5 Things You Should Know About
By RICHARD CORLISS, Lev Grossman, James Poniewozik
MOVIES Star Wars: The Clone Wars Directed by Dave Filoni; rated PG; out now A cute marketing idea: take a few episodes of this fall's Cartoon Network spin-off, and get people to pay for them in theaters. But even if you saw this for free, you'd be getting robbed. A wooden story, leaden visuals and way too many Hutts. The franchise has sagged before, but this is its Darth Nadir. D-
DVDS War Games: 25th Anniversary Edition Directed by John Badham; rated PG; out now A smart kid (Matthew Broderick, back when he was one) hacks into a NORAD computer with the power to Destroy the World. An early computer-dystopia movie, this clever thriller has antique charm and an abiding Holly wood message: Anything that can go wrong will--entertainingly. B+
TELEVISION Architecture School Sundance Channel; Wednesdays; 9 p.m. E.T. Some design shows fetishize houses and ignore the residents; others, like Extreme Makeover, are all about tear-jerking stories. But School, in which Tulane students build a home for Katrina victims, is a captivating look at how modern design works and the real lives it might change. A-
Skins BBC America; Sundays; 9 p.m. E.T. This British teen dramedy comes touted as "daringly realistic." Trans lation: lots of drugs and naughty bits! The realism doesn't extend to the exaggerated characters and plots, but if you focus on the sharp dialogue (and aren't an easily worried parent), these students earn a solid ... B
BOOKS White Heat By Brenda Wineapple; out now At 31, Emily Dickinson sent a letter to the writer Thomas Wentworth Higginson asking what he thought of her poetry. More than two decades of flirtatious correspondence followed. This double biography reveals a captivating Dickinson--part seductress, part little girl, all genius. B+