MOVIES
“Stars Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” brims with the fast and furious stuff that made George Lucas a legend: fighter craft skimming vast surfaces, sumptuous cityscapes sparkle like constellations. But this prequel earns its accolades for bringing heart back into Lucas’ art: tracing Anakin Skywalker’s trajectory from light to dark. Yes, this is what the prequel trilogy was supposed to do. But “Revenge” is the only episode that delivers. Once out of the multiplex, you may find it hard to resist this episode’s gravitational pull to revisit the original trilogy.
– LISA KENNEDY
VISUAL ARTS
Easy to overlook in “White Out: Lighting into Beauty,” an exhibition continuing through June 26 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 1275 19th St., is a small display of photographs from the Hank Cato Estate. Included are some black-and-white gems by such masters of the medium as Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan and Joel-Peter Witkin. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sundays. Call 303-298-7554 or visit www.mcartdenver.org.
– KYLE MACMILLAN
TELEVISION
The blurring of reality and “reality” TV doesn’t get more bizarre or emotionally loaded than this: On the season finale of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” at 6 tonight (two back-to-back hours; KMGH-Channel 7), former POW Jessica Lynch along with Ty Pennington and the crew help the family of a GI killed in Iraq.
– JOANNE OSTROW
POPULAR MUSIC
When Scandinavia’s Millencolin first formed in the late-’80s, yet another byproduct of the SoCal punk rock scene, times were different. The band was one of a few valid punk forces overseas. But since then punk has spread to every corner of the Earth, and with Millencolin’s unfortunately smooth transition into punk pop in the mid-’90s, they’ve slowly faded to the back of a genre that has them dumbing down their music at every step. Still, if you check out Millencolin’s show on Wednesday – with Boys Night Out, A Thorn For Every Heart and Roses Are Red in support – you’ll no doubt hear some of the old stuff and the remnants of actual Swedish punk.
– RICARDO BACA
STAGE
Out of the clear-blue skies of Kansas and Rome last week came the first two four-star stage productions by local theater companies of 2005 – Boulder’s Dinner Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” and the Country Dinner Playhouse’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” BDT’s “Wizard” is a triumph of staging imagination; “Forum” is just plain funny. BDT has shows every day but Mondays through Sept. 4 (303-499-6000); CDP runs Wednesdays-Sundays through July 3 (303-799-1410).
– JOHN MOORE
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Central City Opera knows how to put the fun into opera. It is hosting a rooftop bash 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday at Belmar Center, 405 Teller St., the new event center in the Belmar shopping district in Lakewood. The event will combine a short performance by mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, a 2006 season preview and plenty of cocktails and appetizers. The event is $15 for the general public and free for Central City Opera subscribers and Gold Nugget Club members. Reservations must be made by Monday. Call 303-292-6700.
– KYLE MACMILLAN
NIGHT LIFE
Anyone suffering from “a case of the Mondays” should check out The Dalloways on Monday night at Cricket on the Hill, 1209 E. 13th Ave. The California quintet crafts breezy dream-pop in the vein of Belle and Sebastian, Coldplay (minus Chris Martin’s piano-centric politics), and Morrissey. Last year’s CD, “Penalty Crusade,” has been a favorite among online Brit Pop fans. With Jared Steinberg and Holiday Hotel.
– ELANA ASHANTI JEFFERSON
