Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 30

D2 LIFE FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2006 DECATUR, ILLINOIS www.herald-review.com MARQUEE Discovery Channel's Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman ythBusters' takes on lee Simpson flame Josh Henderson as a wannabe pop singer. Clearly, "Step Up" isn't for the jaded. But regardless of your internal state, the movie will make you think about your exterior. It will inspire you to put down the fork, get off the couch and attempt to get your body in shape so that you, too, can wear a wife-beater tank top wherever you go with complete confidence. Christy Lemire, Associated Press Writer and the two fuse styles while falling in love in a series of obligatory montage sequences.

He teaches her his Vanilla Ice moves; she teaches him to plie and pirouette, and she gets him thinking that maybe attending this school wouldn't be so bad after all. And who could blame him? The place is buzzing with non-threatening artistic expression. But you can sort of see the appeal of "Step Up," especially during the dead of summer. It's totally mindless eye candy: Everyone's strikingly great-looking, everyone's preternaturally talented. And it's a decent excuse to trot out a variety of random musical figures past and present, including Heavy as a friendly neighborhood gangster, star Mario as an aspiring producer and former Ash- 'World Trade Center' "World Trade Center" looks at the 911 terrorist attacks on New York City as a tragedy on intimate, personal terms, with a sensitivity and restraint that macho provocateur director Oliver Stone has rarely revealed before.

Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena offer powerful performances as Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer Will Jimeno, real-life New York Port Authority cops whose usual duties involve keeping the derelicts from hassling passengers at the city's main bus station. They rush to the financial district to assist with rescue operations, doing their best to cope with a catastrophe for which, McLoughlin says, "there is no plan." They are scarcely through the doors when the first tower begins to collapse, killing the other members of their team and pinning the two seriously injured survivors in a nightmare maze of jagged concrete, sizzling electrical cables and flaming debris. With no chance of freeing themselves, they can only bolster each other's spirits and hope they somehow will be found in time. Stone paints the day's horrific events with a kind of tragic minimalism.

We don't see hundreds inside the towers perish, merely one agonizing shot of a far-off figure plunging from the upper stories. That is enough. For some it will be too much. Keeping the focus on the central characters personal and domestic, Stone cuts between the immobilized, weakening policemen and their wives anxiously waiting for news. Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal), pregnant with the couple's second child, comforts their 4-year-old in New Jersey as their extended family prays.

Fifty miles away in southern New York, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and their four older children nervously follow the grim news reports while well-wishers offer hollow-sounding encouragement. There are no scenes of deliberating politicians or generals with map pins explaining the larger picture. Almost everything we see is what the policemen and their families observed that day. The decision to distill the story to an account of several characters on a single day imparts a strong sense of unity, but eliminates the political context of the attacks. "World Trade Center" could almost be about first responders trapped at any crisis scene.

The first Talladega Nights (PG-13) Daily 7:00: Fri. Sat Sun Mat 2:00: Fri Sat Late Show 9:30 Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (PG) Daily 6:30: Fri Sat Sun Mat 2:30: Fri Sat Late Show 8 45 22 NICOLAS CAGE i i i i I Coke craze before because of this slight change in the chemistry that occurs." That's not surprising, since we all know how a change in chemistry can cause attraction to wane. But as in many things, a little sweetness can slow the process so regular, sugared soda doesn't produce the same reaction. "Sugar molecules are very large," Hyneman says, "and that doesn't allow this to happen as quickly. That's the key.

Sugar is gooey and sticky even though it doesn't seem that way when it's in a soda, but there's a lot in there and it helps hold onto the C02 a lot better." On the other hand, Hyneman says, sweetness of no kind natural or artificial results in a disappointing fizzle. "In the case of just plain seltzer water," he says, "which we also tried, that doesn't work, because the C02 already wants to come out." Mentos, though, isn't the only thing that can make a satisfying diet-soda geyser. "Mentos," Hyneman says, "which is all well and good, and it works quite well, is actually not the best performer in creating this eruption. Plain old table salt is better." Hyneman also says it isn't necessary to use Diet Coke, that any artificially sweetened carbonated soda should work well. However, he doesn't recommend chugging diet soda and then popping Mentos.

"That's something I was actually concerned about," he says. "I took a big swig and popped a couple of Mentos in my mouth, and the soda pretty much came out my nose and sprayed all over the place. Everyone laughed. I've got this big mustache it's kind of my trademark on the show and it was dripping all over off this mustache and made a big mess. "Just drink the soda and enjoy it, and then eat the candy some other time." The experiment has had one lasting effect on the "Myth-Busters" team.

