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Arts
Monday, January 12, 2014 — 5A
Classifieds
Call: #734-418-4115
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ACROSS
1 “Say it isn’t so!”
5 Slick
9 Japanese poem
with 17 syllables
14 More than simmer
15 Natural skin
soother
16 Caravan stop
17 ’50s-’60s
Ramblers, briefly
18 Grand Prix series
designation
20 Brings in, as
salary
22 Geeky types
23 Controversial
Vietnam War
defoliant
26 Onetime Leno
announcer Hall
29 Salt, in Franasce
30 “__ we there yet?”
31 Add to the staff
33 Serving at
Popeyes
36 Gutter site
37 Avon or Fuller
Brush work, e.g.
42 Too
43 Country
bumpkins
44 “I hope you’ve
learned your __!”
47 Pro vote
48 Little white lie
51 “__-hoo! Over
here!”
52 What Al Capone
led
56 Collar attachment
for Spot
57 “MASH” setting
58 “Shh! Don’t tell!”
and hint to what
can precede the
starts of 18-, 23-,
37- and 52-
Across
63 Cheesy
sandwich
64 Dance in a line
65 Actress Garr
66 Autobahn auto
67 Like a truck
climbing a steep
hill
68 Flower part
69 Tiff
DOWN
1 White House
family
2 Respect that’s
“paid”
3 Coin with a
buffalo, once
4 Designer Mary-
Kate or Ashley
5 Klutzy fellow
6 U.N. worker
protection gp.
7 Doone of Exmoor
8 Red Sea republic
9 “Texas” poker
variety
10 Very small
batteries
11 Prefix with metric
12 Kith and __
13 Exploit
19 Hankering
21 Button that gets
things going
24 Sandwich cookie
25 Raring to go
26 Airline with
famously tight
security
27 Symbol of peace
28 Hair colorings
32 Vegetables in
pods
33 The “B” in TV’s
former The WB
network
34 “Your point
being...?”
35 Target city for
Godzilla
37 Tyne of “Judging
Amy”
38 Margarine
39 __ buco: veal
dish
40 Scuba diving
area
41 Not tight
45 Familiar adage
46 Evening, in ads
48 Inflame with
enthusiasm
49 Marcos with a
shoe collection
50 “Take a hike!”
53 Verifiable findings
54 “Snowy” wader
55 Sauce tomatoes
56 “Othello”
conspirator
58 Here, in Le
Havre
59 Truck weight unit
60 NBC late-night
comedy hit
61 Before, in poetry
62 Tiny Dickens
boy
By Marti DuGuay-Carpenter
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/12/15
01/12/15
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Monday, January 12, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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www.michigandaily.com
WEBSITE.
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organization, format. All Disciplines.
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HELP WANTED
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
PARKING
FOR RENT
Franchise falls
apart in ‘Taken 3’
Neeson’s screen
presence can’t save
messy blockbuster
By JAMIE BIRCOLL
Senior Arts Editor
Not even Liam Neeson could
save this one.
Though
the
62-year-old
action star manages to main-
tain his always
impressive
screen
pres-
ence,
his
talents
are
wasted on this
most
lacklus-
ter, incoherent
and
ill-con-
ceived
action
vehicle from French director
Olivier
Megaton
(“Colombi-
ana”). Indeed, it’s time to lay
this “Taken” franchise to rest.
A sequel to the previous two
“Taken” films in name only,
this third go for retired covert
operative Bryan Mills features
no kidnappings or Albanians
from Tropoja. Instead, Mills is
framed for the murder of his ex-
wife (Famke Janssen, “X-Men”)
and must embark on a mission
to clear his name while doling
out occasional mild-mannered,
PG-13 punishment to those
responsible.
In theory, this idea is intrigu-
ing — an update of “The Fugi-
tive” with Neeson replacing the
equally formidable Harrison
Ford in the title role. Sadly, the
premise proves the only com-
parison between the two films.
Where “The Fugitive” is clever,
gripping and intelligent, “Taken
3” proves humdrum, a mere
exercise in emptying wallets.
The script, from French mae-
stro Luc Besson (“Lucy”) and
American Robert Mark Kamen
(“The Fifth Element”), is so
contrived, so very ignorant of
just how stupid it is. And Mega-
ton’s direction features, quite
simply, some of the choppiest,
most incomprehensible cam-
erawork and editing, as well
as a dearth of poignancy and
immediacy. One chase sequence
— and there are multiple, each
less compelling than the previ-
ous — features, and I’m not even
kidding, four cuts in about one
second. That’s about equivalent
to twisting your head side-to-
side as fast as you can in one
second — it’s dizzying. Throw
in some shaky camera work,
and you have yourself an unin-
telligible film.
