Entertainment Au

Because the audience is so—ahem—tired at a midnight showing, the louder and more easily followed a movie is, the better...if it's going to be followed at all. The Fifth Element is on the marquee for Midnight Madness at the Inwood Theatre this weekend, and it fits the bill nicely. The story is that 250 years in the future...oh, what's the use? When it gets to the techno-opera singing blue alien diva with sacred stones in her gullet representing the four elements, the plot gets pretty convoluted, so director Luc Besson calls in the explosions, karate gymnastics and gunplay. Other than that, stylized sets and costumes make this good vs. evil, world-in-the-balance sci-fi fun to look at, with help from a gratuitously underdressed Milla Jovovich, Gaultier-enhanced space-stewardesses, over-the top performances by Chris Tucker and Gary Oldman, Bruce Willis doing his patented five o' clock-shadowed, beat-up, rugged and reluctant Everyman/hero and some well-placed cameos by Tricky and Luke Perry. Wanna know what the fifth element is? Showings are at midnight (duh) Friday and Saturday. Call 214-764-9106 or visit landmarktheatres.com.
Fri., Dec. 8; Sat., Dec. 9