6A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam 6A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom "I still can't believe Amy and Will are over." 'Parks' still one of the best on television "You've never played Kings? Really?" Wise 'Wallflower' By PROMA KHOSLA Daily Arts Writer Now more than ever, NBC's "Parks and Recreation" begs the question: Why isn't everyone watching this show? ****- A show that started with the Parks and basic format of Recreation "The Office" in hopes of tap- Season Five ping into the Midseason latter's viewer Thursdays at base, "Parks" 9:30 p.m is now exem- 9BCp'm plary televi- NBC sion comedy far superior to most of its contempo- raries. After breaking out of the "Office" prototype, creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur have cultivated a show populated with engaging characters and charm so irresistible that watching an episode feels like spending half an hour with your funniest friends. In its fifth season, "Parks" falls effortlessly back into the rhythm established in season three with the pivotal arrival of Chris (Rob Lowe) and Ben (Adam Scott) to Pawnee, Ind. Every single charac- ter is likable, from lovably dumb Andy (Chris Pratt) to sassy pow- erhouse Donna (Retta), to guests who have become Pawnee staples, like Je and Pe This liancec meticu to tru chemis Chris,. ri) see they ba any gr Better other; be a po izes he perfect E sh And Washir of apat and ne almost find ba becom( during Pawne The proved writers an-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) duced last season, it seemed like a rd Hapley (Jay Jackson). sort of negative deux ex machina season extends the bril- - another way of keeping Ben and of these characters beyond Leslie (Amy Poehler) from happi- lously crafted individuals ness after the numerous hurdles ly believable people with they jumped to be together. But try in any combination. Leslie and Ben are as flawless as Andy and Tom (Aziz Ansa- ever, encumbered by distance but m an unlikely group, but still very much in love. Even more nd together as naturally as impressive is the fact that having oup of friends really would. ongoing stories in two locations yet, they learn from each isn't holding "Parks" back from Andy becomes motivated to plot development. Characters lice officer and Chris real- grow, people change and all to the wants more in his life than tune of the kind of silliness one health and physique. can only expect from the Pawnee Parks Department. One of "Parks" 's greatest yen a bacon strengths the past few seasons has been the ability of the its orta e can't writers to blend marvelous com- edy and quality drama - noth- w this down ing as dark as "How I Met Your Mother" 's explorations of death and infertility, but those everyday moments like Ben and April mak- who could forget the ing fun of their congressman or ngton, D.C. shenanigans Leslie standing up for her beliefs hetic April (Aubrey Plaza) even if they defy city laws. It is rdtastic Ben? The two are not uncommon among fans to get polar opposites, yet they a little teary-eyed during the sea- lance in the workplace and son four finale or freak out every e actual friends outside it time Ben and Leslie kiss for the their failed road trip to first time. That kind of resonance e. is what differentiates an average D.C. plotline itself has comedy from a superb one, and tobe asmartgamblebythe "Parks" is the latter, without a . When it was first intro- doubt. Nuanced characters perfectly embody teenage dysfunction ByKAYLA UPADYAYA Senior Arts Editor "The Perks of Being a Wall- flower" is not a perfect movie. The film adaptation of the 1999 young- adult novel of the same name * starts off a bit choppy, and The Perks the pacing remains erratic of Being a to the end. But Wallflower its flaws are oddly fitting, At Quality 16 because "Perks" and Rave, never tries to give a gloss to Summit its portrayal of growing up. It's a story about dysfunction and introversion, its narrative unfolded by a tortured, unstable protagonist. So, its messi- ness is appropriate, even beautiful. Charlie (Logan Lerman, "The Three Musketeers") just started high school, and he's already counting down the days until graduation. His best friend, Mike, shot himself last May - a reveal so matter-of-fact and hushed that it'd be easy to miss completely. But Charlie meets Sam (Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2") and Patrick (Ezra Miller, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"), two eccentric step-siblings who welcome him into their island of misfit toys. As the director, screenwriter and producer (not to mention the author of the original novel), Steven Chbosky ("Rent") knows this story inside and out, and the celebrated care he pours into the camerawork - like the effortless blend of Charlie's memories with the present - makes for a capti- vating display. Some of the more peculiar direction choices are mesmeriz- ing. At a post-homecoming party, Sam tells Patrick about how Char- lie lost his best friend. She does so in a whisper, but not the kind of stage whisper you usually see in the movies. You have to strain to hear - she breathes the words, her body angled away from the camera. With an impressively penetrat- ing voice and style for someone so new to filmmaking, Chbosky transforms the rigid epistolary structure of the novel into a story that dances. The tempo might be wobbly, but the script is immacu- late, untangling