The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 28

D4 FRIDAY, MAY 13. 2005 encore! TOP GROSSING FILMS 1 Kingdom of Heaven $19.6 $19.6 2 House of Wax $12.1 $12.1 3 1 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy $9.8 $35.8 4 Crash $9.1 $9.1 5 2 The Interpreter $7.8 $54.4 6 3 XXX: State of the Union $5.5 $20.9 7 5 Sahara $3.4 $61.7 8 4 The Amilyville Horror $3.3 $60.3 9 6 $3.2 $18.9 10 7 Fever Pilth $22 $39.2 Source: Exhibitor Relations of May 6-8 SAUNA JOURNALS-. HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE CENTRAL Rated PG Douglas Adams fans will find a fascinaKon in the way ifie movie spins a universe that has already traveled through books, radio and television. Others may (a) become intrigued by its whimsical and quirky sense of humor, or (b) find the movie tiresomely twee and notice that it thinks it is being hjnny at times when you do not have the slightest clue why that should be. I subscribe to the second view, but I am uninformea about the Adams universe and no doubt am missing the nuances.

Showtimes: 4:20, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m. today; 1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m. Saturday; 1:20, 4:20 and 7:20 p.m. Sunday; 5 and 7p.m. Monday through Wednesday.

HOUSE OF WAX CENTRAL Rated "It IS wax says one of the characters, scraping his fingernails down the walls of the house. But in the tradition of Dead Teenager Movies, these college-age future Dead Post-Teenagers do not run for their lives but accept rides in scary pickup trucks and enter the House of Wax. Paris Hilton is perfectly adequate for the movie's admittedly limited demands, and Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray also risk the waxworks. Showtimes: 4:30, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m. today; 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m.

Saturday; 1.30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 4:40 and 7:10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 10:15 Thursday. THE INTERPRETER CENTRAL -k-k-k Rated PG-13 An African leader is determined to answer charges of genocide before the United Nations General Assembly. But Nicole Kidman, a U.N.

interpreter, overhears a death threat against him. Secret Serviceman Sean Penn is on the case, in Sydney Pollack's taut, intelligent thriller. This is the first movie allowed to film on location inside the United Nations. This is a serious thriller, orchestrated by Pollack with skills that recall his classic "Three Days of the Condor." Showtimes: 4, 7 and 10 p.m. today; 1, 4, 7 and 10 p.m.

Saturday; 1, 4 and 7p.m. Sunday; 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 4:30, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Thursday. KICKING AND SCREAMING CENTRAL Rated PG Will Ferrell stars as an adult who still feels like a kid when his dad (Robert Duvall) is around.

Duvall coaches in the local kids' soccer league and, as the movie opens, he trades his own grandson. That mokes Ferrell mad: He was always told he was oloser, and now his own kid is getting the same treatment. Ferrell decides to coach another team in the league and recruits Mike Ditka as his assistant. After Ditka gets Ferrell hooked on caffeine. Da Coach actually has to counsel moderation on the sidelines.

An entertaining family comedy, more like The Bad News Bears" than "Dodgeball." Showtimes: 4:30, 7:30 and 9:40 p.m. today; 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 9:40 p.m. Saturday; 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 5 and 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 4:10, 7:10 and 9:45 p.m.

Thursday. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN CENTRAL k-k-kVi Rated It may seem risky to make a historical epic just now about the struggle between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem, but Ridley Scott sidesteps theology and shows us reasonable men on both sides, who maintain a truce until Christian zealots decide to stir things up. The result; A spectacular battle for Jerusalem, as only Ridley Scott could direct, Orlando Bloom stars as Balian, a French blacksmith who is encouraged by his father (Liam Neeson) to come to Jerusalem, where he oecomes an aide to the Christian Baldwin (Edward Norton). Showtimes: 4, 7 and 10 p.m. today; 1, 4, 7 and 10 p.m.

Saturday: 1, 4 and 7p.m. Sunday; 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 10:15 p.m. Thursday A LOT LIKE LOVE CENTRAL Rated PG-13 Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet star in a romance between two of the dimmer bulbs of their generation. Remarkable, how they get through the movie without saying a single memorable thing.

Each one thinks the other one is getting married, in an Idiot Plot that could be instantly solved with a single word. To call the movie dead in the water is an insult to water. Showtimes: 4:10, 7:10 and today; 1:10, 4:10, Saturday; 1:10, 4:10 and 7:10 p.m. Sunday; 4:50 and 7:20 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 1:10, 4:10, 7:10 and 9:45 p.m.