The actors are given little to
work with; Liam Neeson (“Non-
Stop”) is solid as always, though
he has far less to do here than
one would hope (but he does
survive two, count ‘em, two
car explosions). Newcomer to
the franchise Forest Whitaker
(“Out of the Furnace”) plays
the cop assigned to take Mills
down. I assume he was added
to create a sense of urgency,
but, really, what kind of threat
does the LAPD pose to a guy
who singlehandedly took out
an entire human trafficking
cartel? Maggie Grace (“Knight
and Day”) returns as Mills’s
daughter to look sad and help-
less. And Stuart, the new hus-
band of Mills’s ex-wife from
the first “Taken,” miraculously
reverse-aged 10 years and was
recast as Dougray Scott (“Mis-
sion Impossible 2”).
I’ll admit, I have a soft spot
for these kinds of action films
— yes they’re mindless, yes
they don’t advance cinema in
any way, shape or form and yes,
they’re fun as hell. Not every-
thing that we deem cinema
needs to be high art, not every-
thing needs to be avant-garde,
cerebral, meaningful. Some-
times a healthy dose of escap-
ism is not only welcome but also
necessary. But it’s mishandled
films like “Taken 3” that prove
me wrong.
I’ve gotten a lot of flak for
wanting to see this film, and in
this instance I was rightfully
put in my place. The action film
as a genre has been thoroughly
stripped down into a series of
explosions, quick cuts, shaky
camerawork and poorly devel-
oped characters. There is, or
used to be, artistry to convinc-
ing an audience that they are
watching
something
urgent,
that there is danger and that
they should care about the man
or woman facing that danger.
What we have now is a mere
semblance of action’s former
self, a genre that seemed origi-
nal not ten years ago reduced to
a skeleton, a formula.
So for now, I’ll look to the past
for my adrenaline fix, for my
danger. And to all those would-
be warriors out there, looking
to revive a lost art, I have but
two words for you: Good luck.
‘Galavant’ is
fun, not funny
By ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer
The musical TV genre has a very
mixed track record on network tele-
vision. While “Glee” was successful
for a long time
and
“Empire”
opened strongly
this week, other
attempts
(like
“Smash”)
have
failed.
While
the ratings for
“Galavant”
were
nothing
to write home
about, this show
should have gained more atten-
tion. Though it’s not perfect, the
first two episodes produce a highly
entertaining hour of television,
putting it among the better televi-
sion musicals.
“Galavant” follows an epony-
mous
knight
(Joshua
Sasse,
“Rogue”) whose true love Madale-
na (Mallory Jensen, “Young &
Hungry”)
was
kidnapped
by
the evil King Richard (Timothy
Omundson, “Psych”) so he could
marry her. When Gal interrupts
their wedding, Madalena chooses
to remain with the king. After a
year of heartache, the Princess of
Valencia (Karen David, “Waterloo
Road”) asks for his help in a quest to
save her kingdom from the clutches
of King Richard.
What contributes the most to
“Galavant” ’s fun tone is its music.
Written by Alan Menken and Glenn
Slater (collaborators on Broadway’s
“The Little Mermaid”), the songs
are catchy and cathartic. The core
of the show lies in its ability to
release beautiful songs in each epi-
sode. Numbers like King Richard’s
“She’ll be Mine” or the quartet
songs “Maybe You’re Not the Worst
Person Ever” prove that Men-
ken and Slater know how to put
together amusing tunes with some
clever words. Though the main
“Galavant” melody does begin to
tire by the third reprise in the hour,
Slater adds some sharp quips to the
lyrics which lessen the burnout.
While the songs’ humorous lyr-
ics are fantastic, the show’s dialogue
is disappointing. Some contain
humorous moments, but many have
gags that come off as overly broad.
Sometimes they have a solid idea,
but it lasts for one or two lines too
long, like a scene where Gal’s rival
Sir Jean Hamm (John Stamos, “Full
House”) tells a series of “yo-mama”
jokes. Creator Dan Fogleman was
also responsible for “The Neigh-
bors,” which was similarly hit-
and-miss comedically. It’s a shame
that these scenes aren’t as strong,
because they’re the only things that
hold this show back from being the
best small-screen musical.