and probing very dark, very complicated issues in a way that's as genuine as it is elegant. Also relatively inexperienced are the film's trifecta of young stars. While Watson is hardly a newcomer, she does an about-face from the character she played for a decade. Sam, an uninhibited and passionate girl trying to shed her turbulent past before college, is no Hermione, and Watson brings a magnetic honesty to her perfor- mance, never allowing Sam to slip into a bad-girl cliche. Miller similarly sheds the skin of his haunting performance as the titular teen sociopath of "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Patrick is the beating heart of "Perks." On the surface, he's the class clown, the guy who orga- nizes the senior prank and does impressions of teachers. But like Charlie and Sam, he too harbors intense pain - he's involved with a closeted football star whose father would kill him if he ever came out. And Miller is wholly mindful of all of Patrick's intrica- cies in his approach, dominating some scenes with his infectious comedy and others with a quiet anguish. But the film's most indelible images come from Lerman, who has the staggeringtask of captur- ing Charlie's internal struggles without dipping too far into the macabre. We have to believe just how tormented Charlie is for the character to work, and Lerman manages to make that happen without taking the character to a point beyond empathy. The story is told from deep within Charlie's head, which would feel suffocat- ing if not for the delicacy of Ler- man's touch. The script zooms in on the specificity of these characters' anxieties, with enough close-ups to enliven and augment even the minor characters. But "Perks" also doesn't belong to a certain time or place, painting broad strokes with its more peripheral details. This is a world in which you pour out your feelings in a mix- tape and who you sit with at lunch can seem like the most important thing in the world. And no matter how distantof a memory teenage- dom is for viewers, "Perks" will resonate. Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com RELEASE DATE- Wednesday, October 24, 2012 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Pt Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS DO 1 Brains 1 Madea 7 Like manya reply appear env. 2 Teamc 10 Low-tech missile concer 13 New Age 3 Mornin physician 4 Teeth-c 14 Zeno's home step 15 Namibia 5 Ttle wi neighbor: Abbr. John Ir 16 Florida export 6 Hasen 17*"Ditto!" one 19*1955 7 Directo Communist 8Jam th defense treaty 0 Black H 21 Old Russian 10FWhen dynast Fortune 22Pulitzer 11"A Day playwright Rice Rain"N 23 The tiniest bit 12 Culture 25 _ Moines 14 Israelid 26 Sink, as a Abba snooker ball 18 Whenc 28 Flattering have a decepton 20 The C 31 Daddy-o novelis 33 Marsupial 24 'The A sometimes called Family' a bear 27 Specia 34 Friction reducer military 37 "1 can answer 29 Flamen yourqaestions" 30 Shorelir 40 Mapreader's aid indenta 41 Firefighter Red 2 a 43 Gaming console with afitness '1 component 44 County in eastem Ireland 19 47 R&B's Hill 49 Peoriabrs 22 52 Score tempo 54 Opposite of neo- 2 56 Fr. miss 58 'Momentarily forget 34 an 53 60 Lik thebesa ht honda, and a hint 41 to the answersto starred clues 62 Dumpstertfill 52 63 Reunion attendees 5 a57 64 Goes down in the0 weal 65 Done forthefirst e time 66 Sewup so R7 .~de deux R8Trusty munts By Gareth B ()2012 Trib )wN an rance captain's rn g janglers cleaning riter in a ving novel pfeffer, for r's cry ickener Hills terr. e"host Without New Ager medium diplomat one might late lunch 'hosen" t Chaim ddams adjective force co shout tion 32 Print maker 48 Cheerf 34 Wine barrel wood 49 Painter 35 Dictator Amin 50 Had an 36 *Space cadet's 51 Small g home? 53 Extrem 37 Inland Asian sea short 38 Lehdr operetta 55 2004 re "The Merry _" starring 39 Breathable gases 56 Fabrica 42 Car at a long 57 Rested light, say 59 Venust 45 Herbal brew lack 46 Everglades birds 61 Egyptia ANSWER TO PREVIOUS P DRE AAC O A J A X REL AX L U G.E A ND R O M E D A S T R W O OD A X I S S I G E NE N A S J U R A S S I C PA R K A N I M E O UT S V I L EL C O N G O N T H E L O S T W C A B R O A D C AN S D R I P S F AU X T M I C H A E L C R I C H I D E A V E E R D A T E ST E A S Y S T xwordeditor@aol.com uzzle ul Monet inkling ! 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HEROINES From Page 5A proves she is anything but. Without completely spoiling the movie, suffice it to say that appearances can't be trusted, and that the gravest mistake any character makes in "The Dark Knight Rises" is underestimat- ing a woman. Christopher Nolan may be disconcertingly unaware of the existence of women, but the few he allows into his hal- lowed interpretation of Gotham City aren't afraid to fight for their radical beliefs. Women have always been present in superhero movies, but contributing minimally to plot and character development. In the modern movie climate, these blockbusters are indispensable, but the old female formula is beyond archaic. The women who were once just barely visible are makingtheir presence known. Personally, I'll know female representation in superhero movies is incontrovertibly changed for the better when I see a young girl dressed as Black Widow among all the boys who spend Halloween as Iron Man and Captain America. We may finally live in a society where being Catwoman is as enticing as being a princess - and that's about as super as it gets.