"We've had cases of Mentos around," Hyneman says. "We're kind of addicted to them. They're hanging out on the tables while we're running around, doing our experiments. They're quite tasty, yeah." entosDiet Discovery show reveals the facts behind the fizz By KATE O'HARE Zap2it com If you go to the viral video Web site YouTube.com and search for "Mentos Diet Coke," you'll come up with many videos, going back months, that show people dropping mint Mentos candies into bottles of Diet Coke and watching the immediate shooting geyser that results. Sure, it's fun to do and cool to see, but there has to be some science behind it.

Enter Discovery Channel's "MythBusters," two guys in San Francisco Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman who put urban myths, commonly held beliefs and tall tales to the test. In a new episode, "Myth-Busters" takes on the world-' wide craze for erupting soda bottles. The episode first aired Wednesday. It repeats at 6 and 10 p.m. Saturday.

According to Hyneman (he's the mustachioed Myth-Buster), it's a process called "nucleation," in which the particular chemistry of the Mentos candy interacts with the chemistry of the carbonated Diet Coke, causing the carbon dioxide gas, or C02, to suddenly come out of suspension in the liquid and make a break for freedom. But you have to have the right Mentos. "The non-mint type," Hyneman says, "have a glaze on them, and they don't work at all. It only works with the mint ones, because they have a matte finish. That surface serves as these little portals for the gas to escape through." But the story doesn't end there.

Hyneman says, "There's a cascade that happens with it's a little esoteric an ion exchange. Basically the Mentos starts to dissolve, and it's like tripping a switch. It's not what you would call a chain reaction, because that's something else in chemistry terms, but it's a cascade whereon all of a sudden, all of the C02 that was contained in the liquid is suddenly not as attracted to the liquid as it was For today through Aug. 17. All shows subject to change; check with theaters and the daily ads in the Herald Review.

Pana closed this week. Star ratings (based on a four-star scale) are compiled from news service critical consensus. The Ant Bully (PG, 2 stars, 1 hr. 28 min.) After a boy floods an ant colony with his water gun, he's shrunken to Insect size and sentenced to hard labor in the ruins. Shelbyvitie Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (PG, 2 stars, 1 hr.

30 min.) A carefree cow must step up and run things on a partying farm. Strand, Hickory Point, Lincoln, Mattoon, Taylorville, Villa Grove, Effingham Village Cars (G, 2 stars, 1 hr. 56 min.) A rookie race car crashes en route to a big race, destroying belongings of inhabitants in a small town. He's sentenced to community service. Charleston, Effingham Heart The Descent (R, 3 stars, 1 hr.

39 min.) Cave explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators. Strand, Hickory Point, Mattoon, Effingham Village 'World Trade Center' tower's implosion is a sequence of furious intensity, but it has no deeper emotional impact than the standard summer disaster movie. The film ends with an uplifting catharsis that celebrates human bravery in the face of adversity but avoids flag-waving. Colin Covert, McClatchy-Tribune News Service Writer 'Step Up' Take "Fame" and suck out all the sex and nudity, take "Romeo and Juliet" and drain it of the teen suicide and iambic pentameter, and you have "Step Up," a thoroughly formulaic but mildly enjoyable dance movie. Channing Tatum stars as Tyler, a tough kid from a Baltimore foster home who gets arrested during a vandalism spree with his buddies at a prestigious arts school and is sentenced to perform 200 hours of community service there.

Jenna Dewan stars as Nora, a privileged ballerina at the school who's obsessed with getting her senior showcase piece just right in hopes that it will land her a spot with an important dance company. Of course, they're unexpectedly drawn to each other through their shared love of dance, even though allies on both sides disapprove of their pairing. (Rachel Griffiths is appropriately condescending as the school's dean; Damaine Radcliff and Da'Shawn Washington provide a few laughs as the friends who feel Tyler has abandoned them. Tyler ends up filling in during rehearsals when Nora's partner injures his ankle a classic premise for all song-and-dance movies World Trade Center (PG-13, 3 stars, 2 hr. 5 min.) Two Port Authority police officers are trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Avon, Strand, Hickory Point, Lincoln, Mattoon, Effingham Village You, Me and Dupree (PG-13, 1 V2 stars, 1 hr. 49 min.) To the couple's annoyance, their best man stays on as a houseguest. Hickory Point, Charleston, Villa Grove Zoom (PG, no review, 1 hr 28 min.) A former superhero is called back to work to transform a group of kids into superheroes. Strand, Hickory Point, Lincoln, Mattoon, Effingham Village Phone numbers Hickory Point, 875-3233 Strand, 864-4272 The Avon, 422-8151 Charleston, 345-9222 Effingham Heart, 342-6161 Effingham Village Square, 347-5997 Lincoln, 732-4176 Mattoon, 234-8895 Pana, 562-5141 Shelbyville, 774-7699 Taylorville, 824-3060 Villa Grove, 832-5300 Girt CertifKMle Available Jt www. carmike.com Hll KORV i'OINl MAI I STEP UP (PG-13) 130 41 5 710 940 11 55 ZOOM (PG) 1 00 31 0 520 730 940 1 1 40 PULSE (PG-13) 100 310 520 730 940 1150 TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY (PG-13) 115 150 410 445 705 735 930 1UUU 11 bU THE DESCENT (R) 1 245 300 51 5 730 940 1 200 JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE (PG-13) 100 300 500 705 920 1120 BARNYARD THE ORIGINAL PARTY ANIMALS (PG) 100 310 520 730 940 1140 MIAMI VICE (R1130 420 710 1000 YOU, ME AND DUPREE (PG-13) 130 415 700 930 1150 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (PG-13) 100 400 7001000 23ot Ml.