The lack of comedic success is not
the cast’s fault, however. Many of
the actors bring charm to the screen
despite being saddled with weak
material. Omundson especially gets
some of the more immature jests,
but he has so much fun with his
part that you hardly notice the bad
jokes. He gives a huge performance,
chewing scenery left and right. It
works well, especially in the musical
numbers. He is what makes “She’ll
be Mine” as amusing as it is.
“Galavant” is exactly what a
TV musical should be. Its songs
are catchy and it’s a hell of a good
time. While the humor isn’t
always strong, the other elements
are prominent enough to make it
incredibly enjoyable television.
Earning the right to
wear band T-shirts
DGC RECORDS
Smells like teen spirit...or maybe that’s manure.
By MELINA GLUSAC
Daily Arts Writer
They’re everywhere.
Who would’ve thought two
little x’s for eyes, a squiggly smi-
ley face to finish them off and an
all-caps rendering of a band name
would unite and inadvertently
become the biggest fashion state-
ment of 2014?
Sure, the typically black and yel-
low T-shirts containing the afore-
mentioned components emerged
way before this past year — 1987,
to be exact, when Nirvana formed.
But it wasn’t until last year (pos-
sibly before, one is too trauma-
tized by it all to look these things
up) that Urban Outfitters and
other hipster-catering clothing
brands decided Kurt Cobain, Krist
Novoselic and Dave Grohl were
the new Louis Vuitton bag.
As preposterous as it sounds to
the ears of any ex-brooding teen or
early ’90s connoisseur, grunge is
“in” now, dipped in flannel shirts,
Dr. Martens and Nirvana; 1994 has
come full circle (except, of course,
in regards to popular music). Teen-
age girls, fashion bloggers and hip
men alike don Nirvana t-shirts.
Got a lone black blazer? Finish it
off with some distressed jeans,
black booties and a Nirvana t-shirt.
It’s a neutral; it goes with every-
thing. Don’t worry.
All this leaves music purists and
Nirvana fans with one pesky ques-
tion: Do these people even know
who Nirvana is?
Now, maybe we’re not giving
them enough credit. I’m sure they
know Nirvana was a band with a
lead singer that died. Oh, and they
sang that one really catchy song,
“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” right?
Yeah, that was a good one. Really
edgy, man. That one was rockin’.
But do they know some of Nir-
vana’s best work (i.e. “Dive” or
“Aneurysm”) wasn’t a product of
Nevermind, however glorious it is,
but rather 1992’s Incesticide? Do
they know about “In Bloom” or the
Biblical imagery of “Heart-Shaped
Box”? Do they know Cobain wrote
“Something in the Way” about his
experiences with homelessness,
allegedly living under the bridge
on Wishkah River in Washington
when he couldn’t find a place to
sleep (though Novoselic disputes
this)? Moreover, do they intensely
dislike Courtney Love?
Probably not. Well, maybe the
Courtney Love part.
I like to think this parapher-
nalia constitutes a “true” fan, one
that is worthy, for lack of a better
word, of wearing a shirt with a
certain band’s name. I personally
employ a strict 15-song rule before
I slip any sort of music-related
attire on my body: If I know at
least 15 songs by the artist on the
T-shirt, I deserve to wear it. Part of
it’s a pride thing, but the other part
is some deep irrational fear that
I’ll run into another human being
like myself who will test me, as I’m
testing all Nirvana T-shirt owners
with these words.
Knowing all the guts and glory
behind your choice aesthetic of the
day makes it that much more worth
it, at least to me. What angers most
Nirvana fans is the “style over sub-
stance” mindset many outfitters of
the urban variety have adapted —
they prefer the frock for its grunge-
y chic look rather than the fact that
it reminds them of the sunny tune,
“Rape Me.” Understandable, but
not intellectually desirable.
Nevertheless, it’s exposure — the
fashion world has made sure people
don’t forget about one of the best
things that happened to the music
industry in the ’90s, whether that
was a conscious move or not. All the
Forever 21 models are carrying on
Cobain’s memory, as much as that
would have nauseated him, per-
haps even inspiring people to revisit
the justifiably legendary band.
In the meantime, though, I’ve
only given you seven songs for your
repertoire. Study up before you slip
on.
TV REVIEW
C-
Taken 3
Rave and
Quality 16
20th Century Fox
B+
Galavant
Mini-Series
Premiere
Sundays
at 8 p.m.
ABC
MOVIE REVIEW
20TH CENTURY FOX
When will they let me stop making these movies?
MUSIC NOTEBOOK