods in the action-spectacle department.

Attach "palooza" to any concert and you've got an instant outdoor music festival. This time, palooza is being combined with "salsa" for a salsa jazz festival called Salsapalooza. The daylong music event - first ever of its kind in Spokane - happens Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College. Jazz legend Pancho Sanchez will headline Salsapalooza. Over the years, Sanchez has garnered accolades from critics around the world. He's even received a handful of Grammy nominations, too. Other bands include local favorites Desafinado and Fuego. Don't miss the openers, 30-piece Picante Percussion Orchestra featuring the Jalapeno Horns and Salsalito Singers. The show is outdoors, but if rain is in the forecast, Salsapalooza will be moved into the SFCC Performing Arts Auditorium. Advance tickets are $16, $14 for students, $5 for children 7-12. It's $20 at the gate. Children 6 and under are admitted free.

Shoveljerk has been gone from the area for the last three months touring behind its debut album "Swarm." Two of those months were spent opening for Stabbing Westward - a band that landed a huge hit with "What Do I have to Do?" Now the band is back and it will play Mother's Pub Sunday night. Shoveljerk's first single from "Swarm" was a moderate success. It received heavy rotation from 90 stations across the country and charted in the top 70 for album rock songs. Its next single, "Summer," hits the airwaves in - you guessed it - summer. The cover is $5. Showtime's at 9:30 p.m. The names of the opening bands were not available at press time.

(All concerts at the Festival Main stage unless otherwise noted.) Guy Clark performs July 30 at the Panida Theater. Tickets: $15 Lou Rawls performs July 31. Tickets: $26.50 and $19 The Spokane Symphony performs Aug. 3, with Gunther Schuller conducting. Tickets: $24.50 and $17 The Brian Seltzer Orchestra performs Aug. 4. Tickets: $26.50 and $19 The Schweitzer Institute Jazz Encore performs Aug. 6 at the Panida Theater. Tickets: $12 Hal Ketchum performs Aug. 8. Tickets: $26.50 and $19 The Spokane Symphony, with guest Alexander Toradze on piano, perform Aug. 10. Gunther Schuller conducts. Tickets: $26.50 and $19. The Schweitzer Institute Jazz Encore performs Aug. 12 at the Panida Theater. Tickets: $12 "On a Summer Night" will be staged Aug. 12. Tickets: $21.50 and $14 Midsouth performs Aug. 14. Tickets: $21.50 and $14 The Woody Herman Orchestra performs Aug. 16. Tickets: $26.50 and $19 The Spokane Symphony performs Aug. 17, with Gunther Schuller conducting. Tickets: $24.50 and $17 Neil Sedaka performs Aug. 18. Tickets: $26.50 and $19

Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers perform Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets: $42.55, $32.05 and $26.80 Alanis Morissette performs June 1 at 7 p.m. Tickets: Sold out Everclear, Space Hog and Tracy Bonham perform June 28 at 7:30 p.m. at The Gorge. Tickets: $29.50 Alice Cooper and the Scorpions perform July 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $46.50, $36.05 and $30.80 Crosby, Stills & Nash and Chicago perform July 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $44.65, $39.40 and $31 Columbia Riverfest with Vince Gill, Colin Ray, Patty Loveless, Doug Supernaw and Prairie Oyster, July 21 at 1 p.m. Tickets: $39.40, $31.50 and $26.25 Further Tour with Rat Dog, Hot Tuna, Los Lobos and Bruce Hornsby, July 26 at 5 p.m. Tickets: $41.20, $30.75 on sale Saturday. Pantera, White Zombie and Eyehategod, July 27. Ticket information not yet available. House of Blues Tour with Joe Cocker, Buddy Guy, Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Radiators, July 28 at 3 p.m. Tickets: $52.50, $42 and $31.50 The Cranberries and Cracker perform Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $37.35 and $30.25 Sting performs Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $49.10, $38.60 and $33.35 Steely Dan performs Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $51.75 and $33.75 Can't Stop Rockin' Tour, featuring Foreigner, REO Speedwagon and Peter Frampton, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $42.75 and $28.35 Steve Miller and Pat Benatar, perform Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $43.60 and $28.35 James Taylor performs Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $49.10 and $30.25

Willeke van Ammelrooy, left, stars as Antonia and Els Dottermans as her daughter in "Antonia's Line."

Don Larson has more than one musical side.

Fans of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" who venture out to "Heaven's Prisoners" for a glimpse of Teri Hatcher nude will pay dearly for that cheap thrill. Yes, the latest Lois Lane does appear in all her nakedness in one brief scene. Suddenly there she is, as advertised, perched on a balcony. The price for whatever fleeting jollies that scene may provide is two hours plus of soul-deadening, mind-numbing trash. Heading into Hour No. 2 of "Heaven's Prisoners," you start to feel like a prisoner yourself.

1. Elijah Wood stars in the film version of "Flipper." The movie is based on the TV show of the mid-1960s. 2. Paul Hogan plays the kindly uncle.

The Moody Blues perform Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets: $49.10 and $33.35. Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers perform May 25 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $42.55, $32.05 and $26.80.

What's up at Patsy Clark's? After hearing about a major shakeup in personnel and tales of some bizarre floor show, I wanted to see if the venerable restaurant was still standing. It most certainly is. And my recent dining experience was a carbon copy of my previous trips to Patsy's. In a nutshell, that means a magical atmosphere, efficient, very formal service and fine, yet uninspired food. But more about that in a minute. When three Spokane businessmen with no previous experience with restaurants purchased Patsy's in October, Tracy Niles, his father, Dalen Niles, and Steve Senescall said they had no intention of making dramatic changes at Spokane's favorite special-occasion restaurant.

Casino roundup Once, in more innocent times, Northwesterners had to go Reno-bound in search of a casino. These days, they merely need to go Chewelah-bound. Or Ford-bound, or Worley-bound, or Fort Spokane-bound.

Unless you're going to watch the Lilac Parade from an armchair at home, you'll need to plan before heading out the door to nail down a spot on the sidewalk of downtown Spokane Saturday night. Here are some tips: Take a coat and a blanket. It's not going to be balmy; you'll be sitting outside on a May evening for three hours.

The Spokane String Quartet brings pianist Tadeusz Majewski to The Met Sunday for Schumann's Piano Quartet in E-flat major, as well as piano works by Schubert, Bach and Chopin. Majewski is a Chopin specialist who has won Chopin competitions in his native Poland and in the United States. He will perform a representative Nocturne, Mazurka and Polonaise by the Polish composer, and four waltzes, including the famous Minute Waltz.

James Stewart was up against political chicanery in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

If this summer's offerings for the preteen crowd look a little thin, you can start by blaming ... last summer's offerings. Get past "Pocahontas" and "Babe" and there were disappointments everywhere: from franchises ("Lassie") to book adaptations ("A Little Princess"); from crapshoots ("The Amazing Panda Adventure") to sequels ("Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home" - although Warner Bros. plans a third installment for next summer). And changing demographics have something to do with it, too.

Patty Loveless performs July 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets: $29.50 and $22.50. Blues, Brews & Reggae Microbrew Festival, Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. Tickets: $16.95.

(photo of a scene from the movie)