Thursday MONSTER-IN-LAW CENTRAL Rated PG-13 Jane Fonda's first movie role in 15 years, and the movie is a waste of her time and ours. She plays a recently fired TV celebrity who goes berserk when she discovers her son the surgeon (Michael Vartan) is going to marry a temp (Jennifer Lopez). Lopez remains serene and heroic as the Fonda character teeters on the brink of psychotic break. Wanda Svkes, as Fonda's assistant, steals scenes by being the movie's resident adult. The movie fails Gene Siskel's test: Is this film more interesting than a documentary of the same actors having lunch? Showtimes: 4:20, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m.

today; 1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m. Saturday; 1:20, 4:20 and 7:20 p.m. Sunday; 4:50 and 7:20 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 10 p.m. Thursday SAHARA CEIJTRAL Rated PG-13 Cliv-i Cussler's action hero Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) joes on nn expedition to the Sahara to find the remains of a ong-lost Civil War ironclad ship.

Steve Zahn is his sidekick, Penelope Cruz is the U.N. doctor fighting a deadly plague. Showtimes: 4:10, 7:10 and 9:40 p.m. today; 1:10, 4:10, 7:10 and 9:40 p.m. Saturday; 1:10, 4:10 and 7:10 p.m.

Sunday; 4:40 and 7:10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. THE SEA INSIDE ART CENTER CINEMA -kk-k Rated PG-13 Javiar Bordem stars as a Spanish quadriplegic of 26 years who demands the right to die. Around his bed, where he is charming and persuasive, a debate forms, involving a lawyer from a right- to-die organization, a local woman who wants him to live, members of his family, visitors and finally the national press. The film is intense and intelligent; Bardem and his director, Alejandro Amenabor, insist it is not about what any paraplegic "should" think but is based on the true story of this particular man.

Showtimes: 5 and 7:25 p.m. today; 2, 5 and 7:25 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 5 and 7:25 p.m. Monday Wednesday. "Dear Frankie," 5 and 7p.m.

Thursday. STAR WARS III: REVENGE OF THE SITH CENTRAL Rated PG-13 No review available. 12:01 a.m., 1, 1:30, 4,4:30, 7, 7:30, 10 and 10:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19. Reviews by Roger Ebert unless otherwise noted.

Movie times can be found on the Almanac page doily. IHIS WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 lAST WEEK 1 TOP RENTAL FILMS Meet the Fockers A Series of Unfortunate Events Blade: Trinity Ocean's Twelve Darkness Sponglish Sideways Hotel Rwanda Finding NeveHand Elekira NEW DVDs AT THE SALINA LIBRARY Crossroads Major Payne First Daughter Fridoy That Funny Feeling STAR WARS Darth victory Hayden Chrisfensen embodies Vader's turn to the dark side By DAVID GERMAIN The Associated I'ress SAN RAFAEL, Calif. Half of Hollywood is playing a superhero these days, it seems. Hayden Christensen is more than content to play the super- villain. Amid the current onslaught of heroes such as "Spider- Man," "Batman," the "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men," Christensen takes ultimate bad guy Darth Vader to the dark side with "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith." The last installment in George Lucas' space opera about the Skywalker family, "Revenge of the Sith" completes tlie story explaining how a brash young Jedi knight was seduced by an evil mentor and became the venomous Vader.

After landing the role of Anakin Skywalker as a lovesick, discontented teen in episode two, "Attack of the Clones," Christensen finally got to the moment he and every other "Star Wars" fan has been waiting for with "Revenge of the Sith." "I just really wanted to put the costume on," Christensen said in an interview at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. "Who wouldn't?" The new film follows Anakin's descent into evil and lust for power, which lead him to near-fatal injuries and a rebirth as the part-flesh, part- machine Vader behind the black helmet, mask and cape made famous in Lucas' original "Star Wars" trilogy. Christensen, 24, appears only briefly in the Vader get-up near the movie's end, but those scenes electrified even those working on the film. The day The Associated Press Actor Hayden Christensen, who portrays Anakin Skywalker in the film "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," poses Wednesday at Skywalker Ranch in San Rafael, Calif. he appeared in full costume, the whole team turned up on set to "bear witness to Darth Vader for the first time," Christensen said.

Behind the mask "It was absolutely overwhelming, just from the aspect of getting to act behind a mask," Christensen said. "That is a very freeing position to act from, and to have that mask be the mask of Darth Vader is extremely empowering. "I almost got this sort of beastly sense when I was in it. What was really cool was watching everyone else sort of look at me, people I knew and was friends with, you know. Their eyes would light up with sort of a glimmer of fear, or there was a respect that needed to be paid.

