Devil

Comics Guy feels the need to describe the lead character in Dynamite's latest "Project Superpowers" spinoff, "The Death-Defying Devil,"because writer Joe Casey sure doesn't, at least not in a traditional way. If you're unfamiliar with the character, you get only bits and pieces of who he is and what he can do in the first two issues. Casey and Dynamite likely felt they could get away with this mystery-heavy approach since there are tons of Alex Ross fans who would be drawn to the project because of his involvement in the book as plotter, cover artist and art director and "Project Superheroes" has proved an incredibly popular title for Dynamite.

Satan may be popping up with alarming regularity in movies right now, but his appearance in Bedazzled is a temptation that can be easily and safely resisted. Harold Ramis' remake of the 1967 cult favorite, which starred Peter Cook as the prince of darkness and Dudley Moore as a short-order cook with a bad case of unrequited lust, is, to put it kindly, dreary and redundant. In this Bedazzled, the devil is played by Elizabeth Hurley. When she shows up to offer to fulfill seven wishes for Brendan Fraser, his response will leave men in the audience gasping in incredulity.

The prosecutor called the woman "a firebug" yesterday. And Delores Castro, 59, didn't disagree. But Castro, a former mental patient, said she had no control over herself when she set fire to an apartment building last year, killing a 73-year-old man, and causing five others to be hospitalized, including a firefighter. "The devil made me do it," said Castro, who pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to a second-degree murder before Common Pleas Judge Robert A. Latrone. The judge sentenced her to life in prison, ordering the term to begin in a mental institution.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" won't do much to change Terry Gilliam's rep as the industry's hard-luck director. Gilliam's had entire productions washed away by flooding, and even a success like "Twelve Monkeys" had setbacks - he was seriously injured falling off a horse. The difficulties that beset "Parnassus," of course, are notorious - star Heath Ledger died midway through production, sending Gilliam scrambling for some way to finish it. (And though not as widely known, his producer, William Vince, also died during production)

The Master and Margarita is one of those don't-drop-it-on-your-foot Russian novels that I confess I've owned for many years but never read. Mum Puppettheatre's production is an adaptation for two people and many, many puppets; it is an immense undertaking and the two actors/puppeteers - Robert Smythe and Robert DaPonte - perform heroically. It must be said, however, that puppet shows shouldn't be three hours long - especially if the staging involves a lot of neck-craning that segues into shoulder-shrugging as the plot becomes more and more incoherent.

"Prince of Darkness," a horror film starring Donald Pleasance, Lisa Blount, Victor Wong and Jameson Parker. Directed by John Carpenter. Screenplay by Martin Quartermass. Running time: 98 minutes. A Universal release. At area theaters. "Prince of Darkness," John Carpenter's latest horror extravaganza, is scary. It's funny. It makes absolutely no sense, but, as the poet Robert Frost noted in another context, "When was that ever a bar to any watch they keep?" As far as I can tell, the film is about the return to consciousness of the Devil, who, for reasons I still haven't figured out, has been kept prisoner for the last 2,000 years in a liquid cannister, currently located in the basement of a Los Angeles Catholic church.

On Friday night, neighborhoods were filled with devils and ghouls roving under the watchful eye of parents. For most people, the sight was worth a chuckle and a few pieces of trick-or-treat candy. For others, though, such devilry and revelry are no laughing matter, but a dangerous flirtation with forces of evil. "Halloween is the devil's day," says Peggy Scrimali, head of Bethel Christian Academy in Blackwood, N.J., a nursery school and kindergarten where Halloween was not observed.

"The Witches of Eastwick," a supernatural comedy-drama starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. Directed by George Miller. Produced by Neil Canton, Peter Guber and Jon Peters. Screenplay by Michael Cristofer. Based on John Updike's novel. Running Time 121 minutes. Presented by Warner Bros. at area theaters. Attired in a quilt-like shirt of brilliant reds, blues and greens, Australian director George "Mad Max Trilogy" Miller sat in a posh Park Avenue hotel suite recently, attempting to put into words his feelings about Jack Nicholson - satanic star of Miller's supernatural comedy-drama, "The Witches of Eastwick.

THIS IS no country for old women trying to imply that they can speak before the devil knows they're speaking. But it IS a country that had better become acutely aware of the devil Hillary as a master of manipulation who offers the audacity of desperation and deceit through her many disciples. Somehow the sulfuric odor rising up from her crocodile tears must have wafted across the room and dulled the senses of those who witnessed that Hillaryous crying stint, and so New Hampshire went the wrong way. But since then, we've cleared our eyes and donned our gas masks, and we now have no excuses but to see her exploitative side in all its ugliness.