tors ko. STEP UP (PG-13) 130 415 710 940 ZOOM (PG) 100 310 520 730 940 TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY (PG-13) 115 410 705 930 THE DESCENT (R) 1 245 300 51 5 730 945 JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE (PG-13) 1 00 31 b2U liM S4U BARNYARD THE ORIGINAL PARTY ANIMALS (PG) 100 310 520 730 940 MIAMI VICE (R) 130 420 710 1000 MONSTER HOUSE (PG) 1245 25U S1U 2U LITTLE MAN IPG-13) 930 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (PG-13) 100 400 700 1000 Mm fspsi ALL 1 1 r-flSe WIS Mon-Fri: 10 to 6. Sat: 9 to 3 iwwi t- ill Pay I lJi Hi- JSr 5 S35l Sis. V.s4s.-1. WORLD TRADE CENTER FRI (5:00) 8:00 SAT SUN (2:00) (5:00) 8:00 M0N thru THURS 7:00 Will Ferrel (PG-13) mum hishjs MBAUM0? factor B8ffl FRI 7:30 SAT SUH (1:00) (4:30) 7:30 MON thru THURS 7:35 Jamie Fon Colin Farrell MIAMI VICE FBI 715 SAT i SUN (1:15) 14:15) 7:15 MON thud THURS 7 30 www.TheAvon.com 426 Water Downtown Detotui Fresh Baked Doggie Treats BUY ONE BAG, GET ONE FREE With this coupon.While supplies last.

Exp. 82506 Bwrr'-Tirfyt-'-'-''' irnrnzsr fob enyf frhtg ewer 1 Sunglasses SHOWTIME il ACCESSORISS 2 'Step Up' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PG-1 3, 2V2 stars, 2 hr. 31 min.) Captain Jack Sparrow must save himself from becoming one of Davy Jones' sea-phantoms. Strand, Hickory Point, Mattoon, Effingham Village Pulse (PG-13, no review, 1 hr. 30 min.) When a computer hacker friend channels a mysterious wireless signal, co-eds try to stop an evil force from taking over the world.

Hickory Point, Mattoon, Effingham Village Step Up (PG-13, 2 stars, 1 hr. 43 min.) An angry outsider and a privileged ballet dancer meet at the Maryland School for the Arts. Strand, Hickory Point, Mattoon, Effingham Village Superman Returns (PG-13, 2Vz stars, 2 hr. 34 min.) Following a mysterious absence of several years, Superman returns to Earth while an old enemy plots to render him powerless. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (PG-13, 2 stars, 1 hr.

48 min.) The skills of NASCAR's top driver are put to the test. Avon, Strand, Hickory Point, Lincoln, Mattoon, Taylorville, Effingham Village The Devil Wears Prada (PG-1 3, stars, 1 hr. 49 min.) A naive young woman comes to New York and becomes assistant to one of the city's biggest magazine editors. Charleston, Villa Grove, Effingham Heart John Tucker Must Die (PG-1 3, 2 stars, 1 hr. 30 min.) Three ex-girlfriends of a serial cheater set up their former lover to fall for the new girl in town so they can watch him get his heart broken.

Strand, Hickory Point, Mattoon, Effingham Village Little Man (PG-1 3, 1 star, 1 hr. 38 min.) A man mistakes a short criminal on the lam for his newly adopted son. Strand Miami Vice (R, 3 stars, 2 hr. 12 min.) Based on the 1980s TV show. Vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs' personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.

Avon, Strand, Hickory Point, Mattoon Monster House (PG, ZVi stars, 1 hr. 31 min.) Three teens discover their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing monster. Strand, Lincoln Spin City Cycles 135 S. Oakland, Decatur 217-429-SPIN www.429-SPIN.com Subject to credit Approw Financing provided by Citrmandal Retail Services Division ot Citicorp Trust Bank, feb. Finance charges begin to accrue at the time of purchase.

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