They had to step back and sort of lower their heads." Another such day came five years ago, when Christensen was hurled from relative obscurity to a household name almost overnight. Lucas picked him from a handful of finalists to take over from child actor Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin as a boy in episode one, "The Phantom Menace." At the time, Christensen, who was born in Vancouver and grew up in Toronto, had only a few TV credits and some small film roles. The news hit him like one of the bolts of blue lightning shot from the fingers of Vader's master, the evil emperor. After shooting "Attack of the Clones," Chtistensen quickly followed with Kevin Kline's small contemporary drama "Life As a House," playing a petulant teen reconciling with his dying father. "Life As a House" hit theaters months before his "Star Wars" debut, allowing Christensen to present audiences an early glimpse of his acting chops untainted by the Anakin persona.

Christensen then had the lead role in the acclaimed independent film "Shattei-ed Glass," playing a real-life jour- v. nalist who went from wonder- boy to disgrace after it was discovered he fabricated stories, 'vi With "Revenge of the Sith," Christensen surpassed his performance from "Attack of the Clones," presenting a full-bodied performance of a wiUful man who succumbs to his fears and ambitions, said Ian McDiarmid, the veteran British stage actor who plays the emperor. "The thing about Hayden's performance is, I think, he takes the audience with him every inch of that way, so that people will not be sympathetic to his actions but at least will understand why he has done them," McDiarmid said. Playing to that dark side feels like an easy fit for Christensen, who said he gravitates toward dusky figures with secrets to hide. "I guess I have a certain affinity with the more shadowy sides of life and people," Christensen said.

"I've always thought of personality as like an onion and having layers and layers of good and bad, good intentions and bad intentions, and what is ultimately ai the core of someone. "So I like playing characters who have a complexity. People sometimes presenting a face that they're really not. But then, I'm doing comedy right now, so we'll see." Next up for Christensen is the 14th century comic adventure "The Decameron," based on the tales of Boccaccio. The film is now shooting in Italy.

GAMES Force is strong with new game By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM The Associated Press For those of us who spent most of our childhood and some of our adulthood daydreaming about what it would be like to be a Jedi Knight or a Sith Lord, the new "Star Wars" game is the answer to our prayers. But expect a temporary case of attention deficit disorder brought on by the Dark Side. Fans awaiting the newest "Star Wars" movie have a rare opportunity this time around to take a look at the game before the movie hits theaters on May 19 including more than 12 minutes of footage taken directly from the movie. From the first moment on, you can play as both Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Kenobi battling gun-wielding droids, using the Force to move objects out of your way and ultimately testing yourself against the most unlikely of enemies. As you advance through the 16 levels, you earn skill points that allow you to decide which aspects of both the Light and Dark Side of the Force you want to improve.

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I'Mln'c (ij jalnrCiiiiivuiiv.coni 78.5-820-7(li54 ww sdesiKii by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein It's a Musical About Family Values: a non-traditional but functional family meets up with a very traditional, yet dysfunctional family and tries to be something other than what they are. Teaturing the gorgeous, glamorous dancing company, "Lcs Cagcllcs" June 10. 26,2005 Tickets: $21 students Salina Community Theatre Box office: 303 E. Iron Salina www.salinatheatre.com g0O5E Salina Communlly Theaire SCT-gOeS I WIIRHING SIGNS Taking it or makfng it, meth is dangerous. Where It's cooked, you'll find toxic chemicals and explosive compounds that a spark can ignite.

Every pound of meth produced leaves behind six pounds of hazardous waste to poiiute the soii and poison the air. So get to know the warning signs that put you and your neighbors at risk. Watch out for chemical odors coming from a house or detached building, frequent vfsltors and activity at all hours, and Odd assortments of trash. Other telltale signs include dead spots in lawns, piles of discarded bottles and cookware, and propane tank fittings that have turned blue. Report suspfcfous behavfor.

tife or Wleth the choice is yours. in Saline County. Call in dealers and users. 785-825-TIPS Funding for the Saline County Sheriffs Office Methamphetamlne InWaBve Is provided by the United States Department of Justice, Offlce'of Community Oriented Policing Services Photos used tiy pemilsslon from Publlshets Group. For mora Information visit wvw.stteetdrugs.orB.

2005D The Saline County Shormt Offlca SASO-2014.