Kelvim Escobar and the Anaheim Angels shut down the Yankees all weekend. Good thing for New York it's not October yet. Escobar (8-9) outdueled Kevin Brown (9-3), Bengie Molina went 4-for-4 with a three-run homer and visiting Anaheim completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees with a 4-3 win yesterday. "This is a playoff team. You need to go in and show you can play with them," Angels closer Troy Percival said. "We ran into a New York team that isn't playing its best ball - we know that.

Ryan Carter scored his third goal of the playoffs late in the third period to boost the New Jersey Devils to a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday in New York. Zach Parise added an empty-net goal. New Jersey has a lead of three games to two in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is set for Friday at New Jersey. Game 7, if necessary, will be played Sunday in New York. The winner of this series will play the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.

NEW YORK - When asked what his inefficient forwards needed to do to beat Martin Brodeur in the Eastern Conference final, irascible Rangers coach John Tortorella simply said: "Pray. " Turns out, prayer was a good way to exorcise the devils in the Rangers' tightly gripped sticks. Just not the actual Devils from New Jersey. After struggling to score through the first four games against New Jersey, the Rangers were faced with the task of a daunting, three-goal deficit in the first 10 minutes of Wednesday night's Game 5. New York steadily chipped away, dominating play, to knot the score just 17 seconds into the third period.

1 dozen eggs 6 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish 5 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce   1. Place the eggs in a pot of water. Bring water to a boil and then turn off heat. Let the eggs rest in the water for 15 minutes. 2. Peel the eggs and cut in half vertically. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl.

Martin Brodeur made 27 saves and survived a third-period punch to the chest by old buddy Mike Rupp as the New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers, 3-1, Monday night, in Newark, N.J., evening the Eastern Conference finals at two games each. Zach Parise had two goals and an assist and Bryce Salvador and Travis Zajac beat Henrik Lundqvist less than four minutes apart in the first period in a series where the intensity and the emotions are picking up. Brodeur even notched an assist in the third, on Parise's empty-netter, capping a game in which the Devils maintained their composure and bounced back from a 3-0 shutout in Game 3, while the Rangers took several uncharacteristic penalties and seemed rattled from the start.

In his latest playoff gem, Henrik Lundqvist had little time to do more than stop every breakaway or two-on-one New Jersey shot his way. When he took a moment to breathe, Lundqvist had all the confidence his New York Rangers would bail him out with a goal or two. "You know sooner or later it's going to turn," he said. "It's going to turn in our favor. " Unlike those dozens of Devils shots, his feeling was right on the mark. Lundqvist had 36 saves, and Dan Girardi, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Callahan scored third-period goals to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday in Newark, N.J..

The Eastern finals between the New Jersey Devils and rival New York Rangers are turning out to be exactly what everyone thought. Hard-hitting. Tight-checking. Low-scoring. Indeed, as it's played under the microscope of the New York metropolitan area media, this has been hockey with an edge - but not so edgy as to cross the line. With two days off before Game 3 on Saturday in Newark, both teams elected to rest Thursday. The series is tied at one game apiece. Rangers coach John Tortorella refused to say much about his decision to bench leading scorer Marian Gaborik for almost 12 minutes in a span covering the end of the second period and the start of the third of New York's 3-2 loss in Game 2. Gaborik was on the ice when Ryan Carter scored to tie the game at 2-all.

  Rangers rookie Chris Kreider and defenseman Dan Girardi both had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, as weary New York opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-0 victory over the well-rested New Jersey Devils on Monday night. Playing just two days after eliminating Washington in a stirring 2-1 Game 7 victory, the top-seeded Rangers hit their home ice again and won their third straight Game 1 of these playoffs.

Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto scored, Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves, and the host New York Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 2-1 victory in Game 7 over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. Richards scored less than two minutes in, and Del Zotto doubled the lead in the third period to help the top-seeded Rangers improve to 5-0 in Game 7s at Madison Square Garden. That set up a matchup with the New Jersey Devils. That series will open Monday in New York.

IT IS HARD not to think back to Game 1 of the Flyers-Devils playoff series, which is the last time anything made sense. The Flyers came out lethargically in that game, which was entirely predictable after sitting around for a week following their first-round series against Pittsburgh. Then they came out for the second period and established their game, fast and physical and relentless — again, exactly what most people thought would happen. It took until overtime to win it, because goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov let the Devils back into the game in the third period, but that was not entirely unexpected, either.